"Chase Me Down The Street" - comments welcome.

  • Thread starter Thread starter alibish
  • Start date Start date
I'm no expert by any means so take my comments with a grain of salt...

I'm hearing some rathering annoying pick noise that goes away around 1:02-1:03 and then returns. With headphones on it's more prominent than via speakers (car). Just my two cents.

Oh yea...

Great tune, great voice.

Dennis
 
Im listening to "Chase me down the street 2" on really crappy PC speakers. It sounds nice but maybe if the guitars were put just a tad forward before 1:00, just a tad. Aside from that, I wish I could record with this kind of sound quality. I like the sound of the guitars, especially the one on around 2:20, I like that very slight drive. :)
 
I'll leave it to the experts as far as mixing,but this brings me back to the 80's.I love stuff like this.
Good work keep it up!
 
Guernica - thank you for listening. I'm no bass player so I tried to keep it very simple. It's a cheap Yamaha bass into a (guitar) Pod, through a cheap Behringer desk and into an Echo Mia sound card. But it sounds OK. :)

I actually did make some EQ changes to the lead vocal for the 2nd version - obviously not enough. :( Do you think some more cut around 4-500, or actually roll off from there on down?

I'm really glad you like the song. But to be honest, you're slumming it hanging out on threads like mine. Go back to your own thread and bask in the glory! ;)

By the way, if anyone is reading this and hasn't heard "monkeyfeet" by Guernica - GO AND LISTEN TO IT!!! It's inspiring stuff.

mixmkr - thank you very much for taking the time to listen and comment. I always appreciate your honesty.

Uh-oh - you called it pleasant. I was going for laid-back, but I think I've probably strayed dangerously close to boring. Any ideas how to pep it up, or is it just the nature of the material? Or the singer? :(

You're absolutely right about the singing - it was done *very* quietly. Partly because of neighbours, partly because of confidence. But also, as soon as I start belting it out my pitching gets (even) worse and my dynamics control disappears. I think I need singing lessons. :)

I hadn't thought of a female singer for this one, but if I can find anyone I'll give it a try. And thank you for the mix comments - I think I'm getting a bit better at the basics, but I've still got *so* much to learn.

rustyfingers - thank you very much for listening. I'm glad you like the song, and I really appreciate the compliment re my singing (although you should hear it without the Autotune :( ).

I've also started to hear the pick noise more and more - I think it's particularly prominent because the acoustics are hard-panned. I'll try and EQ it out, but I may have to re-track. Well spotted!

quattro_xxph - thank you very much for your comments. I'll try bringing the acoustics up a wee bit during the first verse. The crunchy guitar is a Strat through a Pod. I think the Pod is pretty good in a mix, although it doesn't quite convince if it's more exposed.

Re the sound quality - my mic is a cheap large-diaphragm condenser, but it's *so* much better than my old SM58. And having a decent sound card has made a huge difference for me.

acidrock - thank you very much. It's great to hear you like the song.

Cheers

AB
 
Hey there

I downloaded this a few days ago actually. I have been listening to it evertime I turn the computer on. The more I listen to it, the better it gets for me. Love it.

Its got a great vibe to it aswell as awsome production. Its almost like a u2 track for a movie like Trainspotting. The middle part is awsome, 2 mins with that great shaker part two. My favourite detail is the guitar that comes in 35 seconds in. Cheers

Erland
 
I didn't read any replys.. listening to V.2

the recording sounds real good to me.. nice bass sound.. no harsh frequencies in the mix.. pretty smooth.. performances are solid.. I really don't have any suggestions.. almost sounds a bit like U2.. good stuff for the genre!

only nit would maybe be the shaker in the left speaker that comes later distracted me.. probably just because of what mp3's do.. nice job..
 
Erland - thank you very much for posting. I'm really glad you like it - it's kind of growing on me too. :)

It's cool that you heard (and liked) some of the details, too.

B.SABBATH - thank you very much for taking the time to post - I appreciate it. It's funny - you and Erland both heard U2. That's a great compliment.

I think the MP3 process has really affected the highs on this one more than usual. I don't know why.

I'll try the shaker a bit closer to the centre - I put it out on the side automatically, but it might be less distracting closer to the main vocal. Thanks for the suggestion.

Cheers

AB
 
Another really fine tune Alibish!

The way you placed the instruments,depth wise,was perfection.
They fill up the backround and let the vocals come foward without standing out.
One of the better mixes Iv'e heard.
Has a real sweet dreamy quality about it.
How did you do that,if I might ask?

I liked the writing,fits well with the feel of the music.
Really brings you back to the sweet memories of being a kid,excellent!:)

I really enjoyed it,thanks for sharing,
Pete
 
Pete - thank you very much for your kind words. It means a lot to me.

One of the better mixes Iv'e heard.
Has a real sweet dreamy quality about it.
How did you do that,if I might ask?
Click to expand...

Err, no idea!

Basically it's a very simple mix. The lead and main harmony vocals plus the bass, kick drum and snare drum are plumb centre. The acoustic guitars are double-tracked and hard-panned. The backing vocals are double-tracked and hard-panned. The organ is about 3/4 left, and the distorted guitar is about 3/4 right. The cymbals are wherever the soundfont I'm using put them!

The main use of EQ is rolling off the low end. The acoustics have got a lot rolled off - I'm away from my music PC just now, but it's probably everything below about 500Hz is rolled off quite steeply.

The bass has a bit off the low end, and a lot off the high end - everything above about 3-4kHz is rolled off to cut down on string noise, buzzes, etc.

The two main vocals have a lot of low end removed, and a bit of low-mid cut. From some of the comments from the other folk, I think the lead could do with *more* cut around 4-500 Hz.

The harmony vocals have a lot of low end removed too. There's a pattern developing here! :)

I used much more reverb on the vocals than I usually do, and also quite a lot on the cymbals, and a bit less on the snare. The idea was to make the drums sound a bit more like they were in the same space as the rest of the tracks - I don't know if this succeeded?

The bass is very heavily compressed, and the acoustics and vocals also have quite a lot of compression. All the vocals are gently Autotuned (actually OB-Tune - it's a lot cheaper!)

And I put a bit of gentle "analogue" distortion on the cymbals and the lead vocal to try and warm them up a bit.

Anyway, that's about it. Lots of EQ cuts, lots of compression, quite a lot of reverb. Nothing much else.

That "dreamy" quality was exactly what I was going for - I'm really glad that came across to you.

Thanks for posting.

Cheers

AB
 
Thanks for the info Alibish,it's very much appreciated!

I pretty much started doing the same thing,I roll off below 500hz on everything before I even start to mix.

I have to try some reverb on cymbals and snare,I usually leave them dry.

Again,really fine piece of work my friend!

Thanks,
Pete
 
Nice hh in the opener... heh... I love your accent... sounds like that one hobbit in Two Towers... the Scottish one... also like Mel Gibson in "Braveheart" "go'en to peck a fite"

Something about the bass... blending probs in the mix, but slight... also some lowmids in the voice... overlap w/bass? Otherwise pretty decent mix.

Good modern rock sounds. Liked it.


Chad
 
Chad - thanks for posting. Glad you like the accent. :)

Any ideas on how to help the bass "sit" better? My ears aren't good enough to get it any better than it is without help!

You've heard the same thing as a lot of folk - the lead vocal is clearly too heavy on the low mids - I don't know why I didn't hear it myself. Anyway, mix no. 3 will try to improve it.

I'm really pleased you like the song. Thanks for taking the time to comment.

Cheers

AB

PS Great job on Jamal's track.
 
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