First mix-test from the album - comment please!

Also, I like the snare drum A LOT! Any info on the sample you used, because it reminds me shit loads of Dirk Verbeuren's snare on Deconstruction :)
 
I much prefer the mix on the clip I've got titled "unmixed_unedited_teaser.mp3". It's not perfect but its better than this I think. It sounds like you're going for a typical metal mix with this, which you shouldn't be imo. I'd bring the drums upfront more and let them breathe a bit more (don't need to make them so 'snappy' with compression, let the dynamics of your playing come through). And you don't NEED to have it at -9db, this isn't signed to a major label pushing that, so if it's costing your mix to put it up to there (which it sounds like it is, especially when you have some more elements coming in, you're going to need to crush it), then just leave it at like -11db.

However this mix is a lot warmer and the lowend is much more sorted, so keep whatever you're doing down there.
 
If you guys would guess what I had on the master channel on the YouTube clips (and that clip you mentioned Morgan), what would it be?

Let me make it easy for you and say... nothing but a Gclip doing absolutely nothing to the volume, just clipping whatever exceeds 0db. As soon as I started bringing in the usual things you do for pushing things up in the master track (well, this is just the way you do it at home if you're lazy like me, otherwise you'd mix with good headroom left, then import them into a master project for the mastering), things started to sound crap.
 
L... O... L. I just started over on a different song with all the old settings, nothing on the master channel, pulled the faders down low so I had a lot of headroom, made a few quick changes here and there, then started mixing the levels instrument by instrument.

Drums first, then the bass, then the vocals. It seemed to sound pretty fine so I brought up the guitars to where I thought was okay. Then I added a BootEQmkII and two GClip to the master channel, that's it. It came out sounding way better than the hours I spent a few days ago on the other mix. Or so it seems to me at least. Headphones are hard..

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/585020/M_test_1.mp3

So what differences do you hear now guys compared to the last mix?

Edit: So this was done in like 30 minutes. The mix is not done or anything, it has flaws pretty obvious but the mid-highmid-congestion seems to not be there in this latest mix. Strange, I don't know what I did in the other song that congested the mids like that. I did fuck around with the bass guitar and guitar settings a lot though, and I did add an impulse reverb to the vox - now it's just Freeverb.

Having a perfectionist nature takes its toll on ya, I can tell you that :) Time to step back for a few days now and not work on the album, then approach it again.
 
BO_Test_4 is better then BO_Test_3 for sure!

But I really dig the overall feel of M_test_1, altho it pushes a bit too much in the low end, think its from the kick. But you're right, the whole high mid department sounds a lot more pleasing, no issues with that imo!
Also it feels more "open" overall and more dynamics is a good thing for it. Defentily a lot cooler then the first test!
 
Wow, the M_test sound loads and loads better to my ears. It's funny indeed because you're saying that this one was pretty fast.

What's different in this one? For a starter it doesn't sound smashed, everything sits better in the mix and isn't fighting around for a place in the mix if you know what i mean. I think it's way more listenable this way. I also think that the drums have more punch in them.

I do think the drums can be a little bit lower and there is some low end rumbling here and there (it's only nitpicking) but i think this is a very good starting point :) Digging this way more then your first ones
 
Yeah I like M_test_1 the most out of the clips so far! It's a lot more open and dynamic, things are clearer. Makes you wonder that the "less is more" thing really works.
 
Nice work! I fucking love that singer.......So raw and much passion.....lol I just get chills when he goes off.
 
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/585020/M_test_5.mp3

New version. New bass drum and snare drum sound, new reverb on drums and vox, various EQ tweaks. Toms have not been tweaked yet, they could still use some tweaking to the EQ and compression.

Also, the synths and background layers will be redone/redesigned so it's just a scratch track in the background for now.

I think I like this one the most out of all so far.
 
I think balance is ok, buy my ears want to hear more low end. I dunno..
M_test_5.mp3 is best
Snare is large. Nice!
Kick has enough body.

(detayları facede veririm artık babacan)
 
No, I must agree with Erik here about the low end. Any more would fuck things up, this is about as far the low end can go in this music without becoming an entity of its own (trying to say it blends really well to my ears after all these hours I've spent).

But yeah, thanks for the feedback guys, keep it coming if there's more. I think this latest mix will serve as the basis for the mix now, I'm quite happy with the result. It's gonna be so much fun redoing the backtracks :) All the strings will be replaced with Miroslav Philharmonik which I bought like a year ago but still haven't used.
 
BTW there is something like a pumping compression going on in the last one. Each time the guitar/bass do a silence and kick in again, it get's aggressive and pumps quickly, it's light but it's there. Or at least there is something going on there that I never hear usually, so check that maybe ?

Other than that it sounds pretty good already to me !
 
BTW there is something like a pumping compression going on in the last one. Each time the guitar/bass do a silence and kick in again, it get's aggressive and pumps quickly, it's light but it's there. Or at least there is something going on there that I never hear usually, so check that maybe ?

Other than that it sounds pretty good already to me !

Oh... hmm I usually notice stuff like that but haven't with this. I'll listen extra carefully tomorrow. Thanks for the heads up!
 
LeSedna, just listened carefully and considering I'm using almost no compression at all in the master chain, there shouldn't be any "classic" pumping going on. I can't hear what you are describing so maybe it's just a psycho-acoustic illusion. The only compression there is on the master does a gain reduction of 1.7 to 2.0 dB, that's it.