In the Bleak Midwinter
- Thread starter DavidK
- Start date
ido1957
9K Gold Member
Excellent piece David. Full of so many interesting musical tracks each contributing in their own way. Mix wise I listened a few times, and I found the violin sounded a bit too upfront at the very beginning 
30) but more within the track as it progressed (3:25). It felt like the reverb was different on different instruments - for example the bagpipes had a bit of distance compared to other tracks. So just things poking out or needing more presence, from my perspective. My wife said it was amazing btw and I have to agree.
30) but more within the track as it progressed (3:25). It felt like the reverb was different on different instruments - for example the bagpipes had a bit of distance compared to other tracks. So just things poking out or needing more presence, from my perspective. My wife said it was amazing btw and I have to agree.
rayc
retroreprobate
I hear what gerry mentioned in the bagpipes but I took that as the sound of pipes in the hills kind of thing.
the violin leadsa are very warm and luxurious.
I REALLY hope the Celtic Women Tour doesn't pick up on this - they'd schmaltz it to death.
It's really rather cold downunder at present so this was particularly welcome. When thye toes aren't warm it helps that the memories are.
the violin leadsa are very warm and luxurious.
I REALLY hope the Celtic Women Tour doesn't pick up on this - they'd schmaltz it to death.
It's really rather cold downunder at present so this was particularly welcome. When thye toes aren't warm it helps that the memories are.
I thought this was very nice. Great sound on everything. When I read people talking about bagpipes, I thought, "oh god that's gonna suck." But they sounded nice too.
Little pops at :39, :41, 3:12. Kind of a big one at 3:35.
No other nits. Very pretty and sounded great.
Little pops at :39, :41, 3:12. Kind of a big one at 3:35.
No other nits. Very pretty and sounded great.
dobro
Well-known member
My only nit is that the violin is the only instrument that I'm sure was miked by the OP - the other stuff could easily have been samples - in other words, the violin sticks out not because it's brilliantly miked and mixed, but because it sounds like it was obviously done in a different space to everything else. You can tell from the praise this one's getting that nobody minds that, but if I was mixing it, I'd be trying to get the violin track to match the backing more.
DavidK
New member
Thanks for the comments fellas, very helpful. I think one solution might be to back off individual reverbs a bit, and have a master reverb for everything.
My room is so terrible that words cannot describe it. We live near a gate, and 10 cars drive by every minute. The room is so crowded and dry that it's laughable. The mic is probably 4 inches from the violin, which means I have to eq out all the surface noise. It also explains the pops, because they aren't background noises. They are violin and string noises. The good news it that we are moving soon, so hopefully the new place will be better, it pretty much has to be.
There are 4 people. I laid down keys and violins, 2 friends laid down additional keys, and the cellist did 2 takes that are mixed at times and solo at others. The cellist was in a different room and it shows, she has a much better acoustic. Everything is pretty "real", meaning there isn't quantizing etc., everyone played their stuff live and just sent .wav files. I think it shows, as it's not really in a strict tempo. It took me a while to lay down a tempo map and click track that sounded natural.
My room is so terrible that words cannot describe it. We live near a gate, and 10 cars drive by every minute. The room is so crowded and dry that it's laughable. The mic is probably 4 inches from the violin, which means I have to eq out all the surface noise. It also explains the pops, because they aren't background noises. They are violin and string noises. The good news it that we are moving soon, so hopefully the new place will be better, it pretty much has to be.
ido1957
9K Gold Member
Yeah I noticed the roomy violin but was thinking turning it down might make it sit more in the mix. I don't notice this roominess in your Electronica album so I'm not sure the difference in mixing. Maybe the newer mic is more sensitive to room effect. Violin does sound nice through it though. Didn't notice any noise really and tempo was not an issue when listening. Individual reverbs are almost as hard as mixing bass for me.
Did you write this, David? I adore it. Hits me in my Irish soft spot.
The caution about going with only one reverb is that each different room it was recorded in has its own space to it ... consequently ... if only one is used, then each may perhaps sound different when one ring rules them all.
What I might suggest is to apply several individual short verbs to individual tracks ... varied per track ... to "get them into the same room". EQ out the highs and lows of the shorter reverb so that the impact is muted and subtle ... and doesn't later work to muddy when you apply a longer master reverb to richen the overall stew. On the longer one, again watch the low end (rumble mud), but push the highs a little more so the layering stands out.
Multiple layers of reverb combined w/ judicious EQ to highlight or mute can often put disparate rooms into the same place. The trick is to avoid fogging things up.
The caution about going with only one reverb is that each different room it was recorded in has its own space to it ... consequently ... if only one is used, then each may perhaps sound different when one ring rules them all.
What I might suggest is to apply several individual short verbs to individual tracks ... varied per track ... to "get them into the same room". EQ out the highs and lows of the shorter reverb so that the impact is muted and subtle ... and doesn't later work to muddy when you apply a longer master reverb to richen the overall stew. On the longer one, again watch the low end (rumble mud), but push the highs a little more so the layering stands out.
Multiple layers of reverb combined w/ judicious EQ to highlight or mute can often put disparate rooms into the same place. The trick is to avoid fogging things up.