Your Sympathy - alternative pop rock

andrushkiwt

Well-known member
Here's an old song completely redone. All new instruments and tracking, vocals too. I've been messing with the guitar sims' top end, making deep cuts where things get spikey, and attempting to control the bass' low end as well. I'm doing vocals in a new room now...a walk-in closet with blankets and padding and a reflection shield behind it.

Please let me know how things are shaping up. Really appreciate the listens/comments. Thanks!



I bet that things are alright.
I bet that things are alright.
I like the way you care,
they're standing farther from me.
I bet that things are alright.

They found you bleeding from your eyes.
They put the blame on me...
I turned my back on you tonight.
They found the demons in your mind.
I lack your sympathy,
You turned your back on me tonight.

I think that you seem just fine.
I think that you seem just fine.
I won't give up on you,
I'm falling deeper in too.
I think that you seem just fine.

Stay awhile in the place we know,
but they're desperately holding on for more.
So stay with me cause I'm all you have.
They can't burn this down
it's what we're dying for.
 
The EQ on the bass is very hollow sounding. The L guitar sounds slightly louder than the R. Guitars could possibly come down just a hair -- at times they seem to engulf the vocals, and at other times they seem to sit right. Same with the vocal, like at the 3:22 mark it's too loud relative to the guitars. At other times it's sitting just right.

BTW, the vocal sounds much better in the new room. None of the overly bright issues/combing that plagued some of your past vocals. The dampening seems to have worked wonders -- I'd stick with that setup.
 
The EQ on the bass is very hollow sounding.

nah, that's the higher strings. They don't all have the same depth. The lows don't sound that way...it's the D string, I'm betting. The average volume was matched R and L side for each pair of guitars with meters. It'd be impossible for them to be the same volume throughout. No issue with me if one is louder occasionally.

thnx for the listen :thumbs up:
 
Same with the vocal, like at the 3:22 mark it's too loud relative to the guitars.

That's intentional. The heavier set drops out completely, and the brighter, lead guitars are meant to be much quieter. That's their actual volume throughout the song. I did not automate volume; I could have, but chose not to there.
 
Good song. The vocal is sounding really good. More natural. Whatever you did when you tracked this vocal, keep doing it. The mix sounds solid. The vocal is sitting well for me. I think you created a space for the lead vocal by dropping the bass. The space is great. The bass is verging on too low for me. There are certain parts where the bass is carrying the rhythm section, where it really needs to pop out more. If it were my mix I'd be raising the bass overall and dropping the guitars slightly to compensate. But not at the cost of crowding the vocal. Whatever you do, try to keep that space you have in this mix.

Can't say much about the high end. I can't turn up at the moment and I'd be hearing soundcloud.
 
Good song. The vocal is sounding really good. More natural. Whatever you did when you tracked this vocal, keep doing it. The mix sounds solid. The vocal is sitting well for me. I think you created a space for the lead vocal by dropping the bass. The space is great. The bass is verging on too low for me. There are certain parts where the bass is carrying the rhythm section, where it really needs to pop out more. If it were my mix I'd be raising the bass overall and dropping the guitars slightly to compensate. But not at the cost of crowding the vocal. Whatever you do, try to keep that space you have in this mix.

Can't say much about the high end. I can't turn up at the moment and I'd be hearing soundcloud.

Good points. I should have raised the bass during the verses and dropped it back down for everything else. Thanks for the vocal comment...glad the closet room thing is working :)
 
Whatever you did when you tracked this vocal, keep doing it.

Ray, does it still have that "midrange pushiness" you were hearing last week? Or were the deep EQ cuts enough to tackle that? I hadn't EQ'd the vocal bus yet, just the individual tracks.
 
I think it sounds pretty good as it is. If anything, I might want to add some "air" eq to the top end of the mix.

I have 0.5 db boost at 5.3khz, on a 6db shelf. Not much at all, really. I have a hard time with that since the guitars don't take to it well. I see your point, though.
 
I was thinking more like 10-12k, where it hits more of the cymbals than guitars.

Ok. Noted. I know that washy/harsh cymbals are sometimes a complaint on the drum vst's, so I thought I'd keep them as is, just with a couple cuts here and there. I think I have a cut in those spots somewhere; perhaps it was too much.
 
Ray, does it still have that "midrange pushiness" you were hearing last week? Or were the deep EQ cuts enough to tackle that? I hadn't EQ'd the vocal bus yet, just the individual tracks.

Sorry, I'll give a listen tomorrow when I can crank it up.
 
Ray, does it still have that "midrange pushiness" you were hearing last week? Or were the deep EQ cuts enough to tackle that? I hadn't EQ'd the vocal bus yet, just the individual tracks.

I'm hearing a little bit of that. It's not as noticeable as the previous ones, but when I crank up the volume it is the lead vocal that eventually makes me go "ouch."
 
I'm hearing a little bit of that. It's not as noticeable as the previous ones, but when I crank up the volume it is the lead vocal that eventually makes me go "ouch."

Ok. A few days away from it and I'm hearing a little of that too. I think the vocal is too loud, first of all. And I do hear some freq buildup in the mids that are pushing through the mix.

Thnx
 
Guitars sound very cool. Vocal sounds excellent.

There is a synth line in the intro and transitions. I think. It's super low in the mix.

Bass sounds crystal clear.

There are some crash cymbals that I think SC is making slightly swirly. Probably not a mix problem.

Levels and balance sound perfect.
 
sounds pretty darn good to me. always gonna be others who find faults. good to get feedback , but if you know its good( and I think you do ) its good!
 
There is a synth line in the intro and transitions. I think. It's super low in the mix.

The freq's in the synth clash with the guitars. I needed to adjust that, EQ-wise, but never did. Thanks for the reminder. Forgot about that one.
 
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