Originally Posted by PVinKC
Hey folks,
I feel that I am a bit new here...but since this is a feedback-based reward system I figure it's time to start doing my part. As primarily a live sound engineer, I may have a bit different take on things, and admittedly I'm a bit direct. So I apologize in advance if my comments seem harsh or hurtful that is NOT the intent!
So here we go...as someone who has worked with horns extensively one common seemed to be that the horns lacked space/verb, the mixes were almost all questionable (including mine) with regard to balance and tone. A lot lacked dynamics as well, possibly compression-based?
1) Horns need space/verb, Kick too dull/flat sounding, nice cymbal sound and balance.
2) Kick too low, Horns need space/verb and missing dynamics, nice snare sound & attack, good cymbal sound and balance.
3) My #3. Nice kick & snare, nice space around vocals & doubling sounds great, great bass sound & balance, horns sound dry, need space & dynamics but balanced well with excellent low end.
4) Horns need space, no dynamics, and a bit low...could benefit from automation? Great tone on keys but a bit low at time - also possibly could use automation? Nice guitar sound and fx. Good drum sound, kick maybe a bit low at time but nice snare sound and space/verb. Cymbals sit nicely in the mix & sound great! Vocal verb and doubling sound good.
5) My #2. Horns have nice space & balance but could use more low from the bone. Kick sound a bit flat but still has decent attack...EQ? Snare sounds nice w/a decent verb but maybe could use a bit more space? Vocal could use some space/verb sounds a bit dry.
6) Nice keys tone and balance. Vocal sounds good but could use some space/verb. Drums nicely balanced w/good snare, kick a bit dull on low end but has nice attack. Horns again a bit dry, could use more low end on bone and a bit more bone.
7) Vocal sounds a bit dry, could use some space/verb. Great guitar sound. Horns sound dry/flat, need space and dynamics sounds over-compressed and not enough low end on the bone or enough of the bone. Drums balanced well but lack dynamics & space/verb.
8) Horns sound thin & flat, need space/verb, lack dynamics. Vocal could use space/verb. Drums sound thin and missing low end. Bass could use some saturation and presence but nicely balanced. Keys a bit low.
9) Horns have nice space and dynamics, could use more bone and maybe more lows on bone. Vocal has nice space and sound. Nice drum sound but snare could use a bit more space/verb. Keys a bit low in spots perhaps a bit of automation needed here?
10) Horns sound flat, no dynamics and mix is off, could use more trumpet with more highs on trumpet and the sax is getting lost. Vocal needs space, sounds dry. Whole mix sounds very mid-heavy w/o much low end or top end. Drums sound over-compressed and lack attack/snap, need space/verb.
11) Nice horns, decent space, balance and dynamics. Nice space around vocals, verb and delay sound nice. Nice drum sound, kick full w/nice attack, snare has nice space and attack. However, the cymbals are almost absent from the mix. Bass balanced nicely but could use more presence and attack, eq in a bit of 1k and 2k with a very narrow Q (bandwidth).
12) Nice drums, snare cuts nicely and nice space. Kick has good tone, balance and attack. Vocal has nice space w/good verb and delay/doubling. Horns sound dry, no space/verb, sounding dull (eq), no dynamics but balanced well.
13) Horns sound nice, good space and dynamics, could use a bit more bone and more low-end on the bone. Vocal has nice space, maybe a bit too much echo though the effect sounds nice, might need to dial it back a few dB though. Kick a bit low and clicky (too much transient controller?) and more low end on Kick (60-80Hz wide Q bump up by +3 dB or more. Keys sound nice but maybe a bit loud in spots (possibly a bit of automation would be the ticket here).
14) Horns sound dry, need more space/verb. Vocal sounds dry, needs more space/verb. Drums sound nice, kick level good, but maybe could us a bit more attack. Nice space/verb on snare. Nice bass sound and balance. Good guitar sound and balance.
15) Nice space/verb on horns, not enough high end, could use more trumpet. Too much verb on keys, they are getting washed out in the mix and sound flat/dull. Drums too low and flat sounding, possibly over-compressed. Good bass mix but tone is all low-end, lacking dynamics (presence and attack), possibly a bump of EQ with a narrow Q around 1k and 2k? Vocal has good delay/doubling but could use more space/verb.
16) Horns sound dry, need space/verb and could use more bone and low-end on bone, also need high end on trumpet and a bit more trumpet. Vocal has good delay/doubling but could use a bit more space/verb. Sounds like its low-passed @ 5K though doesn’t seem to have much high-end definition.
17) Horns sound dry, need space/verb but balanced nicely with great tone! Vocal sounds a bit dry, needs space/verb and delay. Bass a bit low and undefined, needs presence and attack, perhaps an EQ bump with a tight Q around 1k and 2k? Drums balanced well, good kick and snare sound. Good guitar sound. Keys a bit too low in spots, could use a bit of automation, lacking high-end.
That’s it for this month. Overall a pretty close race. I had trouble deciding which ones were my favorites. I had a great time mixing this song. I hope that my comments were easily understandable and not hurtful in any way. Looking forward to reading everyone else’s reviews as well! In most cases I didn’t make observations on the mixes as a whole. I concentrated on the individual elements. So hopefully together with the other comments and reviews this month will prove fruitful for us all!
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