RUSS RUSSELL: Mixing heavy music, fixing noisy mixes, and why loud bass sounds small

Speaker 1 (00:00):

Welcome to the Unstoppable Recording Machine Podcast, brought to you by Jay-Z microphones. For over a decade, Jay-Z microphones has combined all the critical elements of World Press, microphone manufacturing, patented capsule technology, precision electronics, and innovative industrial design. Jay-Z microphone's deep understanding of technology is informed by their open-minded, innovative approach. Trust us, sound can be glorious recorded. For more info, please go to JayZ mike.com. And now your host, Eyal Levi.

Speaker 2 (00:36):

Welcome to the URM podcast. I am Eyal Levi and I just want to tell you that this show is brought to you by URM Academy, the world's best education for rock and metal producers. Every month on Nail the Mix, we bring you one of the world's best producers to mix a song from scratch, from artists like Lama God, Ms. Suga, periphery The Day to Remember. Bring me the Horizon, OPPE many, many more, and we give you the raw multi-track so you can mix along. You'll also get access to Mix Lab, our collection of bite-sized mixing tutorials and Portfolio Builder, which are pro quality multi-tracks that are cleared for use in your portfolio. You can find out [email protected]. Before we get into the show, I want to tell you about a brand new product we just launched the Complete Beginner's Guide to Recording Rock and Metal.

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It's a short two hour course hosted by Ryan Fluff Bruce, where he walks you through every single step of the process for recording a complete song from scratch in a simple home studio. If you've been thinking about getting into recording but you weren't sure where to start, this is for you. It gives you a list of exactly which gear that we suggest you get, shows you how to set it all up, then gives you a step-by-step guide to record a guitar, bass and vocals and programming, midi drums, everything you need to record an awesome high quality demo with no more than a few hundred dollars worth of gear. And just to make sure you have absolutely everything you need. The course includes copies of Tone Forge Menace and Gain Reduction by Joey Sturgis tones and a virtual drum plugin from Drum Forge that's over $200 in software included with the course.

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So it's pretty much a no-brainer. If that sounds cool to you, you can get instant access to the course and all the included [email protected]. And one last thing I want to tell you about, and this is really cool. I want to tell you about a cool new partnership we've got with Empire Ears. They make a quality in ear monitor that lets you bring your studio with you anywhere seriously. You can mix with these. And I know it sounds crazy for me to say, but it is absolutely true. If you're at all mobile with your audio or you are in a situation where volume is a problem like you mix out of an apartment, you may want to check these out and here's how it works. Basically, URM users are getting hooked up with an exclusive discount and personalized support. And think about it like this, how sick is it to be able to take your reference with you Every single place you go with Empire Studio Response Monitor, you can have a flat response sound you can trust every single place you go. So for more info, just reach out to [email protected] for details. That's D-Y-L-A-N at emp IRE e.com. Alright, here it goes. I will shut up now. Welcome to the Unstoppable Recording Machine podcast. This is another episode of Mix Crit Monday, the show where we crit your mixes. John Maciel. Hello, what's going on? You ready to praise some at the gates and haunted mixes? Dude,

Speaker 3 (03:58):

I really am. These tracks sound amazing, so I'm really stoked to hear some mixes.

Speaker 2 (04:05):

So just to catch anybody up who's not familiar with this, we take student submitted mixes of what's current on Nail the Mix, and so right now, May, 2019, we've got the chasm at the gates and Preachers of Death by the Haunted, which were both produced and mix by Russ Russell and I say we just get right into it. So the first mix we're going to play is of at the gates and it's by URM subscriber Cameron Heck, here it goes.

(05:51):

All right, that was Cameron Heck's mix and my first reaction is that there's a lot of noise on it. Whenever I hear that noise before the track plays, I think either someone is doing this as an effect to make it sound like Intro to Rob zombie song or something, or a waves plugin is in analog mode and they didn't know to turn it off, but I feel like there's some weird scoopy phase thing happening on the entire mix. It almost sounds like it's inside some big seashell and I actually kind like the base tone, but I think it's too loud. It almost sounds like the base is the lead instrument and that kind of makes it tough to follow this mix. The other thing that makes it tough to follow this mix is the snare sound. It's just distorted and unclear thing is that I think Cameron is trying to follow the directions, which is that this track is supposed to be raw and nasty in a good way and dirty, but I think maybe he's gone a little bit too far. I mean the drums don't really sound like drums. The snare just kind of sounds like a weird plastic bag being hit, and so I guess I get it, but I don't think this is the right execution. What do you think?

Speaker 3 (07:26):

Yeah, this seashell thing was perfect way to explain it. Also, the distortion noise that's happening in the, it sounds like there's a mastering chain or something that's really bringing up that noise floor of, I think there's tape emulation stuff going on in this mix. And one thing that I've noticed in a couple of these episodes is when we hear that noise, I have a feeling that people either don't hear it or they don't really spend, you just got to be really mindful of it on the distortion on that noise because the moment you bring on a limiter or even a buzz compressor, that stuff's coming up. And I think this is one of those cases where it's so amplified that it's like I can hear it the whole time the track was playing, that noise never went away. And that's part one of what's working against the mix.

(08:13):

The snare for me also was super harsh and distorted. There was no depth, no fatness to it. It was just really every time it hit, it was just poking me in my ears in an annoying way. For me, the guitars felt like the louder instrument in this mix too. And I know if you listen to the original mix, the guitars sound like they're louder, but they're balanced with the entire song. It's like this huge wall of guitar sound, but it's done in such a brilliant way that I think people might have an instance of this where they think, oh, I got to make the guitars a lot. It's like, no, there's a balance between the bass and the guitars that gives you that wall of sound, and it's an art form to get that right. And I feel like this track is a true testament to when you have that, right.

(08:59):

It sounds massive, but it's not because the guitars are allowed, everything's in its right place. And then the last thing was the sub frequencies in the kick drum made the mix sound like it was pumping in a weird way too. To me, I feel like that's one of those things that you can get really out of control if you do a boost in the low end and then you do a filter and you get this weird resonant slope and then all of a sudden that resonant slope is what's causing the compressor to just react all the time. But yeah, that's what stuck out to me on Cameron's track,

Speaker 2 (09:28):

That noise factor from tape emulators or whatever it's coming from, I feel like it's a novice mixer thing to feel like maybe you don't hear it as much when the track comes in, so just leave it.

Speaker 4 (09:47):

But

Speaker 2 (09:47):

The thing is that as your ears develop, you'll start to be able to hear that noise over the whole thing. Like you just said, I could hear it over the whole thing as well, but thinking back to earlier days when I would have that noise before a track and then I couldn't really hear it once the track was going, so it'd be like, ah, no big deal. But definitely that noise is in there and it's getting amplified, it's not going away. Just because there's a bunch of music playing at the same time doesn't mean that that noise is gone and it's on everything. The more developed your ears get, the more you're going to hear it. Don't just think that because the mix came in and now you have other things to focus on that that noise is gone.

Speaker 3 (10:33):

Yeah, a cool thing that I learned, I feel like it was in an earlier podcast, a urn podcast, but basically when you're starting to develop your ears, throw a limiter on your mix bus and throw the threshold all the way down, and if you hear any sound, that means there's something that's making that sound throughout your whole track. Find it and take care of it so it doesn't end up building up. And the thing that's crazy is when you start adding these tape emulations and other things on multiple tracks, that stuff is amplifying and it's eating up so much space in headroom. So it was a cool trick I learned a long time ago, and that was really helpful in helping my ear develop and really hear that stuff. And once I heard it, I could not unhear it and I just backed off 70% on all those tape emulation plugins and luckily waves updated to turn that stuff off, but it made a huge difference in my mixes overnight when I learned to hear that stuff.

Speaker 2 (11:27):

Yeah, chill on the tape emulators. Alright, next one is by Johann Lund. Here goes,

(12:32):

All right, that was Johann Loon's at the gate mix, and first thing I'm going to say is that the kick is just way too cliquey and not enough low end. It's too separated and kind of like I said before, this song is supposed to sound gritty and raw, which is the opposite of clean and separated the snare. Sounds like it's trying to be big and low, but it just sounds kind of like this dull fuddy thing. I guess it's good that I can hear it clearly, but aesthetically I just don't think it fits the song. Kind of like the kicks to, I just don't think these drum sounds are what the song's about or what this mix is supposed to be about. And I realize that everyone might have a different vision for it, but the artist was super clear about what they wanted on this, and when you have an artist at the gates, which basically defined an entire genre of metal, what they say goes, I don't care who you are, what they say goes, if you don't like what they say, don't mix their stuff, but what they say goes, and they were very, very clear.

(13:50):

If you're not sure where to find those instructions, inside of every nail the mix session, we have notes from the producer slash mixer talking about challenges and things that are unique to the song, and there was a very clear direction on the intention for this one. So back to the mixed grit seems also like the guitar layers are oddly balanced, like hearing. One thing that at the gates does real well is counterpoint guitars.

(14:34):

They've always done this, but if you balanced them weird, you put the bass line, not the bass guitar instrument, but the lower guitar line louder than the lead parts, it's going to start to sound really, really weird. It's not going to create the same melody or riff. These counterpoint riffs are supposed to work together in order to have them work together, they've got to be balanced. Right, and luckily in this case, you have the mix already that was released so that the band approved. So if you want to know what the balances are supposed to be like, just go listen to the original mix. I understand if you don't want to have your, I guess your, you don't want to mix with preconceived notions, but on a track like this, you should probably understand where it was supposed to be going. What do you think?

Speaker 3 (15:39):

Yeah, I want to kind of talk about the preconceived notions thing. I know that's a big thing with the guides in the URM community. They want to go based off what their initial instinct is, which is fine, but when you have the notes each month that come in from the producer, those are so huge because when you take on a band, especially what I consider a legacy band that has a very large discography and you can kind of go back, you have initial conversations on the direction of the mix and what they're looking to accomplish and what they want to do. So having those notes helps you kind of have an idea of where you need to go. The second part of that is if there is a discography, they obviously have a sound, you need to understand their sound. If you're going to be mixing the project and something like this, it's like if it's not a new band, treat it like a band that can kind of choose any mixer they want.

(16:31):

How are you going to compute with what their sound is and how can you make it take it to that direction that they want creatively? So I don't think it's harmful to listen to the original mix. I actually think it's beneficial to hear it and make a decision like, Hey, I like this and love this about the mix, but I feel like I could have done this. And maybe you doing that helps you win the mix. Competition you don't know unless you try, but definitely think shooting yourself in the foot kind of gets in people's ways when they don't want to have preconceived notions. But it's like you can hear the mix and still as you grow as a mixer, be subjective and not let it influence too much of your creative decision. Now with all that being said, for me, the guitars were super weird sounding.

(17:18):

Also, I feel like there was some weird low mid stuff that was covering up the no clarity. And then with all the layers, it just seemed like you get all these layers and instead of approaching it from a production standpoint of like, okay, what are all these parts trying to convey altogether as a whole? It's like, oh, this part needs to do this and this next track needs to do this. It's like when you don't think in terms of a whole vision, you get this on the guitar, it's just loud, everything's competing, it's sounding weird and it's just off The kick to me also was really top end flappy. There was no low mid in the kick drum, and a lot of people scoop out so much of that stuff because they read some article online like Get rid of the mids. But the thing is, if you don't have those mids, your kick all of a sudden sounds just super scooped, top end, super low end on the kick, but there's no, that mid punch that you need that makes it sound like a kick drum.

(18:13):

That stuff is crucial and important. Then the snare and the kick sound together were just really weird, and the snare sounded like a one shot to me, it sounded like it was completely replaced, which is, I mean, fine if you're going to do that, but there's some parts when the snare is hitting so many times in a row that it becomes super obvious that there's something weird about the snare. And then when you have your kick that's already kind of off the mix just falls apart really quickly and then the vocals were kind of buried in my opinion. Also, the mix just in general sounded like it was mixed through a pillow or something. And for me on this one, I would suggest just starting over, rebalance, gain stage, revisit the fundamentals and just reapproach this mix with a different mindset. Read what the artist

Speaker 2 (19:01):

Intended. It's not a bad thing at all. I mean, if you were working with them in real life, you would talk to them about what they wanted, but since you're not working with them in real life, that's the next best thing is those notes. You can't approach a mix like this and just guess. I mean you could, but you really shouldn't. And since you can't talk to the artists themselves, you can read those notes and have some idea for where we're supposed to go. Hey, everybody, if you're enjoying this podcast and you should know that it's brought to you by URM Academy, URM Academy's mission is to create the next generation of audio professionals by giving them the inspiration information to hone their craft and build a career doing what they love. You've probably heard me talk about Nail the Mix before, and if you remember, you already know how amazing it is.

(19:52):

At the beginning of the month, nail the mix members, get the raw multitracks to a new song by artists like Lama God, opec, Shuga, bring Me The Horizon Gaira asking Alexandria Machine Head and Papa Roach among many, many others. Then at the end of the month, the producer who mixed it comes on and does a live streaming walkthrough of exactly how they mix the song of the album and takes your questions live on the air. You'll also get access to Mix Lab, our collection of dozens of bite-sized mixing tutorials that cover all the basics and Portfolio Builder, which is a library of pro quality multi-tracks cleared for use of your portfolio. So your career will never again be held back by the quality of your source material. And for those who really, really want to step up their game, we have another membership tier called URM Enhanced, which includes everything I already told you about, and access to our massive library of fast tracks, which are deep, super detailed courses on intermediate and advanced topics like gain, staging, mastering loan and so forth.

(20:58):

It's over 50 hours of content. And man, let me tell you, this stuff is just insanely detailed. Enhanced members also get access to one-on-one office hours sessions with us and Mix Rescue, which is where we open up one of your mixes on a live video stream, fix it up and talk you through exactly what we're doing at every step. If any of that sounds interesting to you, if you're ready to level up your mixing skills and your audio career, head over to URM academy slash enhanced to find out more. Alright, so here is Matt Martin's Mix.

(22:33):

Alright, that was Matt Martin's at the Gates Mix, and the drums sound so strange on that intro. It's a completely different song. Once the band kicks in, I had to listen to it over and over again because it just weirded me out. It's either some room mic getting jacked up and then ducked down immediately, or some weird reverb. I don't know what it is, it's just so weird. I got obsessed and I can figure it out. The low end on the kick is out of control and it sounds like not much care was given to it either. For instance, at 29 seconds during the dropout where the guitars are supposed to drive the transition, they're basically buried and really hard to hear while this background oboe holds out super, super loud. And when you hear details like that getting botched along with that weird intro along with the low end on the kick being so weird, it makes me think that not enough care was given or head was not in the game, needs to start all over. There's just so many odd choices going on. The bass distortion is so loud that you combine that with the outer control kick and it just makes it really, really hard to listen to. Guitars are pretty much, there's no real ambience on the vocals. This is supposed to be atmospheric, raw and dark, and the vocals are way upfront, personal and dry, and it's just wrong remix it, no offense but remix it. What do you think?

Speaker 3 (24:23):

Yeah, I agree with everything that you just mentioned. One thing that you just said that really stuck out was making a song like this, it's supposed to be raw, have energy, but also have atmosphere. And I feel like all these mixes that we've been hearing today are missing the atmospheric part too. The atmospheric part is huge on this. It's supposed to be one of the mainstays and it's super difficult. I think when you pull up a track, I can totally see pulling up a track like this and going for the raw energy, but the layers are still brilliant. The atmosphere to me, it would just come naturally if everything else kind of fell into place. The guitar, for me, the biggest thing on this track for me, it's also a do over, but the bass was so raunchy that everything else just felt, the moment I heard the bass, I was like, I can't stop listening to this bass because the top end was so fizzy and raunchy, it was poking at my ear the whole time.

(25:24):

And then I started noticing that the snare wire sound, it sounded like it's like a bottom snare mic that's being used for the top and there's just this weird top end fizzy sound. And then the high hat also has the same thing going on. And the kick sound to me was a kick sample at 1 27 the whole time. And then that ness was just building up on everything. The guitars are thin. It was just, I feel like there's so many things in this mix that were just not taking care of or paid attention to that it's just start over rebalance, take time to really listen to the tracks that are in front of you and refer to the notes, refer to the original mix and try to figure out how to do that in your own voice. But man, these balances and the tones and everything, were just super rough on this one for me.

Speaker 2 (26:13):

Yeah, it's definitely a strange one. Alright, let's move on to The Haunted. The song is Preachers of Death and this is Eli Do MAD's Mix

Speaker 5 (26:47):

Walking a War. What?

Speaker 2 (27:35):

Alright, that was El MAD's mix. And I say the guitar tone sounds pretty incredible. I mean you were given an incredible guitar tone to begin with, so it is hard to screw it up, but I have heard it screwed up. So credit where credit's due. I will say though, thenar the kicks sound too similar in the way that they push and their tone. There's very little differentiation between them until the chorus happens and then the kick low end is just out of control. So I don't know if there's some automation of some EQ automation where it's just different settings for different parts, but that's what it sounds like. The chorus has the wrong balance on the guitars. That clean guitar, that is such a big part of why the chorus is catchy, is kind of non-existent. However, the second time through the chorus, it's at a better level. So that makes me wonder if he intended to have two different chorus mixes or if he just was not aware, the kick still sticks out really, really weird. And the second chorus and you can hear them and that's good. I mean this mix is supposed to be very precise and clear, kind of opposite of at the gates mix, but the kickers poke out weird. They don't sound like part of the mix. Overall they good though. What do you think?

Speaker 3 (29:11):

Yeah, the kick in the snare for me also, they sounded really small in this mix and the kick just sounded like it was all beater, no punch. And then the same thing with the snare. It had all the snap and the snare sounded really weird on anytime there was the 16th note. Little buildup rolls it just like it didn't sound right in the mix at all. I feel like the kick in the snare would probably replace because they sound like midi drums to me. They don't sound like a kick in a snare, but that's part of a drum set, especially in a song like this, it needs to sound like part of a full massive kit. The ride was really transient heavy for me, and the only other thing that stuck out were the vocals I felt were a little harsh in the two to three K area, but other than that I felt like the mix was actually pretty cool.

Speaker 2 (29:56):

Yeah, definitely

Speaker 3 (29:57):

One of the better

Speaker 2 (29:58):

Ones. Alright, this one is by Joey by Bath.

(31:08):

Alright, that was by Joey Baba. Man, the bass is way too loud taking over everything. And as a result, this is kind of counterintuitive, but because of how loud the bass is, the mix sounds very small and narrow. It's just kind of eating everything. The drums have no real impact and at times get completely lost. For instance, when drummer switches to the open high hat at about 55 seconds in the verse, the kicks are just gone. It's like they're not even there. The ride is way too pingy to the point of being annoying. I would rethink this one. And lemme just say that also second verse around 1 37 has no kicks either. They literally sound gone. I'm sure they're in there, but they certainly don't sound like they're in there.

Speaker 3 (32:02):

Your thoughts? Yeah. For me, this one is a do-over the balance is just weird. It's really raunchy and super compressed sounding. The guitars were just really loud. Vocals just were, it's weird that the vocals were buried to me, but they were also really harsh. The 2K region was just boosted to be the part that makes them shoot out of this mix. But that's the region that if you abuse it, all of a sudden you're going to have this aching earache because there's just too much of that going on. I almost wonder if what's his listening environment sounds like a non-ideal space and guessing your way into a balance and a mix when if the listening environment isn't ideal. I feel like this is a clear example of one of those things. I am really curious to know what he's listening through because there's just so many things happening in this mix. It's kind of like, how did you not hear that? But maybe he's on headphones or something, I don't know. But Joey, if you're listening to this episode, hit me up on Facebook. I kind of want to get some more information on your mix.

Speaker 2 (33:14):

It's a good idea. Usually when they're this weird, there is something up with how they're listening

Speaker 3 (33:20):

For sure,

Speaker 2 (33:21):

From what I've noticed.

Speaker 3 (33:22):

Yeah, it could be something maybe, I don't know, maybe Sonar Works was on or something. I don't know. But I really want to find out because it's like when we've done these past couple episodes and people reach out and they tell me their environment, it's like, oh, tweak this thing or the next thing and then I see them posting the octagon and I take a quick listen. I'm like, cool. Something clicked in their room now. And it's just having that other perspective to help really can change someone's mix. So it's like I just want to help him. Alright Joey, get in touch.

Speaker 2 (33:52):

Next one. And last one is by Josh Thor, Tate

Speaker 5 (34:17):

Walking a,

Speaker 2 (35:06):

Alright, that was by Josh Thor Tate and kind of bringing this episode, full circle noise. You can hear the noise from the tape set curator or whatever it is from, you can hear it before the song, during the song, after the song. It is just loud and it's so loud during the intro that it's just like this mix is going to come in crispy. You can just tell. And the mix did come in crispy. It was way overcooked. You can literally hear that clipping distortion on everything and it makes it a very harsh listen man, especially on the ride. The ride is so in your face to begin with on this song that if you add any sort of distortion or harshness to that ride, it's going to be a painful situation, which is what this turned into. The chorus also, when he's bashing the symbols, it gets overwhelming. I think also the wrong distorted bass frequencies are getting pushed to where you're getting some super highs on the bass guitar and it sticks out too much. Instead of just creating teeth for the guitar sound, it's sticking out like this just weird harsh noise layer. So my comment, overall comment on this one is just noise everywhere on everything. Chill with the noise. Like turn those knobs back.

Speaker 3 (36:46):

Yeah, I feel like this is one of those other mixes that might have been put through a mastering chain and over compressed, and then the noise floor just is super up. But it's funny you said crispy because for me, the whole one to 5K area was like, it was really fatiguing. Getting through that list was rough for me. I can't imagine. I imagine it was the same for you. And absolutely. Also, the kick and the snare were really small and wimpy sounding. You got to have mids in your kicks, in your snares. It's like people just, they read an article and they scoop out all the mids from drums and it's like it's taken out of context. You still need those frequencies because they're going to translate on smaller systems, but that's where the power lies. You need those mids with the fundamentals. And then another thing that stuck out too is whenever the Toms popped out, they distorted because I have a feeling that maybe there's a clip plugin or something that's on a Tom or the Tom bus, and that's used to bring up the volume of the Toms to bring the impact.

(37:50):

But the problem with that is the distortion that happens and the mix is already sounding distorted. And then you have the noise floor. So all of a sudden you now have created a very crispy, noisy mix. And unfortunately, the only way to save a mix like this is to honestly just start over and dial things back and really try to not just add these things to make your mix louder because you can't hear 'em. But go back to the fundamentals listening for masking frequencies. How do you get the clarity of the Toms to come out naturally with the drums, the overheads, finding the right samples? All those things are going to be way more beneficial than adding tape emulations and clippers and all these other things that eventually when you add your master and limiter can ruin all the hard work that you did in two seconds.

(38:38):

So really just go back to, if you're enhanced, go back to the eq, fast track the balanced fast track, and really spend time with those. And then I would highly suggest watching the Chris Crume fast track for the past. I think since it's been released, anyone I've heard have drums that kind of don't gel. I have recommended that fast track and everyone that's done it, it's a nine day difference. So do the fast tracks. If you have access to 'em, it's a hundred percent worth it. You'll see an improvement from not having to rely on all these things that can easily destroy a mix. So yeah, Josh, start over man. And ease up on the emulation stuff, man. And if

Speaker 2 (39:22):

You want further feedback, post your remixes in the URM octagon, which is our URM members only mixed group, which is actually where we pull these mixes out of. There's no way to actually submit for this show. If you post in the octagon, you could get randomly selected to have your mixed torn apart by us on the show. So with that said, John Maceo, thank you for co-hosting another episode of Mixed Script Monday. Thanks for having me. I'll talk to you next time.

Speaker 1 (40:01):

The Unstoppable Recording Machine podcast is brought to you by JZ Microphone. For over a decade, Jay-Z microphones has combined all the critical elements of world-class microphone manufacturing, patented capsule technology, precision electronics, and innovative industrial design. Jay-Z microphones, deep understanding of technology is informed by their open-minded, innovative approach. Trust us, sound can be glorious recorded. For more info, please go to JayZ mike.com to ask us questions, make suggestions and interact. Visit URM Academy and press the podcast link today.