Feedback on New Mix?

Nola

Nola

Well-known member
Hi guys, can I get feedback on my latest mix?
What I'm most concerned about is I doubled the acoustic part. I played it slightly differently I guess, and when I mix it down to mono those differences sound strange. Do they sound good in stereo or should I ditch one and put an electric guitar or keyboard on the other side? Any other comments are welcome, too. Thanks!

Ps. The vocal mic is old. That's why it sounds the way it does, but I thought it added some emotion and character to the vocal so I went with it.

https://soundcloud.com/suicidevan/only-an-answer-original-song/s-KcyMt
 
They sound good in stereo. Usually people listening on phone speakers (mono) won't have the best fidelity... Having said that, there's a distinct ring on a couple of the notes that almost sound midi. That same ring makes it sound like every note is the same sort of thing.
The vocal is nice. I really like it that way. Nothing is standing out.
Mix is good, too. Nothing stands out there either. Bass is perfect for the song. The floppy snares on the snare really adds to the vibe. The snare might be 1-2dB too loud. The organ solo could use a bit of extra notes. Pretty simple.
From a production standpoint. The feel of this song could do with a phonograph simulator. Some crackles would really add to the vibe.
 
BroKen_H said:
They sound good in stereo. Usually people listening on phone speakers (mono) won't have the best fidelity... Having said that, there's a distinct ring on a couple of the notes that almost sound midi. That same ring makes it sound like every note is the same sort of thing.
The vocal is nice. I really like it that way. Nothing is standing out.
Mix is good, too. Nothing stands out there either. Bass is perfect for the song. The floppy snares on the snare really adds to the vibe. The snare might be 1-2dB too loud. The organ solo could use a bit of extra notes. Pretty simple.
From a production standpoint. The feel of this song could do with a phonograph simulator. Some crackles would really add to the vibe.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the detailed feedback, Broken. Funny, I just commented on your tune (must have been at the same time you were writing) and mentioned the midi keyboard! I swear that was total coincidence.

When you say distinct ring you're talking about on the acoustic? I think that's because the strings were dead. I recorded this at my GF's cabin, and I found a baby Martin in the cabin's closet and the strings were toast. But I decided to use it anyway. It had this "clang" to it. I swept the EQ trying to find it and cut it, but I couldn't seem to find it. Any ideas on a creative solution or can you tell what frequency that is? I thought it was like 3-5k but cutting there didn't get rid of it.

I like that phonograph idea. I didn't even know that was a thing.
 
I hear the ring, sounds like a bell. But I wouldn't cut it. That is a part of the sound.

With that said, has a Neal Young feel to it. Not meant good or bad, just a comment.

The keyboard sound I would probably bring that down and make it a little more subtle, but that is just an opinion, mover around production.

Nice little tune. mix and production. Has an honest feel to it.

Very nice.
 
Okay, the ring is on B, so a good guess would be 4k or 8k (just under if my math is right)
Sorry I'm disjointed, but I'm cooking chops, mashed potatoes and broccoli with cheese sauce and I'm trying not to burn my dinner. Back tomorrow!
 
i like the double acoustics, even though they don't always line up. It makes the track more interesting and off-kilter in a good way. Makes me not want to worry so much about my double acoustics not lining up in my recordings. Unusual vocals and lyrics. I'm reminded of Flaming Lips, though, not Neil Young -- and I mean that as a compliment.
 
BroKen_H said:
Okay, the ring is on B, so a good guess would be 4k or 8k (just under if my math is right)
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Thanks, Broken. I will recheck that range and see if I can improve it.

DM60 said:
Nice little tune. mix and production. Has an honest feel to it.

Very nice.
Click to expand...

Thanks, DM, I really appreciate the "honest" comment b/c it is honest and glad it shines through.


jgwire said:
i like the double acoustics, even though they don't always line up. It makes the track more interesting and off-kilter in a good way. Makes me not want to worry so much about my double acoustics not lining up in my recordings. Unusual vocals and lyrics. I'm reminded of Flaming Lips, though, not Neil Young -- and I mean that as a compliment.
Click to expand...

Thanks, Jgwire, for the constructive opinion. I like both flaming lips and neil young, though I don't really listen to either too often or consider them major influences. Both of them strain a bit when trying to sing in the tenor range, so that's probably the similarity you guys hear. It's just a byproduct of limitations.
 
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The doubled acoustic, should either be a little tighter or be completely different parts. The one on the right is a little louder and heavier than the one on the left.

I thought the bass was a little indistinct.

I liked the keyboard sounds.

The vocal sound was a little strange - kind of a weird ambiance. But I thought it worked well in the mix. A bit pitchy hear and there.
 
Nice song! One of the few original compositions I've found here that I would listen to casually.

A couple of things... I think the vocals can come up just a little bit. 1 dB maybe.
Also, the snare sounds like it's in another space. Sounds very dry. I'd bump it a little and try and experiment with some reverb.

Or, instead of raising vocals and snare take guitars down just a little?

PS: I like the sound of the mic/recorded vocals.
 
I really dig the song. I like how everything gels together in a quirky way I guess is the best way to describe. I do think the strumming guitar needs to be dropped just a little bit. Great job
 
I think the guitars and bass sound excellent. The kick's a little boomy on my headphones. The vocal is performed well but there's a harshness, I wonder if a little dip would help around 3-5k, somewhere around there? Got a good lo-fi vibe, the tape stop at the end is perfect. :D
 
paw1 said:
Nice song! One of the few original compositions I've found here that I would listen to casually.
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Thanks, Paw, that's quite a compliment. I agree with you about the volume relationship between guitar and vocal. It does seem very slightly off. I'll revist it. Good ear on the drums. I forgot I turned the reverb off on them and then never put it back on.

Bruthish said:
I really dig the song. I like how everything gels together in a quirky way I guess is the best way to describe. I do think the strumming guitar needs to be dropped just a little bit. Great job
Click to expand...

Thanks, Bruthish, that's another nice compliment. I'll turn the acoustic down a hair.

easlern said:
I think the guitars and bass sound excellent. The kick's a little boomy on my headphones. The vocal is performed well but there's a harshness, I wonder if a little dip would help around 3-5k, somewhere around there? Got a good lo-fi vibe, the tape stop at the end is perfect. :D
Click to expand...

Thanks, Easlern, I had to look up what a "tape stop" was. I never heard of that. I just knew I wanted it to end abruptly and then slow tempo to cue the end, like I would if performing it live. Cool there's a name for it! Thanks about the Bass...I don't play it often and worked pretty hard on the bass line to try to make a counter-melody. The harshness in the vocal might just be the mic. It's a really old mic that I've been using a lot lately b/c i just like the sound of it. I think I doubled (well copy/pasted the same take) the vocal and put very light distortion on the 2nd track, too, so that could be it. I'll look into it.

ClearedToPlay said:
The production is excellent, IMO. I think it's a bonafide style, and it works. Congrats!
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Thanks CTP. I dunno about excellent (I record and mix on headphones and without any studio treatment). :/
But I'll take it. Thanks, CTP.

TripleM said:
The doubled acoustic, should either be a little tighter or be completely different parts. The one on the right is a little louder and heavier than the one on the left.

I thought the bass was a little indistinct.

I liked the keyboard sounds.

The vocal sound was a little strange - kind of a weird ambiance. But I thought it worked well in the mix. A bit pitchy hear and there.
Click to expand...

Thanks, TripleM. The right does seem a little louder. Good catch. Maybe just lowering that one will open up the vocal. The vocal has a plate reverb on it, so maybe that's the ambience you're hearing. I like plates on vocals, in general, and then cutting the tail of them so they're not so long. That's what I did there.
 
BroKen_H said:
The feel of this song could do with a phonograph simulator. Some crackles would really add to the vibe.
Click to expand...

That wouldn't be a bad idea actually. I was hearing just enough pick noise on the intro to be really distracting. Phonograph crackles would help cover that nicely.

The vocal mic is pretty weird, but it works well in a sparse mix like this.
 
It's got a melancholy, Daniel Johnston vibe. You're right about that mic - it gives you that "old-timey quality", so keep that, but what's going on with that snare? It sounds like you played one snare over the other, with a 20 or 30 ms delay (distracting).
 
One man's treasure...I really liked the sound of the snare for the song, but I thought it was too loud (distracting). Six one/half dozen, I guess.
 
I'm I the only one hearing an artifact on the snare? Sounds like a ghost note milliseconds after the initial hit, according to my HP.
 
No, Luke, you're not crazy (see what I did there? :)). It's there, but to me it just sounds like loose snares on the bottom of a snare that slap back when you hit it hard. Kind of added to the vibe of the song.
 
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