iStudio72

Will be keeping an eye out for that on a big movie soundtrack - love it, great job!! Seriously, had to have another listen to that - give that man an orchestra and stand well back!!

Firstly i really like the guitars on Feel Alive. They seem well balanced and have plenty of width. I'm not feeling the drums and bass is the main issue for me and maybe the difference between your good recording and a more 'pro' sounding recording. I would be interested in how you have the drum sounds separated in Logic and what processing are you using on individual elements of the kit as well as the overall processing of the drum Aux (if you have bussed separate tracks to an Aux channel). Drums and the bass sound a bit 'wafty' to me, a little lightweight perhaps, and i think could use beefing up with better use of EQ and compression and just the overall level in the mix. Maybe a little bit of reverb and/or delay might add a roomier sound to the kit? A nice trick i found is to record your playback (with the record track muted) through a mic a few feet from each speaker to then mix back in to give the impression of room mics during recording. You can crush the room tracks with compression and mix to taste. I think the bass needs compression with some real attack just to push it through and allow you to lift the overall volume of it into your mix. I'm no expert but i hope these suggestions might point you in the right direction. Really like the guitars BTW Cheers, Tim

Hi all, i have learned a lot of great stuff from you guys over the last couple of years and have put my mixing to the test in an online mix competition (any sign of a new contest on here?). Please take a listen to my mix of Hard-Fi's song Move Over and if you get a change log in to Soundcloud and give it a 'like' to get me through to the next round. If you think it is any good it's mostly down to the vast knowledge off you good people on here!!!! If you think i can improve further please, as always, offer up some advice - always appreciated!! Thanks!!!! [soundcloud]https://soundcloud.com/tim-jones-1/hard-fi-move-over-tim-jones-mix[/soundcloud]

David, Thanks for your advice, I have gone back over some old mixes and thought about what you have identified with this mix and I think they are all massively improved. The help and advice offered on this forum is invaluable. Keep up the good work!

Damn it's hard to find time with a 3 year old and a 3 week old kid! Ive pulled the acoustic guitars toward the centre a bit and pushed the vocals up. I hope it's ok, subtlety may not be my strongest point. Does the track sound over compressed or too harsh on the limiter?

Oh eck, i've just checked the EQ on the vocal and would you believe there is none?! Doh! The vocal just has compression and reverb. Maybe i should see what i can do with that.......

Volume automation maybe**

Thanks David, really appreciate your input! It's all me except, sadly, the voice. Ive played all instruments, arranged, recorded, mixed and made a vague attempt at mastering. I didnt automate a pan on acoustic guitar (heaven forbid) but there are 2 of them panned left and right. It started as an acoustic track and i was trying to add some width. Not a good idea? How would i go about bringing the vocal forward in the mix? Less reverb? Volume automation mate? Again, thanks for your comments and glad you like the song. Tim

Well I've just finished mixing a new song and think it's another step in the right direction. Would love to know what you think. [soundcloud]https://soundcloud.com/tim-jones-1/sitting-beside-you[/soundcloud]

Rhys thats good advice. Ive mixed this one from scratch a few times now and each time i like/dislike different things about the mix. I'm just letting it settle again now and having the odd casual listen to highlight what i don't like this time, which seems to be the snare is now too harsh and the vocal could drop back a little more

Ok not quite done - i added a bit crusher to the drums and a tape saturation to the output bus which has definitely brought the drums through and brightened the whole mix up a bit......now the vocals seem to have moved back to the rear of the mix (i guess because of the little delay i put on them).......grrrrrr

Ok so i have updated the track. Enough is enough on this one now I like it better than i did. Dropped the vocals back but added a little delay. Drums and bass are now more prominent and the synths have been dropped back once the first chorus kicks in to let the guitars though a bit (could maybe use pushing the guitars up a bit but hey ho). Onward and upward. I'm learning slowly but surely and with more than a little help from you good folk!!!

Thanks Lotionsandoils, I will give that a try, i'm gonna mix it again from scratch (can't be arsed changing all the automation) but this time i will focus on the drums and build the mix around them. I think i focused too much on making sure the vocal was audible all the way through the track and that's why i have ended up with it too in your face. Back to the drawing board

I'm really struggling to find where the pumping effect is coming from, i haven't sidechained anything at all so i can rule that out. I only have a limiter on the output channel and a couple of the synths so i am guessing i must be over compressing somewhere? So, i have sent my guitars, synths and drums to sub mixes which i have automated for levels - maybe i need to revisit the automation to make the verses a little more subtle and bring out the choruses. The string pad is there pretty much all the way through but i brought the levels up on it for the final choruses just to give it something extra rather than just to fill the mix out. Given it too much? I'm thinking i could maybe use a gain plug-in on the drums rather than compression to bring the volume up with just minimal compression to avoid any clipping? Complicated business this mixing lark!!

Maybe it is because i am the drummer and the mix engineer i subconsciously bury the drums so as not to appear that i am trying to push them to the front of the mix?....hmmmmmm