That's how it is here, but for now at least 2 person saying the opposite of what you said and 1 agree with you but it is what is hear in this room as well, high low mid build up, but the analyzer is showing optimum low mid content. On headphones it sounds not enough. So I don't really know which one is which for now, havent make a decision which route I'm going to take.

Personal taste count as well, I need bigger sample size with all the feedback I can get, so I can make a better judgement call. Thanks for you time man, appreciate it.

 

Offtopic but 'cant trust the room yet' sounds like a sick song or album title lol

 

Thank you for the level-matched versions, it's important and very interesting...

In particular, I know now why I prefer your mix to the original: the voices sound better, I think it's the result of your EQ that put them sensibly ahead of the rest. Your highs appear now less harsh than the original mix, I think it's another reason why I - instinctively - appreciated it.

Please note that where I Iive I don't (can't) have studio monitors, my main tool is a Sennheiser HD800, I mix and listen everything with it.

 

Last edited: May 24, 2024

to me the mix is 80% there nicely balanced, drums hit hard, and nice guitars... expect a few things, preference wise i would probably give vocals 1 to 1.5dB of volume boost especially for this genra... i would put a tape saturation on your drums just to tame those harsh transient just a little bit, i knew that listening to the non mastered version and it was confirmed when i listened to mastered version...

anyway the only problem i have found mix wise is you have some lose low end and i think it's related to guitars, because i can hear the compressor struggle on some parts when the guitars hit hard, so i would recommand you go back and take a look...

other than that this is a solid mix, good work and good luck.

 

sorry boss, its the drink, as Karl Marx said, Work is the curse of the Drinking Class...
will try to do better and also put more water in my cocktails...

 

After giving this a go, i think i uncovered some compression related issues, listen to the solo part

 

It sounds pretty good to me. A bit cloudy build up in the low mids to me, and I think the vocals are a bit buried.

 

Hi,

I´ve bumped into prety good stems from Warren Huart/youtuber, and it has a mix version which are of a really good quality. If you look it up, i think it does not even need a registration, or it does but is quick since i had those stems..
This might be hit and miss..

I think your room might be showing lack of energy in the mids and maybe too much highs, so you compensate by boosting the mids and not working on the highs, in small numbers ofcorse, you got the balance no doubt about it. I ended up playing with the vocal and guitars and when i make it work i end up with too much snare sizzle, mostly on loud parts. Basically loud parts are the problem.

The question is, do you feel Tool - Lateralus is borderlining on top end distortion in your room? I can clearly hear how close it is to the limit straight away.

 

Last edited: May 24, 2024

For me nothing beats hammers, some frames, nice burlaps and Rockwool. If I've exhausted those methods and need some work on perfecting reflections/timings or HF sizzle and don't have room for clouds, etc then DSP comes into play.

You are probably nitpicking though, especially if this is for a pre-post client audit and you don't do post and mastering in that room. For a mix room it's in the ballpark and post isn't going to change much outside of balance and the mix itself was well within the range of gentle tugs and tucks.

It is a good mix room and it will get better with time as you work with your or your clients preferred post or mastering guys.

A measurement mic and a room impulse takes all the guess work out of the equation though, probably where I would personally start.

 

I had a listen on my monitors and my headphones.

My impression is that the master sounds good, but i would tame the low-end a little more. Particularly the subs. Bit heavy down there. Makes the overall song sound like it's dragging through mud a bit. Taming the subs might give it a more "up front" feeling.
You could tame it either with a simple low shelf EQ or you could go the multiband compressor route. I'd probably go with low shelf, cos the dynamics sound okay in that area.

Also sounds like either the compressor or the limiter has some pumping artefacts going on. My hunch says it's the compressor.
So maybe the release is too slow on the comp. Try faster.
Or... is there a HP filter on the sidechain of the detector circuit? If not then maybe that's what's giving the compression a tough time (cos of the sub). Try putting it at 100hz+

The pre-mastered mix has an odd frequency response to begin with and you did well to make it sound good. But yeah, still bit sub-heavy imo

 

Last edited: May 26, 2024

My conviction is that if you would like to really reach perfection with this kind of already-made mix (right now we know it's just a test, but let's imagine you have an important mastering job to do for an important client, but you have absolutely no control and no word to say on the already-made mix), you should try to separate the main instruments with a spectral editor and treat them separately, it's the only way I see to really be 100% satisfied with the result, at least it's what I would decide to do if ever I was in this situation.

Just my 0.0 amateur cts.... Sorry if I say only stupid obvious...

 

Last edited: May 26, 2024

thanks for all the respond. am having electrical wiring prob here and almost blow the entire place few days ago. lol. repair in progress. so far only manage to read em all but cant fully asses all the suggestions just yet. I appreciate all the feedback and will go through them in details soon. thanks for the time and all.

 

Wooow, too bad... hope you don't have expensive audio hardware or comps blowed up too!?!

Electrical install can always be reconstructed, but if you have +$1000 monitors / mix / racks in pieces... Hope it's not your case!