SonicScoop has been covering music mixing, recording and production for more than a decade. Run by Gold-certified mastering engineer Justin Colletti. Subscribe for tips, tutorials, interviews and gear reviews. Website at sonicscoop.com ►🎚Mixing Breakthroughs: mixingbreakthroughs.com
I really like Serban's production, but I'm rather underwhelmed by how predictable and pedestrian most of the songs are, both sonically and from a songwriting point of view.
Small note on the Save Yourself mixes, I appreciate Jacquire's mix being more "vibey." Chris's is for sure more pop/contemporary/whatever you might want to call it, but I really like how loud the guitars are in Jacquire's mix. Lately in rock type stuff I've been noticing the drums are super loud, and I'm not a big fan of it. Interestingly, I think in k/j pop stuff lately the drums are more quiet. I don't think it's a pop thing, or even a genre thing really, just an interesting trend. Also, It'd be cool to see more of the hawkeye, or insight or whatever as your're comparing. Seeing the LUFS comparison is interesting, and something I've been meaning to do on spotify, but been too lazy to do.
To me a huge tell in CLA mixes is how he compresses and limits vocals. Also there’s always that snare thing that sounds like it’s whipping when it hits.
what stands out to me is CLA mixes treat mud and honk well but not so much to suck the life out and makes the low end huge and top end sweet. A nice balanced radio sound.
Stayin alive - the original still swings better, the bass has better contour and groove. Though both mixes are good, have some nice benefits. I‘d the vocals stand out with the newer mix.
He does not mince words and seems to have a broad distaste for snake oil, hype, and shortcuts, which is refreshing in an internet media landscape which seems to favour “must-have plugins” and “mind-blowing mix hacks”
I really love this video and the analysis!! Makes me think about quite a few things - just wondering if the Manny Marroquin stream is up anywhere as I'd love to watch??? Thanks
I haven’t done a dedicated Manny stream yet, but we listen to a bunch of his work in the Serban stream. I plan to revisit him specifically later on, but you can get a sense for how his style compares to Serbian’s in that video.
How could you miss the opportunity to compare Andy Wallace vs CLA mix on "Almost Easy" by Avenged Sevenfold? :D Just joking, but it's a really interesting comparison. I love CLA work on Blindside "Painting" album (no drum samples and it sounds absolutely great!!), whole Theory of a Deadman "Gasoline album (it's a reference for me honestly - the sound is warm but present, it's punchy and loud but not too loud, sounds just perfect). Also let's not forget Joe Cocker "Unchain My Heart" album which Chris did really great! Nickelback's "Feed The Machine" also is a great mix by CLA, the bass is so loud in this mix and the automation moves are crazily brave. The intro vs verse vs chorus volume differences are insane. Some recent Halestorm songs (like 3-6 years ago if I remember correctly) he mixed also have some huge automation moves which can be heard especially on guitars and drums. He's a master of automation for me + his balance always makes everything sound really wide which I love. Another great mixes he did are Seether and Shinedown albums he mixed with the biggest hits they made up to date. The unusual CLA mixes for me are present on "Mad Love" album by Robi Draco Rosa - it's a real gem, really. Very different style and sounds incredible. Very versatile mixer with huge skills and using exceptionally brave automation and eq moves.
I didn’t do the Avenged Sevenfold one because I saw it discussed elsewhere on the interwebs already, but maybe I’ll bring it up for the Andy Wallace one anyway. Thanks for the great comment! -Justin
The thing that’s tripped me up the most in the past with mixing rock is trying to make both the guitars and the drums big. Took me a while, and listening more critically to great-sounding rock records to realize it’s a trade off. Also, giving the guitars uninterrupted real estate on the sides-especially keeping vox out of there most of the time-took a while. Great insights, thank you!
@@SonicScoop those were the only mixes where i felt the music. all the others were just dead (except the jaquire king mixes in the beginning. but my favourite engineer is russ elevado so i like that kind of thing more.
Ironically, though I own and use his plugins, and really like them, I cannot stand most of the "artists" he's engineered over the years (with a few exceptions). I can't use his mixes as any kind of reference. All I know is that his plugins work well for me... and my music doesn't sound like any of his clients (and that's both by design, and a very good thing).
CLA is a hero because he embodies the competitive aspect of this industry: He is a winner, a champion, a knockout puncher. Its not interesting, or tasteful, or original. But that's not what competition is about. He is wider, punchier and more exciting than anyone else in his genre, so "eat my dust" is the whole vibe.
I like the warmth and vibe that comes from jacquires mix. Feels a bit more genre appropriate for that song. Although, CLA's transition into the chorus with fx and leaning into the atmosphere those BVs create helps lift the chorus a TON. Jacquires definitely falls flat when the chorus hits.
When I heard the black parade as a teen I always hated how it sounded and never knew why. When I got in to audio engineering I listened to the album again and realized I hated the CLA sound. So thin and compress, there’s a whole marching band in the album and you can nearly hear it. Drums sounds midi for me (I thinks it’s the unnatural snare reverb). But I know he defined “that” rock sound of the era. Great video, we need more!
Good episode! CLA's mixes sound great in general, but what do you think about how they translate coming out of cell phone speakers? I find that sometimes they distort because of too much upper mids which sound good on large speakers but not so much on the tiny ones. If you listen to American Idiot with your phone volume all the way up, that would be a good example. Now compare that with the first Rage Against The Machine album. I think that sounds good coming out of cell phone speakers. I find that to be the most challenging aspect of mixing. Making a mix that doesn't distort when the cell phone volume is all the way up and also doesn't sound dull on a bigger system such as a car stereo.
How could the powered Reftones be any Good? One Cabinet has an AMP in side and the other does Not, The air Volume and Cabinet size are Different form Left to Right....
Thanks so much for putting effort and such detail in these videos. CLA is one of the engineers I look up to and I have been studying his sound and workflow since Ive started. So this video is a big one for me.
Justin, many thanks for this and for this series. This is seriously high-effort (and correspondingly high-value) content. This deserves all of the views in the world. Love the long format, in depth honest analysis. A lot to glean from this. I appreciate you
I was waiting for it to start, and started to listen to it a few hours later. What a great idea to show how engineering can be so differently styled and focuses our ears on the differences, also the typical standards and expectations they set up, create or follow. Nice one for linking the playlist too. What a task, to make these comparisons, (is like you’re teaching referencing) that reveals what a complex art mixing is. So far of the tracks, I liked the first one best.
Why do I feel pressure that I’m supposed to worship this guy? 2010s were cheesy, and I think his work has a cheesy. I think his plugins are harsh. FCLA ha ha! 😝
No pressure at all! So much of this is about taste, and you are entitled to yours. If this series helps you discover what people you DON’T want to take advice from, that’s almost as valuable as discovering who you DO want to take advice from. That said, tastes aside, the guy is clearly successful-not just financially or career wise-but in getting the sounds he set out to get. So there is often something to learn there. (Even if, in your cases, it’s learning what you don’t want to do!) I hope that makes sense, -Justin
@@SonicScoop Also playing Devil’s advocate to get some convo going - it’s a lighthearted comment and he deserves respect. I just find his work overbearing a bit. Great analysis as usual!
@@mirkomarkovic3438 The loudness wars, harsh and dead production styles, too much focus on hooks, and the rise of crap genres like EDM and techno- streaming services opened the door also to many new artists but that includes a lowering of quality. There are of course great artists at that time but many see the 2010s as a bit of a dip in music quality in general. Sorry if that was “your time” because I had Nirvana.
@@bradashlock i'm your age man but the loudness wars started in the 90s and that's also where CLA was most famous. everything he did after that was cheesy and i'm with you it's the emergence of a certain culture. it just started way earlier.
What are your favorite CLA mixes? How would you describe his sound? Here's a link to the CLA comparison playlist: open.spotify.com/playlist/5SVHTjDdQNgUPouomuEyFj?si=2aed4bbeeac54150 ►🎚Mixing Breakthroughs: mixingbreakthroughs.com ►🎛Compression Breakthroughs: compressionbreakthroughs.com ►🎧 EQ Breakthroughs: EQBreakthroughs.com ►🔊Mastering Demystified: MasteringDemystified.com ►✅Become a channel member here: ru-vid.com/show-UCqEKv3KIZoZrjv2LymD3iMgjoin
Well, now I know why I find some of the Weekend’s tunes grating to me, makes sense now. Serban’s mixes are phenomenal and so mature and ‘grown up’, if that’s a good way of describing it. Thanks for this, explains a lot. Also, I’ve been at the opposite end of his mixes, mixing FOH for a couple of artists on a tour cycle for albums he’s mixed. It’s a great study, but man is it ever HARD to explain to an artist or their manager why I can’t get them to sound like these records in a live setting. It’s def getting easier with IEM monitoring and other on-stage improvements, but early/mid 2000’s was really stressful for FOH engineers LOL.
The gate is AMAZING. Just the default setting it comes up with on an individual drum track is better than anything I can come up with playing around with the gates I currently have -- it's almost set it and forget it if you don't want to fuss with it for too long. But this is by far my favorite solution for dealing with cymbal bleed I've found. Haven't had much time to put the others through the paces yet, but if they're as good as the gate, I may have to budget for some others in the near future as well. I'll be making my purchases before July 11, but want to see if I should spring for either of the bundles before purchasing the gate individually. Keep up the great work, Justin and Aaron!
Thanks to AIXDSP for supporting the channel! Get 20% off any of AIXDSP plugins or bundles with code SONICSCOOP at aixdsp.com from now until July 11. ►🎚Mixing Breakthroughs: mixingbreakthroughs.com ►🎛Compression Breakthroughs: compressionbreakthroughs.com ►🎧 EQ Breakthroughs: EQBreakthroughs.com ►🔊Mastering Demystified: MasteringDemystified.com ►✅Become a channel member here: ru-vid.com/show-UCqEKv3KIZoZrjv2LymD3iMgjoin
do you really have to give us the outline before hand? (We'll talk about that later). it's just a waste of time, unless you are giving chapter markers, you're wasting our time in the beginning of the vid.
Serban is cutting out frequencies more than boosting and compressing specific instruments. His secret is how well he uses compressors, EQs, limiters, and SATURATION. Which instrument or vocal gets what depends on how it’s playing through the ProAcs and Genetec speakers.🫶🏾👽
