Dazzathedrummer
Member
Hi,
I'm just working my way through my Marrilion mixes having set up a surround system for the first time.
I though I'd post this here in the 'industry' section as I'm coming at this from the point of view as an experienced music producer/engineer with a view to creating surround mixes myself.
Misplaced Childhood - Steven Wilson surround mix
At first I thought the vocals were buried but then I discovered my centre channel was set to -11.5dB (doh!), I set it back to zero and all seemed fine - a nice balance on the vocal.
It's very reverby - I mean even more reverb than the original 1985 mix!
I noticed that, in general, the kick and snare were in the fronts and the toms were in the rears which seemed nice in Bitter Suite as it's quite abstract but it seemed to water-down the impact of the drums on more regular songs. The snare drum didn't have the same bite as the original - I know it was an eighties thing to have prominent drums and that might not be the thing now, but I felt that there was a lack of energy in the new surround mix.
Rhythm guitar parts in the rears seemed a little too high and solo guitars in the front seemed lacking compared to the other guitars.
The bass guitar was nice with good separation
Overall it was enjoyable but very reverby - I heard some things that I hadn't heard before on the original mix but it was due to having too much separation in sections that needed to be more tightly grouped.
When I first heard the stereo remix at the time of release (and I know that the stereo remix is a bounce of the 5.1 rather than a completely separate mix), I thought that the drums were lacking as if they were tucked away in a corner so they don't cause any trouble - the drums are slightly clearer in 5.1 but lack impact due to placement.
It's ok but a bit of a missed (Misplaced?) opportunity given the depth of the album.
Clutching at Straws - Andy Bradfield and Avril Mackintosh surround mix
Interestingly I had to turn the centre speaker down to -3dB as the vocal was too prominent in the mix and seemed way too separate - it was better at -3 but jumped up occasionally.
This is way clearer than the SW mix of MC - not at all bogged down by reverb - nice separation during Hotel Hobbies.
The drums a very much lacking - no impact whatsoever at key points where big fills should be leading the way.
As with MC the rhythm guitars seem very prominent in the rears, much more even when it comes to solos though.
Incommunicado, being a big, fast, high impact song seems to lack energy due to its separation and lack of snare drum.
Overall a better mix than MC but frustrating compared to the original mix.
Brave and Afraid of Sunlight next.
So far I'm finding that the surround mixes are 'interesting' in a behind-the-scenes kind of way in that you can better hear individual elements and appreciate what went into the recording - but - they don't really seem to enhance or add value to the original experience.
I'm just working my way through my Marrilion mixes having set up a surround system for the first time.
I though I'd post this here in the 'industry' section as I'm coming at this from the point of view as an experienced music producer/engineer with a view to creating surround mixes myself.
Misplaced Childhood - Steven Wilson surround mix
At first I thought the vocals were buried but then I discovered my centre channel was set to -11.5dB (doh!), I set it back to zero and all seemed fine - a nice balance on the vocal.
It's very reverby - I mean even more reverb than the original 1985 mix!
I noticed that, in general, the kick and snare were in the fronts and the toms were in the rears which seemed nice in Bitter Suite as it's quite abstract but it seemed to water-down the impact of the drums on more regular songs. The snare drum didn't have the same bite as the original - I know it was an eighties thing to have prominent drums and that might not be the thing now, but I felt that there was a lack of energy in the new surround mix.
Rhythm guitar parts in the rears seemed a little too high and solo guitars in the front seemed lacking compared to the other guitars.
The bass guitar was nice with good separation
Overall it was enjoyable but very reverby - I heard some things that I hadn't heard before on the original mix but it was due to having too much separation in sections that needed to be more tightly grouped.
When I first heard the stereo remix at the time of release (and I know that the stereo remix is a bounce of the 5.1 rather than a completely separate mix), I thought that the drums were lacking as if they were tucked away in a corner so they don't cause any trouble - the drums are slightly clearer in 5.1 but lack impact due to placement.
It's ok but a bit of a missed (Misplaced?) opportunity given the depth of the album.
Clutching at Straws - Andy Bradfield and Avril Mackintosh surround mix
Interestingly I had to turn the centre speaker down to -3dB as the vocal was too prominent in the mix and seemed way too separate - it was better at -3 but jumped up occasionally.
This is way clearer than the SW mix of MC - not at all bogged down by reverb - nice separation during Hotel Hobbies.
The drums a very much lacking - no impact whatsoever at key points where big fills should be leading the way.
As with MC the rhythm guitars seem very prominent in the rears, much more even when it comes to solos though.
Incommunicado, being a big, fast, high impact song seems to lack energy due to its separation and lack of snare drum.
Overall a better mix than MC but frustrating compared to the original mix.
Brave and Afraid of Sunlight next.
So far I'm finding that the surround mixes are 'interesting' in a behind-the-scenes kind of way in that you can better hear individual elements and appreciate what went into the recording - but - they don't really seem to enhance or add value to the original experience.
