Been a while.... :) "Isn't It A Shame"

Armistice

Armistice

Son of Yoda
Erm... that's the song title, not a comment on it having been a while...

First toon in over a year, since the band died.. and my mixing skilz / ears are very rusty, I suspect. I've talked to a few of you privately about my new direction, and, well, .... this isn't really it... :D

But it came from somewhere, and because I like to make things really difficult for myself, I thought, why not do a song with 20 or so backing vocal tracks as a first up after a long break from recording / mixing?:eek:

Isn't It A Shame (320 MP3)

I've listened to this too many times now and I think I know what needs to be done, but I won't pre-empt you so let me know what you think.:thumbs up:

Don't be gentle with me.;)


NEW MIX AT SAME LINK as at 8.43am Sunday Australian time... special Eurovision Song Contest mix... :D
 
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It's been like 15 seconds, and none of you bastards has listened yet... :mad:

LOL - just wanted to say.... time zones... don't be upset if I don't immediately get back to you... I'm probably asleep. Cheers dudes
...
 
David,
the intro guitar, then the snare and then the solo make me feel the track is leaning left.
The phrasing reminds me of Cat Stevens in some spots.
I like it, I like the layering of vocals and the slightly more robust sound.
Are there many guitars in this mix? I ask because I can't tell as the vocals do dominate the mix, (as they should), and therefore can't hear them.
Good stuff.
 
rayc said:
David,
the intro guitar, then the snare and then the solo make me feel the track is leaning left.
The phrasing reminds me of Cat Stevens in some spots.
I like it, I like the layering of vocals and the slightly more robust sound.
Are there many guitars in this mix? I ask because I can't tell as the vocals do dominate the mix, (as they should), and therefore can't hear them.
Good stuff.
Click to expand...

Thanks Ray... it could be veering left, I'll have to have another listen/look at it. I do tend to put the snare just a touch off centre in that direction. There's probably 4 guitars there.... main, one that comes in in the chorus, and a couple of incidentals and the solo - which should be straight down the centre... less than normal for me... :)
 
Good intro guitar sound. I like your drum sound. It could come up in the mix. Or the vocal and guitar could go down.
The jump between the verse and the chorus could be a bit less extreme. The hard panned vocals are too loud or raspy for me.
 
What were the drums on this, Armistice? They sound pretty good if they're programmed. :) I had a little bit of difficulty with the intelligibility of the vocal - perhaps it was the laid-back delivery? It's probably not a fault, hell, I listen to Joe Strummer's vocals! :D I couldn't pick out any glaring mixing faults at all. I thought that some of the playing sounded like a Rhodes piano in places - really liked that. There was a a bit around 2.00 when extra guitars and backing vocals come in that sounded a bit "clippy"; I'm sure there isn't any actual clipping going on, so perhaps it's just guitar crunch and some slightly harsh BG frequencies battling against each other. On the whole, very clean and smooth, nice solo playing and a pleasant song. :)
 
The instruments and the lead vocal sounds centered, the layered vocals the first time sounded sound a little leftish, the others did not to me. Drums could come up, lead is high volume. Or as other said, vocals down a bit.

This tune sounds like a drum pushing the music type song. While the vocals are pulling you back, the drums pushing everything forward. I know, what the hell am I talking about, just that the drums seems like it should be louder to keep the song moving.

Bass sounded really good. Overall the mix is first rate. Just a couple of track volume areas and this will really sound pro level.

Nice tune, playing, and close to a perfect mix.
 
Schwarzenyaeger said:
Good intro guitar sound. I like your drum sound. It could come up in the mix. Or the vocal and guitar could go down.
The jump between the verse and the chorus could be a bit less extreme. The hard panned vocals are too loud or raspy for me.
Click to expand...

Thanks Schwarz... I'm always mucking around with drum levels... looks like I poked them too far back down... I doubt I can un-rasp the vocals, the voice being what it is, but I can turn them down... bit more automation work ahead, I think.

Thanks for the listen.:thumbs up:
 
Bubba po said:
What were the drums on this, Armistice? They sound pretty good if they're programmed. :)
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Only the very best MIDI drums for me, alas bubba... they're SSD4 - but I do spend a fair bit of time with them.

Bubba po said:
I had a little bit of difficulty with the intelligibility of the vocal - perhaps it was the laid-back delivery? It's probably not a fault, hell, I listen to Joe Strummer's vocals! :D
Click to expand...

It's my Aussie accent maaaaaaaaaaaaaaate... stone the flamin' crows...:eek::) I sort of realised after I'd recorded everything that perhaps it was set a tone too low - if I'd gone a touch higher in my range it probably would be a bit more intelligible... and you would have "got" my awesome "You were the heir apparent... ly" line...:laughings:


Bubba po said:
I couldn't pick out any glaring mixing faults at all. I thought that some of the playing sounded like a Rhodes piano in places - really liked that. There was a a bit around 2.00 when extra guitars and backing vocals come in that sounded a bit "clippy"; I'm sure there isn't any actual clipping going on, so perhaps it's just guitar crunch and some slightly harsh BG frequencies battling against each other. On the whole, very clean and smooth, nice solo playing and a pleasant song. :)
Click to expand...

Yeah, I know what you mean about 2:00 heard it myself this morning... I'll have a hunt on the w/e.

Thanks for the listen. You'll probably enjoy the next one I put up, knowing your tastes... I'll look forward to the Shambollix covering it.. :laughings:
 
DM60 said:
The instruments and the lead vocal sounds centered, the layered vocals the first time sounded sound a little leftish, the others did not to me. Drums could come up, lead is high volume. Or as other said, vocals down a bit.

This tune sounds like a drum pushing the music type song. While the vocals are pulling you back, the drums pushing everything forward. I know, what the hell am I talking about, just that the drums seems like it should be louder to keep the song moving.

Bass sounded really good. Overall the mix is first rate. Just a couple of track volume areas and this will really sound pro level.

Nice tune, playing, and close to a perfect mix.
Click to expand...

Thanks DM... I need to do some work to make the drumming a bit more prominent in the end section. I know exactly what you mean.. and I'll duck the lead in a bit... cheers... :thumbs up:
 
The drums sort of disappear when all the vocals get going toward the end. They are a bit low generally though imho.
The lead guitar was very cool - and when it played I thought "this is where the vocals should sit, volume wise" because everything dropped a bit when it stopped.
Playing is great, so I would just up the drums and the vocals a bit.
 
At around 0:50 and again at 1:53, when you go into the 'chorus (I guess) the volume change is abrupt, and the hard-panned vocals in the choruses are a little harsh compared to the verse vocal, - think its principally the multiple background vocals, might just need a notch EQ somewhere.
 
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+1 on the drums being too quiet for the mix.

Though, I might be inclined to suggest turning everything else down to match rather than the drums up. As mjb said, the volume shift when the group vox come in is pretty abrupt. I also heard a couple spots where it seemed like the whole mix might have been distorting with everything going. (Some might have been voice rasp and your guitar tone in the solo, but I doubt it's all)

Good to see new stuff from you!
 
ido1957 said:
The drums sort of disappear when all the vocals get going toward the end. They are a bit low generally though imho.
The lead guitar was very cool - and when it played I thought "this is where the vocals should sit, volume wise" because everything dropped a bit when it stopped.
Playing is great, so I would just up the drums and the vocals a bit.
Click to expand...

Thanks dude.... I have done just that, and a few other tweaks as suggested by people.
 
mjbphotos said:
At around 0:50 and again at 1:53, when you go into the 'chorus (I guess) the volume change is abrupt, and the hard-panned vocals in the choruses are a little harsh compared to the verse vocal, - think its principally the multiple background vocals, might just need a notch EQ somewhere.
Click to expand...

It turned out it was actually the guitars responsible for that volume swell.. think I've tamed it now, and tamed the chorus as much as possible as well. Thanks for the ears... :D
 
VomitHatSteve said:
+1 on the drums being too quiet for the mix.

Though, I might be inclined to suggest turning everything else down to match rather than the drums up. As mjb said, the volume shift when the group vox come in is pretty abrupt. I also heard a couple spots where it seemed like the whole mix might have been distorting with everything going. (Some might have been voice rasp and your guitar tone in the solo, but I doubt it's all)

Good to see new stuff from you!
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Thanks VHS.. that's exactly how I approached it... turned stuff down. Happier with the new mix, still some EQ stuff I'm trying to track down, but fine EQing with the washer and dryer both going in the background ain't the smartest thing to do so I'll leave it alone for the rest of the day, I think.

New mix at the same link (I hope...)

Thanks for listening
 
I'm getting a couple frequencies sticking out for me with the guitars that I would be inclined to attenuate if this were sitting in front of me right now. I'm finding various parts either a little thick in the low mids or a little harsh in the upper mids. I think a couple choice cuts in these areas, and not drastic ones, would really help the guitar tone in terms of clarity and how it gels with the rest of the mix.

I might cut some of the body out of your vocals as well. They are sitting on top of the mix a bit, and if you get rid of a bit of the body, they should drop in a little nicer.

This is a cool song. There is a lot of subtlety in this mix that wants to come out, but it needs some cleanup. I would start with the vocals and guitars as they are the obvious areas that would benefit from being reigned in a bit, then check out how the rest of the mix is working after those changes.

I really love the "isn't it a shame" parts. Actually, I'm now on my third listen and I really like this track in every aspect. It's a great tune.

I see a few comments about changing levels of various elements, but I am inclined to think that perhaps there are translation issues being heard on several systems due to some frequency build up that may be the culprit. Maybe. I could very well be mistaken, and perhaps that is just how it is coming across here. That's my impression in my space though.

Cool song.
 
I can't really add to whats already been said about the levels.

I do like the song. Good playing. I like the guitar tone. Great job.
 
kindafishy said:
I'm getting a couple frequencies sticking out for me with the guitars that I would be inclined to attenuate if this were sitting in front of me right now. I'm finding various parts either a little thick in the low mids or a little harsh in the upper mids. I think a couple choice cuts in these areas, and not drastic ones, would really help the guitar tone in terms of clarity and how it gels with the rest of the mix.

I might cut some of the body out of your vocals as well. They are sitting on top of the mix a bit, and if you get rid of a bit of the body, they should drop in a little nicer.

This is a cool song. There is a lot of subtlety in this mix that wants to come out, but it needs some cleanup. I would start with the vocals and guitars as they are the obvious areas that would benefit from being reigned in a bit, then check out how the rest of the mix is working after those changes.

I really love the "isn't it a shame" parts. Actually, I'm now on my third listen and I really like this track in every aspect. It's a great tune.

I see a few comments about changing levels of various elements, but I am inclined to think that perhaps there are translation issues being heard on several systems due to some frequency build up that may be the culprit. Maybe. I could very well be mistaken, and perhaps that is just how it is coming across here. That's my impression in my space though.

Cool song.
Click to expand...

Thanks fishydude... I'm just uploading a new mix now after a bit more EQ / level tinkering - just too many damn tracks ;)... glad you liked the tune
 
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