Please check out the Arena Rock song I am mixing for Client

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Crazy Luke

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Above is the first of 8 original songs I am mixing that are in the Hard Rock, Prog Rock vain for a CD. Please give me feedback re: balance and freqs.
Thanks
 
The music is pretty well balanced and it sounds good. The vocals didn't sit right in the mix and are painful and harsh in some spots. It sounds like the distortion you get from a comp/limiter plugin when you over boost the signal trying to make it louder.
 
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I thought it sounded great. I especially liked the guitar and drums sounds.

There is some sort of delay or reverb or other weirdness on the vocal that I didn't care for. I know it's supposed to be arena rock. But there was just too much delay or whatever for my tastes. And yeah there are words here and there that get a little mid-rangey.

But in general I thought it was real good.
 
I thought the music sounded great. :thumbs up:

I could barely hear 20 words of what the singer was saying. I guess if that kind of process/effect is what was wanted then it worked, but not for me. I found it very off putting. I would've liked to hear all the words but as it is, I have no idea what he was singing about. Sounded like there was a good voice underneath there though.

Sort the vocals out and this could be top drawer, in my opinion. :thumbs up:
 
Try playing with the vocals by panning some of the vocal parts to one side or another. This song seems like a good vehicle for this. There may be some opportunity to make it a bit more interesting
 
Ok, guys, you inspired me to clean this up, so I had the lead vox "ride" on top of the music more, and got rid of some of that low mid mud. Let me know what you think.
(Check out post below)
 
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New Mix of Areana Rock Song, Away From it All

Sorry - Here is the song, Away From it All. Please review

Lyrics to Away From It All
Race you down the highway
Babe, you're goin' my way
She's riding on the divider line a bit
We've been friends since High School
Her boyfriend treats her like a fool
She can't decide if she wants to stay or split

Her engine's running hotter than Hell
Emotions running hot as well
Baby, can I race you for a drink
That makes her raise an eyebrow
I'm pulling out in front now
I pass her by, and she gives me that special wink

Let me take you away from it all
Baby, I can take you to the stars for awhile
When we're laying there and night time starts to fall

I can make you feel
I can make you feel
I can make you feel alive

Her boyfriend's abusive
Makes her elusive
She got the GTO from her dad
Pulling over; the shoulder
She says she wants me to hold her
I show her that her life just ain't that bad

Let me take you away from it all
Baby, I can take you to the stars for a while
When we're laying there and night time starts to fall

I can make you feel
I can make you feel
I can make you feel alive

(Spoken) “Oh, baby
I've had my eye on you since the very first stop sign
Ain't been no stopping me since”
“Let me take you away from it all”

Baby, I can take you to the stars for a while
When we're laying there and night time's 'bout to fall

I can make you feel
I can make you feel
I can make you feel alive

When we're laying there and night time starts to fall
Let me take you away from it all
Let me show you a better life
(Spoken) “Maybe I can take you away as my wife”
I can take you to the stars for awhile
Or forever
 

Attachments

  • Away From It All - 6-10-14b.mp3
    7 MB · Views: 7
  • Away From It All - Early Fadeout Mix 2.mp3
    4.4 MB · Views: 5
The vocal still sounds out of place to me, I think its the effects. It sounds like the band is in one space and the singer is in another space. That echo sounds dated. I'd run the reverb through a delay, get a much softer sound. I'd do an EQ sweep too, try to find any frequencies that are standing out on that vocal, a cut around 2k might let it sit better. The rest of the tune sounds fine.

It could also be the vocal performance, not that its bad, but so many singers (especially in rock bands) are used to really belting out the volume to compete with a loud band. I always find myself telling singers to relax in the studio, because there is no need to push your voice.
 
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OK PDP, What I will do is buss the lead singer into the same reverb room as the snare and guitars for some glue. I tried to do some freq sweeps to reduce the harsh tone, but then the vocals lost it's gravitas (opted for automating the harsher tones down a bit) I will try your 2k dip, and verb idea, and repost.
 
I think it sounds better, I can almost hear all of what the singer is saying now.

The vocal is still fighting with the guitars though for that same key area. It'd be interesting to hear the vocals sat on top of the track with nothing else on it than maybe just a touch of reverb. He sounds like he has a very powerful and good voice but it's shrouded in FX here and wasted, in my opinion.
 
That is better. Sorry, I been listening but others were stating what I heard.

First off, there is something lacking in the low mids/low end to begin with. I feel the guitars and bass are not building enough down there yet to support a vocalist of this type. There is a hole in the mix that is not being filled up. The kick has the subs, but there is no structure for the mix between there and like 600Hz. No mud, but also no balls.

By the way, what program are you using for vocal pitch correction? Heard a couple of funky things in there. I also hear a need for some compression techniques that I would apply here.

I don't want to infringe on your project here, but I would be willing to do a mix of this if you sent me the raw tracks. I would tell you exactly what I did in the process. I don't feel I would need to add any triggers or anything that would be tough for you to duplicate. Free by the way. I am bored. No booked bands for a month. My daughter is learning to talk now so I opened up my schedule. Getting ready for her to learn the word 'NO'. :)

Anyway it sounds like a good demo for early 90's. Not as good as it should be for today's standards IMO. It is all there, just needs some love. I am not no great producer but I can give you a different perspective that comes from my experience with this genre. I was in it while it happened. I still got the hair. lol
 
Yeah, I think its better, but I can hear what Jimmy is saying too, if the rest of the mix had more weight the bottom of the vocal would blend more. Its getting better, I commend you for not getting discouraged by all these comments. Overall it sounds good. Sometimes a mix needs a lot of tweaking. Thanks for sharing your work.
 
OK, Jimmys69, or anyone else who would want to tackle this dense mix of Away From It All. Here is the Google Drive link for audio stems, midi drums, bass, strings (also in audio form), and, for Cubase users, the npr file. I guess the two things I'm struggle with this mix is 1) Getting the bass and drums to work together to provide a beefy, but not muddy, low-end pocket 2) Getting a good, less hash, tone from the lead vocalist, and glue him into the mix.
Please mix, then show me what frequencies you boosted or cut, what effect perimeters you used, and so forth. Just graduated from college with a degree in this field, but need a little more mentoring.
Thanks
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B1BFWu6UCfOrYkw1V0pHQjY0NE0&usp=sharing
 
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Hey man, since you are using Cubase, how about you just send me the whole project folder so that I can see where you are at before I attempt a mix. The cpr file alone will not work. You will need to copy the whole folder, zip and send. What version of Cubase do you have?

I will PM you my direct email.
 
Away From It All Rar File

jimmys69 said:
Hey man, since you are using Cubase, how about you just send me the whole project folder so that I can see where you are at before I attempt a mix. The cpr file alone will not work. You will need to copy the whole folder, zip and send. What version of Cubase do you have?

I will PM you my direct email.
Click to expand...

I Use Cubase/Nuendo 4.
Here is my Google Drive Link for the rar file

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1BFWu6UCfOrNHNaZlNCVVJIdnM/edit?usp=sharing

I use Steven Slate Drum Samples with konakt 4, using discrete outputs for each instrument, and Trilian Bass.
The vocal anomalies you heard were from my early attempt at Melodyne (as a way to "teach" the singer the melody that would suite the song). Because I really stretched the actual melody, u hear some T-pain stuff here and there.
Thanks for your help
 
Dood, there is no cpr file in there...

What in the world made you buy Nuendo 4 anyway? Seems a way overkill for audio. Do you work with film scores as well?
 
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