Here's my mix:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Vvd083 ... sp=sharing
This song was really interesting.
I tend to use a hybrid setup when I mix; using Pro Tools and mostly mixing in the box and running my mix out and back in through a Black Lion PM-8 Summing Mixer.
VOCALS
Ok, first things first, I read the notes and I totally agree with the assessment about the vocals having a harsh edge and whistle in them. I've run into this problem before, and in general it's rather hard to take off that edge without totally killing the sibilant sounds that need to be there because it acts the same as white noise where it's rather hard to isolate across the frequency spectrum. IMO this is usually a problem with mic choice. Some mics just hate a particular vocalist and the best thing to do is swap it out for something else. In my experience, this generally occurs the most when a female vocalist is paired with a cheap import mic.
When listening to the official and rough mix of this song, I noticed that the harsh edge in the vocals was probably dictating how loud in the mix the vocals could be. In turn, I think this can have a huge impact on the emotion impact of the song. Obviously we want to hear the vocals, but if they're too harsh, I think most of us would have a tendency to mask them a bit more than wanted by the instrumentation.
Most of the vocals I treated the same by using the following signal chain:
EQ cutting at 4.25k about 8 dB
dBx 160 compressor - Thres -1, compression 4, output gain 0
Eiosis e2desser - slow vocal, sensitivity 64.1%, amount 71.9%, dry/wet 50%
TDR Labs Nova - EQ cut at 16.5k, mutiband compression threshold -12.2 dB, ratio 2:1
After that I sent all the vocals to a submaster and treated them as single instrument with the following signal chain:
TBPro Audio CS-3301
Avid Pultec MEQ-5
EQ cutting at 7.41k by 5.4 dB
TDR Labs SlickEQ cutting at 8.8 k by 10 dB and boosting at 1460Hz by 2 dB
Izotope Ozone Dynamic EQ set to Baxendall Treble and squashing the high end pretty hard
I also sent the vocal submaster to an aux send that I ran through the following and mixed in to taste to spread out the vocals:
Outer Space reverb
Valhalla Vintage Verb
A-1 Stereo control
DRUMS
The drums are samples, so I general I tend to not compress samples just because they're usually pre smashed when you get them.
All I did for the drums was pan and do some basic EQ in addition to sending the drums to an aux send with the Black Box HG-2 on it. I find that saturation can do a ton to help drums out if I want to stay away from compression.
BASS
The bass all I did was do some basic EQ and then sent it to an Aux send that had a Blue Cat Chorus on it. You can fill out the low end if you mix in a chorus on the bass that helps it cut though without overpowering everything, and it gives the bass movement.
PIANO
The piano only has basic EQ on it to help the midrange cut though and work well with the guitar.
GUITARS
Basic EQ to make it work with the piano
After that I sent all the instrumentation to a submaster and bussed that to an aux send with Outer Space, Valhalla Vintage Verb and A- Stereo control on it to mirror what I had on the vocals. If I do it this was it gives me more control over the FX to be independent between the vocals and the instruments.
SUBMASTER
Everything gets sent to the submaster and I ran it through the following:
TDR Labs Slick EQ
SSL Bus Compressor
Shadow Hills Mastering Compressor
Avid Maxim Limiter
SUMMING
The last step I usually do is to run everything out into a Black Lion PM-8 Summing Mixer. It has a transformer in it that helps the kick and bass come to life that I can't get in the box and glues everything together in a way that I really enjoy.
FX
So I ended up automating a few parts with the FX that I had to deceptively give the impression that the song was rather dry to fit with the aesthetic that the artists were going for to sound sterile. For example, I didn't really like how dry the drums were, so in the intro the reverb and stereo widener that I used is pulled back a bit to sound dryer, then as soon as the vocals come it I raise it slightly. Unless you're listening for it, you probably won't even notice it. It's a subtle thing, but in the majority of the song I felt it needed something to tie everything together in a single space.
AUTOMATION
The automation for me was the last step. I didn't do a whole lot, just pulled up some of the little flourished between the instruments that tend to get lost in a mix.
OVERALL EMOTIONAL IMPACT
Overall, I think the mood of the song works and takes into consideration the concerns and desires of the musicians. What I felt that I improved on was primarily the vocals. As is they are rather smooth and present without overpowering anything else in the mix. I thought about using Vocalign to push the BG vocals to absolutely line up with the main vocals, but it can introduce sibilance problems across that many tracks and overall I don't think it needed it.
