Hello everyone....
these are my first impressions of the mixes, in the order wot they turned up on my hard drive:
Ryst- Where are the drums? Too far back in the mix for this kind of music I think. Guitars sound both quite dull and harsh at the same time- i think you need to be a bit more selective with your eq. I do like the vocal treatments a lot though- they sound great throughout.
ATOR- Overall tonality quite harsh and thin- sounds like a +8 shelf on the overheads at 12k- distracts from the rest of the mix, which i actually think is pretty good. Good vocal blend, cool drums, if a bit thin. I like the little drum breaks. Also like what you've done with the piano.
Maxim- balance of vocals to everything else is completely out of whack. Vocals are relatively bright and present, but everything else sounds like it's coming through a duvet. The balance gets even worse with the piano in the final chorus, sorry...
Osumosan- Nice energy, but far too overcooked, i think. Monster compression and pumping hihats- It just sounds distracting to me. The whole thing has the kind of ambience that suggests playing in an empty warehouse or highschool gym- it all needs to be dialled back.
SingSing- Drums sound nice and tight- i like- although that hihat again... The whole thing doesn't sound bad, all the balances are there, but the combination of compression and relentless hi-end make this quite fatiguing to listen to. The piano ending is perfect though, nice one.
Icombs- Sounds good straight off the bat. Vocals sound a bit spitty in relation to the rest of the elements, but this could be easily corrected. Kick is a little too loud. Guitars are maybe a little 'scratchy' sounding, but nothing major. Vox reverb in the breakdown is maybe a little much. Overall though, a very decent mix.
Briefcasemanx- Where are the drums? Need more aggressive processing and probably samples to help them kick through the rest of the elements. The rest actually sounds ok (though vox could do with a bit more ambience) but the drums upset the rest of the mix balance.
ChrisJ- When that bloody lead guitar isn't in during the verses, the balance actually sounds ok, but your individual elements sound as though you've crappified them on purpose. I'm not sure what more i can say... your vocal mixes are generally good... the overall thing just sounds like it's been ravaged by mp3 compression, which I suspect is more to do with mix decisions than anything else.
Darkhorseporter- MONSTER hi-end – I'd be inclined to check your monitoring. It's hard to get past this to the rest of the mix, which I suspect is not bad at all... drums need a bit more punch.
Hlabb- Best mix by a country mile. Vocal delay in the verses is maybe a little too much. I would say it also lacks a little midrange meat, but nothing that couldn't be corrected easily in the mastering stage. Nice edit in the little ska section. The only thing that would give me cause for concern is the brightness of the hihats vs. the vocals, but that is really just a nitpick. Drums great, guitars great, bass sits well- it sounds like a record.
McSnare- The more i listen to this one, the more i like it. I would take issue with the kick sound though- it sounds like it has quite a lot of midrange 'knock'... I would be inclined to think it sounds big by sheer virtue of its volume- I think it's actually slightly lacking in low-end weight. My preference would be a less bombastic snare verb too, but that's only my preference. A bit ott on the toms maybe? Overall though, a really engaging mix, esp the vocals.
Soulfire- Guitars sound off- like a really hi Q boost somewhere in the mids. It puts the guitars in different space from the drums, and makes the mix quite fatiguing to listen to. With this pulled back a bit, the mix could be pretty decent.
Boedoconstrictor- Hihats sizzling through again- too much upper treble boost? Rest of the mix is pretty cool. Drums sound ok, slightly uncontrolled. Vocals are decent. The whole thing sounds like it needs a couple more hours of refinement. Subtle use of the piano is cool.
Fantomas- The whole mix is not bad, but it just has the feel of a demo. Too much drum verb, unengaging guitars. No massive problems, i think you just need to keep working on it and developing your mixing... I hope that doesn't sound too patronising!
Jhall- Cool basic balance... i think everything has been said already, too much vocal delay etc etc... Could be a really cool mix.
Blloyd- Really thin... Probably a monitoring issue, I'd guess. Drums sound unexciting, I think the sounds need more work. It's hard to get past the lack of lowend though.
Mcarter- that snare drum REALLY stands out- it's quite distracting. Nice edit in the ska break. I'm undecided about the chorus edits... they do speed things along. Bit too much vox verb in the breakdown. Apart from the snare, the balance is pretty good, I just think the sounds need a bit more attitude.
DevinK- Not bad... Kick drum sounds a bit lumpy and uncontrolled. Ambience on the chorus vocals makes them sound a little detached from the rest of the music. That bass sounds a little twangy in the breakdown. Overall though, a decent balance.
Macbraddy- Top end sounds a bit harsh, and it's lacking in midrange articulation. I'm not sold on the vocals either, they sit too far back and the pitch spread effect is a little overdone- they don't 'speak' to me as directly as they should. Nevertheless, the mix is pretty good, would have been nice to get a snare that matched the kick sound. Some really great little breaks and sounds that lead the ear through the mix.
Jason Thompson- Overall tonality is a bit middy and constricted. Kick and bass are a bit honky and lacking in balls for my liking. Balance of elements is good, and the mix is otherwise well constructed, just not 'radio-ready' sounding.
Thanks to everyone that reviewed my mix, all comments are very welcome.
RE the edits in the second verse where I chopped the little ska section out... On first listen through the raw multitracks, that was the section that screamed out to me as sounding amateurish; just poorly conceived and played in comparison with the rest of the track. Keeping the momentum up seemed more important to me than the making perfect sense of the lyrics, so that part got the snip... Not sure whether that was a mistake or not- always hard to judge something like that when you've heard a track so much.
Big thanks to iCombs and J.
Cheers,
Adam