First of all, thanks for everyone for taking the time to mix this song. Thanks also to Roland for allowing it to be used for your December mix competition. The first time I ever heard Quincy’s scratch recording of this, I knew that there was some great potential. I also knew that this would be a very ambitious undertaking. There were some elements of this production that I had never attempted before. Of course, there were things I would do differently if I had it to do over again. But it was a very valuable learning experience.
There were some obvious challenges, which I’m sure you are well aware of by now. Because Quincy passed away before we started officially recording, we had to try and salvage his scratch tracks. The whole breakdown section (“Noel”, “Hallelujah”, etc.) seems like a very difficult challenge. Honestly, there are so many things in there that I would love to hear. So there are trade-offs and compromises to be made. Also, I realize now that I probably cropped the BGVs too tightly. The first “Noel” (no pun intended) during the bridge section still bugs me because it sounds like the “l” is chopped off. At least it sounds that way in most of the mixes, so I’m assuming this was due to my editing. So there have been many lessons learned.
One request I would make, which I didn’t mention before (sorry) would be to try and fade of the organ right before the beginning of the first verse so that’s it’s not so abrupt.
Anyway, I appreciate all of the work you put into this. I’ll try to keep my feedback as objective as possible. For what it’s worth, I’m importing these all into my DAW, normalizing, then bringing down the volume. That way, I’m able hear the mixes at least closer to the same volume. Where certain mixes are still noticeably louder, I’m dropping the volume manually. Even with my intended objectivity, there will probably be some level of subjectivity. I’ve probably heard the song a thousand times by now, so it’s hard not to by biased by familiarity. But I'll give it a shot. So here goes.
Arthur Labus
Intro sounds nice. I like how you treated the piano and lead vocal. The vocal’s dynamics seem well controlled and the ambiance of the mix is nice and spacious. The only real issues I am hearing are pertaining to balance.
First, the string ensemble track (sorry if I’m calling it by the wrong name…) seems a little loud in comparison to the other instruments. I’m not hearing any other noticeable issues with instruments, except that I might want to hear the staccato strings a little more. But some of this comes down to personal preference.
Second, the adult backing vocals seem a little loud compared to the lead vocal. At times, it seems like the string ensemble and adult BGVs are overpowering the lead vocal. A few small adjustments would probably be sufficient to take care of this.
At 3:42, when the bell hits, it sounds like it rings out unusually long. Almost to the point of sounding like feedback. The rest of the “Noel” / “Hallelujah” section sounds fine. Any adjustments in this section would be personal preference. No other real issues as far as I’m concerned.
Yeah, that’s about it. Nice work. Thanks again for taking the time to do this and for sharing your mix!
Dave McIsaac
Intro sounds great. Nice and full. Good vocal presence. It’s interesting how you get used to something a certain way and variations, even good ones, can sound strange. It sounds like you did a thorough job of cutting breaths and noises between vocal phrases. I guess I got used to hearing these things, so it seemed weird initially. But I wouldn’t call this a problem in any way. Nice work on cleaning things up. In fact, you did a much more thorough job than I did!
On the first chorus, the lead vocal is noticeably louder than on the verse. I love being able to hear the lead vocal clearly, which you can here. However, I think it could be brought down just a little and still be adequately present. Listening ahead to the second chorus, the vocal level seems about right in context.
Good balance on everything during the third and forth verses.
The volume of the “Noel” vocals is good. I think I would like to hear something to give them a little more sense of space. Maybe a subtle delay or something. But this is a personal preference issue, so I wouldn’t call this a negative. Everything during the section is nice and full.
Thanks for sharing your mix. Nice work.
Devin Wickens
Intro sounds great. Very well balanced. No issues at all during the first or second verse. Lead vocal to instrument ratio is a very subjective issue. Some like the lead vocal really upfront and others like it more subdued. Being a singer and songwriter, I like to hear them very clearly. This being said, I like the balance you chose on this.
Nice bottom end when the first chorus comes in and through the first chorus. Did you add anything or was this just a EQ move? Either way, I like it.
Great balance during the third and forth verses. The only thing I might change is adding some volume automation to keep the lead vocal from dropping off during the quieter parts. Specifically “at His birth” and “was born”. Second chorus is well balanced. I would personally prefer a little more presence of the choir, but that’s a personal preference issue.
The “Noel” / “Hallelujah” section sounds great. There’s a ton going on there, but you can hear just about everything well. Great job on what was not an easy section. Great ending as well.
Excellent mix. A couple of minor things, but that’s about it. Thanks for taking the time to mix this one.
Octo On Fire
Intro sounds good. Nice ambiance on the lead vocal.
First verse sounds really good. Same with the second verse. Listening on, things seem to be very well balanced. Nothing is striking me as too loud or too soft.
There is some sibilance that needs to be dealt with. Quincy always had a really strong sibilance. That was the hardest thing about mixing his vocal tracks. Great smooth voice, but the “s” sound was very strong. With the vocal delay you used, there are times when this is more apparent. Around 2:43, there is some kind of weird cut on the vocal track. I would look at that to see if something could be adjusted.
Second chorus sounds great.
To me, the volume of the bridge drops a bit much, but that’s a fairly easy adjustment. The rest of the section and the rest of the song sounds great.
Yeah, not much else to say. A few minor adjustments that I would request, but a great mix. Thanks for taking the time to do this one.
Rendyarr
Listening now. Intro sounds good. No issues that I’m hearing. Lead vocal has good ambiance but sounds a bit dark. Maybe muffled is a better word. Or maybe kind of like a transistor radio. I would have to see your processing to be able to tell you what I would adjust. Choir sounds good. Well blended. However, I think their level along with the lead vocal’s darker sound almost makes them louder than the lead vocal at times. This is most noticeable when the choir sings “peace on the earth”. It sounds like “earth” is cut off, which it may have been. However, I have found that this isn’t noticeable as long as the lead vocal is clearly heard.
On the second chorus, I think the choir volume is about right. Very nice! I like how the choir rings out after the end of the chorus. The bridge was a challenge, without a doubt, but I think you handled it well. At the ending, I would suggest a less abrupt drop off.
Really, just a small handful of adjustments would probably do the trick. Nice work. Thanks for taking the time to do this one and for sharing your mix.
Panelli
Listening now. Intro sounds good and well balanced. Verse sounds good. Good job on the vocal and piano. There are moments when the strings might be just a bit loud. I might suggest some volume automation on the choir. At the phrase “peace on the earth”, the word “earth” seems to be louder. Also, it sounds like the choir is almost louder than the lead vocal. So I would bring them down just a bit (not by much).
Second chorus sounds really nice. I think I would bring down the choir just hair so that weren’t louder than the lead vocal.
Bridge section sounds really good. I like how you can hear all of the vocals very clearly. The rest of the song sounds good.
Just a small handful of minor adjustments would be needed, but you did a nice job. Thank you for taking the time to mix this song and for sharing your mix.
Wizzo
Listening now. Intro sounds good. On verse one, the word “stars” gets quite a bit louder. I don’t recall the original vocal having that boost, but I could be wrong. You might check just in case there is an unintended volume automation. “The night” does the same thing.
First chorus sounds nice. Good and full. Good balance of instruments, lead vocal, and choir.
Third and forth verses sound good. Same with the second chorus and bridge section.
Yeah, not much else to say. Other than the weird vocal boosts toward the beginning, I think you have a solid mix. Thanks for taking the time to do this one and for sharing your mix.
VasDin
Intro sounds good. You featured the organ more than some of the others, but it still sounds good.
I’m on verse one. It sounds like the lead vocal is a bit “woofy”. Meaning there is too much in the lower mid area. I’m guessing around 250 or so. I’m hearing the most on “were” and “time”. This might just be plosives that were dealt with.
Chorus 1 sounds good.
Good balance on the verses. A couple of the “p” sounds are strong on the third verse (peace, praise). Also, check “born” going into the second chorus. This was never intended to be the final vocal track when recorded. I do know that, from working with Quincy he had fairly strong plosives. So this is something be mindful of when mixing his vocals. He also had a strong sibilance, which it sounds like you handled well.
Chorus 2 sounds good.
Interesting. I had thought that I had over trimmed the first “Noel” from the bridge because I wasn’t hearing the “l” on other mixes. But I can hear it on yours. Bridge is well done. Nice ambiance. I like how you can hear the reverb tail after everything drops out.
OK, so I do think that you mix is pretty close. The only thing that I would look at, as mentioned is the lead vocal. It sounds good, but at times it sounds like the low mids are too much. Or maybe it’s the plosives. If I saw your processing, I could give you a more intelligent response here. Anyway, good job. Thanks for taking the time to mix this one and for sharing your mix.
Fender19
You have some really good parts of your mix. I like the nice fat bottom end when all of the instruments are in. Good job on this. I also like your overall balance between the instruments, lead, and backing vocals. I like your use of reverb to give the mix a sense of space. Also, I like the ambiance that rings out at the end of the bridge. No issues with plosives of sibilance, as far as I can tell.
The main issues I am hearing with this is the volume difference between the loud and the quiet parts of the song. When I checked the forth verse and the following chorus, the difference was about 12 db. I would work on bringing the volumes closer together. Not eliminating the difference by any means, but rather reducing the difference. Also, the organ is a bit overpowering, particularly at the beginning and during the bridge. Other than these things, I think you’re on track. Nice work.
Thank you for taking the time to do this one and for sharing your mix.
MGMix
Listening now. Intro is good. Nice balance on verses 1 and 2. I might bring down the strings down a bit as this seems to be the loudest instrumental element. Choir is at a good level. However, the soprano part seems louder than the others.
Choruses sound good, except that I might work on balancing the parts.
Bridge is great. I like how you treated the “Hallelujah” parts. Nice use of reverb. I would like to hear “gloria” a bit more clearly at the end. Last verse is good.
A few things here and there, but good job on this. Thank you for taking the time to do this and for sharing your mix.
FxinTheMix
Nice well balanced intro. The organ ending sound a bit abrupt, which I mentioned in my initial comments. Verse 1 sounds good. I really like the delay you used on this. One thing I would request would be to high pass the delay around 200 HZ. I’d have to hear it to know for sure that the frequency I mentioned is accurate, but that would be my guess.
Chorus is good. Good balance of instruments and vocals.
I like how you did verse 4 (here in that manger lay…). Nice intimate feel.
Chorus 2 is good. One basic adjustment would be to make sure that you can hear the altos and tenors as well as the sopranos.
Bridge section sounds really good. Very full, but you left room for the vocals to shine. I love how the vocals ring out after everything drops out. At the very ending, I might fade out the strings, but that’s a personal preference.
A few minor issues if I’m being picky, but very good job. Thank you for taking the time to mix this song and for sharing your mix.
Kevin Gobin
Listening now. Intro sounds good. So does verse 1. On the word “born” (first verse), I would suggest automating the volume so that it doesn’t drop off. Same with verse 2.
Chorus sounds good. Good balance of elements. There is some sibilance on the lead vocal that could use a bit of attention. As I mentioned to others, Quincy had a strong sibilance that would be a challenge to mix.
Chorus 2 sounds good. On the “Noel” section, I would suggest giving “Noel” a little more sense of space. Maybe some type of delay. Bridge otherwise sounds good, though I would like to hear it a little more when the women sing “gloria” the last two times.
Good job here. Thank you for taking the time to mix this song and for sharing your mix.
Photonic
Listening now. Intro is good. I like how you faded out the organ so that it wasn’t so abrupt. Verse 1 sound good. Vocal sounds great. Nice delay and plate reverb (correct?). It’s there, but not too much.
Chorus is nice. Good blend of everything. Choir sounds about right.
On to verses 3 and 4. I’m hearing some sibilance that could be attenuated. Mostly in the choir. At 2:43, it sounds like there is some kind of cut on the vocal track. I would suggest taking a look so that everything sounds natural.
Chorus 2 is good, though I might drop the choir just a hair. Maybe 1-2 db? I’m not as good as some mixers about telling exactly how many decibels an increase or decrease should be, so I’m just taking a guess. It is really close though. And if I heard it a tad quieter, I might like it better the way you did it. Sorry, that’s probably not the most helpful comment.
Bridge section sounds great. No the easiest of undertakings, but you did well on this. Good overall ambiance.
Very nice work. Thank you for taking the time to mix this song and for sharing your mix.
Jonas Lasse
Intro sounds good. You probably featured the organ less than the others, but I still like it. I would suggest fading out the organ (I think that’s what I’m hearing) so that the cutoff is not so abrupt. Overall, I like your balance and tone. The only thing that sticks out is that I would drop the lead vocal volume. I’m a singer, so I love hearing the lead vocal very clearly. I also realize that lead vocal to instrument ratio is quite subjective. Some people like it really upfront and others do not. I tend to like it louder than most. This being said, one thing that really help me in this are is collapsing the mix to mono and turning it WAY down. In my experience, if you can only hear the vocal, it’s too loud. And if the vocal disappears, it’s too quiet. In other words, at the lowest audible volume, you should still be able to hear both.
Balance of everything else sounds great. You did well with your volume automation, which allowed different things to be heard at the appropriate times during the bridge.
On the ending now. Yeah, the only real issue to me is that the lead vocal is a bit loud. Nothing else bothers me. Nice job on this. Thank you for taking the time to mix this song and for sharing your mix.
DodginRain
Listening now. Intro is pretty good. Bells are a little loud, but that’s a fairly minor adjustment. The first word of the first verse “the” sounds like it was edited too tightly. It kind of jumps out. Overall tone and balance is good.
I like your idea about the vocal delay. However, it’s a little more prominent than I would prefer. My suggestion would be to do a low pass on the delay around 3500 HZ. Also, if you are using a delay send track (rather than applying it directly to your vocal track), you can set up a compressor after the delay so that you don’t hear it nearly as much until the end of each phrase. I would also suggest automating the delay level for different parts of the song. For example, I don’t think it’s really needed for the last verse.
Choruses and bridge sound good. Good separation of elements on bridge, which wasn’t the easiest of tasks. Yeah, nice work. A few issues that could use some attention, but you did a good job. Thank you for taking the time to do this song and for sharing your mix.
It wasn't an easy task, but I was asked to pick the top 6-8 mixes. Some of these were really close and could have gone in a different direction. Here are my picks, in no particular order:
Devin Wickens
Octo On Fire
Wizzo
VasDin
MGMix
FxinTheMix
Photonic
Jonas Lasse
Thanks again to everyone!
Alan Craig
