Metal Mix Off

[fastlanestoner]

I would definitely be interested in this!

[Sim]

Cool I'll upload tonight hopefully it will fit on sound cloud

[borg64]

Count me in!

[Simon Morrison]

Originally Posted by borg64

Count me in!

+1

[targa2]

Yes. Ready set mix. Where dem files?

[Sim]

Didn't upload properly. I'll try again tonight

[Sim]

Uploading again...

[Simon Morrison]

Originally Posted by Sim

Uploading again...

If SoundCloud doesn't work, try Dropbox.com or Box.net

[Sim]

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/19226452/mixoff.zip

[Sim]

There's a couple samples of my toms on for drum replacement.

[targa2]

I bit rough but it was a 45 minute quicky. Too much going on today but always can use the practice.


https://soundcloud.com/targa2/twisted-old-man

[Sim]

Sweet I'll have a listen on speakers after work. Does anyone want a tempo track in midi form?

[Simon Morrison]

Here is my first pass: Footsteps V2.wav

[nimblemongoose]

Here's My contribution to the party. I'll Listen to other's mixes and report back shortly.

[theBeardofZues]

Sweet! Going to go mess around with this!

[PerfektChaos]

I'll also give it a try

\m/

[PerfektChaos]

Hi guys!
Here's my version of the song was really fun mixing it.
Let me know what you think Sim ok?

Keep in touch,
Walter

[manman]

here is my quick mix

[Spede]

Allright. Here's my mix of this tune. Did it yesterday, with finishing tweaks today. I had some fun automating some seriously distorted detune (not so) underneath the lead vocals. Deftones'y, eh? :D

[Spede]

Some comments to other mixes:

manman:

First off you probably ought to take out the tracks where the extra tom sample hits are (which have have nothing to do with the music). :D Loud random tom hits throughout the first minute of this mix.

I'm not totally sure about the idea of featuring the ride cymbal louder than the guitars.

You've done good job keeping the vocals very middle-full; that's the only place where they have a chance to cut through. Occasionally they feel little disconnected from the mix though. I'd probably suggest trying to put just a tiny amount of delay to give it some "space". But don't drown them in reverb.

More a matter of a taste, but I would have spread the muff guitars at the slow part. Sure they cut though everything right now but they also make the whole mix narrower when they appear.

This mix shines at all those instrumental parts where the ride cymbal isn't playing. Maybe use those parts as "inner" reference and change things around to make everything else sound like those parts spectrum-wise?


PerfektChaos:

Delay on heavy guitars throughout is a quite risky move in that it might clutter a whole mix totally. If you really enjoy the delay you should probably at least honor the abrupt stops and take the delay out during them. I personally think you should take them out altogether in order to have more clarity to the whole mix.

I'm not sure if it's the snare or the vocal which also might have too much reverb (or too dark). But in general I feel that the heavy usage of dark reverb (and delay) makes this mix seem somewhat woollier than it might actually be. I've personally found that if one wants aggressive amounts of reverb in a mix, best way is to make it cut though the mids (I'm usually cutting lows and boosting 1,5kHz in these kind of reverbs).

You definitely got pretty ass-kicking bass tone. That sounds awesome!

Same as with manman's mix; those extra tom tracks (which feel really out of place) are there only for sampling reasons.

Apart from the slight washiness (coming from the dark reverbs) this mix generally feels very balanced.


Nimblemongoose:

Adding serious amounts of high end to the vocals is indeed a noble idea, but in this kind of genre (and actually in general) isn't necessarily the best execution in making the vocals audible in a mix. The dispersion of perception is quite large: When listening on loud levels the vocal esses (and the vocal tone in general) hurt my ears and on quiet levels the vocals disappear altogether. There's a reason why many choose to make the vocals come through the mids: The quieter you listen the more audible the vocals become. There's also the factor of stark contrast where the rest of you mix is quite dark (nothing wrong with that, the rest of mix sounds really nice) and the only thing I "register" in the high end is the esses; it's like there nothing else there.

Simon Morrison:

First thing that strikes me is the unnevenness of the bass. Some of the (higher) bass notes simply are too loud in the raw tracks and I feel it needs to addressed one way or another; I used both automation and shitloads of compression to anchor it.

On the other hand you've done magnificent job with the melody vocals regarding the unevenness.

This whole mix is actually quite balanced. But little to the dark and tubby side. You could very easily give this mix a fresher feel by simply boosting some high end from the master. You could get away with as much as 6 dBs at 20kHz; at that point the cymbals start to become little overwhelming. What this simple boost won't fix is the kick in which I'm having hard time hearing nothing but the low end which might be a trouble in bass-less listening environment.

[OlofBerggren]

Downloading the tracks now...

[PerfektChaos]

Hi Spede.
Thanks for your comments regarding my mix.
I assume that I'm a "darker" guy and that the mix might have too much reverb.
As for the delays... well, you shouldn't go by telling that heavy guitars don't have delays. I like to view the things more outside the box, if you know what I mean. You wrote "delays... might clutter a whole mix totally" but I don't think it's the case here. It's my point of view.

As conclusion, your mix sound pretty good. Good job.
Cheers

[dyl127]

My attempt!

[Metrik]

[Sympho]

Wow you guys are all talented at mixing

I m gonna try to do one myself for the fun of it will report back this weekend

[Sim]

Originally Posted by PerfektChaos

Hi guys!
Here's my version of the song was really fun mixing it.
Let me know what you think Sim ok?

Keep in touch,
Walter

Like the reverbs what did you use?

[Sim]

Originally Posted by Metrik

Great mix no vocals though?

Whats your chain on bass, snare and kick.

Also be interesting to know whether thats room verb or room mics on the drums.

[Sim]

Might reamp the bass tomorrow and do a kick sample anyone want those?

[nothing]

gonna take a stab at this. i really want to listen to the other mixes but dont want the influence before i start. when im done ill listen to everyone elses