[u b k]

the overall brightness or bassiness of a mix is almost completely irrelevant, as those can be adjusted very handily by any mastering guy worth his salt.

what *is* critical is the internal balance of the mix, both in terms of levels and freqs. if the guitars need top but the cymbals are sizzly, you got issues. if the vocals are airy and sibilant but the drums are sleepy and murky, you got issues. if the kick is slamming your chest but the bass barely manages to honk its nose, you got issues.

but a sleepy mix where all the elements are equally sleepy is a piece of cake: open up the highs with a solid eq and everything wakes up. a coherent, well balanced mix will survive almost any eq curve.

balances, it's all about the balances.

on another note, the tracks you have will let you know how far you can push things. listen to the music, not everything wants to be like what's on the radio. lots of music feels right when its dark; hell, most classic records begin rolling off after 4k. tape and vinyl were good like that.

and on a final last note, i disagree that bass is the most difficult to get dialed. to me, midrange is what separates the men from the boys. and, surprise surprise... midrange is where almost all the critical balancing happens.


gregoire
del
ubk
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