Here's the first set. I'm going to come at these from a producer/artist sort of standpoint...perhaps we'll all get a different perspective on the mixes from this angle.
Greg Dixon – Cut out the countoff...guessing that's going to be a common theme...it's always been part of the song for me. The “WOO” too? Damn. Thought that was a bit of fun. I like the verses a lot, and the bass is growling really nicely...perhaps a little further forward in the mix than I'd have put it, but it's doing a good job driving the song. The guitar balances in the chorus are a pretty gutsy choice...I can see how you'd go there, and it's definitely not the safe bet. It feels a little empty without all the rhythm guitar support, especially through the solo...loses a bit of size. The vocal treatment is pretty good, if a little dark...but that's hard to really get a hold on with the mp3 factor. Left the bass swell in at the end...like it!
Billybehdaz – HOLY CRAP BRIGHT! Of course, I just listened to Greg's mix, so that's throwing me a little. Let me reference something else to reset my ears and start over.
Okay...better. Really using the hell out of those rooms, eh? Like the depth there. Mix feels really forward and aggressive...the guitars are pretty dominant in this mix...like the sparkle in the verses. Woah edit! Not a bad idea, but the execution falls a little short. I can still hear the attack of the next set of guitar chords and that throws me out of the song a bit. The aggressiveness of your mix propels the choruses well...not sure how the verses sit. Tom/bass hit gone before the last chorus...man...I miss that...definitely taking chances with the editing. No bass swell, either.
Southboundloco – Didn't clean the top up at all! Drums are punching HARD...perhaps a little on the bright side, but they've got some attitude. The lead vocal feels like it's coming from behind the snare and off to the left. Holy crap are those backing vocals huge. They feel like they're out in front of the lead vocal. And everything really sucks in at the chorus and starts to feel smaller than the verses...which would kinda reverse the natural dynamics of the song from verse to chorus. The de-essing in the chorus makes me sound like I have a lisp. Like Sylvester the cat lisp. Interesting balance in the solo section. Interestingly enough, those sliding octave parts in that section used to be the solo (I was the bass player in the band that wrote this, so I didn't get in on that part when I was in the band)...but I think the new solo is probably a stronger part.
Music Junky – Snare catches me first. Has a lot of “pang” to it. Vocal might be out front a bit far in the verse. Love the grit and clank in the bass track...kills in the chorus. The balances in the chorus feel pretty good...it feels like the verses need to get put back down to the intensity level where they belong. The vocal is DEFINIITELY too far out front in the verses. The 2 buss compression feels like a bit much...the whole thing is a bit squishy. The L/R lead guitar thing at the solo plays out okay, but nothing clearly takes the place of the lead vocal there and that sort of muddles the part for me. No delay vox? I thought those were big for intensity, especially considering that they happened in transitional places.
El-duderino – A bit more subdued than the last couple mixes...perhaps even a little low-fi (not in a bad way). Everything balances nicely through the first verse. Vocal is placed nicely in the guitars. Nice explosion into the chorus. That first downbeat has a lot of pop to it. Really like that. It doesn't feel like you used a lot of compression...which means in this case that the dynamics of the song section to section seem to just happen by nature of the arrangement...which, IMO, is a good thing. The lead vocal could probably stand for a little brightening up or just some more aggression...but then again, I don't know how well that'd play against the guitars...which feel pretty natural. As a bass player, I'd probably ask for a little more top or honk or aggression, but I think it holds the bottom together well. No tom hit before the last chorus...somehow that just robs that section of a little drama for me. On the whole, though, this is a solid mix.
Danko – Reverse intro!!! One I wouldn't have thought of. Nice. Kick sounds kinda big and metally. Chorus much on the verse guitars? Swirl, swirl! Did you tune these vocals? They feel different, somehow. Part of that could be the L/R vocals going on in the chorus. This mix is really aggressive and forward in a sort of “A Perfect Circle” sort of way...I like some of the ideas with the delay automation...would be nice to hear a little slower delay so I could make out the words being repeated. The second chorus comes in with a big guitar rip...I really like that. The guitar solo seems a bit like it's all by itself...would be nice it hear it fit into the track a little more. The blend in the chorus is really pretty nice as far as vocal levels and guitars and such are concerned.
Martthie_08 – Thumpy drums. In a good way...I like the size the snare has. Feels natural and warm. There's something mono in the balances...woah. The panning is CRAZY compared to what everyone else has done so far. In some ways I like the risk, but in other ways I feel like it's taking away from the power of that intro guitar riff. The middle of this mix image is so nice in the verses. It feels nice...comfortable to me. The chorus definitely isn't opening up the way I'd imagined it. The vocal feels separated from the rest of the mix in the chorus. Really making use of that bass dirt track in the chorus and guitar solo...another L/R guitar solo section...not knocking your mix especially hard for that...it just doesn't seem to keep the power and size established by the chorus.
Jdubdrums – NOOB!! NOOB!!! Welcome...hope you enjoyed mixing this! Lotta hair on that high-hat! Vocal feels good and forward, but the guitars feel like they're well back comparatively, at least in the verse. Wow...chorus comes in big, but the lead vocal doesn't follow suit...kinda gets buried in the middle against the other vocals. Total side note, but it's 5:30pm where I am as I'm typing this and it's dark out. I'll be glad to see the winter solstice pass this year. The song does the right thing in the chorus but the lead vocal REALLY has to come along with. The guitars feel a bit like they're just sitting there...you could go after them more aggressively and still be well out of the danger zone. The snare feels like it's had it's punch glands removed a bit...it's precise and it's placement is pretty good and I can HEAR it, but I can't FEEL it. First person in a while to leave the swell in at the end.
osumosan – DAMN that kick has some size. BIG. The drums feel really big and epic-y. GRR!!! The chorus feels like it's on a diet. If those rhythm guitars came up a bit, it would be just ROCKING huge...part of perhaps a larger point is that the chorus has always felt (to me) a little cacophonous and that was part of it's appeal to me...it feels really big and noisy and even a little obnoxious...which helped set it off from the fairly polite/stock verses. The treatment on the lead line is perfect...again...it's the support that I feel like I'm missing. Really...that's the biggest thing that keeps this mix from being just HUGE...everything else about it is awesome and could stand up well against bigger main rhythm guitars.
Baddo – out of the gate rocking....left the WOO in!!! Trem guitar!! Nice...feels a little wobbly...mybe if it tucked back in the mix just a touch it'd keep me from feeling like my head was being shaken (I'm listening in cans because I'm on the road). JESUS does that bass sound just BADASS in the chorus. SICK. As a bassist, it warms the cockles of my...well...cockle. It might actually be a little far forward compared to the guitars...but I like the general treatment. Chorus on the dirt in the second half of the second verse? Not bad...definitely a different element. There's a lot of space in the middle of this chorus mix...and I'm not sure I don't like it. The guitars feel a little restricted, perhaps. But not offensively so. If I lived in a world where this song was a massive hit, this would be the mix that would get delivered to modern rock radio stations so it could sound big next to a Nickelback song. Like the verb on the tom slam. I really like the polish of this mix...wow...the end was really startling! I haven't ever even heard that before, but damn...nice work. Perhaps just a little more guitar punch (MAYBE some low mids or maybe just more level in the mix) and this is another really dominant sounding mix.
...alright...that's as far as my ears are going to take me for right now...gonna take a break and go to a NACA convention...should be a hoot tonight!
(did I just say “should be a hoot?” Damn...I must have just spent 2 days in a van driving from Minneapolis to Hartford...)
