Pop Punk (All Time Low, Mayday Parade, Yellowcard)

[luctellier]

Hello again,

Here's another project I finished yersterday:

PLAYER HERE/

Any comments are welcome!

Thanks
LT

[Tennis]

distortion/clipping at about 41 sec into it, when the toms are hit. Dude, your mixes are great, I don't know why you feel that you need to crush them like this. So much good work is there. It would still be as loud as 90% of major releases if you dropped it a couple dbs. I don't get it.

[colbear]

What do you use on the drums, are you triggering anything? and what kind of processing?

[luctellier]

Originally Posted by Tennis

distortion/clipping at about 41 sec into it, when the toms are hit. Dude, your mixes are great, I don't know why you feel that you need to crush them like this. So much good work is there. It would still be as loud as 90% of major releases if you dropped it a couple dbs. I don't get it.

Hey man,

Well the reason is simple.. this is pop-punk and I have to be competitive. If you compare this mix with All Time Low, Mayday, We The Kings, you would notice that my mixes is equal or even lower. The distortion/clipping you hear comes from the pitch shift effect before going the chorus. I'm gonna fix that. Thanks for listening and commenting!

Originally Posted by colbear

What do you use on the drums, are you triggering anything? and what kind of processing?

I use EQ (Waves SSL), Compression (Waves SSL/UAD 1176), Reverb (SPX90) on drums and the kick is triggered and there's a snare sample blended with the top and bottom mics.

[Tennis]

I imagined as much, so I pulled up itunes and demoed some tracks. Ok, first, All Time Low (Nothing Personal), "Weightless", your Bigger and Better Things track was about the same if not a bit louder than their opener. It sounds like compared to yours they had less of that digital sound, maybe because they got the volume but didn't push as hard. I think clarity and punch (which get lost the louder you go) can translate to more volume sometimes, like in this case.

We The Kings (Smile Kid), I listened to a couple tracks. Their snare isn't as upfront as most but it still worked. I thought your track was a bit louder in this case.

My thoughts, I still think you could bring down that master fader a touch and be competitive. But you sound pretty busy, busy as in having a lot of bands wanting your services. So maybe it's better to give the kids what they want!

Lastly, I switched the radio on to see what else can be compared and it was "Break" by Three Days Grace. Pulled it up on itunes, and yours was quite a bit louder. Different genre so maybe not the best comparison. Next, "Savior" by Rise Against, pulled it up on itunes, and again you were clearly louder. In all these comparisons, you were louder but with a lot less clarity.

I think there is a little bit of play when setting that final overall volume, and you can't pass the point where you lose clarity on any individual instrument in the mix or you start getting into that digital sound, which I think is really just loss of clarity. Thoughts?

[luctellier]

Originally Posted by Tennis

I imagined as much, so I pulled up itunes and demoed some tracks. Ok, first, All Time Low (Nothing Personal), "Weightless", your Bigger and Better Things track was about the same if not a bit louder than their opener. It sounds like compared to yours they had less of that digital sound, maybe because they got the volume but didn't push as hard. I think clarity and punch (which get lost the louder you go) can translate to more volume sometimes, like in this case.

We The Kings (Smile Kid), I listened to a couple tracks. Their snare isn't as upfront as most but it still worked. I thought your track was a bit louder in this case.

My thoughts, I still think you could bring down that master fader a touch and be competitive. But you sound pretty busy, busy as in having a lot of bands wanting your services. So maybe it's better to give the kids what they want!

Lastly, I switched the radio on to see what else can be compared and it was "Break" by Three Days Grace. Pulled it up on itunes, and yours was quite a bit louder. Different genre so maybe not the best comparison. Next, "Savior" by Rise Against, pulled it up on itunes, and again you were clearly louder. In all these comparisons, you were louder but with a lot less clarity.

I think there is a little bit of play when setting that final overall volume, and you can't pass the point where you lose clarity on any individual instrument in the mix or you start getting into that digital sound, which I think is really just loss of clarity. Thoughts?

Did you compared the volume of the mix between iTunes and the FlashPlayer on my link? If that's the case, then there's an issue with the flash player. When I compare the wav file from my mix against the wav files of All Time Low, We The Kings or other similar work, I'm not louder at all. They all have a RMS of -8 to -8.7 during the choruses just like I have. When I play the mix in QuickTime and then open the flash player, QuickTime is not as loud as the mix in the FlashPlayer and it doesn't sound as squashed. There's really a difference between the local wav file and the sound of the flash player. I wish I could post high quality MP3s or wav files on this forum but it would be a problem for the artist I work with. Thank you very much for taking the time to compare and bringing that up. I never noticed the mix sounded like that in the flash player. thumbsup

[tvboy123]

Sounds pro to me nothing sounds out of place, it would fit quite comfortably in with some of the pop punk tunes I have on my ipod. I like it

[luctellier]

Originally Posted by tvboy123

Sounds pro to me nothing sounds out of place, it would fit quite comfortably in with some of the pop punk tunes I have on my ipod. I like it

Thanks!

[pasquierg]

"Weightless" doesn't sound as heavy as Bigger and Better Things... (huhuhu)

[line.out studio]

Hey Luc, great mix as always !!

It's cool that you still take the time to share your work, and teach us some very good tips !! Thanx man.

How did you get these magic "esses" in the vocal sound ?
It's always hard for me to get them seat well in my mixes.

Thanx again.

[luctellier]

Originally Posted by line.out studio

Hey Luc, great mix as always !!

It's cool that you still take the time to share your work, and teach us some very good tips !! Thanx man.

How did you get these magic "esses" in the vocal sound ?
It's always hard for me to get them seat well in my mixes.

Thanx again.

Thanks!

I'm not sure about what you mean by magic 'esses' but I guess you mean 'controlled esses'. Having a singer who knows how to control the esses helps a lot. Then using the right mic and the right positionning is really important. In the mix, it's just a matter of de-essing the vocal enough so that the esses are controlled. I use Waves De-Esser at the end of the vocal chain.

[C_Meyer]

Luc,

The mix sounds fantastic! Your guitars and vocals always sit perfectly in the mix and sound great.

What monitors do you mix on the majority of the time?

Also I see on your site that you recently visited David Ben at his studio! Do you mind sharing some of the tips you picked up while you were there?

Thanks,
Chris

[luctellier]

Originally Posted by C_Meyer

Luc,

The mix sounds fantastic! Your guitars and vocals always sit perfectly in the mix and sound great.

What monitors do you mix on the majority of the time?

Also I see on your site that you recently visited David Ben at his studio! Do you mind sharing some of the tips you picked up while you were there?

Thanks,
Chris

Thanks Chris! I build the mix on NS10 and Mackie HR824. I use the NS10 mainly for balance and the Mackie for EQ and tone. Once the mix is done, I make small adjustements listening in 2 pairs of headphone (good ones and cheap ones) and laptop speakers and I also listen in my car! I picked up a lot of tips which are secret tricks that I won't share. Gotta show some respect to the man!

[S. Melmoth]

It's a great mix Luc, personally for that style of music, the compression is fine. It really kicks you in the face (in a good way). The guitars a huge and vocals sit great in the mix, keep it up!

[luctellier]

Originally Posted by S. Melmoth

It's a great mix Luc, personally for that style of music, the compression is fine. It really kicks you in the face (in a good way). The guitars a huge and vocals sit great in the mix, keep it up!

Thank you very much!

[C_Meyer]

Thanks for the info.

I picked up a lot of tips which are secret tricks that I won't share. Gotta show some respect to the man!

I figured that was the case but it never hurts to ask!

Also what are you using in terms of acoustic treatment in the control room? I am in the market for new monitors and room treatment.. Since your mixes sound so good I figure asking you would be a good place to start my search!

[luctellier]

Originally Posted by C_Meyer

Also what are you using in terms of acoustic treatment in the control room? I am in the market for new monitors and room treatment.. Since your mixes sound so good I figure asking you would be a good place to start my search!

The panels were custom made by an acoustician. I'll ask on Monday the price and stuff but you should also ask Ethan Whiner on this forum!

[C_Meyer]

Thanks!

[DreamSound]

The intro rocks man, I'm jealous hahaha Props to the drummer. Tight playing.. you need to get some of that in camera bro.

I like the transparent tone quality of the vocals overall (not sure how to descrbe it but very much your mix style) and I also loved loved the vocal tone at 1:13. Quite a lot to take for the first minute which is cool for the style.

The only couple of details I noticed were the word 'thing' at 00:44 or 02:49 sounded a bit flat. Also a little more dynamics between verse and chorus to highlight the chorus more. I liked the dynamics going into the ending bridge but didn't get that at 00:42 or 1:35 going into the chorus.. particularly after that cool effect.

As always FWIWIMHO.

[luctellier]

Originally Posted by DreamSound

The intro rocks man, I'm jealous hahaha Props to the drummer. Tight playing.. you need to get some of that in camera bro.

I like the transparent tone quality of the vocals overall (not sure how to descrbe it but very much your mix style) and I also loved loved the vocal tone at 1:13. Quite a lot to take for the first minute which is cool for the style.

The only couple of details I noticed were the word 'thing' at 00:44 or 02:49 sounded a bit flat. Also a little more dynamics between verse and chorus to highlight the chorus more. I liked the dynamics going into the ending bridge but didn't get that at 00:42 or 1:35 going into the chorus.. particularly after that cool effect.

As always FWIWIMHO.

Thanks for listening man!

[rhythmic5]

I second having more dynamics (fader riding) to make the chorus pop more! maybe make the guitar have more low-mid EQ in the chorus to make it a little bigger sounding... otherwise great mix

[cooker]

Nice mix but too smashed its almost like each time I hear the kick its getting in front of everything, also overall sound is a bit middy...

I understand the latest trend and maybe the reduced quality from website has things to do with what I hear but did you request demo's from ME's to compare with your sound? do you also believe dealing with every stage of process personally/alone will bring the success you want?

By the way, I'm not judging anything just wondering.

[once a roadie]

another awesome job luc!!!

[luctellier]

Originally Posted by rhythmic5

I second having more dynamics (fader riding) to make the chorus pop more! maybe make the guitar have more low-mid EQ in the chorus to make it a little bigger sounding... otherwise great mix

I agree but main problem is the arrangement. Too much stuff going on, all the time!

Originally Posted by cooker

Nice mix but too smashed its almost like each time I hear the kick its getting in front of everything, also overall sound is a bit middy...I understand the latest trend and maybe the reduced quality from website has things to do with what I hear but did you request demo's from ME's to compare with your sound? do you also believe dealing with every stage of process personally/alone will bring the success you want? By the way, I'm not judging anything just wondering.

I got a lesson with this project! regarding the mastering, yes I did and most of the band I worked with also did try another mastering engineer and they always ended up using my mastered version. I wish I would always have the budget to hire Ted Jensen but I don't and the artist I work with also don't..

Originally Posted by once a roadie

another awesome job luc!!!

Thank you very much!

[CosmeLiccardo]

Hey Luc! nice talking to you again! Amazing mix yet again dude! I'm amazed at how wide you make the track sound and how smooth the high end is on the mix. Great work. I do feel it's distorting in some parts when you did the mastering, but the mix is awesome! Hey check out a mix I did I have it posted in this forum!

Punk rock tune!

Take care Luc! keep rockin!

[luctellier]

Originally Posted by CosmeLiccardo

Hey Luc! nice talking to you again! Amazing mix yet again dude! I'm amazed at how wide you make the track sound and how smooth the high end is on the mix. Great work. I do feel it's distorting in some parts when you did the mastering, but the mix is awesome! Hey check out a mix I did I have it posted in this forum!

Punk rock tune!

Take care Luc! keep rockin!

Hey!

Thank for checking out man! I'll listen to your mix tomorrow morning when I'll be at the studio! I'm currently working with a really nice punk rock band, can't wait to post it next week!

LT

[FredYeah]

Hey Luc!

Awesome as always, but the vocals in the verses can be brought up a little bit more to my taste. Im having a hard time to actually hear what is sung. Also the left-right effect hits sound a little bright.

Just two minor comments, but awesome recording. (Again!!)

[Bass]

Crazy pro sounding!!
So good that i had to start listen to more of your mixes =)
Im really impressed, also impressed with the bands you mixed. Nice ^^

[luctellier]

Originally Posted by FredYeah

Hey Luc!

Awesome as always, but the vocals in the verses can be brought up a little bit more to my taste. Im having a hard time to actually hear what is sung. Also the left-right effect hits sound a little bright.

Just two minor comments, but awesome recording. (Again!!)

Thanks for listening!

Originally Posted by Bass

Crazy pro sounding!!
So good that i had to start listen to more of your mixes =)
Im really impressed, also impressed with the bands you mixed. Nice ^^

Thank you very much man! Where did you listened to my mixes? On my website you mean?

[Bass]

Hi
Yeah i googled you and got to your website.
I really mean it, i cant remember getting so impressed with mixes before. You need to know that i suck myself, but still enjoy great ones
Your the man Luc