Deep Purple - Perfect Strangers cover. Feedback appreciated.

**daveparker** · 09-02-2011

Hi

I would appreciate some feedback on this mix. I don't usually work in this genre so would like to know if i'm in the right ballpark. This is a cover of Perfect Strangers by Deep Purple. All tracking, mixing & mastering was done be me.

Thanks

Dave

Perfect Strangers 01.mp3

**Rokket** · 09-03-2011

The singing isn't bad at all, but the mix has a lot of issues. First of all, it's coming at me as almost mono. The bass is too strong in the mix and has too much bottom end to it. There are other things, but I would be nit-picking if I went on. Everall, the mix needs a lot of work. The cymbals are sizzly, almost harsh. The snare sounds like it's panned about 25% left.

Keep at it, we only get better if we take what people tells us for what it is: helpful criticism.

**daveparker** · 09-04-2011

Thanks for the useful comments. Feel free to be as picky as you want, I have got no ego associated with this. I just want to learn to get better.

I think the problem with the sizzly cymbals, mono ness and snare panning all stem back to the overheads on the drums. I tried to follow the recorderman method for placement, but the mics ended up too low and the drummer kept hitting them. So I put them higher but probably not in the best position. There wasn't much time to experiment in the session unfortunately. I get the impression that recorderman is better for smaller drum kits maybe. This was a fairly big setup with lots of cymbals. Still, a lesson to chalk up for next time.

The low end was what the band wanted, I would normally reign it in a bit.

**Rokket** · 09-04-2011

I don't have anything going on right now as far as mixing. I am stuck in a hotel in San Deigo until probably October. If you don't mind, I would love to take a stab at mixing this. I could PM you my email address if you agree. I think I could fix the overhead problem. Sizzly cymbals usually result from too much high frequency boosting in the eq, and not so much from proximity. I would have to take a look at the track to see how much of the snare the overheads picked up. But I am betting I could fix that too.

Were the guitars mic'd from a cab, or DI?

And I could give you a really meaty bass tone and still have a high pass filter on there set at 100Hz.

Give it some thought. I lost all my gear in a robbery, and I have been jonesing to mix something.

**joeym** · 09-04-2011

Sorry, performance for me is imperative. This one's pretty badly performed.

**daveparker** · 09-04-2011

Rokket

Thanks for the offer, but it would be a purley academic exercise if you wanted to mix it. The band are happy with it as is, i'm really only asking here for my education. I am not a professional, but rather an enthusiastic amateur :-) The guitars were recorded with an SM57 against the grill. As was the bass, but using an MXL 67 instead. Althought I am wondering how you would mix it in a hotel room with no gear?

I do admit I boosted the HF using PSP vintage warmer and also Ozone using the EQ and the harmonic exciter, to try and match HF in the original track. Maybe I overdid it? I could send the Logic session if you wanted.

joyeym
Yep, I had a few issues there ;-)

**Rokket** · 09-04-2011

Originally Posted by daveparker

Rokket

Thanks for the offer, but it would be a purley academic exercise if you wanted to mix it. The band are happy with it as is, i'm really only asking here for my education. I am not a professional, but rather an enthusiastic amateur :-) The guitars were recorded with an SM57 against the grill. As was the bass, but using an MXL 67 instead. Althought I am wondering how you would mix it in a hotel room with no gear?

I do admit I boosted the HF using PSP vintage warmer and also Ozone using the EQ and the harmonic exciter, to try and match HF in the original track. Maybe I overdid it? I could send the Logic session if you wanted.

joyeym
Yep, I had a few issues there ;-)

I have Reaper on my laptop, and my nearfield monitors, which are brand new... I would rather have the .wav files or 320kbps mp3 to mix with. I understand it would just be an exercise, but I am bored to tears and need something to do rather than going out drinking myself to death.

A couple of pointers on the mic placement:

1. I know time was short, but it shows you how taking a bit of time can save you a lot later. Don't rely on a "fix it in the mix" mentality. Some things just can't be fixed. So taking a bit of extra time before you track can save you headaches later. You need to experiment with different mic placements until you find one that will give you the sound the band is going for.

2. Turn down distortion and gain to around 50-60% of what they would use live. Too much of either, and your guitar tone tracks like it's being played on a busted out speaker. REALLY fuzzy, and that's what I am hearing. That can be tweaked out, but it takes a lot of time and frustration. Don't let the guitarist bully you into using his stage settings. If you have the time, record two tracks, one with his stage settings, adn one with the gain and distortion turned down. Show them how each sounds in the mix. I think he will agree, the latter sounds better.

3. Bass is one of the hardest instruments (besides drums) to mix. And that is because it occupies the lower register on the frequency chart. Getting the bass to stand out in the mix without overpowering it or sounding like it was played on a $20 practice amp has given many pros some sleepless nights. You can get a pretty decent sound by putting a high pass filter on the track so it doesn't drown out the kick, and a slight boost on the mids. Another thing is you double track the bass - use an A/B box, and take one track to mic the cab, the other DI into the board. You can then blend the two of them, and give the bass some punch. Play with the eq on both tracks until you get it. One other trick a lot of bass players use - gain. Crank it up, and turn down the master volume. Overdrive the amp a bit, and give the bass some good growl. Stay away from boosting the lower eq on the amp.

And as Joe stated, performance is key. A good performance and the proper tracking, the song will almost mix itself. About all you would want to do is a little eq to separate the instruments from each other and you have it. Also, avoid adding compression or a limiter to the whole track. Leave that up to whoever is going to master it. Don't try to master one song. The idea is to give the entire album the same sound, volume, etc.

Just a few tips. If you have the raw .wav files, there are lots of sites that will host it for free so that I can download it. I don't have Logic, or would just take that.

**PDP** · 09-04-2011

Yeah the drums and bass are too loose for this type of song, they really need to be locked in. The recording sounds over-compressed to me, (even the best compression dulls audio) just a thought. Vocalist is good. With some work, could come together nicely.

Thanks for posting.