BenjiRage wrote: ↑Mon Feb 24, 2025 22:59 CET
Hey Pitta, Key and Scott,
All good mixes, collectively you've actually made me hear mine in a different light! I think my vocals are a tad toppy in comparison I need to rein that in a little if I get the chance.
Here's a quick bit of mix feedback for you all...
@Pitta
• Overall the mix in general seems very dry. This does make it nice and upfront on one hand but also makes it feel like it lacks some excitement and sheen on the other
• Something weird is going on with the vocal top end, in places it sounds very lispy like it's been too harshly de-essed (eg: "second" and "smile" in the first line)
• Vocals aren't quite loud enough in the choruses, they're being drowned by the guitars and drums
• To me the drums sound too dry and a little too loud on the whole (hats / snare / kick in particular), but they have good punch.
• Conversely though, the overheads aren't loud enough - the crashes are very quiet (eg: at 1:03) so you're missing some of the musical punctuation they bring
• Cool effects on the "dig your own grave" line, very creepy and powerful
In summary a pretty good mix I would say, just largely level balance issues to deal with.
---------------------
@keyhengchan
• Drums sound a bit thin and weak against the guitars
• Love the chorus effect you've used on some of the guitar tracks throughout, very cool sound!
• Not sure the guitar delay effect in the first verse works though, it's a bit distracting
• Chorus vocals are a bit narrow and not quite loud enough - there's not a lot of difference between the verse and chorus in terms of width / level, so you're missing the emotive impact the extra vocals tracks can bring
A great job for a headphone mix though, and especially for someone still at school starting out, I wish I could mix this well when that was me back in the day!
---------------------
@scottfitz
• A main issue is you didn't include a fade out at the end. I'm not sure if this was just a technical oversight in the bounce down, for instance, or you just missed it
• Pad in the verses is too loud, I think it's swamping some of your vocal clarity
• However, I really like the level of the all the keys and strings in the chorus - gives it a wonderful sorrowful boost as they ascend, you really feel it, nice job here!
• Some harsh frequencies to tame on the strings / mello in the solo section, really quite piercing in places
• Vocals in general are a bit quiet in both verses and choruses
• Drums are good, all elements nicely balanced
• Solo guitar could be louder
• Breakdown is a bit one-sided with both the acoustic and tremolo guitars off to the left, maybe split them left and right
You've done a good mix here, but my advice would be not to focus too much on the technicalities. Try and look at the broader picture of the musical product you're crafting - does it sound cool? Will people enjoy listening to it? How does it make you feel? I know as mix engineers we're ideally supposed to remain objective and somewhat clinical in the process, but it's music after all.
One of the most eye-opening stories I heard from a good friend of mine who runs a studio professionally - when he was starting out some years ago he met the engineer who mixed a lot of George Ezra's tracks and my friend had the chance to play him some of his mixes. He didn't respond with technical details, in fact the very first thing he said was "the vocals aren't cool enough". For me that just said it all - focus on the outcome, the musical product. I try to remember that with each mix I do.
Best regards,
Benji
