Country/Rock tune - what's up with this mix?!

M

Mercuri

New member
Ok, everybody... This is my first time on the board and I've just recently started getting into recording at home. I've seen a heckuva lot of talent here and I thought, "cool, this is something I should really get involved in!!"

I "finished" my first semi-demo recording a few days ago for my 16-year-old sister who's into country/pop. She wrote a country rock tune and I arranged it on my home computer with Sonar. The only parts I could make real are the guitars - everything else is just samples. She calls it "Baby, Goodbye".

It's still very preliminary, but I would love to hear criticism on it. (Positive, negative, either way :p ) It's on a fast server so the download should be over in a jiffy:



Anyways, I'm not sure what it is... But something is totally off with the mix. No punch/life to it. I go "ergh" when I listen to it. Maybe it's the midi drums? Volumes wrong? I'm curious as to what my fellow musicians think.

P.S. And yes, I know the piano instrumental sucks cuz I jammed it in one take to get it over and done with. "SEMI"-demo, like I said. ;)
 
For one, it sounds like you boosted the highs WAY too much....... mix clarity doesn't come from boosting highs, it comes from proper tracking and mixing!

The bass is thin and empty and isn't working with the drums to reinforce the low end - which is repsonsible for a lot of the "power" a song contains.

The drums sound pretty plastic and tend to get buried in parts...

The guitars are thin and overcompressed-sounding..... they are also too far back in the mix.

Piano has the same problem as the guitars........

You also need to give each instrument its own sonic "space" to work in - giving the mix depth, clarity and "air"........

Stick around... you'll learn a lot here....!

Cheers,

Bruce
 
Da muziq

Hey Bluebear... Believe it or not, I'm ecstatic that you had something to say about everything that needed fixing. Now I know it can be saved. ;)

When you say the guitar sounds thin, do you mean the acoustics or the electrics? The acoustics were recorded through 2 Behringer ECM8000s, which I know is probably a wicked bad no-no. :rolleyes: (1 was 3" from sound hole, 1 was 6" up the neck) That would explain the thin quality, tho.

The piano is the PowerGrand in the Yamaha Motif. <g>

I'll be re-recording the bass with a real bass guitar as soon as I purchase a Bass POD. That should help a lot of the punchiness.

Any tips on adding more clarity/depth to the mix? I panicked and added the high end to compensate - which I think just made it pretty "scratchy" sounding.

Thanks for the feedback!!
 
Yeah....some of Blue Bears comments were even beyond my realm of listening...so I won't try to give you any mix advice.

I think overall this sounds nice though - I think the vocals come through really well...have a good sound..

She is 16?? Sounds 25.

Did you do the backup harmony? They sound good as well...

Overall I like the sound...very JoDee Mecina (spell?).

Great demo.

-Wes
 
Thanks Wes

Thanks for the compliments - yeah, she's 16. The only thing I dislike about the vocals is for some reason the bottom end is non-existant. She really does have a very deep/mature voice and I don't think I really did it remote justice. :o I did the backup harmony through a Beta58.

And Bluebear pretty much nailed everything. ;) Now I know where to start... :D

Ciao
 
hey dude, you have been chewed by the Bear.:D I am always happy when he comments on one of my tunes because it's usually a learning experience..

I will not comment on the mix because I am not a pro, and I dont do that once a pro has commented.........(usually)

It did sound pretty good to me... I didnt really like the drum stutter on the beat, and it was a bit much on the highs, but it sounded good to me for the most part..

I think this was a good Country/rock song.. Although I know nothing of this genre..

later
sam
 
Music

Hi, Sam... But the drum stutter, to you mean the off-beat starts and stops in the beginning? (Some other people I showed the song commented on that too... MayB I was just trying to be too creative ;) )

Hmm... Something funny... I just got my new Rode NT5 mics and re-recorded the acoustic guitar on a small part. Suddenly they sound a lot less squashed and a lot more believable. You guys should check out these mics... Really, really reminiscent of the NT1... Only really cheap...

Hyuk, I'm glad Bluebear commented - It literally is the most comprehensive feedback I've ever, ever been given on any piece of work. I'm going to demand him personally for feedback from now on. ;)

Thanks Bear...
 
HOLD UP

did you remix this and repost after bruce's comments?

I found that the vocal sounded excellent. You pretty much nailed the country mixing. The vocal was more upfront that pop or mix.

I really liked the vocal. I dont think the highs are boosted too much. Shania twain has more high end in her vocals(I cant stand shani's vocals)

I declare this to be an extremely good mix and without a doubt, an excellent vocal. I also love the space. What reverb did you use?

Also, what mic is that and what pre.

You did good. A+

Funk on!
 
Da mix n stuff

Hey Jag - Thanks for the encouraging words. The vocals were actually the only thing people really complimented when listening to the mix at my house. And I haven't finished remixing it yet... When it's done, I will upload another copy so you guys can A/B it if you deem it worthy. =oP

The lead vocals were done on a Rode NTK straight into my Roland VM3100Pro. That mic ROCKS... You can get some amazing vocals that will cut through anything in it's way without even trying. ;) Tho I think I may have over-compressed her voice a bit and squished a little of the character out of it.

I think if I had recorded the acoustic guitars with that I would have a lot more clarity in the mix. Instead I was a bit foolish and thought it would be cute if I used a pair of ECM8000's. :rolleyes:

Thanks, Jaguar! This being my first country mix, I was a little nervous jabbing it out to other musicians.
 
I think it sounds great on my headphones!!...I wouldn't change a thing (for my headphone mix)...So...just get everyone to listen on headphones!!....16????

as far as sticking around and learning...I think you're a couple notches up on most people, and it will probably be the other way around.
 
Dammit!

Okay, Mixmkr, you need to pipe down right now because I mixed the damn thing down on headphones and it sounds awesome on headphones and really bad on speakers.

:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

I can't believe you said that! :p

Hee hee... Yeah, yeah, try it on headphones everyone, it sounds OK. It's the crappy speaker mix I'm workin' on. I groove with phones, and cringe on speakers. I hate that. Mixed it with my Walkman phones.

Oh, yeah... CyanJaguar, the reverb is Freeverb VST plugin.

Yeah... I went mega cheapo in some areas, you might say!!

Mixmkr - thanks for the compliments. I think I have a ways to go with mixing and recording (it *is* an endless journey), and I don't feel advanced enough to critique others' works. I've heard some of the works you guys have posted and have been blown away by the awesomeness of it. (I could swear some of it was big studio work... ;) )
 
damn....

the fact that I need an NTK once again thrown in my face.

between this...and macles...and all of the other stuff I have heard from and of that mic...sheesh ;)

I really want to audition the SP T3 though.

But yeah, these vocals sound great.

You know, on the 16 thing - I think the time I am most amazed she is 16 is around 1:49 with the "haha...you heard me...hahaha"

That just doesn't sound like a 16 year old! I can understand singing older than you are...but, that laugh...wow.

What are we feeding this kids...she sounds 28.

Great guitar playing btw.
 
Good tune and fairly good recording. Bruce pointed out a bunch of things that need work on and as usual he caught everything. Also I'd like to say that though I liked the song a lot, I hated the constant stoping and starting of the drums, samicide called it a stutter step and I think that describes it well. It needs more continuity, as it is it's way too broken. Welcome to the board BTW ;)
 
Hee hee

Hee hee... You guys are awesome...

:p Yeah, she's 16... Those laughs took a few takes. :D Had to wait until she started getting wacky and then we recorded that part. Everyone who hears them thinks they're incredible. :rolleyes: What are we feeding these kids? Well, she's vegetarian, and eats grapes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Sooooo... Can't say it's the rBGH, can we?? ;)

Well dammit that does it - I'll clean up the stuttering and try to find another way to get the syncopation across I was looking for. BTW I'm a little confused - is the general consensus of hatred <:D> directed at the stoppy-starty beat of the first two "segments" following the intro, or the fact that the song has nearly a dozen breaks in it? :rolleyes: I'm wondering if the "irritating quality" (that's how a drummer I know described it) would be diminshed if I tracked real drums. He said it sounds like it's *trying* to be cool and exciting, but it's missing the realism that makes it believable. That dinky snare isn't exactly helping I'm sure.

Wes - I'm getting a pair of C3's soon, I'll let ya know how they go. You can actually request a demo CD from Studioprojects for free.

Thanks for the compliments on the guitar. I'm not a guitarist by nature - but I have the patience for endless takes. :D :rolleyes: I was really happy with the Stevie Vaughn lick at the very end. Took forever!!!!
 
Phew, vocals blew me away. It's good that you aren't totally atached to the rest of it, as it does need more oomph to match up with your sis' talents, and talented she is. I'm also gonna try and not give much pro advice as I'm certainly not one, and Bruce has (of course) done a good job providing you with that already. Only thing I think is that the vocals aren't THAT top heavy, but that they are a bit. And the bass definitely needs some thickening, which a "real" one should provide.


Nice Work Man!!!!!



Laj
 
Remix

Okay guyz... I remixed some of the beginning. Someone let me know if it sounds like I'm on the right track here??



I spiced up the intro a little, too. Spanish guitar!!!
Note that I lowered the vocals in the instrumentation mix so you could get a better idea of the soundspace. Also, no high-end boost. ;)

A/B it with the original and let me know if it's an improvement.
 
Better... but still not quite there -- the snare is too upfront and still has that "plastic" sound to it........

If you've taken the high-shelf boost off, then there's some sibilance to the vocal track during the intro, probably due to mic placement....

When the track kicks in, the vocal is still buried, but it may simply be the overpowering snare burying it.......

You're on the right track though... just keep working it....!

Bruce
 
Take this with a grain of salt, but when mixing country records, the vocal is ALWAYS the loudest element. The snare can be up there but never as loud as the vocal. Bear is right on.

As for that snare, it sounds like a Roland sample. Is it? Could you replace that snare with a more natural sounding one? That would help too.

I'd take the vocal out of the mix, and work on getting the instruments to gel. Then, once the track is right, add the vocal back on top.
 
I agree about lowering the snare sound a bit... There's some obvious gating on it...but I like the sound of it actually, but not something you might expect on this kind of tune.

what I like MOST about this tune (aside from the nice lushness that occurs at 0:40 for a briefness...is that the musical talent and musicianship appears to be much more than the recording (which is still very good, btw.) There're some nice chops evident here.
 
The remix is too muffly to me - the bass and the kick drum kind of swirl together. The crispness of the old one seemed to prevent this from happening before. The old one is a little too crisp however. Maybe somewhere between. The vocals need to come up a bit in the remix too. They were just right in the old one.

Honestly, if I had to choose between the two right now, I'd pick the old one (for a country mix that is), but like I said, somewhere between the two would probably be right on.

-Sal
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top