Any Nine Inch Nails fans here? I got a hold of unmixed "Only" session...

[phatastic]

So I'm a student at UT, and for a project I'm getting to mix the raw recording of "Only" off of "With Teeth." Turns out the recording professor here worked with Trent Reznor in the past. Needless to say it's been a badass project, it's actually the first I've ever gotten to work on (other than my own at home) so I was a little surprised I'm getting to work on it.

HAHA they did the original session on an MBOX. You would think they could afford something better...

Anyway, I was wondering what you guys would do with the mix in your hands. For the record, I'm not asking you to do the assignment for me, in fact I'm almost done already. I just wanted to add some touch ups, maybe some tricks I hadn't thought of. I'm not very knowlegable in the ways of rock music, so I treated the track like I would any other project- lots of panning, especially with the synths, automation, I used an amp plug in on the bass guitar. It's a pretty good mix as is in my opinion, although maybe a little boring.

Comments? Questions? I can tell you what I've done with it so far.

 

[sleepy]

I'm not familiar with the song but if it's boring it's probably because there's a lack of dynamics.

I don't mean the aggresive use of a compressor (though it could be that too). You have to listen to the song. Listen to the emotion that it is trying to convey.

If it's more of a ballad type of song, the amp plugin on the bass might not be necessary. DI bass might sound the best and a smooth and low bass, yet not boomy bass would likely work pretty well. The bass really sets that groove and would need to jell with the kick pretty well. Bussing both of these to the same track might help along with editing them to hit right at the same time.

Pad type of instrument in the song I like to burry in the background. Something like strings I'll bring out a little more in parts where the intensity has risen, such as in a chorus. This is why dynamics are important and heavy limiting on master buses does the track no favors. You have to keep up with the intensity of the track.

If there's an instrument that is constant and yet comes in at certain times I like to make those clear and yet bury them in the back a bit. You can accomplish this with reverb and you might have to kill off some of the dynamics so that it doesn't get burried.

You want to pay good attention to the arrangement. There may be parts that play throughout most of the track but that might be better off left only at certain parts.

A lot of it is playing with the arrangement and making sure that the track gives you the feel that you want. That and making sure instruments with clashing frequencies are not playing at the same time.

A lot of mixes can end up pretty different from the recording. Not to say that re-arragements are a necessity. Most songs at a big-budget level will be arranged well. Some need fresh ears and the perspective of a casual listener. You as a mixing engineer need to remember that you can do a lot to add or emphasize the emotion of a track.

The rest is making it fit and making sure your parts sit well.

Also, don't fix your mix. If you're not happy with a mix, start over.

 

[krushing]

Btw, Only's session files are freely available to download from the NIN site (and have been quite some time)...

 

[mixphat]

yeah I agree on Krush, they´re there on the site and in various competitions announced, I would like to hear your version phatastic, so it´s easier to give input, comments, etc, would you post a link or do you keep it secret (if I remember right, it was a contest, wasn´t it? bit of a time I saw it), that I would respect, too, of course.

PS: Nothing wrong with an M Box...

 

[phatastic]

Btw, Only's session files are freely available to download from the NIN site (and have been quite some time)...

OUCH. Really?




























Well THAT sucks! I thought I had myself something cool here!

...eh, fvck it. It's still a pretty cool assignment nonetheless.

As for Sleepy's comments, you'd have to hear the track. If it resembles anything it's almost New Wave bastardized with a rock feel. The session is fifteen tracks long, and let me tell you, Trent Reznor is on something. Seriously. I can't even begin to tell you how those guys created some of these sounds. It's a challenge to mix, since they have a guitar as the bass for most of the track, then a synth will sub for it for about twenty seconds. Meanwhile there's a tambourine that plays for about ten and is never heard from again, guitar tracks so distorted they barely qualify as guitar, etc. I could go on, but creatively it's way beyond anything I could create at home.

So I'm doing two versions. One is just a solid mix of the track, keeping in mind I've never heard the mixed final version (at least enough to compare it to what I've come up with). That one I actually finished today, and I guess since their sessions are free anyway there's no problem showing you guys. I'll host it soon enough.

Then I'm gonna chop up the drum track and turn it into a hip hop joint. Should be fun, you guys stay tuned.

 

[aliengroover]

Yeah, they put it up there for people to remix. They had another song up there before, too.
Peace