"OPEN" (I can hear the guitar solo this time 8^)

[SLuiCe]

If you posted to the thread for version 1, I responded to individuals toward the end of that thread. Took me a while to get to it...sorry!



Hi all! I did a more detailed mix of Open. I altered pretty much everything. And I added a couple of things just so I could alter them too. There is no mastering done as usual, but I'd love to hear what a decent M.E. would do.

I think I really want a new guitar amp though. I'm getting tired of the Marshall sound. Mixing my heavy guitars is a pain in the ass because it's so damn mid-rangey. I don't know if it's the Fender cabinet or what. Oh well...Maybe nearing Mesa time.

Please let me know how things sound on your end.

Thanks for the time!

Tom

Open


Oh ya, strong language and frustrated guitars...be advised if you missed mix 1.

[groucho]

Yeah! I have absolutely no problems with this now. The vox are good for me now - I kept wanting them a a little louder before and I don't know if you raised them or just eq'd them more carefully but they sound great. And that acapella section that ends the tune is fucking fantastic - one of the best things I've heard here.

Go on wit ya bad self...
Chris

[B.SABBATH]

be back in a few..

[Guernica]

Hey Tom,
.....whoa..... guess i missed this one. ...Man, to my ears the bass needs to come UP! I see what you mean re: the midrangy guits.... theyre a touch abrasive and very "out front" sounding. That might be effecting the way the bass seems to sit too low as well. The guitar tone might be crowding the vocs a little as well(expecially during the chorus)....little fight for mids. The playing is tight and articulate. Sweet guit tone at the very beginning.
Nice vocs man........ those screams sound thick and strong. Very nice harmonies as well....... ......sweet vocs throughout!!

I like the tune alot!! great stuff !

[B.SABBATH]

great additions! that vocal break at the end is perfect.. the vocals are definitely loud enough.. there's almost a lack of bass now.. I get accused of too much bass so consider the source.. The vocals are borderline too loud for me in some spots.. maybe it's because there seems to be a lack in low end.. see if anyone else complains.. Other than that, I love it!

[B.SABBATH]

I just read Guernicas post re: bass.. We posted at the exact same time!


wow..

[SLuiCe]

Alright, I'm gonna bump the bass up. I was worried about over doing it....thanks you two.

[fenderlikingood]

Alright, consider the source Listening on a sharp stereo system, speaker's set at head height ( if we could use signature's, this is what i would use)

Anywayyyyy.......Shit, well i feel somewhat better now, sam and guernica, said it already!!!!!!! I swear i was gonna say it was "bass shy"!!!!!!!! COOL! I think the vox are to up front, but that doesn't mean shit! and i still think the kick could be more in yo face, you can hear it just fine, but i can't feel it.

see first paragraph.........


The tune is kickin my ass!!!!!!!...and this kind of comment i can be confident of!

Thank's, sluice!

Peace

Rick

[SLuiCe]

Groucho- thanks man. I really dug your new song too!


Sam- I just posted a mix with raised bass levels....more?

Thanks brotha.

Mike- See above for bass. Would you mind doing another bass check when you have a minute? I need to send this to somebody soon and I just can't get it right. If you're busy it's cool. Glad you liked the tune!

FLG- ya Bass shy...just posted a bass up mix. Might need more though. This mix is tough for some reason. Thank you Rick!

[Guernica]

..........44%...........


be right back

[Lt. Bob]

I'm pretty sure I listened to version 1
I seem to remember being repelled by the fucking language!

It's rebuffering a bunch so I'm gonna download it....be right back.....

Oh wait.....it's playing....first off, there's that Zappa type harmony I like so much................I like it here too.

Well shit!......there's too much to just listen once and give a critique......I like the song a lot but I'd like to get into this mix in depth so I'm gonna listen for a couple of days and get back to it........great song man!

[Khompewtur]

Liking that new ending with the isolated voices, sounds very cool. I know the other type of ending was becoming like your trademark but this is definitely better imo.

[Guernica]

Originally posted by Lt. Bob
I'm pretty sure I listened to version 1
I seem to remember being repelled by the fucking language!

Hey Tom,
Yeah, thats better man.... definitely better. The whole rhythm sounds fuller now.



btw.....I "really" dig the vocal/bass sync line at 2:40 to 2:50'ish.

[M.Brane]

I can hear everything much clearer now.

There is something wierd happening in the mids though. Seems like there's a bit of a crowd scene goin' on in there. Maybe grab the ol parametric baton, and see if you can disperse it.

There was some cracklin' goin' on in the R channel on the a- cappela part at the end.

[Alanfc]

Wow!

Why:
I was transported to a totally different place... I kept wanting to hear what the vocals would do next. They were entrancing.... its been a long time since a piece of music has kept my attention like that. I should go hear some of your other songs.

I don't know what/if you used for effects on the vocal but to me its relative dryness totally made these great textures work. Maybe it was the octaves I don't know. Maybe you used alot of effects (which I have no ability to judge yet) to get that sound-whatever, it's cool.

Excellent. Thanks for sharing

Hey I'm from Portland ! (Oregon that is)

-Alan

[Doug H]

I'm starting to catch some of the words to this, cool song. I really like the chorus. I think I already mentined that.

Lead is mixed a million times better.

More impact than the last one, less rough too. Good improvement. Guitars still weird me out a bit the way they are sitting in the mix.

Nice little trinket of killer guitar playing in there.

Doug

[Doug H]

Originally posted by SLuiCe

"Mixing my heavy guitars is a pain in the ass because it's so damn mid-rangey."

If you're not already try riding the master volume a little harder. There might be a little more bottom end in there somewhere.

[fprod south]

That solo kicks ass and it's nice to hear it louder. You've got a lot of feel for someone who writes such cerebral stuff. I like it that you can really hear the strings being picked and bent.

I gotta say that I think the rhythm guitars sound better in the previous version. More body and depth. I've a/b'd them quite a few times. All and all this mix sounds smoother, but I really dig the bigger guitars of the earlier version.

You're gonna hate me, but I have a Marshall and a Boogie. They work really nicely together - don't get rid of that Marshall. Do you ever kill the pre and crank the post? I hate the preamp sound on my Marshall - but lurve that power tube sound it's got.

[Toki987]

before I came happened on this place I didnt give this genre of music much of a thought. Now... after listening to quite a bit in here, especially that which you and Sam have presented has "opened a new door" for me. This in particular is another one of those that takes sonics and architecture in this genre to a new plateau for me. Its chock full of interesting developments and sub flavours. The mixing is very good and the clarity is some of the best in the entire community (watches overhead for Ed swoopin about with his claws clickin') Damned if some of this and more, don`t sound good enough to me to be on the the racks in blister packs!
Ken

[Emeric]

Great tune. Reminds me stylistically of older music; Yes, Purple, some of the vocal lines - Gentle Giant. Newer, Sound Garden in parts. I mention these references a lot, because it's the music I listen to and like and know, but Gentle Giant with distortion really sticks out to me on this one.

So, enough comparing to other bands, everyone hates it when people do that.

- The guitars at the start I like, great.
- Bass is a bit blurred but in this type of tuning I don't know that you can make it much clearer.
- I hear what Doug is hearing with the guitars, mainly in the 'verses'. Need to be more well defined, pan them more if possible.
- Vocals and/or mix is distorting from 3:53 on.
- Excellent guitar solo!


This is all minutia though, some need to be fixed (distortion), other points are personal perception and preference.

Great song and mix!

[Kelly5150]

Wow, what an awesome song...

I liked the intro, that phasey guiter.... cool....

Lyrics are cynically brilliant...

Vocals kinda remind me of Roger Waters meet Frank Zappa in a dark alley...

Lots of killer guitar work through out...

I love the guitar solo, it matches the song perfectly, nice and mean and to the point....

The vocal harmonizing at the end is totally cool and wraps the song up perfectly....

Another masterpiece dude...

[sloop]

Sounds good--a couple of suggestions to try. I don't know if they will help or hurt--some mixing changes.

One, a little more bass throughout. The drums are also just a bit thin--maybe a touch of effects of them to spread them just a bit(just a little).

The Chorus is great!, for the verse you might bring up the heavy metal just a bit. The vocals and the guitars are both presenting themselves in the verse. With that bodacious bass vocal behind the lead vocal and all of it coming out as a hammer along with the guitars it would really be powerful. You would also create more contrast in the sound between the chorus and verse.

Overall a great piece.

[W.I.S.C.]

Yup.More bass and then it will be my new favorite SLuiCe tune.DAMN!You can sing...

[SLuiCe]

Thanks a lot guys. I think I'm gonna leave this alone until I either re-track the guitars or get a new amp. I'm gonna try fooling with my amp a bit because I have grown to HATE the sound I'm getting.

I gotta fly out for the weekend and I'm running late, so I'll get back to you guys Sunday night. I appreciate the feedback. Thanks for confirming that my guitar sound sucks. It was driving me mad, and all the mixing tricks in the world aren't going to save these tracks!


Have a great weekend guys! If you need me, I'll be casting Blue Winged Olives to rising Brook trout on the Kennebec River.

Peace
Tom

[boydrj]

On this end the mix sounds MUCH better! You can really make out more of what is going on and the vocals are at a better level!

I Like It!