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XMAS-Contest 2020/2021

Mix by Haoping

03:28
0:00

Uploaded: 3 years ago | China

Online voting

This song has received 2 votes.


Participant: Haoping

Thank you for participating in the HOFA XMAS MIX CONTEST! We'd like to give you a short feedback to your contribution.

We really like your overall approach regarding the volume ratios and the frequency response. The sound is balanced and quite natural, which is important for this genre. Good job!  However, we noticed a slightly dark sound character and the mix seems a little dull in total. That’s nothing to really worry about, but you could go for a little more brightness and clarity.

Let's take a closer look at the intro of your mix. Your creative approach is going in the right direction and we can see that you put some effort in this section, using effects and automation.This is a nice idea - good job! Still, you should keep in mind that this something like a change of the arrangement. Usually, the mixing engineer is following the producer’s idea here - therefore you gotta be careful if you do some major changes to always dicuss this option when mixing for people. However, as mentioned we like your approach and use of creativity.

While it's true that drums play an important role in the rhythmic foundation, they should not cover or mask other important and leading elements in the mix. Especially the kick is really loud and dominant and thus takes up quite a lot of space in the mix. Keep an eye on the drums to make them fit to the overall sound as a unit.

We like the sound of the keys and that they don’t play a major role like the vocals or guitars. However, you could decrease their significance a little bit as they tend to get quite loud as some part of the song. That’s not a major problem - automation and the use of a compressor will get the job done.

The backing vocals are really loud and dominant. Keep in mind that these elements don’t play a major role in the song and are supposed to be a sound shape for the lead vocals, giving them some good company to express themselves. Thus, we recommend to lower the volume level of the backing vocals. In addition, you decided to go for a dark and dull sound here as well. How about adding some clarity and presence by using an EQ or even less EQ? You can see the lack of higher frequencies in the screenshot of the analyser.

The screenshot below shows the comparison of frequency response. The orange curves show energy over frequency of our mix while the white curves show the frequency response of your version of this song. The upper curve is for peak levels and the lower curve shows the energy over time. Therefore, the lower curve is more meaningful for the comparison. You should lower the volume of our mix by 0,6 dB as the auditory AB-comparison is only valid on the same loudness level.

In the screenshot of the analyser you can see that your mix is less emphasized in the high frequencies which is due to the dull overall sound.

HOFA-College offers a wide range of online courses on recording, mixing, mastering and producing music.
Mix analyses form an essential part of the education at HOFA-College, along with video tutorials, personal support, online campus & studio workshops. Experienced audio engineers listen to the mixes of the students and create individual and detailed, multi-page feedbacks about the strengths and weaknesses of each mix, with many helpful tips & tricks.
Learn more: hofa-college.com

Best regards from the HOFA team - enjoy your music!


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