This City - alternative pop stuff - mix feedback?

[andrushkiwt]

New amp sim (amplitube 4), drums (rock warehouse SDX) and new-ish mic (at4040). The room/mic was giving me problems in the 1khz-2.5khz area, as well as the guitars there, and after a week of trying various things to resolve it, I found that a gentle cut in that region worked better than anything else I tried. I could turn it up loudly without any grating/harsh sounds. Hopefully the vocal or guitars doesn't lose anything from that small 1.5db cut. let me know if something lacks clarity there. Bass has an OD pedal, i think it helps bring it up front more.



When she breaks down, and she found out,
I stood right there alone.

Catch this city, and wait by the ocean.
I feel her emotions on me.
Catch this city, and sleep on the sidewalk,
you'd whisper when we'd talk alone.

I won't be so kind - you give it all
and I won't break.

It's too late - alone.

 

[Robus]

I think the vocals lose a little bit in the louder parts. Quieter parts sound fine.

 

[andrushkiwt]

I think the vocals lose a little bit in the louder parts. Quieter parts sound fine.

Ok. But the louder parts were nearing grating otherwise. At least on everything I listened on. No harshness in the vocals there then I'm guessing? They lose what...volume?

 

[Robus]

Impact, I think. Maybe it's the volume, or the volume in those frequencies. I'm not hearing anything grating or harsh, which I know was your objective.

 

[andrushkiwt]

Impact, I think. Maybe it's the volume, or the volume in those frequencies. I'm not hearing anything grating or harsh, which I know was your objective.

Ah. Hmm. Yeah cause they're farther away in sorts I suppose. I think those are the "closeness" areas. Taking away from the intimacy of it makes it further I suppose...then, less impact.

Surprised you noticed it. It was such a small cut. Maybe 1.5-2.5 db. I think that region is very delicate. Like 600 or 700 doesn't seem much different... But that 900-4khz region is more senstive to changes. Seems that way anyway.

 

[ibleedburgundy]

Sounds really good dude. I really like the ending echo. Nice touch. The AT4040 sounds good to me. On my system all the frequencies sound nicely balanced.

I like the bass sound. Nice addition there. Sounds more live.

 

[easlern]

Yeah the bass sounds great, things seem really clear and well separated.

 

[VomitHatSteve]

Is this the one you did LCR?

It does feel more "open" than you're other mixes. I think it's also a little less cohesive. Some of the hard-panned trills don't seem to be sitting in the mix as well.

OtOH, my coffee hasn't kicked in yet, so who knows how coherent my thoughts are.

 

[andrushkiwt]

Sounds really good dude. I really like the ending echo. Nice touch. The AT4040 sounds good to me. On my system all the frequencies sound nicely balanced.

I like the bass sound. Nice addition there. Sounds more live.

thanks, that was automation on the vocal delay feedback. cranked it to 99% just before the end and then back down slowly.

i agree on the bass - some distortion (thanks Farview) helped bring it out more, without losing much low end. Although, toggling the distortion off showed a really fat, full low end i also liked. I would be happy if i could find a way to use OD on it but retain the bottom that otherwise seems to drop out.

i'm glad it sounds live, that's important for me. thanks IBB

 

[andrushkiwt]

Is this the one you did LCR?

It does feel more "open" than you're other mixes. I think it's also a little less cohesive. Some of the hard-panned trills don't seem to be sitting in the mix as well.

OtOH, my coffee hasn't kicked in yet, so who knows how coherent my thoughts are.

Yes, everything is 100% L, C, or R. What I need to do, i think, is figure out how to use delays to fill the gaps...i'm just not sure how to do that. Yeah, once your coffee kicks in, get back over here and explain the cohesiveness to me! I'm interested in knowing what you mean in more detail.

 

[EricIndecisive]

This sounds great. Sounds like something I would have loved in high school. I wasn't a fan of how you cut out the word 'break' before the break, it's like you were just about at the top of the song but then the power disappears right before it. It's not bad but was a bit jarring to me.

It does seem to lose a little power when it hits the chorus, which I wish I could help with but I'm not sure exactly why. It could be the starting bass note is a higher octave than what is in the verse and takes out some of the hard hitting frequencies? Or maybe just the nature of compression where the verse fills out more since it has more room.. I'm not sure.

Would like to hear this 'mastered'!

 

[andrushkiwt]

it's like you were just about at the top of the song but then the power disappears right before it.

well, everything that goes up must come down! I needed a way to end the bridge and i thought using the "main line" of the chorus in the bridge would reinforce that word and theme. it could have been produced a different way, I suppose, perhaps with a more gritty tone or some other fx, but the pause was def a part of the plan all along. sorry it didn't hit home - it's good to know though, thanks!

i'm glad you noticed the bass line and which strings I chose to use. I did give it thought on going with 1 on A string or with 8 on the D string - i ultimately chose the D string for the chorus, mostly because I wanted to END the song on the lower note, more power. So the final hit is 1 on A, while the chorus is 8 on D. Also, during the chorus bass line, I did a slight riff before changing to the second chord - and that riff doesn't cut through on lower strings. It need the higher string to hear I'm playing a little ditty there before going to the next chord. I do see your point, I'm just giving my thoughts as why I chose what I did. It was all carefully considered. But again, this is stuff that helps, so thanks for sharing and keep it coming!

 

[PhilLondon]

On my monitors the bass does boom a little bit at times which is overpowering the mix a fair amount.

Other than that it sounds really professional and tight. Good job.

 

[andrushkiwt]

On my monitors the bass does boom a little bit at times which is overpowering the mix a fair amount.

Other than that it sounds really professional and tight. Good job.

hmm, good to know. i thought the kick was the more dominant low end piece, at least on my listening devices. tight is good, thanks, i worked hard to get solid takes and get the kick and bass grooving nicely together.

 

[VomitHatSteve]

Yes, everything is 100% L, C, or R. What I need to do, i think, is figure out how to use delays to fill the gaps...i'm just not sure how to do that. Yeah, once your coffee kicks in, get back over here and explain the cohesiveness to me! I'm interested in knowing what you mean in more detail.

Ok. Coffee's working. (And then I remembered the thread).

So the stuff that's panned center or has an opposite (i.e. the rhythm guitars) all meshes together. The stuff that's hard-panned (lead guitars, the echo vocal) sounds very isolated from everything else, like it's not in the band.

Granted, I'm listening on cans, so I'm not getting the "phantom image" stuff going on.

 

[andrushkiwt]

Ok. Coffee's working. (And then I remembered the thread).

So the stuff that's panned center or has an opposite (i.e. the rhythm guitars) all meshes together. The stuff that's hard-panned (lead guitars, the echo vocal) sounds very isolated from everything else, like it's not in the band.

Granted, I'm listening on cans, so I'm not getting the "phantom image" stuff going on.

All guitars are hard panned. The rhythm set is double take, hard panned opposite. The lead set is double take, hard panned opposite.

Did I misunderstand you?

 

[Nola]

Sweet. The vocals are much less grating now.
I agree with others who like the bass tone, but at times in the mix it pops out as too loud (especially during the quieter parts). I'm conflicted, because it's driving the song during those sections, so lowering it might make the quiet sections weaker. I'd tinker with lowering it during the quiet parts, and then make the judgment call. The vocal sits really nice in the pocket. Perfect volume.

 

[andrushkiwt]

Sweet. The vocals are much less grating now.

As compared to what? The last track? Have you done any tracks lately? I don't recall any new tunes from you recently.

 

[Nola]

As compared to what? The last track? Have you done any tracks lately? I don't recall any new tunes from you recently.

Yeah the last track where we all noticed that frequency problem. I don't hear that problem now at all.

I haven't done anything lately. :/
I got sick, then I had a noise complaint so I shut down recording. I've only been working on programming drums and recording bass DI so when I am able to record loud I'm all ready to go. It stinks.

 

[andrushkiwt]

Yeah the last track where we all noticed that frequency problem. I don't hear that problem now at all.

I haven't done anything lately. :/
I got sick, then I had a noise complaint so I shut down recording. I've only been working on programming drums and recording bass DI so when I am able to record loud I'm all ready to go. It stinks.

Ok well that's a good plan. Which drums are using again? EZD or SD?