[LAU] Mix feedback on a new track?

Ralf Mardorf ralf.mardorf at rocketmail.com
Sat Oct 4 16:26:39 UTC 2014


On Sat, 2014-10-04 at 09:04 -0700, Len Ovens wrote:
> On Sat, 4 Oct 2014, James Harkins wrote:
> 
> > I just did a rough mix on a track... well, I think a little better than a 
> > rough mix, but I can't go much further without some other ears having a 
> > listen. All audio synthesis is in SuperCollider running in Ubuntu; then I 
> > recorded stems on disk and loaded those up into Ardour (2) for easier control 
> > over the mix.
> >
> > A variety of influences at play here -- hope some of you enjoy it! Generally 
> > I'd put it under the electronica label, though it doesn't exactly fit.
> >
> > http://www.dewdrop-world.net/audio/wiggle-room4.mp3
> 
> It is hard for me to hear the over all mix on my netbook, the low end is 
> basically missing. The high hat seems to stick out quite a bit. I do not 
> know if this is good or bad, but, from a drummers POV, I would like to see 
> some variation in the HH sound. For example on the beat where the HH and 
> snare hit, a slightly open HH sound would be nice with a little bit of ring to 
> it. (this is a common feeling of mine for music using HH sampled/synthed) 
> Variaty in something that is used a lot would make for a less robotic 
> sound and something more "human". Pulling the HH down in the mix just a 
> small bit may help too, but then rememebr that my high end is emphasised 
> so someone elses comment who has a full range system to listen to (mine is 
> in storage) would be better.
> 
> The reason I point this out is that even though there are many changes of 
> feel through the piece the HH is always the same. If the snare was higher 
> I might feel the same about that too, but because it is lower in the mix 
> it doesn't stand out the way the HH does. IMO, any good electronic 
> drumkit, sampled or synthed, should have more than one HH and snare sound 
> the sound like they are played on the same HH or snare, just minor 
> variations. Some of this can be done with layering and velocity, but I 
> think more is needed. There are probably more HH "notes" in any one song 
> than any other note (unless you are doing the solo in Cinamon Girl). As 
> such I think it is worth the time to make it as interesting as possible.
> 
> Please note that I come from the guitar/bass/live drums end of things and 
> so my thoughts come from different styles of music and may not fit here.

I didn't listen to this song, however, the Hi-Hat issue is an old early
80s issue, usually irrelevant since the late 80s, when even cheap drum
samplers provided layered samples. The SPX90II advertised that a known
song used it's auto-panning to get rid of the Hi-Hat machine gun effect.
I used a Dauz drum pad connected to a D4 (I guess I should start using
it again), to record closed Hi-Hat MIDI data with the Atari ST, however,
this only works for multi-layered samples, just different volumes aren't
enough.



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