All This Restraint: I would love some feedback on this mix.

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JG96

JG96

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My band is working on finishing up an album and this is one of the songs I have been mixing recently. I would love to get some feedback on it. Especially on the vocal levels/ mix.
Thanks in advance!:)
 
Sounds ok except the guitars and vocals seem to be fighting a bit. Maybe some eq or automation would help.
 
Cool song in general. The vocals seem to be a little heavy on the low mids and lacking in air and presence IMO. And I think the constant vocal double is not helping with that. It's probably just me, but this doesn't really seem like a song that's suited for that. It's really wordy (at times), and therefore it's harder to be really precise with the double, so it gets a bit distracting at times (to me). I personally would like to hear one strong vocal performance instead of the double.

Anyway, cool song.
 
Thanks famous beagle. I agree that the song could probably go without a vocal. But the vocalist is a big fan of the double tracked sound. Perhaps I will bring one track a few decibels down and try and use some flex time to tighten up the wordy bits. I have brought up the high pass filter. Cut a few db around 200 hz, another db around 500, I boosted at 3k and shelved at 7k. I also cut the guitars at 3k. I will do some more automation on the track and post up a new version tomorrow.
 
Here is an updated mix: I brought down the double tightened it up and changed some eq. I also used waves vocal rider which I found quite helpful.
 
The first thing I noticed was that the vocals sound a tad too far back in the mix. There's a lot of stuff going on between the vocals, bass line, and guitars (which is fine), so I think it may be best to get the vocals up a tad and back off on the bass volume a tad. I'd even go as far as to say the mix should be compressed a little more (gets pretty loud at the end... like almost to the point of needing to manually adjust speaker volumes when I heard it). Fair warning: I'm used to pop/rock production, so I crush my projects. So, take the compression part with a grain of salt if it doesn't float your boat :)
 
I like the second mix much better. More space and reverb...sounds pretty good.
 
Thanks guys! I suppose the bass is a bit loud. I guess I just like hearing myself:laughings: The song is pretty dynamic, I suppose I will need to do some more automation to keep the vocals at the right level. I don't really want the vocals to dominate to an extreme but they do need to be heard at all points. This track hasn't been mastered yet so the chorus really does jump up at ya. I want to preserve the dynamics but I suppose I don't want people turning it down for the hook of the song either. I suppose Ill figure that part out when I get there.
 
I think the overall mix sounds a bit better, but, IMHO, the doubled vocal just sounds wrong for this kind of song. But I know you said that the singer is a big fan of that, so ... whadayagonnado? That kind of thing can become a crutch, though, so I'd just be conscious of that. The voice always sounds huge and thick when it's doubled, and it can prevent you from making the improvements you normally would when hearing your normal voice (instead of just letting the double do it for you).

Just my two cents. Take it for what it's worth.
 
I definitely agree with you on the crutch part. Doubled vocals have been used on almost all the songs on this album, I feel on some songs it helps a lot. Others its not that necessary. What do you mean about not making improvements you normally would?
 
JG96 said:
I definitely agree with you on the crutch part. Doubled vocals have been used on almost all the songs on this album, I feel on some songs it helps a lot. Others its not that necessary. What do you mean about not making improvements you normally would?
Click to expand...

I just mean that, if, for instance, someone's voice is a bit weaker in their upper register, then that problem is largely masked when you double the vocal. So, rather than work to improve your voice so that it sounds as good (or strong) in that register as in the others, you may get used to just letting the double "fix it" for you. I think most people will agree that there's no way to get better than by recording yourself and hearing what you need to work on. If you're always doubling your vocal, you're not at all hearing a true representation of your voice.

That's all I'm saying.
 
good point, generally when tracking with this singer he mutes the vocal track before doing the double. Personally I do not know a ton about singing as I am just a mere bass player. :rolleyes: I suppose an unprocessed instrumental track is kinda the same thing. My bass parts always sound tighter once hit with some compression, but it is not an accurate representation.
 
Thought it would be best to continue this threat rather than start a new one. Here's an updated mix: [EDIT] Bounced without the bass track by accident, heres the real thing:
 
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