mix

[spottydog10]

Hi,
Could you have a listen to this mix please?
It's OK, clear enough but seems a bit one dimensional.
I also want to make the thump drum bigger, I have room reverb on it
but it seems a bit tame. How are the eq's?
Any comments or advice welcome.

http://soundcloud.com/spottydog10/wakeup

Thanks
Mike

[Andy Hamm]

I listened to it (twice) and here is my opinion on the song itself and how it sounds over all from a production standpoint and it's a totally different direction than what you have going on, so it will definitely seem to be out to lunch.

If I was mixing this the very first thing I would do is give the vocal a distorted, but not low-fi, Nine Inch Nails sort of vibe. I'd darken the whole track up a bit to make it sound less happy and more 'desperate', especially in the chorus. I think you'd end up with a track that has that Radio Head type of appeal to it and it would stand out more.

I mix live, so all of my production choices are snap decisions, and that's just what I hear when I listen to this track.

[Sambo Rouge]

Nothing one dimensional about this. Nice interplay from left to right. Good vox.

My only problem with it is that its a little toppy. You need to
tame some of the bright and harsher sounds. (Usually done with eq)

You've put a lot of hard work into this -- nice work and production.

[spottydog10]

Andy, how would you darken it specifically?

Sambo, are you talking about an eq on the master?


Thanks to both for your time,
Mike

[Andy Hamm]

Originally Posted by spottydog10

Andy, how would you darken it specifically?

Sambo, are you talking about an eq on the master?


Thanks to both for your time,
Mike

I'd mix the (distorted) vocals back, bring some of the the synth (violin?) up a bit, throw more white noise on the snare / hi hat in spots and re-amp the guitar in spots as well. The 'erie' synth sound that comes in half way through I'd put some sort of panning or tremolo effect on, just to make it sound a little erie-er, if that's even a word. I think there is a floor tom in there that isn't quite defined as much as I'd like to hear as well.

That would get it to a point where I'd have to re-evaluate anything beyond that.

I like the song, just when I heard it my brain immediately grabbed onto that darker feel in there and ran with it.

I hear NIN, Radio Head and Smashing Pumpkins in there somewhere.

Also, there is a space before 'Better Wake up' That I'd fill with a ghosted echo or something.

[Sambo Rouge]

I normally eq track by track where needed.

If you can listen and hear which tracks seem very bright, you can then make a minor adjustment(usually no more than 2 or 3 db)to tame the higher frequencies a bit.

I don't usually eq the master apart from taking out a bit of mud from the lower frequency range; its all very personal and comes with practice (and reading, and listening to experienced engineers).