Acoustic Song, Final Mix?

I remember this from a previous post and it's still a beautiful song. there's little not to like really.
I'm hearing some minor niggles: the "what more" at 0.35 doesnt sound right to me, I think it would be better with the double down a bit. There is a phasing effect on the vocal that sounds a bit strange e.g. at 1:47 it just stands out too much for my taste (oddly less noticable on the NS10's than KRK's)
Overall though, I would buy this in a heartbeat I love it.
 
Bruiser,

Thanks man. That is exactly the kind of feedback I'm looking for, and why I put stuff up here. When you're doing a mix, your focus changes all the time, and sometimes things just float by un-noticed. There's a lot of good ears around these parts. I'll check into the things you mentioned straight away. I didn't use any phasing effect on the vocals, but I'll listen closely for what you are hearing and try to sort it out.

Best,

GZ
 
Wow, great song. Everything is excellent. It can go as is, but if I had a gun to my head and was asked for something to fix, possibly the ending slows a little too quick.
 
Washburn100 said:
Wow, great song. Everything is excellent. It can go as is, but if I had a gun to my head and was asked for something to fix, possibly the ending slows a little too quick.
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot. I see what you mean about the ending, but that might be hard to fix without re-tracking a new part. Not sure I can cut and paste a slower one.

One question I do have, and it's the hardest for me to get right is the bass. Part of me thinks it's a touch too quiet. Any takers?
 
guitar zero said:
One question I do have, and it's the hardest for me to get right is the bass. Part of me thinks it's a touch too quiet. Any takers?
Click to expand...

I'd have to agree with you on that. The first time I listened I didn't even notice the bass. lol. I don't listen to this kind of music hardly ever on my monitors so I don't know how loud the bass usually is, but I think it could come up just a bit. Just an opinion.

It's a really great tune though GZ. I like the sound of the guitar and mandolin and the singer is awesome as always (assuming this is the same voice on your other songs).

I enjoyed it alot.

Have a good one.
 
Strange song, but I love the groove. I like the mix. Of course, I am only listening on my laptop at the moment, but I have Harman / Kardon speakers. Does that count? :p
 
I think it sounds great. I remember her voice from other tracks and am totally sold on her sound.

The sense of space was good, the tones were all good and the performances are solid. Really very well done.

I am listening on phones and through them, I was surprised by the panning a little...at first the guitar mostly right, then her voice mostly left, then the bass (which sounds round and full and was at a good level imho) to the right and the bgvs and mondo to the left I think...I mean, by the end it all filled out, but along the way it seemed slightly lopsided with the lighter elements on the left and the beefier stuff towards the right. Really minute considerations though and probably emphasized by headphones...thanks.
 
aaronaycox said:
Strange song, but I love the groove. I like the mix. Of course, I am only listening on my laptop at the moment, but I have Harman / Kardon speakers. Does that count? :p
Click to expand...
My first stereo ever was a harmon kardon receiver and some marantz speakers, so yeah, harmon kardon counts in my book. Thanks for the feedback.

heatmiser said:
I think it sounds great. I remember her voice from other tracks and am totally sold on her sound.

The sense of space was good, the tones were all good and the performances are solid. Really very well done.

I am listening on phones and through them, I was surprised by the panning a little...at first the guitar mostly right, then her voice mostly left, then the bass (which sounds round and full and was at a good level imho) to the right and the bgvs and mondo to the left I think...I mean, by the end it all filled out, but along the way it seemed slightly lopsided with the lighter elements on the left and the beefier stuff towards the right. Really minute considerations though and probably emphasized by headphones...thanks.
Click to expand...
Thanks for listening. Not sure what you're hearing on the panning. The guitar is panned right, the mando left. Bass is dead center, and lead vocal dead center. BG Vocs are stereo panned left and right. I did use some room mics in recording, maybe that's what is giving it some movement???? Thanks for the feedback on the bass. I'm most insecure about bass tone and levels. Since I got some K&H monitors, I feel more comfortable that I can really hear what's going on, but in the past the low end has given me fits.


You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to heatmiser again.
 
Hmmm.... Truth be told, I'm hearing more of the room than I want to - in everything (mostly guitar and vocals). The guitar has low-mids that are kind of muddying up the color of the guitar. I want that bass to have lots of space to work its magic, and there are subtle low-mids from the guitar that are taking away from the bass. When she sings the line about the beards, it seems there is a different space about it. It's like she's zooming up to the mic and practically eating it when that line comes up. Vocal consistency would be something I'd look at. Also, the vocal doubling, in places, doesn't add anything. In fact, I caught myself wondering why it was done, and that took away from what I was currently listening to. (Man, I'm being harsh, but I'm just telling it how I hear it, and you're *really* good at mixing stuff, so I'm being super critical here. Hopefully it's helpful.)

I listened to it twice, once through my Grado SR-225's and again through my Sennheiser HD650's, and noticed the same thing through both, although it came through a bit clearer with the Grados. I'll take a quick listen to both again through both headphones to see if I notice anything else.

The part I like the most (listening on Grados again now) is the harmonies on the choruses. *love* them. I really like how the instruments add upon each other as the song goes by. Is that a mandolin? Yeah... Good stuff right there. D'oh... Same bothersome vocal doubling came in. If it were me, I'd get rid of it. The harmonies work (extremely well), but the doubling just doesn't for some reason.

This time, I'm noticing the low-mid's on the guitar much more prominently on the HD650's... Interesting.. Lovin' them harmonies... Niiiiice. Noticing a lot of the room sound on the vocals that seems to take away from the vocal clarity..

Great song, Mel. Thank you so much for sharing. Hope I wasn't too harsh, and that it was helpful.
 
PoeticIntensity said:
Hmmm.... Truth be told, I'm hearing more of the room than I want to - in everything (mostly guitar and vocals). The guitar has low-mids that are kind of muddying up the color of the guitar. I want that bass to have lots of space to work its magic, and there are subtle low-mids from the guitar that are taking away from the bass. When she sings the line about the beards, it seems there is a different space about it. It's like she's zooming up to the mic and practically eating it when that line comes up. Vocal consistency would be something I'd look at. Also, the vocal doubling, in places, doesn't add anything. In fact, I caught myself wondering why it was done, and that took away from what I was currently listening to. (Man, I'm being harsh, but I'm just telling it how I hear it, and you're *really* good at mixing stuff, so I'm being super critical here. Hopefully it's helpful.)

I listened to it twice, once through my Grado SR-225's and again through my Sennheiser HD650's, and noticed the same thing through both, although it came through a bit clearer with the Grados. I'll take a quick listen to both again through both headphones to see if I notice anything else.

The part I like the most (listening on Grados again now) is the harmonies on the choruses. *love* them. I really like how the instruments add upon each other as the song goes by. Is that a mandolin? Yeah... Good stuff right there. D'oh... Same bothersome vocal doubling came in. If it were me, I'd get rid of it. The harmonies work (extremely well), but the doubling just doesn't for some reason.

This time, I'm noticing the low-mid's on the guitar much more prominently on the HD650's... Interesting.. Lovin' them harmonies... Niiiiice. Noticing a lot of the room sound on the vocals that seems to take away from the vocal clarity..

Great song, Mel. Thank you so much for sharing. Hope I wasn't too harsh, and that it was helpful.
Click to expand...
Hey man, this is exactly what I want to hear. That's two now against the vocal doubling, so I'll try the song without it. Easy enough to reduce the room sound as well. Thanks for giving it a close listen. i'll work on a revision and post it up.
 
guitar zero said:
One question I do have, and it's the hardest for me to get right is the bass. Part of me thinks it's a touch too quiet. Any takers?
Click to expand...
I think the bass is fine; sounds like an upright bass...and it suits the song. The guitar tone is sparkling, and the mando is a stroke of genius. The girl's voice is outstanding, and her phrasing & pitch are perfect!

The song....wow, a very nice song. As I type this, it's still rolling through my head. I would not be the least bit surprised to hear this on Sirius XM's "Coffeehouse" station.

Sorry I can't offer any criticisms to make it better...I think you've done a great job and it's excellent as-is.

-Mike
 
guitar zero said:
Thanks a lot. I see what you mean about the ending, but that might be hard to fix without re-tracking a new part. Not sure I can cut and paste a slower one.

One question I do have, and it's the hardest for me to get right is the bass. Part of me thinks it's a touch too quiet. Any takers?
Click to expand...

I would buy the song for sure. I think the ending could be edited, you wouldn't have to re-track it. Its the only speed bump in the whole song, I think. The rest is pure pleasure, love the vocals
 
Sounds cool. The only thing I can point out is that the acoustic sounds great when it's alone, but I think some of the low mids are stepping on the bass. I might roll off the low-mids a bit on the guitar once the bass comes in, and maybe push a little of the low end on the bass up...basically just create some space for both.

Cool song, I like it...but didn't the fixies go out of style already? :) Beards never will!
 
Sounds great! Not much I can really add from everybody else...

One thing. It may be me, but do I hear some pitch correction on her voice?
 
PoeticIntensity said:
Hmmm.... Truth be told, I'm hearing more of the room than I want to - in everything (mostly guitar and vocals). The guitar has low-mids that are kind of muddying up the color of the guitar. I want that bass to have lots of space to work its magic, and there are subtle low-mids from the guitar that are taking away from the bass. When she sings the line about the beards, it seems there is a different space about it. It's like she's zooming up to the mic and practically eating it when that line comes up. Vocal consistency would be something I'd look at. Also, the vocal doubling, in places, doesn't add anything. In fact, I caught myself wondering why it was done, and that took away from what I was currently listening to. (Man, I'm being harsh, but I'm just telling it how I hear it, and you're *really* good at mixing stuff, so I'm being super critical here. Hopefully it's helpful.)

I listened to it twice, once through my Grado SR-225's and again through my Sennheiser HD650's, and noticed the same thing through both, although it came through a bit clearer with the Grados. I'll take a quick listen to both again through both headphones to see if I notice anything else.

The part I like the most (listening on Grados again now) is the harmonies on the choruses. *love* them. I really like how the instruments add upon each other as the song goes by. Is that a mandolin? Yeah... Good stuff right there. D'oh... Same bothersome vocal doubling came in. If it were me, I'd get rid of it. The harmonies work (extremely well), but the doubling just doesn't for some reason.

This time, I'm noticing the low-mid's on the guitar much more prominently on the HD650's... Interesting.. Lovin' them harmonies... Niiiiice. Noticing a lot of the room sound on the vocals that seems to take away from the vocal clarity..

Great song, Mel. Thank you so much for sharing. Hope I wasn't too harsh, and that it was helpful.
Click to expand...
Posted a new version with the following changes based on all your recommendations. Ditched the vocal doubling. Cut low mids from guitar only after the bass comes in. Slowed the song down at the end starting about 6 measures sooner. Took some room out of guitars and lead vocals. Good suggestions all. I think it sounds better. Tell me what you think.

Strat1958 said:
I think the bass is fine; sounds like an upright bass...and it suits the song. The guitar tone is sparkling, and the mando is a stroke of genius. The girl's voice is outstanding, and her phrasing & pitch are perfect!

The song....wow, a very nice song. As I type this, it's still rolling through my head. I would not be the least bit surprised to hear this on Sirius XM's "Coffeehouse" station.

Sorry I can't offer any criticisms to make it better...I think you've done a great job and it's excellent as-is.

-Mike
Click to expand...
Thanks Mike

GuitarLegend said:
I would buy the song for sure. I think the ending could be edited, you wouldn't have to re-track it. Its the only speed bump in the whole song, I think. The rest is pure pleasure, love the vocals
Click to expand...
I changed it using the tempo list in Logic. Thanks

aaronmcoleman said:
Sounds cool. The only thing I can point out is that the acoustic sounds great when it's alone, but I think some of the low mids are stepping on the bass. I might roll off the low-mids a bit on the guitar once the bass comes in, and maybe push a little of the low end on the bass up...basically just create some space for both.

Cool song, I like it...but didn't the fixies go out of style already? :) Beards never will!
Click to expand...
Guitar low mids rolled off. Thanks. Fixies? Where they ever in style?

CrowsofFritz said:
Sounds great! Not much I can really add from everybody else...

One thing. It may be me, but do I hear some pitch correction on her voice?
Click to expand...
One spot I could hear in the first mix. Tried to fix it. Are you hearing too much?

Thanks everyone for feedback. Here's the new mix posted here as well:

Beards 2012_02_19.mp3 - File Shared from Box
 
guitar zero said:
Posted a new version with the following changes based on all your recommendations. Ditched the vocal doubling. Cut low mids from guitar only after the bass comes in. Slowed the song down at the end starting about 6 measures sooner. Took some room out of guitars and lead vocals. Good suggestions all. I think it sounds better. Tell me what you think.

Thanks Mike

I changed it using the tempo list in Logic. Thanks

Guitar low mids rolled off. Thanks. Fixies? Where they ever in style?

One spot I could hear in the first mix. Tried to fix it. Are you hearing too much?

Thanks everyone for feedback. Here's the new mix posted here as well:

Beards 2012_02_19.mp3 - File Shared from Box
Click to expand...

Pitch correction is what I'm very tuned to hearing. Compression and EQ not so much. It's fine. If nobody has really pointed it out yet, it's okay.

EDIT: Final mix is better! I can still hear it, but fuck my listen haha. Nobody else cares as much as I do.
 
CrowsofFritz said:
Pitch correction is what I'm very tuned to hearing. Compression and EQ not so much. It's fine. If nobody has really pointed it out yet, it's okay.

EDIT: Final mix is better! I can still hear it, but fuck my listen haha. Nobody else cares as much as I do.
Click to expand...
OK, thanks. I use it, but try to keep it very subtle. I thought everyone used it????????
 
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