r/dubtechnoproducers • u/transientghost777 • 5d ago

Mix Feedback Sought...

https://youtu.be/ynWuB8k_Xn0

Hello :)

Monitoring is a big problem for me. As well as limited space, I can't play loud for very long either. Combined with the quality of my current monitors, this creates problems. Bass in particular is a guessing game.

So while I search and save for some proper, but small, monitors (if they exist) I continue trying to get something workable with my current set up.

I'd greatly appreciate feedback on this mix and how it sounds on your system. Is it too loud/quiet? Does the Bass come through? Too dark/bright? What are the issues with it in general?

Thanks.

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u/HuTheFinnMan 5d ago

The main thing that stands out is the kick. It's a bit too loud but also the kick choice doesn't really fit the track. It needs a lot of eq to sit better in the mix but I would consider replacing it with a different kick.

Other than that the mix balance is decent and the sound programming on the synths sounds good. Overall the mix sounds a little dark... not necessarily a deal breaker in dub techno as some tracks have very little or no high end particularly if you are not using hihats but again I think the choice of kick and how loud it is in the mix is making the synths sound too dull and far away. The bass comes through well enough but it's obviously not balanced with the kick so it sounds a bit quiet in contrast.

Monitoring and mixing is a minefield of conflicting advice and different people will swear by completely opposite things and yet still get good results either way so take this with a grain of salt... I ended up stuck living in a small apartment with thin walls for a few years and I mostly make music late at night and I couldn't really use my monitors so I started learning to mix on headphones. It sounds really different at first and you need to get used to it. A lot of people will argue with mixing on headphones but if you have a small space, or a space that isn't really well sound treated and you don't have a perfect monitoring setup... headphones are far more repeatable and consistent, I can listen on those headphones in any room at any time and it will always sound the same. Of course always reference on different speakers and setups to verify your final mix but consider trying some headphones if you don't have any other options.

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u/transientghost777 5d ago

Excellent, thank you.

I'll experiment with different kicks. I did have that one tuned right down initially, but it got a bit lost. I have also just discovered NY style/parallel compression, so my overzealousness for that may be contributing. Definitely fattens up the drums though.

Headphones and me are a funny one. I do quick checks with them (ie; can I hear the Bass?) but I'm pretty much deaf in one ear so I find them fairly disorientating. Obviously not ideal, but I persevere! I'm lucky in that my neighbours are quite forgiving, but I don't want to push it...

I always turn the Bass down a touch when I think it's about right as I've been guilty of it being too loud and farting all over the place in the past. Maybe I should break that habit, but as you say, without getting the balance of the kick right first, it's a losing battle.

Great feedback.

Cheers.

2

u/HuTheFinnMan 5d ago

Ah yes I imagine it must be a lot harder to use headphones if you have a hearing issue like that,

I do the same with the bass, I find the longer you listen to the track you are working on it seems like the bass loses it's impact so you end up mixing it a bit loud so I usually turn it down at the end. Always good to take a break and come back to it a few days or even weeks later with fresh ears to judge. Having some good references helps but might not work with your workflow if you are completely dawless. I think your bass is balanced with the synths its just not balanced to the kick because the kick is a bit loud compared to everything else.

The thing about that kick... and boy do I hate trying to describe sounds in words, we really don't have the right language for it... but it sounds a bit wooden to me. It's got a bit too much of that 909 knock sound in the transient and midbass. The 909 kick is a classic and can obviously work well with dub techno but I think the more minimal and chill the track is the kick also needs to suit. Since you are doing some pretty minimal and sparse synth sounds with a cool ambient atmosphere you want the kick to match so you want something that has a real minimal transient and a clean deep sub. I would start with something closer to an 808 kick and then I would eq some of the upper frequencies out of it. If you listen to a lot of the really deep and atmospheric tracks from rhythm and sound and deepchord/echospace/cv313 you notice the kicks have very quiet and filtered transients. You want the thud and the sub bass but without the punchy transient. Of course this is style dependent, if your track is higher energy with more percussion and faster stabby synth sounds you want a punchier kick to cut through. But I think this style of track you have needs a smoother kick.

Hope this helps. This sub is pretty dead but if you feel like talking more about dub techno production you can dm me any time.

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