3 Track EP - "Portrait With Teeth"

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WolfandWeather

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View attachment Wanderlust (Rough Mix).mp3View attachment Untitled Nude.mp3View attachment Fading Roses (Rough Mix).mp3

I'm currently mixing some songs for my second EP but I'm not quite getting there. I need some fresh ears and little bit of feedback to help me improve the rough mixes so any suggestions or criticism you guys can give would be great.

I composed and recorded all the music, my girlfriend wrote the lyrics and provided vocals. I recorded pretty much everything using an M-Audio Fast Track and Ableton. Drums were made using EZdrummer, guitars and bass were recorded DI (via a pedalboard) and then reamped with Amplitube. Vocals and acoustic guitars were recorded using a Rode M3.

Re-recording parts isn't really an option because the whole process has already taken about 18 months and I just need to get it done as quickly as possible. So if something sounds way off, I need to figure out a way to fix it instead of redoing it.

Thanks!
 
Just 3 songs, and took you 18 months? I thought my recording schedule was slow! :eek:
I listened to Fading Roses. The guitar is good, but the virtual strings when they come in are too loud and are panned too far to the left, it would be better to spread them out across the mix. The low 'boom' sound is interesting in the first part of the song, but indistinct and makes me wonder if its supposed to be there and what it is.
On the EZ Drummer, look at varying your snare and cymbal hit volumes a little (more).
There's some noise on the track after the song ends - like a live mic still recording (but too indistinct to make out what's being said).
 
i listened to wanderlust.. the vocals are way back in the mix. and the piano is really loud..
Vocals are well done
 
listened to wanderlust 7 times ... nude half of it and fading roses once ...

your vocalist is excellent imo it would be a good idea to give her more freedom,maybe start by letting her overdub some harmonies then rewrite your parts to compliment (wanderlust just needs some harmonies n tweaking imo)...

prob better to leave these tracks on the back burner for a while (cos you`d both get pee`d off going over old stuff) then both of you sit down with the instrument of choice and flesh out some new stuff,write together as a team,toooo much talent here to let it go to waste


i like where your coming from but these tracks could be some much more :)






(btw she`s constantly sharp,try raising the pitch of the instruments a few cents)
 
Thanks for the feedback! I completely agree about working more as a team. That's how we used to do things but we currently live in different parts of the country and both have very busy schedules so we've had to make some compromises. (That's why it's taken 18 months to put these songs together!) It's probably going to be a while before we work on anything else so we just need to do the best we can with these songs and get them out.

The boom sound in Fading Roses is a kick drum sample that I drenched with reverb and it is meant to be very indistinct and quite low in the mix. That noise at the end however isn't meant to be there so good find! I can look at bringing the strings a little bit lower but I'd like them to be quite prominent in that section. There's a cello on the right that balances out the strings on the left so I think the stereo spread is Ok.

I can also look at adjusting the levels of the vocals and piano in Wanderlust but my main concern for that one is the level of the guitar. It should be sitting behind the piano and providing some ambiance in the background but to my ears, it might be too much in certain places?
 
WolfandWeather said:
Thanks for the feedback! I completely agree about working more as a team. That's how we used to do things but we currently live in different parts of the country and both have very busy schedules so we've had to make some compromises. (That's why it's taken 18 months to put these songs together!) It's probably going to be a while before we work on anything else so we just need to do the best we can with these songs and get them out.
Click to expand...

OUCH!!! long distance relationship :( hope your together real soon :)
 
Update

View attachment Wanderlust (Rough Mix 2).mp3View attachment Untitled Nude (Rough Mix 2).mp3View attachment Fading Roses (Rough Mix 2).mp3
So I've remixed the three tracks. After listening on various different speakers, I decided that the bass and drums were overpowering so I've brought them back slightly. I've also adjusted the levels of the piano in Wanderlust and the mellotron in Fading Roses and I'm now reasonably happy with how the instrumental tracks are sounding.

My biggest problem at the moment though is the level of the vocals. I've been listening to some music for reference but I'm still not sure if I've got the vocals sitting right in my mixes. I want the vocals to be fairly prominent but not so much that they seem disconnected from everything else. It seems as though just one decibel either way is the difference between them being completely buried or sitting right out on top.

Again, thanks for the feedback and suggestions!
 
I listened to Wanderlust.

I thought the synth sounded nice. The singer has a nice voice.

I didn't care for the kick sample. It had a real clicky sound to it.

The volume jump at 1:33 was too much. Almost peed my pants. The piano part right there has a high-mid frequency that is a bit harsh. But I'd really tame the dynamic levels between the quiet and loud parts.

The bass sounded OK. A bit sterile, but not too bad.

The distorted guitar on the right side sounded a little brittle and digital.
 
At 1.33 is there anything in particular that's jumping out too much or is that whole chorus section too loud? The piano could be sticking out a little too much. Would bringing up the levels of all the instruments in the opening section make the transition better? About 1db? I don't suppose letting the limiter sort it out at the mastering stage would be a good idea.

How are the vocal levels? Is anything else too soft or too loud?
Thanks!
 
WolfandWeather said:
At 1.33 is there anything in particular that's jumping out too much or is that whole chorus section too loud? The piano could be sticking out a little too much. Would bringing up the levels of all the instruments in the opening section make the transition better? About 1db? I don't suppose letting the limiter sort it out at the mastering stage would be a good idea.

How are the vocal levels? Is anything else too soft or too loud?
Thanks!
Click to expand...

The biggest factor is just the general jump in volume. I suppose the piano's strident midrange contributes somewhat as well.
 
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