Hi guys,
I’ve pimped this song at you before, but I’m coming down to mix the album now, and am scratching my head trying to figure out the mastering process.
I’ve been playing with both Ozone and Harbal, and I could use a fresh pair of ears to help me decide which is best. Here’s the final mix, with every combination of Ozone and Harbal applied:
http://www.atsj97.dsl.pipex.com/Breakpoint_nofx.mp3
http://www.atsj97.dsl.pipex.com/Breakpoint_harbal.mp3
http://www.atsj97.dsl.pipex.com/Breakpoint_ozone.mp3
http://www.atsj97.dsl.pipex.com/Breakpoint_ozone_harbal.mp3
Which is best?
Cheers,
Dave
FWIW I actually like the nofx track best.
Harbal only is the best of the rest to my ears. The Ozone tracks are too harsh from the high mids and upwards, IMO.
Sounds to me like you can still get more mileage out of your individual tracks.
Suggestions:
- More air & sparkle to the vocals
- EQ out some boominess from the drums, to make room for a
- Fatter guitar. Try moving emphasize to a lower frequency range.
As it is the guitars sounds a little screechy at my end.
After that, who knows ??
As always, feel free to disagree 
Tasty guitar playing !
Hi Teryeah, thanks for giving my tracks a listen.
I’m sure I’ve listened so much that I’ve started to lose focus now, so external input is always very welcome.
How should I put more “sparkle” onto the vocals? With an exciter plugin? Can someone recommend a good one? I’ve tried Ozone and Elogoxa’s “x-cita”, but the former still applies some nasty distortion.
I actually quite like the “boominess” of the drums, it gives it quite a bit of power. I’m trying to mix down using Van Halen’s F.U.C.K for reference, which also has a very big drum sound.
I also quite like my guitar sound! Is it worth playing with an exciter to give it some more warmth?
Cheers,
Dave
Handy website teryeah! I can see it coming in handy.
Taking on board what you’ve said, I’ve scrapped Ozone on my master channel. I probably won’t use Harbal. Here’s a new mix, with just some eq on the master channel, and Ozone (instead) on the lead vocal and backing vocal tracks. It’s using the exciter and dynamics modules. I know you’re only “supposed” to have one instance of it, but… meh.
Have a listen, I think it’s sounds a bit fuller without sounding “dull”:
http://www.atsj97.dsl.pipex.com/Breakpoint.mp3
Once again, input very welcome… 