Fire Inside Slick Mud Mix

[irawan gani]

Lots of crack... enjoy.

[JoshERTW]

Cool mix man, nice to see I'm not the only one who went with a massive bass sound

Guitars and drums sound great, love that snare. My only technical criticism is bordering on the subjective which is the vocal sounds a little bit "too wet" to the point that it feels like its being masked - I think some more high passing on the reverb or perhaps just a bit less guitar and bass volume (blasphemous, I know) might be the ticket. That said I'm partial to a dry vocal (and mix overall) so there's certainly some bias here. I love the "tiiiiime" echo at the end.

Another subjective one - I tried the lo-fi vocal thing too but scrapped it at the last minute... it seems like an awesome idea but something about it just doesn't sit right with me. It did work better in your mix the second time than at the start - I think its the tempo, when you go from lo-fi to normal sounding vocals within such a short time it just feel's a bit "off" - Can't quite place it...

Solid job though man, had to listen twice and still came back with predominantly 'taste' based comments

[irawan gani]

Cool mix man, nice to see I'm not the only one who went with a massive bass sound

Guitars and drums sound great, love that snare. My only technical criticism is bordering on the subjective which is the vocal sounds a little bit "too wet" to the point that it feels like its being masked - I think some more high passing on the reverb or perhaps just a bit less guitar and bass volume (blasphemous, I know) might be the ticket. That said I'm partial to a dry vocal (and mix overall) so there's certainly some bias here. I love the "tiiiiime" echo at the end.

Another subjective one - I tried the lo-fi vocal thing too but scrapped it at the last minute... it seems like an awesome idea but something about it just doesn't sit right with me. It did work better in your mix the second time than at the start - I think its the tempo, when you go from lo-fi to normal sounding vocals within such a short time it just feel's a bit "off" - Can't quite place it...

Solid job though man, had to listen twice and still came back with predominantly 'taste' based comments

i watched some youtube clips of the band. it seemed that the driving force in their music are the bass and drums (to a certain extent the acoustic guitar and vocals). so that was the reason why i went for the big bass sound to drive the song. i modeled the mix after an Australian band called You Am I. they are not exactly the Dave Matthews sound but has got a rocking sound and identity. look for them on youtube.

i took off the the verbs and delays and it didnt sit right. i probably would have brought those elements down but didnt want to think too much about it.

the lo-fi was meant to create a dynamic and difference between the first part of the verses and the second part. no other reason for that. i had a different kind of lo-fi vox but i thought it didnt make a difference.

thanks for the comments. i had expected those taste issues to be brought up by listeners.

[BillyBoBBizWorth]

Had a few listens,on my system.

I didn't mind the reverb or the lofi vocals.Although i would of liked it if the lofi vocals went from that to full range vocals,i think its a quite effective effect.I did it a few mixes ago and some people seem to like it.

It might be because im practically right next to a sub lol,but it seemed abit heavy on the sub/bass frequencies range,kind of thing.I also have the bass setting to below -0 DB's,so i can imagine how heavy it would be if i even sat it to 0 DB's flat.

Good mix really,cant say much against it to be honest.

BREAK NEWS :

Had a few more listens,i quite liked the edits you've done to the track,they work well.Also i will extend on my comment on the lofi to full range comment.What i should of said,because you vocals actually do go from lofi to somewhat full range.Is that,i personally would of liked it if the power difference between the lofi and full range was abit more distinct.I didn't really "feel" the hit from the transition of lofi vocals to the full range.

Thought id clear that up,again.

Great mix!

Cheers

[cptfiasco]

gani, this mix seems like it is going everywhere, trying to achieve everything at once....If you wanted to push this song into my ear canals, you managed it well.

good mix ,just alot of taste things that did not let me like this song the way you presented it, good luck

[TopBobSecret]

Irwan,

Lots of good things here! I liked the low end but some boxiness covered up the vocals esp nearing the end. Could be the master EQ needs dipping in the 200 Hz region.
Other than that, great effort and good creative choices. 2nd time on the lo-fi vocal did work better than the 1st.
Good luck-TopBob

[michaelspek]

great mix! I guess my comments are purely a matter of taste (or my speakers),
Bias-ed as a bass-player I love your full low end, but for a song this fast (many kick and bass-notes) I'd clean up the subs a bit.
(Make the kick a bit brighter (2-3kHz) and roll off say below 40Hz).
Your overall sound is a bit sweet/distant to my taste, I'd try for a closer/rawer sound.
Not less reverb/fx, I like those, but some overall eq, boost some mid/mid-hi's, and like TopBob said, cut some lo-mids.

[kakeux]

Hi,

Good mix!

All goes together which is good. My only point are the vocals, they sound a bit muddy for my liking. They seems to be clearer during the choruses but still some mud going on.

The mix is generally well spread frequency wise, so the vocals sounds a bit contracted due to the mud. Hope it means something.

Here you Sir!

Cheers!

[jerze]

Hello Irawan gain very nice mix
Nice job on the edit on the bass track in the 2nd verse thought I was the only one who tried to fix It.
Anyways about the only thing that has me puzzed is a hiss through out most of the track sounds like in the 2 k range at about 1.02 everything else sounds good
the last thing is basically subjective as others have said with the low fi vocal part like the idea just not sure its long enough.
Back to the hiss I see you're mps encoding is at 128 instead of 320 maybe that did it . Nice job

[irawan gani]

Hello Irawan gain very nice mix
Nice job on the edit on the bass track in the 2nd verse thought I was the only one who tried to fix It.
Anyways about the only thing that has me puzzed is a hiss through out most of the track sounds like in the 2 k range at about 1.02 everything else sounds good
the last thing is basically subjective as others have said with the low fi vocal part like the idea just not sure its long enough.
Back to the hiss I see you're mps encoding is at 128 instead of 320 maybe that did it . Nice job

Cheers brotha.

The hiss has nothing to do with the encoding.

It probably came from the Kramer Tape Plug-in that I used on the drums and exacerbating that is the Steven Slate VCC. So, in essence, The Tape simulator made it sound old, and the VCC has made it sound older!

[IMF OnSite Recording]

FIRST GLANCE: At first hearing it, everything seems rather dark and lacking in the high end. Hopefully some of the techniques below will help with that.
DRUMS: The drums sound rather muffled and could use some brightening up. Did you low pass them at all? I would be carefull how much high end you roll off. They need more attack and "impact" as well... especially for a high paced song like this one. Introducing some parallel comrpession will not only brighten up the transients, but get them to punch through the mix as well.
BASS: Bass is pretty good. If I were to do anything it would be to add some middle end attack to it.. probably closer to the 2k area.
GUITAR: Guitar seems real soft, try high passing around 125hz and rolling off the 15-16k hz is a start. Now you can focus on some high mid bite to bring out the notes a bit more. Go with a broader Q that way it sounds more natural and less nasaly.
VOCALS: The vocals may need some high passing, but not to the point where they sound thin. Alittle compression (~2-5 ms attack, 3-400 ms release and a 4:1 ratio may work alright, hitting around 4db... you could go with 8-12db of reduction if you do it parallel that way you preserve the source dynamics a bit more. You can also try slamming it a couple db with a limiter to push it forward a bit.
OTHER ELEMENTS (IF APPLICABLE): There's some real buzzy high end frequency action going on. Can't pint point where it's coming from.. but.. high pass those 16k and up on things that arent really using it.
COMMENTS\OVERALL MIX: Overall, it feels like the tracks as a whole have been under-treated. I would focus on high passing things that don't need subs, and then brightening up some of the tracks to get more attack out of the drums like I said before.. overall its a good mix though,. good job man

[irawan gani]

FIRST GLANCE: At first hearing it, everything seems rather dark and lacking in the high end. Hopefully some of the techniques below will help with that.
DRUMS: The drums sound rather muffled and could use some brightening up. Did you low pass them at all? I would be carefull how much high end you roll off. They need more attack and "impact" as well... especially for a high paced song like this one. Introducing some parallel comrpession will not only brighten up the transients, but get them to punch through the mix as well.
BASS: Bass is pretty good. If I were to do anything it would be to add some middle end attack to it.. probably closer to the 2k area.
GUITAR: Guitar seems real soft, try high passing around 125hz and rolling off the 15-16k hz is a start. Now you can focus on some high mid bite to bring out the notes a bit more. Go with a broader Q that way it sounds more natural and less nasaly.
VOCALS: The vocals may need some high passing, but not to the point where they sound thin. Alittle compression (~2-5 ms attack, 3-400 ms release and a 4:1 ratio may work alright, hitting around 4db... you could go with 8-12db of reduction if you do it parallel that way you preserve the source dynamics a bit more. You can also try slamming it a couple db with a limiter to push it forward a bit.
OTHER ELEMENTS (IF APPLICABLE): There's some real buzzy high end frequency action going on. Can't pint point where it's coming from.. but.. high pass those 16k and up on things that arent really using it.
COMMENTS\OVERALL MIX: Overall, it feels like the tracks as a whole have been under-treated. I would focus on high passing things that don't need subs, and then brightening up some of the tracks to get more attack out of the drums like I said before.. overall its a good mix though,. good job man

Thank you kindly sir. If you read the other comments, it would definitely answer all your observations and comments.

Anyway, based on the critique, you're expecting a CLA mix. That's not what I am going for. It is perhaps the exact opposite of it. All the tracks have been high passed or low cut except the bass drum.

[IMF OnSite Recording]

Thank you kindly sir. If you read the other comments, it would definitely answer all your observations and comments.

Anyway, based on the critique, you're expecting a CLA mix. That's not what I am going for. It is perhaps the exact opposite of it. All the tracks have been high passed or low cut except the bass drum.

That's cool man! The thing with me is that I DON'T read other posts before critiquing, but I always approach it as if I am the first to hear it. That removes any form of bias.

[irawan gani]

That's cool man! The thing with me is that I DON'T read other posts before critiquing, but I always approach it as if I am the first to hear it. That removes any form of bias.

Haha cool brotha. Thats a good policy to follow. I really do appreciate the comments and that I know your perspective. For these competitions I try to experiment as much as possible with regards to mix types. CLA mix, Pensado mix, Maseratti mix, Rango Jainhardt mix, Ol-skool motown mix etc. Or it gives me the opportunity try new products that I have bought.

The thing is, and I am saying this for myself only, that I am already biased since I have the tracks, I have mixed it and I have listen to the other mixes. So there is no way in hell that I might be able to be unbiased. So I try to stay away from comment based on taste. Instead I focus on fundamental issues such as balance and 'mastering'. Or I'd hear a unique effect that I have never heard before on somebody else's mix, so I'd try to learn from them.

[fHumble fHingaz]

Super solid mix Gani - I think I get the "old-school" analogy vibe you're going for here, & I think you've done a good job capturing that -

It's a little muddy, a little "mushed", but it has that real "slammed to 2 inch tape" character, so all of that is par for the course.

One thing I would suggest taking a little more care with is the sibilants. The "s" sounds are getting quite "lispy", so you might wanna back off that de-esser a bit.

Overall - cool vibe on this!

[irawan gani]

Super solid mix Gani - I think I get the "old-school" analogy vibe you're going for here, & I think you've done a good job capturing that -

It's a little muddy, a little "mushed", but it has that real "slammed to 2 inch tape" character, so all of that is par for the course.

One thing I would suggest taking a little more care with is the sibilants. The "s" sounds are getting quite "lispy", so you might wanna back off that de-esser a bit.

Overall - cool vibe on this!

Cool brotha, I hear you.

It was my take on a 'You Am I' type of mix. The lisp was a last minute addition motivated by the fear of the 4khz on the vocals. Bad decision!

[danmanisa]

Very nice job on this Irawan,
First off, as bass player, I am loving the growl you have given the bass. In fact you have used several of the techniques I have used. I too used distortion on the bass but not as much as you. Suits, works really well. I too went for the long reverb on the last line of each verse into the chorus, so naturally I am going to say that was a great idea too . Oh, and the lo-fi vocals in the first few lines was something I did too!!!! I'd sue for plagiarism, but I think you got your mix in first!
For the most part, this mix feels pretty right. Everything sounds pretty well balanced and treated nicely. Your use of acoustics was good because it was used sparingly! I like that!. The kick and snare sound pretty right too, nice sense of space.
The only minor issue I have is that the mix is a touch heavy in the low mids. I wouldn't go as far as saying it's muddy or boxy, but there is a thin veil of murkiness that could be scooped out. I hear it mostly in the vocals and perhaps a little in the bass too. The toms show this also in the fast tom rolls, but really, on the whole, this was one enjoyable listen and that is the key in the end! Well done!