Hello,
Here are the results of the first round. I tried to be as fair as I could, I reset my hearing with 1 minute of pink noise between mixes and adjust all the files to the same loudness, I also listened to the mixes in several different environments. I took along while so I am very sorry if this has made some of you frown, it does take away a lot of energy to listen to these again and again with attention to detail and without just glossing over them and calling it a day.
Where you don't see your name next to a review is because it was impossible for me to decipher what your name is from the file name. There's a reason for the rules regarding file naming. Shame on you. So if you can't find your name, look for the name of the file you uploaded.
On to the results:
Richard Clarke:
Overall, nice articulation and definition, kudos for that. Guitar tones are nice too.
The verse and chorus lead guitars hit me a little soft, that is one thing I would note in an otherwise very nice balanced mix.
The Speed section is very aggressive
great, the verb change on the snare for the half-time section is a hit an shows you where thinking about the direction of the different sections.
*I'm not crazy about the Solo Guitar Tone, but the blend is good. I can't hear the Piano though, which may be a good idea.
The outro chorus again made me miss the Lead Guitar.
Overall a very nice effort, and great mix.
(I reviewed your v2 file)
EchoORead:
Nice roomy sound. The guitars are in the center so I guess you are going for the trio + 1 sound. I found the lead guitar in the verse is a tad soft, but you corrected it in the chorus.
During the song the drum sound kept growing on me, sadly the cymbals are taking too much energy. The speed section lacked some definition and even though it begins awesome it turns out to be a little tiring.
In general I liked this mix but would suggest the cymbals be more controlled. During the solo the ride cymbal was as loud as the lead guitar
The drum fill going into the riff after the solo sounds great. And the song never lost any energy, which is good.
Aurel:
Your mix presents a very powerful drum sound, very tight with a very nice kick. I liked how the mix cleans up when going from the verse to the chorus. The speed section sounds very clear and articulate and the drum sound really shines here. The solo section had a nice focused sound and the texture sounds crafted, in part I guess because of the woody sound of the piano. There was some clipping during the intro and in other sections like the riff section after the speed section and in the outro which kind of took away from the experience, I would suggest you look into this, other than that the guitars lack presence and the toms are a little boomy. Last but not least, there's an additional harmony line played on the center guitar before the speed section that gets lost in your mix, that could be corrected.
I like how the drive keeps going throughout the track, everything fits well and the shifts from section to section sound very natural. Very well balanced and good use of space. The piano sound in the solo section sounds like a welcome guest and not an out of nowhere neighbour who happened to poke his head through the window. Well done.
In closing, and to all that I have mentioned I would add that a little more sweetening on the chorus guitar would be welcome.
Thanks for your mix.
Dodging Rain:
I liked the flanger on the intro to the track. The verse has a cool clear sound. Snare sounds nice. There's good guitar space. Nice depth to the mix. Overall nicely balanced high frequencies, and very nice dynamic drums. The speed section sounds very nice and the half-time section has a very cool bass sound, probably because I kinda heard it for the first time. which brings me to the not so nice remarks. I feel this mix lacks bass, pretty much everywhere, I can't really hear the bass unless it is playing in the bottom octave, which it doesn't always do. The kick lacks bottom, the toms lack bottom and the snare is a tad too present. The lead guitar sounds unfocused, it sounds cool and liquid but it doesn't sit well so I can't focus on it without making an effort.
Overall I feel like I get the mix idea, I get your choice of sounds and I liked them I liked how you build the mix and most of all I like how open the drums sound. I would suggest you rethink the low end though. The highs? They sound stellar.
kc 23:
Nice bottom end. Bass sound firm. Toms are great. Very tight sound overall. My only gripes are too little guitars. I know they are there but I can't really sing them. And during the solo, there is too much piano.
Ok, since I feel the balance is a little of I can't comment confidently about macro-dynamics. For example I noticed the verse sounds dull, but in reality it sounds dull because there's too little guitar, now the whole track has too little guitars but does that make the whole mix dull? And if it does, then why does the verse sound dull in the first place? Shouldn't it sound as dull as the rest? yadda yadda yadda.
Suggestions other than fixing the balance are to do another pass or polish and shine.
Thanks for taking the time though. Maybe the too much bass / too little guitars has something to do with your listening environment?
piranha:
Very punchy sound, I liked the idea when going out of the intro. Very nice Snare. I also liked the chorus on the lead gtrs. I can tell you focused mostly on the drums as they sound very nice.
On the other hand, the guitars are too low except for some very specific places. The bass guitar is also a little low, during the speed section you can barely hear it. I can hear some clipping in the kick, which I assume is intentional, but it ends up being a little too much, not because it sounds bad, but because in interferes with me trying to listen to what the guitars are doing. And lastly, I can hear some low level pink noise during the intro break that you crafted so well.
I can't comment on your section work as the balance is off and my comments would not be objective. So on summary: I like your drum sound, and I like the intro break idea. I would suggest you work on the balance and on trying to enhance the vision of the track.
Cheers.
vasdim:
Hi, the best part of your mix is the speed section, everything works here. AAA+. The sound is punchy, great kick, great snare, everything sounds clear. Somehow though, the rest of the track doesn't work for me, I feel there's too much HH and the mix feels too middy, although I know it is not. The solo section is the part where the mix sounds most disjointed, too much ride, too much piano, where's the solo, is there a rhythm guitar? Any one of the two? But in general I feel the balance is off so we shouldn't be so hard on that section alone and instead focus on the generalities. I would suggest you work on the balance, in this case, too much HH and Ride really take away space. The parallel compression is glueing everything but it is also masking the balance issues, it is indeed full flavored, but not in the correct proportions for each ingredient (I guess I am hungry since I made a food reference). Thanks!
Henrik:
Ok, the whole intro idea is fantastic, bold given the context of the mix but up with the times which is good, also, not so noticeably there's a low tone that rises below the stutter guitar, very very nice. I really like the guitar tone. I really like the toms, everything is tight, articulate and defined. The speed section is fantastic, everything well positioned. The half-time works great and the solo shines. I guess it is obvious by now this is one of my favorite mixes. The snare is pretty great but could be better.
Macro-dynamics: all sections flow, no hiccups, perfect. The 2nd riff section kinda sounds dull though -after the first chorus and before the 3rd guitar enters-, and the piano in the solo section sounds a little too percussive, fighting with the solo for attention, that's a no-no. Other that that, stellar job.
Kevin Gobin
Nice drums and bass, very big low end on the kick. Also nice Guitar treatments on the melodies, is that a pitch modulated delay on the chorus? The speed section sounds kinda well, but doesn't really flow, I am getting the idea here that the kick and snare don't work well together or maybe it's just the kick that is too big for this section. The solo section is alright but maybe too spacey for this particular solo. The solo section also shares in something with the outro section and that is the snare doesn't really work in here.
I am a little torn here because I want to like your mix, spectrally it's well done and I like your space ideas, what is making me uncomfortable though is I think either the buss compression or the drums parallel compression that is not really working for me. I don't really know, but that is the general area of discomfort.
Oli:
This mix is very mid oriented and it's not really what I would expect of a metal or rock mix. It's not the tones, I think it's the punch or lack of it.
It's high point is the bass guitar that sounds suitably menacing. But I am not sold on the guitar tone, nor the general tone of the mix. Maybe too much mid?
coiled ear:
Ok. For starters, very nice snare, and very nice kick and bass tone. The guitars sound loud enough
and kinda nice, I hear you did some surgery on the high mids, and compensated by adding a little more top end. This is very hard to do well and what happens is instead of making the guitars sound better they just sound different, which is not necessarily bad, but also not necessarily good either. I think your lead guitars are too soft though, specially in the solo.
The sections all work together and I can hear and feel a thread taking me from section to section, very nicely done.
My suggestions would be to go easier on the eq with the guitars, not making the rhythm sound so diametrically opposite to the lead, this way they'll also share in some of the overtones and the rhythms will have some presence and less frying on top. Alternatively, you may think I am talking out of my ass and the pair of cardboard boxes I used to listen are not up to the level of the mix, so what do I know about how to do your job anyway? in that case, let's just distill what I just said into the following remark: Everything sounds great except the guitars.
Other than that good job.
Dr Acula:
Ok, sir. Here's is my review:
This mix is burning! Awesome snare, great bass and kick, fantastic bass that is featured specially in the half-time section, which also sports some nice verb on the snare. The speed section sounds deadly and it has a nice balance overall.
But, there's two things I feel could be improved upon. 1) the echo at times takes away from the punch, maybe there's just too much, 2) the whole mix is tiring on the ear, you have to check wether there is too much 4k or clipping or just find a way to make the top end smoother. If you need me to pinpont a section where the high end is just too much, check out the riff after the first chorus, after the 3rd guitar does it's lines and come back to doing the same riff as the other two, check right there.
That's it, good work otherwise.
Jarouse
Nice guitar tone, and nice bass tone. I liked the verb in the half time section and I liked the solo section. The mix is well balanced and presents things in a nice light. I think the lead guitar in the chorus should be louder though, and the sound is not so flattering to the section.
In general the sections come and go well, I mostly enjoyed the bass guitar, it sounds killer. But the mix in general is well done. Suggestions would be to check up on the guitar sound, make it more focused, and also to give more prominence to the lead guitar in the chorus. Lastly, I did sense some fatigue because of the high frequencies, so some kind of sweetening may be the solution.
MedII
In your mix I particularly liked the snare. The kick sounds nice but a little too prominent. Nice toms. The guitar tone is also nice, very well defined. The verse sounds stellar. The chorus lead guitar sounds very round in comparison, sort of fusion inspired. I’m not really a fan of this sound but I get what you are aiming at. The speed section sounds alright and the half-time section sounds fine, kudos for the big-ass reverb on the snare, this is what I was aiming at. Solo section sounds fine, the piano is a tad too high, but the solo guitar sounds well and perfectly placed in the middle, with a nicely crafted tone.
The negatives? There’s a line on the middle guitar during the riff section after the first chorus, you can’t hear it in your mix, also the bass is too low to make a substantive difference, I can hear it’s tone in the beginning but not much after that.
AJM
Very powerful sound. Crushing bass, very nice. Nice toms and nice natural snare with lots of snap. Nice guitars and bass blend. The speed section sounds fantastic.
Sadly your mix has some issues, the big one is the solo, the piano is too loud and big, whilst the guitar is all controlled and nicely tucked away. In general the lead guitars are too low throughout your mix but in the solo this becomes undeniable and just distracting. Other than that the sound in general is a little too nasal and the crash cymbal in the intro is shrilling.
Macro-dynamics flow, each section sounds natural and there are no shocking shifts when moving into a new section. Good job from this perspective.
Lasse
Your mix is really cool: Drums are cool, snare is fantastic and toms are great. The verse texture is pretty smooth and the shift into the chorus works like butter. The speed section is very nicely balanced and articulate, the solo entrance works great, very crafty. One of my favorites.
I do have some hold ups though: The rhythm guitars sound a little unfocused overall, good sound but uninspiring. The solo guitar is a little lo-fi sounding (too much mid) and this in turn renders the ensuing riff section hollow (when the lead goes away), whilst the main riff section that comes after it -since it has the 3rd guitar on-, sounds full again. Last but not least, the outro chorus guitar gets lost.
In general the section work is outstanding, other than the aforementioned issue after the solo, everything sounds well positioned and all sounds are enhanced enough to sound cool. The mix is filled with details that make me go "good", "nice", "well done". None of the drum fills falls apart and they all serve their purpose, which is to build up into the next section. Easily one of my favorite mixes.
wizzo
Very nice raw sound. The space in the verse is great. Chorus balance is good. The speed section sounds very cool, I like how you featured the DI track on the guitar at the beginning for articulation. The half-time section sounds great and the bass guitar shines here. The solo section sounds fantastic, very articulate and defined, punchy.
Some minor gripes would be the toms sound a little cardboardy and the guitars lack presence. Also, the section after the solo, sounds like a step back, probably in need of some makeup there.
Section work is great, each one flow into the other effortlessly, and other than what I just mentioned after the solo, macro-dynamics are fine.
octo on fire
Tight sound, great. There’s a little too much bass but it’s a cool sound anyway. Very nice snare. The speed section is burning, and the half-time section is awesome. The solo section sounds great, very nice mix.
Negative notes are there’s a tad too little lead guitar. And that is it.
All the sections flow seamlessly, very nice mix.
qhtrvw425Mix_v2
Nice Lead guitar sound, I get the feeling during the intro that the guitars begin with reverb and then they slowly move forward (reverb goes away). Both verse and chorus sound well. Nice balance. The speed section sounds great but kind of tamed.
All shifts through the sections work great, nothing to critique there. The rhythm guitars could have a little more energy but that is it.
Very nice mix.
srmix
Guitars sound well, and the snare is great. The verse has a crunchy guitar that I am not a fan of but cool sound. The chorus guitars sounds well. The speed section works great, no one stepping on their toes. In general I think your lead guitars are low. The solo section had me thinking the spectral balance between the rhythm guitars and the lead guitars is off, probably by design but since it got me thinking I must assume it is a little extreme. Because of this I can’t really comment on section dynamics.
Overall spectral shape is a little nosey and tiring, which in turn makes me feel it lacks bass, when it doesn’t. Good effort though. Thanks.
david paul page
Nice Snare, nice space in the intro. Nice tone and level on rhythm guitars. Nice lead tone, and nice echo in leads and in solo. The negatives? The kick sounds dull, lacks brightness, the speed section sounds cool but with muddy low end, I am not sold on the toms and I hear clipping in the intro right when it goes into the main riff, also in the drum fill when going into the verse. Nice effort, but a little extreme on the tonal shaping (read tiring).
rogro
Nice good clear sound, very nice snare. The verse has a nice space crafted in, and the tone in the solo is pretty good. I noticed the guitars lack treble in the speed section. There’s nice separation and articulation all around. Great job.
mixdown 3
The intro has a nice space, but the cymbals are too much, bass is very clear throughout and I think what you did with the solo to one side was a bold move. The problem for me with this mix is that the drum gating is very distracting so it takes your attention away. The speed section had too much cymbals, similar to what happens in the intro. Other than that, the guitars are too low and there was some clipping sprinkled throughout.
leonardo 3
Your mix has nice guitar tone, and good snare. The guitar tone in the verse is very cool, though a tad low in level. The chorus guitar begins low but then it goes up a little, that was distracting. In general a nice clear sound throughout. The speed section has great bass and drums, and I liked the solo section, cool tone, the snare sound fits and the piano is well placed, if a tad low. I think there is too much bass in general, and too little rhythm guitars.
The sections flow, which is good, and other than what I mentioned about the chorus guitar beginning low, I think mostly all transitions are accomplished nicely. Well done
inhim
Nice snare and toms, very defined bass and raunchy guitar tone. The verse is nice, the chorus has a nice echo and everything sits well. The speed section is tight but a little tame. The solo sounds good but the guitars could be a little bit louder.
For the negative notes, I think the rhythm guitars and the lead guitar that becomes a third guitar in the riff sections could be better balanced when in those sections. Also, I would kill the echo when that guitar is not playing melody. And the toms sound dull.
All the sections sounded nice, and flowed into each other, nice work in there. I would try to do something with the levels in the solo, I am not sure if the lead guitar was just too low or what but the solo didn’t really take off. Good work otherwise.
kat kat katan
Ok, your mix has some issues, through them I could distinguish the verse melody guitar sounds cool. Other than that the spectral balance is off, the chorus guitar sounds dull in comparison with the verse guitar and there’s too little snare and kick, while there’s an awful lot of hi hat and cymbals. The riff guitars are too low, the solo sounds confusing, but cool in a sense, nice verb treatment. The piano is too upfront though.
Thanks for taking the time to do this. You might want to do some referencing to get a clearer picture of where to aim at with your mixes in this genre.
mixoff 3
Ok, your mix sports a very nice blend between the three guitars, there’s nice definition in the verse and chorus. The drums feel restricted but balanced. The speed section sounds very articulate, and the half section feels tight. The solo is in your face, nice. The road back to the riff has a nice sounding fill and the outro sounds pretty nice. I can appreciate the guitar tone at the end.
The negatives would be, the intro sounds weak, the snare is too thin, the lead guitar is a tad low in the verse and in the chorus, and I did miss some brightness throughout.
Macro-dynamics are well done, everything flows and nothing sticks out when going into a new section. Well done.
rude gullit
I dig the raw sound. Bass gating in the intro is neat. The verse lays back, which is nice. Very clear distorted guitars. The speed section sounds very articulate, with a nice kick. During the solo the piano is well positioned. The issues with your mix are that I didn’t really like the snare, the sound of the whole mix is a little restricted, the guitar tone in the solo is a little nasal,and the toms are too low, probably because they lack some click.
Within this soundscape, all the section work with each other and there’s a nice flow through the sections. Well done.
mix challenge june contest
It took a while, like half a song for me to really get the guitar tone you were aiming at, I think it’s pretty cool. The solo section with no solo allowed me to focus on the snare, and I think it sounds nice. The negative remarks here would be the mix sounds dull. The guitar tone sounds weird upon first listening, and I can’t hear the bass. The chorus guitar is too soft. The mix in general sounds diffuse, which I don’t really like. And the echo in the rhythm guitars makes them confusing.
I’ll say, I can’t really grasp what you were aiming at with the mix, I get that it is not an accident and everything is deliberate, but I can’t seem to find a specific goal as in something you wanted to enhance or a feeling you wanted the listener to relate to when he is listening to the track. Thanks for mixing.
kevin white
Very fat sound, nice. I dig the raw guitar tone and think the toms sound pretty cool. The verse guitar sounds nice, and rhythm guitars are very articulate throughout. The solo section has good balance and the burning piano sounds pretty cool.
I didn’t really like the snare, I feel there is too much hi hat and there are some balance issues because of it. The chorus guitar is absent. The fatness of the mix makes the track sound mushy in the speed section.
mork
Mork, Mork, Mork. Your mix has a nice spectral balance from the get go. Toms sound righteous, though a little papery. The snare sounds cool as <beep>. Overall there’s pretty good balance. The verse sounds very tight. The speed section again, sounds tight and right. The solo brings back the energy nicely and the piano is well positioned.
Negatives would be the half-time section sounds a little sterile. And after a while the mix is a little fatiguing.
Macro-dynamics are right on, everything flows with energy and in the correct way. Nicely presented. Awesome work.
devin wickens
Your snare rocks, The guitar tone rocks, the bass tone rocks, the chorus section sounds great, good job bringing forward the bass. The speed section sounds alright and the half-time section features again the very cool bass tone. At the end the chorus sounds refreshing, which is one of the reasons it is there. Good.
Negatives remarks, would be the mix sounds distorted overall and fatiguing after a while. I am not a fan of your toms, there may be too much drum room sound. The lead guitar in the verse sounds a little too hot. And the third guitar phrase after the first chorus, gets lost.
Nice job in general, but it’s the details that kill you, the distortion and fatiguing sound make it hard to want to repeatedly listen to the mix.
Franz
Very heavy intro, cool toms, cool snare, nice balance, a little too much HiHat though. Bold move on the verse with the clean melody guitar. Chorus sounds neat with it’s fusion tone, I am losing the snare though. Speed section sounds killer, maybe a tad more distorted guitars would be nice. Half-time sounds good. The solo section is striking though, both the lead guitar with it’s round tone and the piano entering at the same time was kind of an attack on the ear. The riff section that comes after sounds great, and articulate. The outro chorus has the lead guitar pretty upfront which sounds cool. The last fade out was bad though. Overall a nice mix. Bold too.
All sections are nicely meshed. I mentioned how striking the solo and piano sound when they enter, that is because of the guitar tones being so dissimilar. I would suggest you turn up the rhythm guitars to fill up the space when the melody guitar goes out. Nice work.
Leo Krechmer
Hehe, Lo-fi guitar in the intro plus explosion on the main riff…What’s not to like? Great tone, nice toms. Great verse space. The lead guitar is a little drenched but I get this is by design. The chorus section opens up because of the articulation and the lead guitar still sounds drenched. The riff section that comes afterwards also has the 3rd guitar drenched and by now it got old. The speed section sounds very controlled and punchy and the bass guitar shines here. The solo section is great. Great tone. I don’t care of it’s drenched. Groovy. The outro chorus sounds great. Nice mix.
All the sections flow and it was a joy to listen to this one. I would suggest you change the sound of the lead guitar in between the verse, chorus and riff section, as that got old fast, and also, the timbre differences between Rhythm Gtrs and Lead Gtrs are so marked that when the Lead stops playing it leaves a whole in the spectrum. Your task is to find some way in which this doesn’t happen. Nice job.
