Mix I did for Verlaine

Not Tom Verlaine from Television fame but the band "Verlaine."

These were already sent to be mastered, so there's no going back, but I would like feedback to help me with future projects.

http://www.sidepocketrecordings.com/music/Tandem_Mix_Tab.mp3

This was mixed in my apartment on Ns-10s with a less than great "room" and (unfortunately) totally "in the box" using nothing but Waves Diamond Plugins.

As i mentioned ...not mastered, so turn up your speakers gang!

i think the mix is decent, but there were a few things in which i disagreed with the client...and had to defer to him b/c he's the boss. can you pick them out?

thanks in advance.

Tab

I think that the tune sounded good. I hope you don't mind me saying this: it has a garage type of feel to it. Very organic, and raw (in a good way)! The way you recorded it kinda reminds me of the way Jet made their last record. Like the way things "used" to sound. I dig it, man! Keep up the good work!

H2O

no i totally hear you, man. that was the sound we were going for. the studio space was really unique and interesting, so i wanted to get as much of the sound of the room as possible.

thanks for the input.

t

i think the mix is decent, but there were a few things in which i disagreed with the client...and had to defer to him b/c he's the boss. can you pick them out?

If there ever was a tricky question... I like the overall feel of the tune and I think the "garage" ethos comes across loud and clear. From a mastering engineer's point of view, there are two things I'd have addressed:

- the two very first bars (hi-hat) are a bit redundant and could just as well have been left out (not really a mixing issue, rather an arrangement-related one);

- the sound itself is a bit on the bright side, maybe because the drums, and the overheads in particular, are mixed relatively loud. I'd like to hear some more of the midrange, e.g. the wah'ed rhythm guitar part. Some broad low-mid EQ, a bit of tape warmth maybe, to sweeten the digital edge... Nothing a good mastering engineer couldn't tackle

But hey, this is an mp3 after all and as you just said, the client's the boss. Now flame me to pieces!

Best regards,

Gert

I actually like the track alot *which is rare!).

I think the hats/cymbals/overheads are too loud. I think it's easy to get carried away because they're satidfying from a technical point of view, but musically not as important as their volume accredits them.

The drummer is good!

Like a previous poster, I felt there could be more mid-range going on, particularly with respect to the guitar answering the vocal. And guitars generally - perhaps with the vocal sidechain compressing them a little.

Overall, if I heard this mix on my stereo I'd think the loudness button was in, and I'd be wanting to switch it out. But it's by no means bad. It's a lot better than many mixes I've done in the past.

Take what I say with a pinch of salt - I actually like the original (David Bowie) mix of the Stooges 'Raw Power'.

agreed on both counts, guys. there was too much metal in the kit for me, but he kept sneaking up the faders on the overheads, so i had to make the client happy. there's a retail release copy for me somewhere in the mail (that's been mastered) so maybe i'll post up a mastered version soon. thanks so much for your insights. i agree 100%, but i'm secretly hoping the mastering engineer reigned in the client's want to make things crispier.

Tab