4 tunes from jazz trio

c-funk

New member
http://csua.berkeley.edu/~cody/xfer/3rdcoast/

I can only host these files here for a few days, so let me know what you think. This (or some subset of this) is a demo for getting gigs.

I worked in Sonar 2 XL and Wavelab. Used some Timeworks plug-ins. Audio-Technica mic on the sax a few feet away, shure on the guit. Bass direct. M-Audio pre-amp for bass and guit. Yamaha for sax.
 
hey c-f

I think you need to get the guitar up in the mix and tame that wild beast of a bass sound.
The performance is pretty good just need to fix the mix:D
 
sounds like some pretty good tracking. i agree the bass is way up front and the git is way too low.

the picture i get when i listen to this is i'm sitting with my ear right next to the bass guitar, the guitarist is sitting next to the bass player but the amp is behind him and the sax is down the hall in the bathroom. kind of a weird image.

nice playing overall and probably good tracking.

did you add that reverb to the sax?
 
That's an upright, not a bass guitar. But OK I'll try to balance it more with the guitar. So the actual sound of the bass is not the problem, just the level? Don't need to EQ or compress or whatever, just lower?
I did add the reverb to the sax, and only the sax. Is it too much?
There's a little more on the slower songs, and less on the faster ones.

I have the bass high since there are no drums. The bass is half the rhythm section 3/4 of the time and the entire rhythm section the other 1/4 (during guitar solos). Except for the one bass solo.

And I have some panning stuff too. Which I think I messed up on one track but I forget which one. And by messing up the panning in the mastering phase, I would have messed up the mix. So please listen to at least two songs, and if the problem is with both of them, then comment.

I guess I have to 1) raise the guitar more all around and
2) adjust the mix and panning for the guitar solos.
 
c-funk said:

I did add the reverb to the sax, and only the sax. Is it too much?

imo, yes. it sounds like the sax is in an entirely different room. if you're gonna use it, i suggest using the same reverb on all instruments. not the same amount (volume) just the same setting.

might be hard to do if the guitarist is using reverb on his amp. i suggest tracking the guitar without reverb if you're gonna have to add it later cause it will be hard to match the reverb from his/her amp on the other instruments.
 
OK, I tried again, and have put up new versions of the 4 tracks. They do indeed sound better to me after taking into account the advice here.

The tunes are jazz standards.
Ceora by Lee Morgan
Cool Blues by Charlie Parker
Doxy by Sonny Rollins
You Stepped Out of a Dream by Nacio Herb Brown

Cool Blues is not a famous song, but the others more or less are.

I took the bass down 3-5 dB and maybe the sax a little. I lowered the reverb on the sax, and put 2/3 the sax's reverb (in terms of wet/dry mix) on the bass. The panning is now just bass v. guitar 20%
 
sounds better man. i think i know what it is that i'd like to hear. i'd like to hear more of the character of the bass. all that string slapping and fret noise you sometimes hear with an upright. i think most of that stuff is higher in the spectrum. right now i can't hear any of that and for some reason the bass and the sax aren't mixing well imo.

it's like all that character is there on the sax. i hear the breath and valves but on the bass it's not there.

i'm not an expert by any means, so disregard my ranting about your mix if you like.

just whats occuring to me as i listen. sax still sounds distant compared to the other two instruments.

geez, i wish someone like sonusman or blue bear would come along and give some expert advice to explain what it is i'm hearing.

i enjoyed the music.
 
Hold on a sec - reverb on the bass? Panning the bass 20%? I believe we have some problems.:)

My main gripe here is that the bass sounds very "mushy" and if you're verb-ing it, that would certainly explain it to some extent.

I'd say for this kinda small combo, go for very little verb, compression, etc. Go for a natural clean sound and add any effects *very* sparingly.

Definitely don't want verb on that sax. This ain't Kenny G, it's *jazz*.:) Leave it natural is my vote.

And NEVER verb a bass!

Cheers,
Chris
 
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