Mix Off!! POP ROCK

[krheatman]

Originally Posted by sonicloft

sonicloftstudio's sounds on SoundCloud - Create, record and share your sounds for free
bitter-war

Great job on that song.too bad it's from a different mix off,Love and Affection.

[SDB_12]

Cool thread! Nice mixing so far everyone, I've enjoyed reading through and seeing all the different styles of mixing engineers on this board.

[1neLAMixer]

Longtime lurker here.
I usually mix Pop/R&B/Hip Hop but, decided this year, to broaden my horizons.
I'd be interested to see what you guys think.

Thanks,

[moooooo]

I Had a crack...

Being a total ametuer i dont get to work on anything besides stuff i record (usually poorly) myself, so thankyou for letting us play with your song .

I didnt have anyone handy to sing some backing vocals so i had you sing with yourself in the last chorus Great song also.

[RARStudios]

Did a quick mix to test my Ns-10m pair I just got!

http://soundcloud.com/mygenuine/bw-mix

I added harmonies in the chorus as well.

Enyoy,
E

[PeterPants]

Originally Posted by RARStudios

Did a quick mix to test my Ns-10m pair I just got!

http://soundcloud.com/mygenuine/rar-bw-mix-3

I added harmonies in the chorus as well.

Enyoy,
E

Sweet man. How are you liking the Ns-10s? Been trying to get my hands on some.

[RARStudios]

Honestly, I am loving them. Going from gen 1 Krk rockit 8s to ns10s instantly fixed my mixes. Given, this is the first mix i've done on them. It sounds better than my usual stuff AND only took me ~40 minutes to do. With rockits had to check a bunch of different sources and guess a lot... It can only get better from
Here!

[pulze]

I think audioawake's mix was the best, by a distance.

[PeterPants]

Originally Posted by RARStudios

Honestly, I am loving them. Going from gen 1 Krk rockit 8s to ns10s instantly fixed my mixes. Given, this is the first mix i've done on them. It sounds better than my usual stuff AND only took me ~40 minutes to do. With rockits had to check a bunch of different sources and guess a lot... It can only get better from
Here!

Ya, I'm a KRK user too. I'd love to get something better when I can.

[krheatman]

Originally Posted by PeterPants

Ya, I'm a KRK user too. I'd love to get something better when I can.

I traded in my ns10s for Proac Studio 100's> Adcom GFA 555.Vintage King gave me credit for the Yamaha's and I picked up a couple amp's on Audiogon for less than $500 ea.I had Jim Williams mod one of them.
They translate like no other.Do a search and read all the threads on here.Best thing I have done.

[giacloo01]

Originally Posted by pulze

I think audioawake's mix was the best, by a distance.

Definitely yes, that's what i think also.

[M2E]

Never knew there was a thread open for Mixers here.
I kind of like the song too.

I tried to listen too most of them and I thought there were just 2 that stood out to me. Maybe I should listen too them all but, don't really have the time.
Anyway, the ruff was a good guide Peter.

Caption Hook's mix was really good. Didn't really love the beginning but, when the real drums come in, BAM, they come in. Kinda squished sounding but,
still had power.
Plus, I like the harmonies. How come that's not in everybody's mix?
I think that was a good solid Rock mix!

The other one was 1neLAMixer - Dam dude, great sound. What are you using?
The beginning sounds like a record. What verb is that your using in the beginning on the clap?
The vocal could be warmer though. Sounds harsh.
Love the way ya got him out there like that though.
Lowend is knocking. Sounds like a Pop record. Did you replace sounds?

I think it's a good song overall. Good job Peter.
Did you ever say who you liked the best? Be interested.

Marc

[audioawake]

Originally Posted by giacloo01

Definitely yes, that's what i think also.

Thank you very much guys for listening to it!

However, I was not very satisfied with my mix, so I made second version. I played a little with bus compression, spacing between instruments and vocals.
Here you can hear updated version, which should sound tighter:
Mix version 2

[NathanKG]

This is my first time doing a mixoff, so I'd love any feedback. Loved this song, and it was really fun to mix

[PeterPants]

Originally Posted by M2E

I think it's a good song overall. Good job Peter.
Did you ever say who you liked the best? Be interested.

Marc

Thanks!
I wasn't really looking to pick out who did best. I really just posted it on here for everyone to get some practice with mixing, though there are a few that definitely stand out as has been mentioned.

[Beyersound]

Originally Posted by audioawake

Thank you very much guys for listening to it!

However, I was not very satisfied with my mix, so I made second version. I played a little with bus compression, spacing between instruments and vocals.
Here you can hear updated version, which should sound tighter:
Mix version 2

Excellent mix, you were able to maximize the impact of almost every element. On the critical side, maybe through automation of the fader and/or EQ, you can get the vocal to "pop" more in the verse, it just seemed a bit veiled and quiet. The chorus LV was spot on. The kick was a bit weird for me as well, but still effective. You might also want to go with less reverb, or maybe a shorter one on the snare at the end of the chorus vocal, going into and through the verse. Overall a stellar effort!

[audioawake]

Originally Posted by Beyersound

Excellent mix, you were able to maximize the impact of almost every element. On the critical side, maybe through automation of the fader and/or EQ, you can get the vocal to "pop" more in the verse, it just seemed a bit veiled and quiet. The chorus LV was spot on. The kick was a bit weird for me as well, but still effective. You might also want to go with less reverb, or maybe a shorter one on the snare at the end of the chorus vocal, going into and through the verse. Overall a stellar effort!

Thank you very much, Beyersound, for listening!

You have read my mind, I agree about all of these points. The mix was very different at the begging and sound more similar to what you have described, but then I took a listen in my friends cheap computer speaker and changed a lot of things. It sounds good on these speakers, but not so much better elsewhere

[ByronPinto]

For folks that are interested.. I found this free plugin for drum replacement. Works really well ..

Koen Tanghe @ Smartelectronix : KTDrumTrigger

--------------------------------------------------

Also i have updated my mix ( Replaced the kick drum ) and a few modifications to a more commercial type mix .

http://soundcloud.com/byron-pinto/bitterwar

[smlksmth]

bitterwar by smlksmth on SoundCloud - Create, record and share your sounds for free

what do you guys think? first mix/edit ever!

[dawnfirst]

Originally Posted by smlksmth

bitterwar by smlksmth on SoundCloud - Create, record and share your sounds for free

what do you guys think? first mix/edit ever!

Really good for first ever mix, but layoff the 2buss limiting/compression.
It's noticeably pumping like a mofo.

[smlksmth]

Originally Posted by dawnfirst

Really good for first ever mix, but layoff the 2buss limiting/compression.
It's noticeably pumping like a mofo.

Thanks so much for the feedback!

I feel like that's definitely my biggest weakness is knowing when to and when to not compress. I really did a lot on the bass, vocals, and then bussed everything to a final auxilary track and compressed that just so I could get the track loud enough.

Anytime I record something and bounce it, it always is so quiet outside of the DAW. I was told to never bring the faders above 0db and to raise the volume of the track use a brickwall limiter and lower the threshold until it's at the desired volume. Is this correct?

[dawnfirst]

Originally Posted by smlksmth

Anytime I record something and bounce it, it always is so quiet outside of the DAW. I was told to never bring the faders above 0db and to raise the volume of the track use a brickwall limiter and lower the threshold until it's at the desired volume. Is this correct?

Yep, spot on.
For the overall mix buss compression,
Try getting no more than 4db gain reduction on the loudest parts of the song as a general guide. Also, I nearly always use a medium attack with an auto release, which generally works for most pop/rock stuff.


As for loudness, yes, use a brick wall limiter with about 1 to 2db gain reduction max. You can push it further but it's best not too, especially while you're learning.


Really good for your first time though, keep it up!

-Mike

[Elkechon]

Heres mine feedback please!

[Deimos]

Here is my first crack at this 1.

[SanctityMusic]

Originally Posted by PeterPants

Let me hear what you guys do with it! I'd love to hear your ideas! Here's my mix of it so you can get an Idea of what you're working with
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/19663805/BitterWarMix9%201.mp3

First post here guys!

Hope you enjoy my mix of the tune.

Post any feedback you have i love to hear it!

[Deimos]

Here is my second crack at it.

[doomnote]

So I know I'm super late to this party but wanted to throw mine in the mix... doesn't look like anyone is still checking this thread but if you do - please give me your feedback!

This was my first time mixing a full band like this and it was tons o' fun. Thanks PeterPants for posting this for public consumption!

Let me know what you think!

http://soundcloud.com/immichaelobrien/bitter-war-pop-rock-mix-off/s-nhOzh

[JohnnieTech]

Here is my mix. I decided to replace the kick and the snare as I really couldn't quite get the sound I wanted out of the originals. This was a very well put together track. Would love some feedback if at all possible. Thank you!

http://soundcloud.com/johnniequest/bitter-war-master-pro-c

[JohnnieTech]

I also did a mix with a more acoustic type feel to it. Stripped a few of the tracks out and got rid of a lot extra instruments. Quite a different feel to me.

http://soundcloud.com/johnniequest/bitter-war-minimal

[PeterPants]

Originally Posted by doomnote

So I know I'm super late to this party but wanted to throw mine in the mix... doesn't look like anyone is still checking this thread but if you do - please give me your feedback!

This was my first time mixing a full band like this and it was tons o' fun. Thanks PeterPants for posting this for public consumption!

Let me know what you think!

http://soundcloud.com/immichaelobrien/bitter-war-pop-rock-mix-off/s-nhOzh

Cool man! glad to see it's still getting some more use out of it! Your mix sounded a little mono... like all the guitars were panned center or something. All those guitars fighting for the same space as the vocals. I'd try to see what you can do about making more space. the drums sound pretty good to me. I like the punch you got out of the snare.