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Posted by: The Uncreator Mar 30 2012, 02:23 AM

NOTE:

The song is long (13:36) so I am going to point listening to 01:25 - 05:30 as it covers the majority of the mix.

First, the before:
http://soundcloud.com/lascailles-shroud/evolved

What was changed:

1.) Vocals completely re-done, and EQ'ed much more thoughtfully. Reverb width was slightly increased to give it some stereo depth.

2.) Guitars, I switched a tube screamer out for a NIRR preamp which eased the harshness and gave a warm brightness to it.

3.) Bass levels increased slightly, mixed so the tone would pop slightly in the 400hz range.

4.) Drums - kick switched out for a less triggered and more natural sound. Cymbals slightly lowered, toms re-eq'ed to give them a lot more power. Deeper compression on snare and kick.

5.) Mastering: Slight boosts in the mid-high range to give some accent on the brightness of the guitars. Slight compression and gain increase on four separate bands, all equal increases except the 0-250hz range which was slightly less than the others to give room for a bigger guitar sound.

6.) Yelled at my computer a lot

7.) Stroked my guitar caringly


Let me know how you think the new mix feels and sounds. I personally like it way better, I think its the best sounding mix I've done so far.

Posted by: DarkWaveRiffer Mar 30 2012, 05:13 AM

My favorite part is 1:30 - 2:00. The guitar Rhythm is awesome. I like the lyrics. Great stuff!

Posted by: TuckerG Mar 30 2012, 09:21 AM

Oh man, I don't know much about this sort of thing, but the after sounded much better sir! I would totally listen to it as far as just putting it on a jamming. It has a nice atmosphere that has a potent effect on mood, in a good way. Thumbs up from me!

-Tucker

Posted by: Alex Feather Mar 30 2012, 09:22 AM

Nice lyrics! I like this song some good playing is going on!
The mix sounds good to me!
Good job!

Posted by: Ben Higgins Mar 30 2012, 01:57 PM

Yeah the second mix definitely sounds deeper, fuller and 'wood-ier' if I can say that ? I definitely noticed the toms sounding more muscular which the thing I noticed most.

That said, your first mix was already really good and more powerful than anything I've done !

Posted by: The Uncreator Mar 30 2012, 10:20 PM

Thanks man, It was so much fun recording that part, its just a groovy riff to play.



"Wood-ier" actually makes sense to me, and its a good thing too. I was going for a more natural sound as opposed the big fat low tuned djent stuff going on, I always preferred the more tame guitar tones, where the riffs were the power, not the tone.

Posted by: tonymiro Apr 3 2012, 11:58 AM

Sorry for the delay - been a bit busy. Anyway my 2 cents:

I prefer the new version - better tonality overall compared with the old and a more cohesive mix.
A few things though that you may want to consider - nothing really major, I'm just being picky :

1/ I did find both to lack a bit of high end - the mixes are skewed towards the low end and whilst I appreciate that this is the overall tonality you're after nonetheless I think that the track would benefit from some air and this would also help with clarity.

2/ For me the mix is still a bit muddy - new is better than the old but still could be clearer around the low mid.

3/ The kick has a nicer tonality in the new mix but I'd look at how it could be defined as it seems at times to be fighting a bit with other instruments in the same region. I'd also look at the attack and release for the kick and maybe adjust - at the mo I think the impact is lost a bit, which also, to me, means that the timing sounds a bit smeared.

4/ Just me - and this is arguably more a production decision particularly as you chose to lower the cymbals in the new - I think the overhead cymbals need to come up in level. For me they are too far back particularly when the vocals are in.

5/ Consider emphasising the difference between the two vox a little. One sounds like it has a main overtone at about 5.5kHz and the other is more around 3.5 so maybe bring those out a bit.

Posted by: The Uncreator Apr 3 2012, 01:06 PM

I can never get better advice, thanks many!