Thoughts on this mix / master

[Spells]

Sooooo, I am in a new studio space, with new monitors too ...and so I've been thrown a little, for this release... I'd LOVE some feedback / thoughts on the mix / master as I try and dial my ears into my new studio.

The intended vibe is trip hop / alt pop / with a touch of commercial.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OZM7JmM0OM

[James Perrett]

That's sounding great to me - on first listen I really can't hear anything that I'd want to change. The only comment that I would make is that it seems quite short - for a moment I wondered if it was just a taster for a longer track? There's nothing wrong with short tracks though.

[Drew Stephenson]

Not my genre so ignore if this is a deliberate thing, but off a quick listen the only thing that I'd be looking at if it were my track is the high frequency area.
To me it's sounding a bit congested up top. The cymbal tails are quite long and some of the supporting sounds appear to have quite a bit of top end that's could potentially be cut without harming their position in the mix but might open things up a bit.
Otherwise sounding very strong to me.

[Spells]

Short song: yes... my wife said the same and said that the second verse should have repeated in the same way as the first verse. Noted!

High frequencies: upon reflection, I think you're right. There is a lot (too much really) going on, production wise, and I think I hit some congestion as you say.

Getting used to a new room and speakers is hard and I aim for the next one to be a step up. Thank you for your comments !

[OneWorld]

That's good, from every perspective, that said I have no 'engineering' knowledge, but whatever, the xmi and everything sounds classy. You cast a 'spell' on me!

[amanise]

That must have been a ton of work with the video and all. I think it's just perfect as it is. Sounds like you're getting settled into your new space just fine to me

[Spells]

Thanks for the comments. Appreciate it all. I think the new space threw me off a little but I fought to get close to my planned aesthetic, sonically. I think I fell into the trap of over producing parts and so I've had a word with myself and will be allowing more space in future. The congestion in the higher frequencies as mentioned, rings true.

I hope to get there soon. I've gone from Focal CMS 65's to ATC 25's. And the ATC's are truly brutal. If something isn't right, they give you a slap! Almost unnerving TBH. There's a lack of bass also that I even ended up emailing ATC about... but I can't move on from them as the brutality, I can see, will be an asset.

[tea for two]

High frequencies: upon reflection, I think you're right. There is a lot (too much really) going on, production wise, and I think I hit some congestion as you say.

If you feel there's too much happening, Shure Srh1440 open backs I found revealing for hearing whether there's too much happening in the uppers, also mids.
1440's push the uppers forward in a way that doesn't hurt my ears, my DT880pro uppers hurt my ears.

I've gone from Focal CMS 65's to ATC 25's. And the ATC's are truly brutal. There's a lack of bass also that I even ended up emailing ATC about...

Wowzers that's some upgrade. Whilst the Bass gets sorted I can recommend 2017 released AKG K245 semi open.
https://www.soundonsound.com/news/akg-l ... headphones
K245 for the price (I picked up mine £20 used) are for me not too far from £1K Audeze LCDX for checking shaping tuning the bottom end. I've had more expensive K712pro for Bass, I prefer K245.

[Spells]

High frequencies: upon reflection, I think you're right. There is a lot (too much really) going on, production wise, and I think I hit some congestion as you say.

If you feel there's too much happening, Shure Srh1440 open backs I found revealing for hearing whether there's too much happening in the uppers, also mids.
1440's push the uppers forward in a way that doesn't hurt my ears, my DT880pro uppers hurt my ears.

I've gone from Focal CMS 65's to ATC 25's. And the ATC's are truly brutal. There's a lack of bass also that I even ended up emailing ATC about...

Wowzers that's some upgrade. Whilst the Bass gets sorted I can recommend 2017 released AKG K245 semi open.
https://www.soundonsound.com/news/akg-l ... headphones
K245 for the price (I picked up mine £20 used) are for me not too far from £1K Audeze LCDX for checking shaping tuning the bottom end. I've had more expensive K712pro for Bass, I prefer K245.

Awesome! Many thanks for these suggestions. I'm going to check them out.

I have some Sennheiser 600's but I seem to never use them. Having a good set of cans and knowing them well can be invaluable so it's a rabbit hole I think I'll go down!

[Arpangel]

Too much going on at the top, as others have said, which is OK if that's the desired effect, but I don’t think it is, is it?
The bottom end isn’t prominent enough, not because it isn’t there , it’s being swamped by all that top-end stuff going on.

[Spells]

Too much going on at the top, as others have said, which is OK if that's the desired effect, but I don’t think it is, is it?
The bottom end isn’t prominent enough, not because it isn’t there , it’s being swamped by all that top-end stuff going on.

I agree. Lessons learnt. I'm happy enough that it's out in the wild but certainly, treating it as a stepping stone has led to me getting my mojo back and I'm really happy with how the next one is coming together!

[Arpangel]

Too much going on at the top, as others have said, which is OK if that's the desired effect, but I don’t think it is, is it?
The bottom end isn’t prominent enough, not because it isn’t there , it’s being swamped by all that top-end stuff going on.

I agree. Lessons learnt. I'm happy enough that it's out in the wild but certainly, treating it as a stepping stone has led to me getting my mojo back and I'm really happy with how the next one is coming together!

Yes, best of luck, these things aren’t a major deal, most wouldn’t notice what we’re talking about here, and playback systems vary so much.
But it’s good to be aware of this type of stuff.

[James Perrett]

I have some Sennheiser 600's but I seem to never use them. Having a good set of cans and knowing them well can be invaluable so it's a rabbit hole I think I'll go down!

It is definitely worth using the 600s. While they may not be as initially impressive as other headphones, they are very accurate and have a similar tonal balance to decent monitors.

[Spells]

I have some Sennheiser 600's but I seem to never use them. Having a good set of cans and knowing them well can be invaluable so it's a rabbit hole I think I'll go down!

It is definitely worth using the 600s. While they may not be as initially impressive as other headphones, they are very accurate and have a similar tonal balance to decent monitors.

That's good to know! They've been sat on a shelf for a long time. Reason being: I need closed back headphones to record vocals and so end up just having another set of Sennheiser headphones for that purpose: a pair of 569's (not very well known I don't think). I actually like them a lot but only use them for recording. I need to use cans more for referencing I think!

[James Perrett]

I need closed back headphones to record vocals and so end up just having another set of Sennheiser headphones for that purpose: a pair of 569's (not very well known I don't think).

I actually use the 600s for recording too and spill doesn't seem to be a problem (although the singer who uses them is pretty loud).

[tea for two]

I agree. Lessons learnt.
I'm happy enough that it's out in the wild but certainly, treating it as a stepping stone has led to me getting my mojo back and I'm really happy with how the next one is coming together!

That's the reason you posted this song here no.
My older ears hears differently from my younger ears. So much going on in the uppers wouldn't bovvered my listening when younger. Your listening audience is probably in the 20s I hazard a guess so I would guess to them it sounds fine.

::

Just if a big show on HBO, Netflix picked up the song "Time Again" you did, then your views would be in the millions.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5BLJp2orvoo
It's the lyrics that's evocative: "What if this was the last time you never know" : would fit a big show.

You did a song with Tech N9ne.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=N9xwOrFXE ... Qgc3BlbGxz
Tech N9ne has done songs featuring Dwayne the rock Johnson, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, Serj Tankien : millions views. It's just getting the exposure for your songs then your songs would have millions views.

[Spells]

Hey thanks for checking those out!

Yes Time Again did well on YouTube. Feedback on it was the intro could have been halved, for radio, etc. It's more an instrumental, DnB, type track and I was quite happy with mix and master on that one. Yes I could also see it in a movie or TV program.

The Tech one came out well. It was mixed and mastered by people other than myself.

In a general sense I'm using each release as a learning opportunity and honing in on a sound / sonic aesthetic that's all mine. I've found pieces already and can see where to go more clearly now. The chorus in the Tech one is probably the sound I'm really going to go for. I went off down some rabbit holes perhaps... and am headed for a full circle. That emptied out sound. More ethereal. I'll be adding more electric guitars from now on also.

I'm looking forward to the next release as I think it'll be the closest yet, to my real intentions!

[tea for two]

This is Boz Scaggs classic 1979 song LowDown.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=I-hKBmTAA ... d2Rvd24%3D
There's a constant hihat 16th triplet, that sounds like it was added later on top. Unnecessary and bovvers me listening to it nowadays.
The backing band was made up of most Toto some of the hottest session players around.
Goes to show even classic songs can have misjudgement imo.

[Spells]

Awesome! Love it. And yes, there are quite a number of things found in big releases that once heard, cannot be unheard and often stand out like a sore thumb!