A song I recorded and mixed
- Thread starter TimN
- Start date
Brian Miller
New member
Thanks for sharing this man. Here are some thoughts as I listen:
-Rhythm acoustic on the left felt too bright/tinny as the song wore on
-Complete lack of bass/low end
-I like the tight, punch of the kick. Felt it could use a little more meat in the 50-90hz range. Some oomph.
-Lead vocals are very clear, kudos
Biggest problem: arrangement and mix both feel awfully cluttered. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to the panning choices in the ambient instruments (random guitar licks, keys, synth, etc). Stuff is all over the place and my ears don't know where to listen or focus.
Keep working!
-Rhythm acoustic on the left felt too bright/tinny as the song wore on
-Complete lack of bass/low end
-I like the tight, punch of the kick. Felt it could use a little more meat in the 50-90hz range. Some oomph.
-Lead vocals are very clear, kudos
Biggest problem: arrangement and mix both feel awfully cluttered. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to the panning choices in the ambient instruments (random guitar licks, keys, synth, etc). Stuff is all over the place and my ears don't know where to listen or focus.
Keep working!
Schwarzenyaeger
Formerly "Dog-In-Door"
That's a really bright acoustic guitar. I can't hear any low mids really.
The kick drum is very muffled. The snare is bit weak.
I like that soaring vocals thing that you're going for.
The kick drum is very muffled. The snare is bit weak.
I like that soaring vocals thing that you're going for.
Mr Clean
AKA Teddy Wong
Sounds like an electro acoustic DI'd to me. I'd stick a mic in front of it personally. If it is mic'd and not DI'd, then I'd start again with the EQ. It's just too bright in general.
I totally agree with the guys above RE:the drums. I'd probably tame the amount of kick's in there though, I don't know if it's because they don't sound right or if it really is too busy. Hard to tell. I like the vocals.
With a bit of work, this could sound awesome!
I totally agree with the guys above RE:the drums. I'd probably tame the amount of kick's in there though, I don't know if it's because they don't sound right or if it really is too busy. Hard to tell. I like the vocals.
With a bit of work, this could sound awesome!
TimN
New member
Thanks for the critiques and suggestions. The main acoustic and vocal were recorded at the same time. I built the track around those two. The backing acoustic is also recorded via a mic--and, I agree that the acoustic is bright--I wanted to stay somewhat forward in the mix, and I overdid it with the EQ (there's actually very little additive EQ in there-it's mostly too loud, I think). The drums were added by me, one or two elements at a time. Terry Ryan, the singer/songwriter/guitarist, can't play to a click (wouldn't play to a click), so I felt out the rhythm and painstakingly filled in the drums.
Brian, I think the panning and ambient/background stuff is actually just too loud at points--the balance of the mix is off, especially the bass. I automated the panning on the lead guitar to move it a bit when the vocals came back in I originally had an electric bass, but scuttled it because it sounded like crap--and, I can't play bass very well! So, a key bass went in, and after I switched monitoring systems some time ago, a lot of the older mixes (like this one) had way too much bass, in relation to the new monitors, so I know I then under-compensated. I'm going to pick up some Focals in the next couple of months, and start using them. I'll check out this mix again, and see what I hear. It's always a good idea to get away from a song for a while, and I spent a lot of time on this one. Thanks again for the comments.
Brian, I think the panning and ambient/background stuff is actually just too loud at points--the balance of the mix is off, especially the bass. I automated the panning on the lead guitar to move it a bit when the vocals came back in I originally had an electric bass, but scuttled it because it sounded like crap--and, I can't play bass very well! So, a key bass went in, and after I switched monitoring systems some time ago, a lot of the older mixes (like this one) had way too much bass, in relation to the new monitors, so I know I then under-compensated. I'm going to pick up some Focals in the next couple of months, and start using them. I'll check out this mix again, and see what I hear. It's always a good idea to get away from a song for a while, and I spent a lot of time on this one. Thanks again for the comments.
gecko zzed
Grumpy Mod
Overall I don't mind the feel of the song, and I wasn't as disturbed by the background instruments as others were.
However, I would have liked to have heard the vocal with just a little less reverb.
Others have felt the song sounded cluttered and I agree . . . but I think the cause is the drum part. The kick is very busy, and disturbingly, for a 3/4 rhythm, for most of the song, the snare is on the first beat. There's nothing intrinsically wrong with this . . . you can have the snare on whichever beat you like . . .but it is unusual and sets up a disturbance to the easy listening. My suggestion is to go for a simpler and more conventional pattern for the kit.
However, I would have liked to have heard the vocal with just a little less reverb.
Others have felt the song sounded cluttered and I agree . . . but I think the cause is the drum part. The kick is very busy, and disturbingly, for a 3/4 rhythm, for most of the song, the snare is on the first beat. There's nothing intrinsically wrong with this . . . you can have the snare on whichever beat you like . . .but it is unusual and sets up a disturbance to the easy listening. My suggestion is to go for a simpler and more conventional pattern for the kit.
TimN
New member
That's a real good point, Gecko--I played the kick and snare together to Terry Ryan's playing, and that rhythm felt right. It is unusual, and I think I'll post up the song without the drums so others can see what's what. I'm working on some new songs now, but I'll likely post it by Friday, and maybe take a crack at a different rhythm over the weekend. I was always ambivalent about the rhythm and drums on this song--it sort of "stops" and starts again because of the snare.