Moment - alternative rock

andrushkiwt

Well-known member
First new song in quite awhile. Didn't get to use my new jazz bass on this, but that'll be used in a mix soon. I'm still not sure about the lyrics in this one, and many lines were placeholders until I could think of something better ("feel good, all night", for example), but I had to go with it since I didn't have much time to do vocals the day I recorded them. Oh well.

Please share your thoughts on this mix. I tried some different things in Amplitube this time - including using only one mic on each cab. I'd love to hear what you all think about the mix. thanks!



Maybe I'll take my time,
you make it feel good all night,
maybe the moment's right,
it may be the one thing.

I took my eyes off the road.
I took my hands off the wheel.
We're sinking in down below.
I lost my place, I can't heal.

Now your face isn't clear,
I lost my mind, I was told.
I see your eyes in the mirror,
I followed you in the cold.
 
The string/synth-pad is covering the vocal a bit. Once that pad goes away, the vocal becomes much more present in the mix.

Vocal sounds terrific. Chug/crunch guitars sound terrific.

Bass sounds fine.

Levels other than what I mentioned above are good.

Drums sound fine. A little soundcloud swirliness in the cymbals. But not a mix problem, I'm sure. Some of the cymbals are pretty wide. A bit of ping-ponging going on with them.

Overall, an excellent mix.
 
Yeah, the synth was obscuring things until it disappeared. The synth after the break is ok, though. Good vocals.
The snare sounds a little wimpy. Not sure if its a SC thing on the cymbals or if they're a little too sizzley.
 
Yep, those cymbals are definitely too wide. Is the high-hat completely left?

Otherwise, sounds good as your mixes do. Nice guitar tone and blends well with bass. Great vocals.
 
A little soundcloud swirliness in the cymbals.

Damnit, I checked for that in my car and did a 3-3.5k cut on the drums to account for that. I know you said Soundcloud might be the issue, but these cymbals in Superior Drummer always ring out around 3-3.5khz... I don't know if SC would be boosting there, or if the compression would affect them in that particular area. In the mix, the problem area for SD's cymbals are the upper mids, not necessarily the highs.
 
The snare sounds a little wimpy. Not sure if its a SC thing on the cymbals or if they're a little too sizzley.

I got some new drums for SD. The Rock Foundry - wish I saved my money. I like The Rock Warehouse a lot more. Cymbals in RF are piercing, and snares are all blah. Now, if I was an expert snare drum engineer, I could probably make something useful out of it, but I just do some basic EQ and compress it around 4:1 with 4db GR. I know pros will spend hours on the snare. I'm just not on that level. Thanks Mike
 
Yep, those cymbals are definitely too wide. Is the high-hat completely left?

Otherwise, sounds good as your mixes do. Nice guitar tone and blends well with bass. Great vocals.

Completely left, yes. Cymbals are stereo, L&R, just like the OH channel stock settings. I might have moved cymbals around and put something I use frequently on the hard pan, rather than the inner cymbals - sometimes I move individual cymbals, but I keep their overall positions at default. There's one at each far end, another pair a bit in from that, and one closer to C. I think...
 
Great song and mix!
I was going to say something about the synth in the beginning of the song but I see others covered that. Awesome vocal!
I didn't notice a problem with the cymbals.

amazing job man!
 
Like it, gotta agree on the cybals being a little too wide. Maybe add a touch of sub in the bass and cut a little of the growl, I'm assuming it's a jazz bass? Could you add a sample of a larger snare and blend it in during the chorus to give a little more life to the chorus? You've got a great voice!
 
Damnit, I checked for that in my car and did a 3-3.5k cut on the drums to account for that. I know you said Soundcloud might be the issue, but these cymbals in Superior Drummer always ring out around 3-3.5khz... I don't know if SC would be boosting there, or if the compression would affect them in that particular area. In the mix, the problem area for SD's cymbals are the upper mids, not necessarily the highs.

It wasn't super bad. And it didn't happen the whole way through. I'm probably going to be the only one (besides you) that will hear it. :)
 
The song as a whole and vocals sound great in the mix to me.

Though this is mix forum, you do mention lyrics and some thought on that:

Consider using the second stanza first (modified as below) with other comments added to this structure.


I took my eyes off the road.
I took my hands off the wheel.
We're sinking in down below. <= ?modify this line thematically to go with "heal" and injury/recovery theme?
I lost my place, I can't heal. <= leave "heal;" something happened due to ?inattention/hands off wheel; ?change I lost my place?

Maybe I'll take my time,
you make it feel good all night, <=you single this out as placeholder, but it could work with...
maybe the moment's right,
it may be the one thing. <= ...changing this to ?theme injury/recovery

Now your face isn't clear, <==song now builds to this before ?repeat (proposed) first stanza with change?
I lost my mind, I was told.
I see your eyes in the mirror, <==emphasize " I see YOUR (ie not my) eyes in the mirror" (plausible if mind "lost")
I followed you in the cold. <=modify; eg, ?"I followed you INTO the cold"

?I took your mind/ off the road? <= proposed ADDED last stanza, could be combination of priors with variation
?you took my hand/off the wheel?
.....sinking in?..... <=do he/she/they get better? worse?
.....heal.......

Of course it's entirely possible I've completely misconstrued the lyric motive here.
 
I haven't read the comments, but the mix is solid.
I'd suggest an organ/pad that has a little less top end. The mixture of the trebley pad and cymbals creates too much top end, imo. Our ears are most sensitive to ~4-6k area so a little goes a long way in a mix.
 
Of course it's entirely possible I've completely misconstrued the lyric motive here.

I don't ever have a lyrical motive. lol. I honestly write down what i'm feeling and comes to mind at the time, and sometimes it's whatever word(S) immediately popped into my head while still fiddling around. I appreciate the time you put into it, though. Lyrics mean zero to me, and I'd rather put down random, spontaneous thoughts than premeditated narratives. Whatever song you think you what the subject of, when first listening, I'd be willing to bet the author had something else in mind. :) Thank you for the comments and time, I do appreciate that. This is something that I could go on and on about... the arguments for and against "well-thought-out" lyrics.

There's also the fact that some of the changes you proposed (into the cold) do not work, musically. You'd either be rushing the word "into", or you'd have no gap between "you" and "into" and thus the tension in that line is lost. As it is, it goes, "I'll follow you.......(pause) in the cold". "Into" doesn't fit, rhythmically or in regards to timing. That's something we have to account for when writing lyrics as opposed to writing stories. And if you meant to add "into" in regards to being grammatically correct, then you must have never heard, well, any song ever. :)
 
I haven't read the comments, but the mix is solid.
I'd suggest an organ/pad that has a little less top end. The mixture of the trebley pad and cymbals creates too much top end, imo. Our ears are most sensitive to ~4-6k area so a little goes a long way in a mix.

I use so many filters on those stock pads, that I end up forgetting what it originally sounded like and just why I chose it to begin with. I'm sure I added the top end for whatever reason...oh, yeah, it was probably to cut through the guitars or something, so it didn't go unnoticed. I prob overdid it.

I havne't checked your fb msg yet, I'll look in a min
 
Like it, gotta agree on the cybals being a little too wide. Maybe add a touch of sub in the bass and cut a little of the growl, I'm assuming it's a jazz bass? Could you add a sample of a larger snare and blend it in during the chorus to give a little more life to the chorus? You've got a great voice!

I have a jazz bass, but no, I did not use it on this song. I have a hard time judging low, low end, because I'm using headphones. I'm always a fan of more bass, so cool..I'll take it. :) I have yet to experiment with layering snares/doubling them. Maybe it's time to try that. Yes, I too thought the chorus needed some extra life...it was hard coming up with an arrangement that provided just that.

I think something that helped a bit, compared to previous mixes, was pausing the synth just before the chorus, when the guitars play the short riff. I originally had them holding the note, and going along with the guitars, but then I felt something was lacking in the chorus and the energy level wasn't where I wanted it. I didn't think about touching up the drums there though, so good idea.
 
Sounds good. Now that others mention it, maybe the cymbals are wide. I hadn't really noticed it before. You could probably drop that synth a dB or two. I has a lot of energy and will punch through no matter what. These are all pretty minor nits.
 
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