Down On The Border
- Thread starter dobro
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Monkey Allen
Fork and spoon operator
I listened on a laptop and it sounded very good to me. All the parts sound nice and true. You perform well and you let it flow. I like that.
dobro
Well-known member
Thanks for noticing that - I'll attend to it. It's the getting used to the way it sounds that's the biggest problem, because then you don't hear it anymore. What I was wondering about was, as always, frequency masking and levels.
Levels: bass too loud? Vocal should be up a hair? Keys up a bit?
Masking: Vocal, bass and bongos are clearly heard most of the time. But do the guitar and keys 'fog out' sometimes?
"Gotta be a bitch playing bongos and guitar at the same time while singing, though.
"
Not if you suffer from multiple personality disorder.
At this point, I'm into getting a tune out about every month. Which means doing all the parts myself. And you know, 'doing all the parts yourself' is to collaboration what masturbation is to having sex with another person - fun, but not as interesting. It's not a mix issue, but it's something I need to change up at least once in a awhile. I think I've figured it out. I just don't know any bongo players, is all.
Levels: bass too loud? Vocal should be up a hair? Keys up a bit?
Masking: Vocal, bass and bongos are clearly heard most of the time. But do the guitar and keys 'fog out' sometimes?
"Gotta be a bitch playing bongos and guitar at the same time while singing, though.
"Not if you suffer from multiple personality disorder.
At this point, I'm into getting a tune out about every month. Which means doing all the parts myself. And you know, 'doing all the parts yourself' is to collaboration what masturbation is to having sex with another person - fun, but not as interesting. It's not a mix issue, but it's something I need to change up at least once in a awhile. I think I've figured it out. I just don't know any bongo players, is all.
What I'd experiment with to prevent frequency "stomping" is panning schemes, Paul. Throw the bass right up the middle w/ the vocal, then move the bongos slightly to one side and the git over to the other. I would likely move the git right and bongos left while swirling the keys in behind to glue the spaces between. I actually didn't hear the keys clearly at all.Thanks for noticing that - I'll attend to it. It's the getting used to the way it sounds that's the biggest problem, because then you don't hear it anymore. What I was wondering about was, as always, frequency masking and levels.
Levels: bass too loud? Vocal should be up a hair? Keys up a bit?
Masking: Vocal, bass and bongos are clearly heard most of the time. But do the guitar and keys 'fog out' sometimes?
"Gotta be a bitch playing bongos and guitar at the same time while singing, though.
Not if you suffer from multiple personality disorder.
At this point, I'm into getting a tune out about every month. Which means doing all the parts myself. And you know, 'doing all the parts yourself' is to collaboration what masturbation is to having sex with another person - fun, but not as interesting. It's not a mix issue, but it's something I need to change up at least once in a awhile. I think I've figured it out. I just don't know any bongo players, is all.
A compressor on the git will smooth those "jump out" moments.
Composition is creative and original. I smiled when you started doing your mouth trumpets. You've not changed a bit.
dobro
Well-known member
The problem with the guitar is that it got caught twice - once by the mic on the amp AND the vocal mic - it's the vocal mic that's chiefly responsible for the guitar spikes. It's a hard problem to fix. If I lean on the guitar that got caught with the vocal mic, I compress the crap out of the vocal. No good. (The problem is that the Godin's semi-acoustic - it's got a small soundhole on the left shoulder of the guitar and it gets caught by the vocal mic - I think I'll tape it over the next time I record.) Also, when I panned the guitar track left, I started to get some ugliness as a result of separating the two guitar sounds (phase? dunno). I think I'm going to have to live with the poking out guitar.
Here's what I did:
* Automated as many of the guitar spikes on the vocal track as I could.
* Put a compressor on the guitar track
* Raised the keys level a lot and boosted 1K
* Brought the vocal up a hair, and put a multiband on it to try to catch some of that 95Hz on the guitar
* Put everything up the middle.
See my comment above about masturbation.
So here's where it stands, and it's about as good as I can get it. To really get it right, I'd have to re-track everything, but my inclination is to learn the lessons and move on.
MUCH improved consistency and spatial separation. I heard the keys clearly this time, but I'd still nudge them to 2 or 3 o'clock. You've got the git and the bass intertwining still in the middle - and it's not offensive, but I might move the git to the left slightly just to increase distinction between the two.
D
Deleted member 203901
Guest
I really like the song and the organic feel of the track. Also, the mix sounds great....I really struggle when it comes to mixing acoustic guitars and analog drums btw 
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dobro
Well-known member
The drums are 'analog' but the guitar's through an amp (I struggled with mikings on this one), but yes I think it's organic. In my mind, organic makes it alive. But somebody else talked about the 'craft' of this tune. I think that's right, too. But craft means control. So I'm trying to get collaborators on future tunes now. Less craft, more organic.I really like the song and the organic feel of the track. Also, the mix sounds great....I really struggle when it comes to mixing acoustic guitars and analog drums btw
Papanate
Well-known member
It's a demo - the mix is irrelevant don't you think?
