POP-ROCK mix done ITB...

[mixman499]

Here is a mix i just did itb...on a project I produced...tracked to pt, live, vocals and a gtr double overdubbed...thats it...no editing..protools mix rig...very few plugins...analog channel and a few filter bank hi and lo pass filters...L1 and bomb factory fairchild on master fader...also, had a smart c2 on the output before being printed back to PT...

curious to get opinions....

thanks for listening..

j

artists is www.stevebequette.com

[adamcal]

I dont like the song much but the production, mix, sounds, are all great. Sounds like a record! (thats my term for "its really good")

[knekor]

wow, that's cool. I feel like am in the recording room

[dreamaudio]

the overheads sound funky.....weird eq/comp...i dun like it..what's goin on there?

[dasbin]

Drums are nice... replaced? Overheads aren't bad, not sure what the last comment meant.

The bass is a little heavy/tubby, and the guitars are somewhat dull, as are the vox (sounds like the mic wasn't ideal for the singer). I like the FX on the vox though.

The snare pretty much makes up for everything though, haha.

[mixman499]

thanks for the helpful comments...the drums are all very real....although I did make a good sample of that snare and will most likely use it in the future.

the vocal mic was the sm7 used during live tracking...the only o-dubs are the gtr dbls and vocal backups and dbls. would have prefered to have more time and experimented with the vocal sound.

I generally prefer a darker sound...and guess I do have a problem with bright gtrs...so I can hear that...we actually loved the bass tone...( the bass player esp...) so it stayed...but I hear ya...a bit tubby..yeah..ok.

hmm...could you eloborate on your feelings on the overheads...just curious...certainly more squashed than I would usually go for....but the client really wanted that sound..

thanks for all the suggestions and critiques...!!!


cheers, j

[mixman499]

btw, Dasbin..

when I have time I will post the snare sample..you are welcome to it if ya dig it..

mixman499

[dasbin]

that would be awesome, thanks. an excellent addition to my Drumagog collection.

I have what should be a decent-sounding snare (Ludwig Supraphonic) but have been absolutely unable to get a really good tone out of it, no matter what the tuning or tweaking or skins. So replacements are

[Ahellam]

Nice and clear, I wish the drummer didnt hit the cymbals as hard. Awesome bass depth and clarity, whole thing sounds nice and 3d.
Song is cool too.

What guitar/amp/mic was used?

[NeoVXR]

same for me...

[gem]

nice track.
dig your guitars in the verse.
can you tell me how these were recorded?
thanx
gem

[LongWave]

lovin the drums. what did you use mic wise

[mixman499]

sorry for the late responses....was on the road...laptop down..

thanks for all the comments and suggestions...and for taking the time to post them...

this track was recorded live in my studio...we overdubbed vocals...and doubled a few guitar parts....everything else was LIVE....no fixes or auto-tunin either..

really tite band...do wish I could get the drummer to hit cymbals lighter...he definitely understands now...btw...it was his FIRST time EVER recording...

the drums were tracked i believe...like this...

kik...........audix d6...vintech x73i...distressor
snr..........sm56a....api 312.....distressor
toms.......beyer 201's......hardy m1 pres..
overheads....at4031's......manley tube preamp....joe meek sc2 comp
room mics.....at4033's.....sytek preamp......daking comps...
front of kit.....soundeluxe u99.....sytek....purple mc76 limiiter

the bass was di with a hardy m1 preamp and distressor....
i reamped the bass track through a bass pod and an ampeg b15 mic'd with a at4033 about 5ft from the LOUD amp.

guitars were all through a "KOCH" (i believe that was it) custom amp....sm 57 close and oktava ml52 ribbon about 3' back...these were both into telefunken v76 preamps..

vocals were overdubbed with an sm7 into a v76 into a distressor.

whole mix was done in PT....with a alan smart c2 on the buss...printed back through a rosetta converter to PT. I recently remixed the track and was able to send stems out through an ssl 4000...with no eq...comps...just using the 100 grand console for summing !@!@!!!!

sounded alot wider...more open...but the band still prefered the first mix...warts and all..

thanks again for all the critiques and comments..

happy mixing..

mixman499

[sonixx]

not my cup of tea... but overall Okay...

sounds like the kit was slammed to tape. Okay if that's what your after.

[joaquin]

I liked it a lot
The band feels very natural I bet they were very confortable at your place...great Job!!

[drmmrboy]

Sounds really good!
I'm diggin the guitars, especially in the verses.

Andrew

[Ari-M.]

I hate to bash on it but that sounds terrible. levels are great but wheres the oomph!! I absolutly love the shuffle pattern tho. AWSOME drumming. Not the tightest but what a great groove. Also was there a tube going out on the guitar amp (there is a terrible crackling sound in the guitar thats hard left). Major props for acomplishing this ITB tho. It is however a strong argument for mixing on a great desk (again there is just no drive in this mix). Just my humble opinion

[music]

i felt just the opposite. Gives good reason not to mix on a big desk. Just my opinion though. What sort of settings did you have on the distressor for the kick? Brit mod? I really like it. Also, how did you blend the u99 and d6? The mix to me is well done. Congrats. The band should be happy as well as you.

Thanks,

Keith

[mixman499]

thanks for the comments...well, the ARTIST dug it....and he PAID for it so.....

I could have heard it ALOT different, but this is what we did at the time...really wanted to keep a live feel and sound...which it was...the drummer is really good, nice guy, only early 20's...his first realy recording.

The amp did have a tube going out...in fact..1 take later...it was TOAST !!! but we thought it was a fun sounding mistake.....its funny that some people who have heard that tune want to know how we got that weird distortion loop under the intro guitar...!!!!

the D6 was mixed with the u99 probably 20% to 80%....used the d6 for some punch and the low end and tone was from the u99...I just have a regular old (6yrs) distressor...but I think i did have the dist 1 button in....

also...the MASTERED version of the track sounds alot "punchier"...maybe that was the "drive" you were not hearing...we did some pretty heavy multiband compression in mastering and it seemed to punch it up...if I get a copy of the disc soon, I will post it (the mastered version)

thanks again for all the comments and suggestions...

cheers, j

[eyesore]

Hi, you said that you took the version originally posted above and 'mastered' it? I am just curious if you then removed the fairly heavy compression and limiting that was already on the mix we heard first? Otherwise, I don't see how one would master a song that was already at those levels and that squashed. I guess I am anxious to hear how the mastered version compares also. Thanks.

[mixman499]

I should clarify...

the original mp3 that was posted was "mastered" by me using an L1 plugin..I really slammed the f!@# out of it...but the band loved it...(oh well !!)

when i sent the mix to mastering...it was a version without L-1 limiting..my mastering guy has a manley vari-mu...and also used a bit of L-2 and a Waves multiband compressor(I think)....

i dont have a final of the mastered version with me...but as soon as I can get a disc, I will post it if anyone cares...

thanks for your comments....btw...I am not a huge fan of modern records...but as a guy that likes to work, I end up matching ALOT of my dynamic mixes to the S!@# that is out there in the mainstream now...pretty much most ruff mixes for alot of bands I work with get slammed with an L1 and the bands love it...

btw...I really try to talk people into listening to GOOD sounding records...but alot of them WANT there stuff to sound just like the major label crap that they are trying to copy...I do the best I can for them....

I thought this song was pretty squashed....but it worked for us....certainly not nearly as squashed as ALOT of stuff out there...or maybe it is...it just sounded right at the time.

thanks for the comments..

cheers,

j

[genericperson]

I think the C2 was a good idea. So technically not purely in the box. "almost in the box".

[mixman499]

yeah....ok

i cheated a bit....

and it REALLY helps...now i am thinking about getting the folcrum or something of that nature to sum with..

hmmm..then I am really in-out-in the box !!!

cheers
j

[music]

Pretty soon we will be treating mixes as belly buttons. I.E. Is that mix an Inny or an Outy.

Peas

[desol]

Hey man :)

Good job...the only thing i can say...is that "to me"....the vocals get lost...i'm not able to hear what he's saying...the words.

Other than that...everything else sounds nice:)

good job

[mixman499]

thanks alot....

i may remix this one for my own fun...the disc is done and mastered....love the song...and i can see the vocals louder...we really did not experiment with the right mic for him...just used the sm7 for basic tracking and the performances we got were good so...we went with it...

i was never really happy with the low-end...got the huge kick i was after...but i would agree with some of the previous comments that it is lacking some punch.....may try to reamp the bass again...if we remix...

i believe that i may have posted the vocal down mix here...i know the version we released had LOUD vocals..

thanks for the kind words..

cheers.

j