it's what all great mixers say: balance. and this is the perfect examples how just adjusting levels changes a mix completely. sounds so open now! great video!
Great concept for a series. Most of us artists can get it REALLY close, but there’s that ‘magic’ missing. First learning experience years ago- Drums, especially snares, are A LOT louder than I thought in most popular music.
Awesome video! Hi hats always get in the way! The first tip is pure gold, having the original mix and check it often helps a lot, it's really easy to lose perspective.
Super wonderful video and super great idea for new video series, please do more videos like this one, and in the future please allow people to send their mixes to you for a mix crit!
Thanks! That hi-hat was driving me insane when I was mixing it 😀 so in the end we went with the safer option and just made it loud enough to be heard in the mix - Vitaliy
Interesting that in this mix the hi hat does distract from the vocal, but in the original Korn version the hi hat is actually super loud and it still works somehow. Great format by the way, looking forward to more in this series.
I always loved the production on the decapitated albums, cool that Hertz Studios now also make videos, especially as an amateur musician it is always good to hear a professionals opinion on certain things.
Great video. Definitely heard the improvement after removing the limiter. Would like to have heard if you could’ve gotten away with any more high hat without crowding the vocals, say -1db, especially while he’s hitting on the upbeat, which adds to the interest of the chorus.
Crushing the dynamic range pushed everything to the front and made it feel flat. By removing the compressors and limiters, it allowed the depth to come through. That's really interesting, I wonder why it feels like there is space in the mix just by allowing dynamic range? My initial guess would be that things get quieter the further away they are. So by allowing the instruments to have more dynamic range changes how close they feel. Instead of everything being flattened to the front, they dip in and out as necessary. Something like that, I'm self-taught so I'm sure there are plenty of gaps in my knowledge, I'm just thinking through what I'm hearing and seeing. I suppose it doesn't really matter why it happens, it just matters that it happens.
Sonic depth is such a wierd concept, it's cool you brought it up. I think I agree with you - with the dynamic range crushed, the elements of the mix that are supposed to be quiet and kinda in the background become too loud and compete with the louder elements for space in the mix, which quickly fatigues the listener - Vitaliy
Another interesting thing to experiment with would be the midrange content on the guitars. Korn's bass is incredibly scooped, but the sum of the guitars and bass sound balanced because the midrange-heavy guitars make up for it. In the case of your mix both sound rather scooped. Furthermore, your drums also sound rather scooped, but i think this is deceptive... close-mic'd drums tend to sound more scooped due to the proximity effect's increased bass response, which implies that your drum image possibly has a balance problem (too much close mic and not enough room). You can hear this when you listen to parts where the toms are playing... they sound very isolated. Whichever way, I bet you would get some interesting results by messing around with the balance of the kit itself by adjusting the amount of room you have in your drumbus. Best of luck, it already sounds much better!
Thanks for the advice. All you're saying makes total sense, but I feel like I've been working on this mix for too long already, so it's time to let it go 😀 I'm already working on a new project, and just like you're saying, blending in more rooms makes things sound more natural and cohesive. - Vitaliy
@@HertzDrums All good, I'd be happy if it helps! I think trying to replicate a mix you like you did here is a valuable exercise. It forces you to describe what you hear, in words, in the original mix before trying to replicate the individual mix elements. As an example, this is what i hear in terms of drums: I hear a drumsound that sounds like the snare close mic isn't particularly heavily compressed. The kikdrum sounds very thumpy - the type of sound that most high-end productions for these type of bands had in the 90's. I also hear a kikdrum that is balanced in such a way that the top-end sounds almost like it's part of the bass guitar percussion. Next I would start thinking of how to replicate the sound I've just described. The snare is perhaps easier - back off on the close-mic compression, and bring up a compressed copy of the room. Don't worry too much about stereo rooms now... even a mono room will be great at replicating this sound. The kikdrum sound is a little harder, and most people's first (incorrect) instinct would be to assume that compressing the drum harder would obtain that sound (this is why you felt that the kik attack didn't sit right). Closer to the truth: it was the mid 90's and while it's possible that this record was tracked to an early Pro-tools rig, most producers back then first tracked to tape before converting tape to digital. The reason i mention tape is, it was an integral part of that kikdrum sound back then, because it grabbed hold of the transient in a very pleasing way. What you could do, as an exercise, is to remove all plugins and processing from the kik, and first send it to one of the better tape emulations. How do you know if it's one of the 'better' emulations? If you increase the volume at which you hit your 'tape', you'll hear the drum fattening up a lot before it eventually distorts. It becomes compressed, but in a way different manner compared to a compressor. I don't know which tape emulations you have at your disposal, but I can really recommend the tape in Harrison Mixbus' DAW. (I think you can play around with a demo copy, it'll just hiss some white noise at you every few seconds but you'd at least be able to experiment a bit. If you like it, their licenses are cheap.) So just import your kikdrum track in, say, Mixbus, and play around with how hard you hit the tape. You'd hear a kind of sweetspot on the kikdrum where it sounds like it's fattening up but not yet distorting. Once you have that sound it's *way* easier to eventually compress and eq it to taste. Toms: same as snare, but I'd like to mention that your tom close mics are incredibly scooped, and I blame the internet for this. The toms sound scooped as hell on every modern metal record with 300-1.5Khz just obliterated... and it's a pity. My approach I've found to letting close-mic toms sit in the mix: accept that you're probably going to be boosting, or at least keep intact, some part of the midrange. I usually boost around 600-800Hz since most of the tone of the tom seems to live there, and it you can usually boost there without the tom starting to sound boxy (that perceived 'boxiness' is usually why people obliterate the midrange.) Last but not least: that midrange on the guitars. Not all midrange is created equally. Boosting the mids on the amp might do the trick, or maybe just cutting less of it downstream. HOWEVER. You absolutely need to take into account that the song was recorded with real amps, which were very loud. Loud amps imply the power section got involved, and a loud power section does something to the midrange which is impossible to replicate with by either messing with the preamp eq or downstream processing eq. I suspect you're using amp sims, but on the off-chance you're recording with a real tube amp with a load plate, try bringing up the volume on your power amp. Power amp sections are magic... they're responsible for adding that gooey, sludgy filth to guitar sounds. Final note on kikdrums: try to use a sample from a smaller kik. Small as in shallow. The shallower the kik, the easier to make it thump.
Before listening to what he has to say: It sounds dull. Drums are too kind and guitars are just sort of "there". nothing sticking out. Like everything is equal or at the same levels. Also vocals are too low.
I'm very distracted by ~2k from guitars and I think it buries the vocal a little too. Too bad sometimes my ears are very sensitive to 2-3k and all music sounds harsh. Also I always prefer "loud" drums in music at least I love to hear transients not killed by clipper.
If there's enough interest in this type of videos, we'll make it a regular thing and let everyone know if they can send in their mixes. Hope it works out.
Very nice, this can be a good series, subbed! Cutting out the plugins is the way to go... any digital processing degrades the mix (with aliasing and such) so it's best to keep it at a minimum. Greetings to fellow Reaper users :)
That was just something a friend asked me to mix, and when I was finishing it, I thought it might be a cool idea to show it to Wojtek and share it with everyone else, cause it feels like after every such session with Wojtek I become a better mixer. -Vitaliy
It sounded okay, but when you disabled that master chain, the mix really came to life
Glad to see it mixes with Reaper
Great idea! Waiting for the next episode!
it's what all great mixers say: balance. and this is the perfect examples how just adjusting levels changes a mix completely. sounds so open now! great video!
Thanks! It's always balance and a clear understanding of what tools you use and why.
I love how this man teach, amazing channel
Thank you so much!
Great video. Can't wait for the next part.
Thanks. Next part is hopefully coming later this week!
I wish I had a guy like this as a friend. JUDGE MY MIXES!
Very interesting show for us in the learning process. Looking forward to watching the next episode
Thanks! Episode 2 is already on our channel
so true ! I only add an EQ to mine! the sound is just very good when the plug-in comes out!
Thank you, this was a great lesson
Thanks! Glad you found it helpful!
This is really superb! Well done. Really enjoyed this and looking forward to seeing the whole mix through to the end. Thank you for sharing
Thanks!
He's got a super bedside manner, and huge amount of knowledge radiates from the guy. This will be a brilliant series.
Great concept for a series. Most of us artists can get it REALLY close, but there’s that ‘magic’ missing.
First learning experience years ago- Drums, especially snares, are A LOT louder than I thought in most popular music.
Thanks! Agreed, snares in modern music hit you right in the face.
- Vitaliy
I have come to the conclusion that all mixes are subjective and non of it matters as long as the music is good.
Sure, but there are still some general things you might wanna keep in mind to be able to take your mix where you want it to be
Exactly. If the mix is the way the band/artist wants it then it's a good mix.
Awesome video! Hi hats always get in the way! The first tip is pure gold, having the original mix and check it often helps a lot, it's really easy to lose perspective.
Thank you. I hope it will help you in future mixes. :) - Wojtek
Super wonderful video and super great idea for new video series, please do more videos like this one, and in the future please allow people to send their mixes to you for a mix crit!
Thanks! We're hoping to make it a regular series. Keep an eye on our updates.
Good information and good presentation. Calm and explaining. Thanks for the lesson 👏⭐
Thanks for watching. Glad you liked it!
Great video! But that disco hi hat in the chorus is so crucial to the song! haha. Loved all the other advice tho. Very tactful. More episodes please!
Thanks! That hi-hat was driving me insane when I was mixing it 😀 so in the end we went with the safer option and just made it loud enough to be heard in the mix
- Vitaliy
Great tips!
Glad you found it helpful!
Interesting that in this mix the hi hat does distract from the vocal, but in the original Korn version the hi hat is actually super loud and it still works somehow.
Great format by the way, looking forward to more in this series.
That's exactly why I ended up making the hi-hat that loud - I was constantly comparing it with the original 😀
- Vitaliy
Which Korn song is this? Wanna compare with the original.
Amazing thank you !!!!! You’re amazing by the way!!!
Great content, well done!
Thanks for watching!
For me, I think I like the api on the kick. I like that wet trigger sound. Superb track and video!
The beauty of music lies in the individual approach:) - different tastes and feelings. I'm glad you have your own opinion, and that's awesome
woooow i like this content, make more like this please!!!
Thank you. We're working on it!
I always loved the production on the decapitated albums, cool that Hertz Studios now also make videos, especially as an amateur musician it is always good to hear a professionals opinion on certain things.
Every time I get a chance to chat with Wojtek, I become a better mixer myself
-Vitaliy
Loved the video! More like that!
Thank you, we'd love to make more of that
Great video. Definitely heard the improvement after removing the limiter. Would like to have heard if you could’ve gotten away with any more high hat without crowding the vocals, say -1db, especially while he’s hitting on the upbeat, which adds to the interest of the chorus.
Thanks! That hi-hat was driving us crazy by the end of the session 😀
Crushing the dynamic range pushed everything to the front and made it feel flat. By removing the compressors and limiters, it allowed the depth to come through. That's really interesting, I wonder why it feels like there is space in the mix just by allowing dynamic range? My initial guess would be that things get quieter the further away they are. So by allowing the instruments to have more dynamic range changes how close they feel. Instead of everything being flattened to the front, they dip in and out as necessary.
Something like that, I'm self-taught so I'm sure there are plenty of gaps in my knowledge, I'm just thinking through what I'm hearing and seeing. I suppose it doesn't really matter why it happens, it just matters that it happens.
Sonic depth is such a wierd concept, it's cool you brought it up. I think I agree with you - with the dynamic range crushed, the elements of the mix that are supposed to be quiet and kinda in the background become too loud and compete with the louder elements for space in the mix, which quickly fatigues the listener
- Vitaliy
Great advise!
Glad you found it helpful!
Awesome idea here!
Thanks!
Not even a minute in the vid but already subscribed to the channel! Thanks for sharing the knowledge!
Thank you and welcome aboard! 👋
Great video, love to see a breakdown of a mix like this.
Thanks for watching!
Great video! Subscribed 👍
Cool, thanks!
~Reaches for "Level of Suck" dial.
*Slowly turns is counter clockwise from 9.5 to 3.
~Mix magically improves greatly.
Ha ha :) I wish it could always be so easy
It's interesting idea and very useful information for people who mixing their songs, but don't have so much experience how to mix it better
Glad you liked it, and thanks for the song!
@@HertzDrumsbig thanks to you for fix this mix :)
Still need to lower the kick even more, because the attack (treble) pokes to much. Or lower treble.
Another interesting thing to experiment with would be the midrange content on the guitars. Korn's bass is incredibly scooped, but the sum of the guitars and bass sound balanced because the midrange-heavy guitars make up for it. In the case of your mix both sound rather scooped.
Furthermore, your drums also sound rather scooped, but i think this is deceptive... close-mic'd drums tend to sound more scooped due to the proximity effect's increased bass response, which implies that your drum image possibly has a balance problem (too much close mic and not enough room). You can hear this when you listen to parts where the toms are playing... they sound very isolated. Whichever way, I bet you would get some interesting results by messing around with the balance of the kit itself by adjusting the amount of room you have in your drumbus.
Best of luck, it already sounds much better!
Thanks for the advice. All you're saying makes total sense, but I feel like I've been working on this mix for too long already, so it's time to let it go 😀
I'm already working on a new project, and just like you're saying, blending in more rooms makes things sound more natural and cohesive.
- Vitaliy
@@HertzDrums All good, I'd be happy if it helps! I think trying to replicate a mix you like you did here is a valuable exercise. It forces you to describe what you hear, in words, in the original mix before trying to replicate the individual mix elements.
As an example, this is what i hear in terms of drums:
I hear a drumsound that sounds like the snare close mic isn't particularly heavily compressed. The kikdrum sounds very thumpy - the type of sound that most high-end productions for these type of bands had in the 90's. I also hear a kikdrum that is balanced in such a way that the top-end sounds almost like it's part of the bass guitar percussion.
Next I would start thinking of how to replicate the sound I've just described. The snare is perhaps easier - back off on the close-mic compression, and bring up a compressed copy of the room. Don't worry too much about stereo rooms now... even a mono room will be great at replicating this sound.
The kikdrum sound is a little harder, and most people's first (incorrect) instinct would be to assume that compressing the drum harder would obtain that sound (this is why you felt that the kik attack didn't sit right). Closer to the truth: it was the mid 90's and while it's possible that this record was tracked to an early Pro-tools rig, most producers back then first tracked to tape before converting tape to digital. The reason i mention tape is, it was an integral part of that kikdrum sound back then, because it grabbed hold of the transient in a very pleasing way. What you could do, as an exercise, is to remove all plugins and processing from the kik, and first send it to one of the better tape emulations.
How do you know if it's one of the 'better' emulations? If you increase the volume at which you hit your 'tape', you'll hear the drum fattening up a lot before it eventually distorts. It becomes compressed, but in a way different manner compared to a compressor. I don't know which tape emulations you have at your disposal, but I can really recommend the tape in Harrison Mixbus' DAW. (I think you can play around with a demo copy, it'll just hiss some white noise at you every few seconds but you'd at least be able to experiment a bit. If you like it, their licenses are cheap.) So just import your kikdrum track in, say, Mixbus, and play around with how hard you hit the tape. You'd hear a kind of sweetspot on the kikdrum where it sounds like it's fattening up but not yet distorting. Once you have that sound it's *way* easier to eventually compress and eq it to taste.
Toms: same as snare, but I'd like to mention that your tom close mics are incredibly scooped, and I blame the internet for this. The toms sound scooped as hell on every modern metal record with 300-1.5Khz just obliterated... and it's a pity. My approach I've found to letting close-mic toms sit in the mix: accept that you're probably going to be boosting, or at least keep intact, some part of the midrange. I usually boost around 600-800Hz since most of the tone of the tom seems to live there, and it you can usually boost there without the tom starting to sound boxy (that perceived 'boxiness' is usually why people obliterate the midrange.)
Last but not least: that midrange on the guitars. Not all midrange is created equally. Boosting the mids on the amp might do the trick, or maybe just cutting less of it downstream. HOWEVER. You absolutely need to take into account that the song was recorded with real amps, which were very loud. Loud amps imply the power section got involved, and a loud power section does something to the midrange which is impossible to replicate with by either messing with the preamp eq or downstream processing eq. I suspect you're using amp sims, but on the off-chance you're recording with a real tube amp with a load plate, try bringing up the volume on your power amp. Power amp sections are magic... they're responsible for adding that gooey, sludgy filth to guitar sounds.
Final note on kikdrums: try to use a sample from a smaller kik. Small as in shallow. The shallower the kik, the easier to make it thump.
This is great
Thank you!
Before listening to what he has to say: It sounds dull. Drums are too kind and guitars are just sort of "there". nothing sticking out. Like everything is equal or at the same levels.
Also vocals are too low.
👍
mud and masking!
I'm very distracted by ~2k from guitars and I think it buries the vocal a little too. Too bad sometimes my ears are very sensitive to 2-3k and all music sounds harsh. Also I always prefer "loud" drums in music at least I love to hear transients not killed by clipper.
Good point! We might've overlooked that.
Can I send you my mix for the revision?
If there's enough interest in this type of videos, we'll make it a regular thing and let everyone know if they can send in their mixes. Hope it works out.
@@HertzDrums leci sub z nadzieją na ten content 😊 Pozdrawiam
why a bootleg version of Got the life?
Very nice, this can be a good series, subbed!
Cutting out the plugins is the way to go... any digital processing degrades the mix (with aliasing and such) so it's best to keep it at a minimum.
Greetings to fellow Reaper users :)
Couldn't agree more. When the source audio is good, you don't need all that many plugins to make a good mix. Balance is key.
Less is more 🫶🏻
the only difference is the snare sound for me
The snare suffered the most from the aggressive limiting on the master bus
corn - gut di live
yep, you got it right
It was simply too noisy
Probably too high dynamics for today’s standards
what I'd really like to understand is how someone goes into so much trouble over a recording a cover song...
That was just something a friend asked me to mix, and when I was finishing it, I thought it might be a cool idea to show it to Wojtek and share it with everyone else, cause it feels like after every such session with Wojtek I become a better mixer.
-Vitaliy
snare is too loud in the "fixed one" uffff
ha ha. .... snare is never to loud :)
@@HertzDrumsfunny but deep😅