the end of the road

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heatmiser

heatmiser

mr. green christmas
Hey,

I have been in hibernation lately, but have recently emerged to produce this odd track.

I'm a little out of practice and unsure, but I kind of like the tune. I think the mix may have some issues, but I'll withhold those thoughts so as not to create bias.

It is somewhat long (sorry!) and strange, and there is a melody from a willy wonka song thrown in there somewhere. I didn't initially intend to use that, but I like the melody and it seemed to oddly fit over what I already had, so...let me know if that is too cheesey.

Original mix:

SoundClick artist: kingseesar - the end of the road

01.26.12 remix with snare FX:

SoundClick artist: kingseesar - the end of the road - 1.26.12 remix

01.27.12 remix with lower kick/bass:

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_songInfo.cfm?bandID=660667&songID=11398754

Thank you for your time.
 
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Wow, nice work. It is indeed long and repetitive, but still a good listen. I like the little breakdown interludes.

The mix seems fine to me. The kick gets a little mushy when things get thick, but not too bad. That snare kind of sticks out to me. It's okay for a snare, but it almost seems too natural for as weird as the surrounding song is. I love the scratchy bass. Vocals fit well, but they're a little plain. Good job overall.
 
a true Pete da Heat original.....


like beck went time traveling.....


Loved the bass growl and the almost amen break drums.....i'd love to here your stuff with a sloppy hip hop beat underneath, I bet it would work...I think the snares a little too dry and upfront, maybe try a delay on it? other than that the mix sounds great to me, I also love the breakdown, it does come in a little abrupt but musically is the best part of the tune, if you maybe stuck in a delayed pulse/stab type thing it would cover the drop??


Nice work man and thanks for sharing
 
Sounds good - has a cool groove and beat. I like the vocals as they sound laid back in that range. Two thumbs up! :D
 
Greg_L said:
Wow, nice work. It is indeed long and repetitive, but still a good listen. I like the little breakdown interludes.

The mix seems fine to me. The kick gets a little mushy when things get thick, but not too bad. That snare kind of sticks out to me. It's okay for a snare, but it almost seems too natural for as weird as the surrounding song is. I love the scratchy bass. Vocals fit well, but they're a little plain. Good job overall.
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Thank you Greg. I think I probably could've covered most of these ideas in 3.5 - 4 mins, but I have trouble editing myself.

Yes, the kick = crap. I'm using an sm57 for lack of a kick mic and am really struggling to get a decent tone. At least it is audible and reasonably on time. Geez, I really liked the snare on this though. I think it's the best sound I've gotten yet (not saying much), but the level may simply be too high? Thank you for helping me with drum questions. I'm getting better, but still a looong way to go!
 
kcearl said:
amen break drums
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?? Does that refer to that show starring the guy from the Jeffersons? If so, I'm kinda bummed as I was going for more of a The Golden Girls vibe there...

kcearl said:
...I think the snares a little too dry and upfront, maybe try a delay on it? other than that the mix sounds great to me, I also love the breakdown, it does come in a little abrupt but musically is the best part of the tune, if you maybe stuck in a delayed pulse/stab type thing it would cover the drop??
Click to expand...

Aw, you guys are killing me with the snare. That was the one element I was so sure of! I've never added reverb to it before (always relied on overheads or room mic), but this time I did add a long, big reverb but kept the level somewhat low. I thought it gave it the right amount of spatial whatever...I also made a point of simply hitting it with more force this time and liked what it did to the tone let alone the level - I'll look into it though - thanks.

That one brief silent pause near the end is kind of odd, huh? I just stopped playing drums at that moment, and then cropped everything else to match. Maybe I should've left something trailing a little bit? Thanks for listening and for the advice dood.

ido1957 said:
Sounds good - has a cool groove and beat. I like the vocals as they sound laid back in that range. Two thumbs up! :D
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Thanks so much for checking it out ido and I'm glad you think it sounds ok!
 
the snares not bad at all mate lol


I think when you say the levels a bit too high maybe thats it....I never knew you played the drums? nice one
 
heatmiser said:
I really liked the snare on this though. I think it's the best sound I've gotten yet (not saying much), but the level may simply be too high? Thank you for helping me with drum questions. I'm getting better, but still a looong way to go!
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The snare is fine. I was just commenting on how such a natural snare sound doesn't really fit with the song, IMO. I think it needs something - like a quick, faint delay, or some gated verb or something. It's too dry and plain. It would be fine in a less trippy song.
 
kcearl said:
....I never knew you played the drums?
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I don't really, yet. I am trying very slowly to learn, mainly by just looking at them every once in a while and hoping that through osmosis...

It is wicked fun though. I highly recommend it.

Greg_L said:
The snare is fine. I was just commenting on how such a natural snare sound doesn't really fit with the song, IMO. I think it needs something - like a quick, faint delay, or some gated verb or something. It's too dry and plain. It would be fine in a less trippy song.
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Ok, more of a context thing...you and KC both heard the same thing, so I will play around with it and see if I can come up with something more suitable for this track. Thanks!
 
Dude. I love the chord progressions in this sucker. Found myself subconsciously bobbing my head to the beat. Great rhythm going on.

Hmm... About the mix, before I read any comments, initially, when the snare came in, I thought to myself it sounded a bit odd within the context of the song. The more the song progressed, though, the more I forgot about it. I think it might just have a problem sitting in the mix, is all. Slap a bit o' verb on there, just so it sits in a bit more. Other than that, I really enjoyed it, dude! Great to hear more of your stuff!

Thanks for sharing, Pete.
 
That intro reminded me of that Hall & Oats song Cant go for That for some reason. Love the Eddie Grant fuzz bass. No issues with the mix here. Great little laid back tune
 
I really liked the song. I liked the vocal a lot. Really good. Liked the drums. Liked the harmonies. Great reverb on everything.

The only think I didn't really care for was the bass sound. The distortion was cool. But the overall tone sounded a bit sterile and cold. Too close to a techno bass. Personal taste thing though.
 
PoeticIntensity said:
Dude. I love the chord progressions in this sucker. Found myself subconsciously bobbing my head to the beat. Great rhythm going on.

Hmm... About the mix, before I read any comments, initially, when the snare came in, I thought to myself it sounded a bit odd within the context of the song. The more the song progressed, though, the more I forgot about it. I think it might just have a problem sitting in the mix, is all. Slap a bit o' verb on there, just so it sits in a bit more. Other than that, I really enjoyed it, dude! Great to hear more of your stuff!

Thanks for sharing, Pete.
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Awesome. Thanks PI. Ok, that's comment #3 in a similar vein on the snare. It has some verb on it actually, but probably not quite right yet. I aim to revisit this soon. Thanks again.

Bulls Hit said:
That intro reminded me of that Hall & Oats song Cant go for That for some reason. Love the Eddie Grant fuzz bass. No issues with the mix here. Great little laid back tune
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Man, you so totally get me. Hall & Oates and Eddie Grant is exactly what I was going for here. :p

Thanks for listening B.S.!
 
ecktronic said:
Sounds good.
There is something about the snare that is a little out of place. Maybe less low mids on the snare.

Apart from that its good.

Please can you comment on my mix. I have not posted in over a year.

https://homerecording.com/bbs/general-discussions/mp3-mixing-clinic/new-short-sample-337526/

Cheers,
G
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Thanks - I checked out yer track. Wicked short, but a cool riff. This is vote #4 for "do something with that snare"...I will experiment at some point here soon.

TripleM said:
I really liked the song. I liked the vocal a lot. Really good. Liked the drums. Liked the harmonies. Great reverb on everything.

The only think I didn't really care for was the bass sound. The distortion was cool. But the overall tone sounded a bit sterile and cold. Too close to a techno bass. Personal taste thing though.
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Thank you Trip! My daughter does the ooohs during the chorus. I hope they're detectable as my wife says she can't hear 'em at all and I had half a mind to turn them down further. Yes, the bass is sterile and cold. I originally wanted a retro fuzz kind of sound, but this weird tone seemed like a nice counterpoint to some of the other more organic sounds. I like to mix and match incongruous sounds whenever possible.
 
Your wife is correct. Turn the ooo's up. Admit to her that you were wrong. It'll be better that way.
 
New mix

TripleM said:
Your wife is correct. Turn the ooo's up. Admit to her that you were wrong. It'll be better that way.
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Done. Thanks for the advice - well received by her, not so much by me :p!

I tried just about everything that was suggested in this new mix:

SoundClick artist: kingseesar - the end of the road - 1.26.12 remix

Maybe I went too far? I dropped the level of the snare, carved out a little lo-mid action, added a slight echo, and also added a gated verb! Sounds mangled solo, but kinda fits in the mix as a whole....uh, maybe?

The thing is the lower snare allowed me to raise the master even more and I think maybe I squashed it too much? It certainly seems louder anyway, but maybe less clear and/or less dynamics. If anyone would care to check it out and give me their thoughts I'd really appreciate it! :D
 
Very cool, man...I listened to the new mix - 1.26.12. The mix sounds great to me...everything is clear and well-balanced. I love the textures and how you bring in lots of different elements throughout to keep it interesting. There's something about the section from 1:22 - 1:31 that left me wanting to hear a different type of production there...I'm not sure what, and I hate to say that it sounds like it needs a master telephone EQ treatment or beatbox percussion, because those options seem overused and abused, but something like that is what my ears were craving...something to differentiate that section production-wise from the rest of the track. I felt similar in the 2:30 - 2:40 area as well, although I wouldn't do the same thing in both...hopefully I'm not being presumptuous offering production suggestions in a mix forum.

But while I'm being presumptuous... :) One other production idea that jumped into my mind as I listened was that I think it would sound really cool with doubled vocals an octave higher in the refrain...the part that says something like "It's all a joke...". I think octaves might be really cool and call it out in a cool way.

This was a great listen...kept my ears happy the whole way through :)

Very Best,
 
oh thats it dude :D


snare sounds much better imo...the oooo's really add to it..I could hear them before in the background but up front they really work


Id love to add some FX to this...did you track it in Reaper or outboard?
 
A new Heat original, ace!

Sounds great man, I love it. I'd have said that the female vocals needed a boost, but you've addressed it. Nice breaks, layers and melody - great work.

What have you lifted from Willy Wonka by the way? I can't identify it. Also, just out of interest what's the bowed cello-y sounding line you've got at various points during the tune? Sounds like an e-bow or something?
 
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