Acidfrost - Mask - Hated Love

[acidfrost]

Man this songs grows on yourself! Can't stop listening to it. Hope Kakeux got more like those.

So for this month I decided to only use the given tracks as is. I didn't use any samples for the drums, didn't reamp the guitars or the bass, I used all of the KAK tracks instead. I wasn't much inspired on the creative side for this one, I just couldn't find what to do with it So I just mixed it.
Tell me what you think!

[Magnolius]

As you say yourself this is a very straight forward mix. And as such I think it works, nothing that sticks out as wrong, solid tones and balanced. Some of the fx treatments seems a little random to me though, maybe you could have developed one or two throughout the song to tie it together and give some more character to the mix. I respect your decision to stay close to the source files, but I feel this song really benefits from some editing. Just dropping the guitar out for a verse or something would add interest. When an element becomes too static you almost stop hearing it, but if you leave it out for just a couple of bars you notice it when it comes back in again

[Patrich]

kudos to only using the original elements. a very straigtforward mix, even though it is not as exciting as it could have been with only minor additions, i think it works overall.
i hear you have added some fx details here and there, but maybe you could have walked further on that limb.
as it stands now some of them come across as a bit out of context.
the guitar break feels a bit disjointed with the adjoining sections, sounds like playing in a different space, almost like you are being faded into another tune if you see what i mean.
part from that a good mix with good balances...

[acidfrost]

Thanks guys! Yeah should have went a bit more bold but I wasn't sure what to do. I added some effect just to add a bit to the weirdness. Good idea Magnolius on dropping a guitar somewhere, probably should've done it in the first verse so we would be able to hear more the "clean" guitar and bring the other one at the chorus.

As per the bridge Patrich, you're right. I think it's mainly because there's no more vox there, should've eqed the guitars to take back what's missing without the voice.

[fHumble fHingaz]

Good sounds on this, acidfrost... some creative panning too.

All the individual parts of the mix are processed well, & the track has a good "build" to it. You got the drums sounding very good. The mix seems dynamically very well controlled, yet the overall dynamics have some variation.

The thing that is most noticeable to me is that the bass treatment doesn't really give the mix a "backbone" - as a result the mix sounds a little "unglued" at times. Particularly the beginning verse parts tend to sound almost like the bass is MIA. This maybe the result of a combination of things: the dirty rhythm guitar is really thick in the mids/low mids, & is taking up all the space there. As a result, the top end of the bass is being masked, so that sensation of the kick & bass "locking in" & driving the mix forward seems to be lost somewhat. I think too, that the bass could come up a bit in the mix in general, to combat the perception of a "drum/guitar' mix.

Perhaps the solution might be to eq out a little of that low mid intensity of the guitar, & bring some harmonic content out of the bass in that area to create a "connect" in the mix in that area. Even panning the guitar a little away from the center may help too.

Nice job!

[acidfrost]

Thanks FF! The bass sounded ok here but will check it again. I did this in an afternoon so I didn't go that much in details.
Will surely check your recommendation! I'll probably get rid of the distorted guitar in the first verse anyway.

[redworks]

acidfrost, this is sounding like a solid straight forward mix. the solo after the bridge is a little loud and makes it a little awkward and heavy. heavy as in like a weight not 'heavy metal' genre. also the tremolos on the voice are a little awkward and don't add to the mix. you would have been better off creating some interest by cutting elements in different places creating interest and suspense. because you used what was given does not mean you had to have everything heard at all times. use the faders to breathe life into a mix. and this could have been an interesting mix.

[BillyBoBBizWorth]

Nice clean mix,you got the drums sounding great too,the kick and snare go well together,i just wish the bass was up more to accompany them.

The effects you have added,sound good but seem abit random to me,probably because most of the track is unaffected which makes the effects that are there really stand out.

Balanced mix,just doesn't drag me in like some other mixes do.

Cheers

[Jeronimo Mora]

Nice mix !

The rhythm guitar (distorted one) sounds really scooped in the upper mids. Most of its body lies in the lower midrange. Using an EQ sweep to knock out like 400-500 hz or so would have helped it sound cleaner. It was pretty boomy. Maybe high passing it a little bit more would have helped? The "laugh and turn" effect was a little distracting and a bit too loud. Killing 14khz+ on the synths kills the fizzy frequencies and only leaves the good stuff. I would have really liked to hear the bass more. That needs to come up like 3-4 db. You don't really *need* to use the bass guitar to get the guitars sounding nice and fat. The thing with the bass is that the low end is tighter and more controlled and makes for a cleaner low end. The kick and OH mics stick out nice. The snare needs to come up like 3 db. Vocal treatment was nice. The tremolo part at the end was weird but points for being different!

Good mix !

[bobbybovine]

Acidfrost. You did a great job on the drums, they sound great but I gotta say that Tom is freakin HUGE man! I think you definitley need to take it down maybe 3 to 6db! I feel like you got the vocal treatment backwards, your verse vox don't sound as intimate as your chorus, I think if you treated them the same but reversed (verse effects in the chorus and chorus effects in the verse) it would have fit the natural dynamics of the song better. Good work on getting the bridge to be the biggest part of the mix. My biggest gripes with this mix though is it being pretty much all mono and with a couple of the vocal effects most notably the underwater effect at the end of the first verse and the tremelo effect at the vox on the end. They really feel out of place becasue they are such strong effects. With this type of track any effects you put on the vox shouldn't sound obvious IMO and taming those back would help a lot. The one place in this track that you could have went nuts with effects was the breakdown section, and you really only threw a big verb on it there, you could have use those vox effects there with the verb, and god know what else and automated everything at different amounts at difference times and really created something wild. I understand that when you aren't inspired by the track that you gotta do something to get those juices flowing, I would recommend just getting the mix sounding as solid as possible without effects first. By that point ideas usually start to come that would take the mix to the next level.

[wireman957]

Nice mix, Acid! some of your vocal effects took me by surprise so I ended up paying more attention to the FX than I did the vocals - not a huge fan of using FX just to use FX (I'm sure that wasn't your intention, just sounds that way at times)...

The biggest thing that I notice in your mix is the kick/bass relationship. It seems a bit loose and the bass is pretty quiet at times as a result. Something you might want to try, especially in a song with a constant, sparse drum track like this one, is to duck the bass using the kick as an input key to a compressor at the top of your bass plugin chain. Just duck the leading edge of the bass using a fast attack and release time on the "ducking" compressor, and you will be able to turn the bass up without covering up the kick's attack. Ducking like this will also tend to make the kick/bass relationship much tighter sounding adding better drive and punch to the low end.

Brother, that's all I have! You really did a nice job on this one overall!

[acidfrost]

Thanks guys.
I went back and re eqed the bass and brought it up. I also raised the hp on the rhythm guitar and dropped it of the first verse. It helped a bit but I think I have to go back and remix the song completely.

[dudermn]

hmm this sounds like a bad version of weezer - the sweater song
Great mix!

[JoshERTW]

Not a bad mix man, theres some balance issues that need to be ironed out I think, tom's are a bit loud, some of the effects don't quite sit right... I explained a good method for checking your balance in another thread:

Maschneid's: Hated Love Mix

Tonally you've got everything sounding pretty good though, really diggin your guitar sounds on this - there's just a bit of low mid build-up in the guitar solo part, and I'd like to hear some of the bass cutting thru.

Nice work!

P.S. @ Duderman re: Weezer - astute observation, I read that comment just as the song was finishing and was like "yeah totally!"

[kakeux]

Hi,

Except for the "strutter" effect right before the chorus, this is probably the closest mix to what I had in mind when i wrote the song. It was definitely a song inspired by some wheezer work. And your mix is definitely in the wheezer world.

During the second part of the bridge (the more rocky one), the guitar sound a bit boxy and that tends to kill the "power" of the part.

Nice one!

[dudermn]

Beverly hills,thats where i want to be !

[jerze]

Hello; I thought overall sound was good.
I liked the tight panning of the guitars in the verse but maybe spread thing out in the chorus a little.
The vocals seemed in the back of the mix in the beginning of the song and up front in last chorus. Not sure if that’s what you were going for. Not hearing much bass guitar maybe bump it up a db or more. Nice job

[dymrip]

Acidfrost, I went into this song with a similar approach as you. The style really didn't seem to call for any drum resampling or guitar/bass reamping. I just went in and mixed the tracks so they all worked together. But enough about my mix...

You're approach worked pretty well through most of the song. The verses worked nicely dry like they were. However, the choruses could have used a bit more drum overheads, or a boost in the guitars, just something to make them pop out a bit more. I liked how you used the reverb on the vocals in the bridge part as well as throughout the song. However, I think the reverb could have been a bit more subtle as it was a bit distracting. I liked how beefy the guitar sounded during the heavier part at the end of that middle section before the song goes into the last chorus. I wish the guitars in the rest of the song sounded more like this one. The skipping effect on the vocals at the end was interesting, but I don't think it quite fit right for some reason. It almost sounded more like a CPU glitch than an intentional effect.

Over all, I think you had a good idea for the direction this song needed to take, and you really nailed it for the most part. There were a few minor issues in there, but the song was very enjoyable and that is what really matters at the end of the day.

[acidfrost]

Thanks guys! I did a remix that sounds a bit better. Raised the HP on the guitars and took out the rhythm in the first verse. It should sound better. Thanks for the inputs!

[bholst]

Hey man! Just listening as I type. Pretty good mix with good energy.
Only a coupl thing that stood out to me that I'd be tempted to address that I think would take this mix to the next level. The vocals sound just a tad hot on this one. I'd pull those back a couple db to help them gel with the instruments. Also, the effects being used on the vocals are giving it some phasey issues that sound more accidental than intentional to me. If it was intentional, I'd just go all out with it Otherwise, I think they're sounding good. Also, there's just a bit of mud buildup, not much, but worth a check. Overall, mix otherwise feels good. Like I said, energy is there (might do a little more on the 'producer hat' side to create more dynamically, but at least it has good power), and good tones. Solid job man! Keep up the good work!

-holster

[danmanisa]

It was a tough one, especially when the emphasis was on creativity.
There are some cool things here Acid Frost.
Your drums sound nice and strong, as do the vocals. The strange little lo fi underwater vocal was cool, yet it may have been a little stronger and easier to understand to still leave an element of the main vocal still present, along side the cool effect.
Your cymbals are fantastic, really crisp and bright but nicely tucked away so they don't kill ears in the choruses.
Great vocals in the bridge, possibly the best treatment of them in that section that I have heard!
The main area of concern I have are the guitar sounds. They come across a bit muffley or boxy, not overly, but a little. It's a tough one because I have heard several that have been much too hi gain! Still, a little scoop of low mids might clear it up a little. Also, are the guitars all panned center (oxymoron!!)? Perhaps some wider anning of them at times would clear up some of that build up too.
Great mix overall..