final song mix (#2 of 11) - how's it translating?

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GONZO-X

GONZO-X

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final song mix (#2 of 11) - <<<deleted>>>

(hey folks, moving on to the next submission.......)


final song mix (#2 of 11) - how's it translating?

guys, i'm posting near-final mixes of the songs that i'm about to release on cd.
these are unmastered files. so you'll have to crank em up.......LOUD

they were output at dithered 16 bit, with no processing. then mp3'd to 320 kbps.

i'm only leaving these up for a couple of days each....
i'd love to get just a quick listen from you, to establish translation on different systems.
thanks!


"Following Light"
<<<deleted>>>
 
Last edited:
I got your back brutha! It all works. It sounds great. I've heard this one before, but it might be a different arrangement now, yes? Right at 3:16 the acoustic strum is louder than the others - it kinda slaps me in the ear. Other than that, it sounds really great - ready for prime-time! :):D:cool:
 
I'd say that the drums have got a bit too much reverb on them but beyond that it's just in need of mastering. It's all a smidge too bright for me, but that should resolve in decent mastering.

p.s. Is there an edit at 58/59 secs in? Something sounds a bit odd there.
 
maximusbs
thanks man!
heheh
yes, i posted this a while back, when i first worked on it, then changed the arrangment, and added all the acoustic guitar stuff.
i went back, and re-eq'd the acoustic so they wouldn't have as much pick attack, and brought that one track down on that side. good ear.


cobaltaudio
thanks andrew.....
those drums were one in sony acid, which i don't have anymore...
i wanted a big room, and mixed it with a lot of the room mics.
now, all i've got is a 16 bit stereo file i'm stuck with!
LOL
i'm going to do some eq tweaks, that should help...
that edit at 58.59, is a reversed cymbal smash.
loud in the system or headphones, it should sound like a rush
maybe i'll mix it louder.....
 
Ahhhhhhhh I miss the old drum sound. There is a lot of punchiness that has been lost. =( The acoustics are a bit loud, but sparkly and nice. Man, you're really having at this song. What is this, your 6th mix?
 
squibble
yeah, probably at least 6!
LOL

but my first, with this arrangement.
other than eq/mix tweaks, i'm wrapping all of these up

just needed a few reality checks first...


once they're mastered, they'll be a little more dense and balanced tonally.....
 
by the way, this is the same drum track i've always had on this.
nothing has changed, except some minor eq, and where it sits volume wise.
 
Really? It seems like there was more close mic in the other ones.
 
I dont think the drums have too much reverb and i wouldnt personally get it mastered too heavily, here is why....you have this Journey era esk sound and if anything id say eff a master and turn the lead guitars on the solos down just a TOUCH maybe verb those too, because it does have that rock stadium 80s sound to it...good job! and the kick sounds fine...you dont want it too present here with the overall mix you have going...
 
PS...That song is meant to be cranked...doesn't really matter what it sounds like low..am i wrong?
 
GONZO-X said:
that edit at 58.59, is a reversed cymbal smash.
loud in the system or headphones, it should sound like a rush
maybe i'll mix it louder.....
Click to expand...

It sounds a bit bumpy to me around that though, it sounds like to me as though you have just cut the stereo drums completely to let the cymbal through? The reverb tail is just completely missing from the previous material, so it sounds really out of place and silent behind the cymbal.
You would usually expect to hear the previous chord/notes/drum hits creating some reverb dying away rather than just being cut off.

If this is the case, I guess you've cut the drums to remove some playing that you don't want over the reverse cymbal?
In fact, a solution I've seen done would be to generate a separate reverb from from everything up to the cymbal (doesn't have to be identical to the original verb) without any of the reversed cymbal or full band afterwards. That way you'll get a nice clean tail where the gap is and the cymbal is put in, you can then put just that reverb tail back in in underneath the reversed cymbal. Do you follow me?
 
TheRumor said:
I dont think the drums have too much reverb and i wouldnt personally get it mastered too heavily, here is why....you have this Journey era esk sound and if anything id say eff a master and turn the lead guitars on the solos down just a TOUCH maybe verb those too, because it does have that rock stadium 80s sound to it...good job!...
Click to expand...

When you say "mastered too heavily" I assume what you are trying to say is that the track shouldn't have the master bus compressed flat by some guy in a studio expecting a nice fat pay cheque this is NOT mastering. That is exactly the opposite of what I mean when I say mastering, it's an unfortunate stereotype. What I actually mean is properly polishing and fine-tuning the sound of the record as a whole, to get the best out of it possible. That will sometimes involve some sensitive eq'ing (which is what is needed here), and any mastering engineer actually worth his salt will always come with that kind of an attitude.

I'm certain that there was zero offence intended by what you posted, and certainly none taken. Just be aware that there are people on this forum, way more experienced than someone like me, who make a living from professional mastering and although there are a few engineers do who like everything to sound flattened and mega-loud, I'm not sure the rest would appreciate being tarred with the same brush.

TheRumor said:
PS...That song is meant to be cranked...doesn't really matter what it sounds like low..am i wrong?
Click to expand...

In a word... yes

Because for example, if your listener is on iPod headphones, it's not possible to "crank" it up enough to bring back the low end you hear with the level right up. And there are occasionally the times when you might not want to wind the volume right up, that shouldn't mean the sound has to suffer as a result.
 
It's translating like pure gold on my system, dude!
 
cobaltaudio said:
Because for example, if your listener is on iPod headphones, it's not possible to "crank" it up enough to bring back the low end you hear with the level right up. And there are occasionally the times when you might not want to wind the volume right up, that shouldn't mean the sound has to suffer as a result.
Click to expand...

Certainly not with stock earbuds--or even so many of the mid-priced third party replacements. But I've got a set of earbuds that deliver all the bottom end you could want. My wife bought 'em for me, and at $130 I thought she was crazy. I'd been through 4 or 5 different cheaper sets, and had written the whole concept off.

But these things changed my appreciation of the iPod. I bought a second pair and hid 'em away, 'cause when I lose or nuke my current set, I want no interruption of music!
 
squibble
nope, the only track i ever had, was the one with all the room mic.
there's no reverb added anywhere, that's all room mic.
big room....
LOL



therumor
thanks for checking it out.....
there's no reverb on this anywhere, just some slapback on the vox...
well, i DID print some spring reverb on a couple of the guitar tracks....
and the solo was printed with tape delay off the actual rig.

and yes, it needs to be cranked.
especially since it's not mastered.....all the dynamics are there, but when it's too low on playback, you don't hear it.
folks are so used to listening to smashed mixes, they expect everything to be heard evenly.....



cobalt
i did edit the drum track to drop out right before the 'effect'.....
i was looking for a pronounced effect, a little cold water in the face.
i think i don't want it to blend, i want to feel the bottom drop out.

but i totally get what your saying, and your approach to get there.
that's spot on.

mastering:
listen to the song "No Quarter", off of Houses of the Holy.
that's what i dig.


whitestrat-
'm glad it's translating......
but.....

what's your system?!

do you have a full blown PA in your house?!
LOL
i'd love to hea that.............


ok, song deleted, moving on to the next one......
 
GONZO-X said:
i was looking for a pronounced effect, a little cold water in the face.
...
listen to the song "No Quarter", off of Houses of the Holy.
Click to expand...

Aha! BINGO! Awesome bit of Zeppelin.
In that case, the slap in the face is perfect. Not too melodramatic, but enough to just catch your attention.
 
GONZO-X said:
squibble
nope, the only track i ever had, was the one with all the room mic.
there's no reverb added anywhere, that's all room mic.
big room....
LOL



therumor
thanks for checking it out.....
there's no reverb on this anywhere, just some slapback on the vox...
well, i DID print some spring reverb on a couple of the guitar tracks....
and the solo was printed with tape delay off the actual rig.

and yes, it needs to be cranked.
especially since it's not mastered.....all the dynamics are there, but when it's too low on playback, you don't hear it.
folks are so used to listening to smashed mixes, they expect everything to be heard evenly.....



cobalt
i did edit the drum track to drop out right before the 'effect'.....
i was looking for a pronounced effect, a little cold water in the face.
i think i don't want it to blend, i want to feel the bottom drop out.

but i totally get what your saying, and your approach to get there.
that's spot on.

mastering:
listen to the song "No Quarter", off of Houses of the Holy.
that's what i dig.


whitestrat-
'm glad it's translating......
but.....

what's your system?!

do you have a full blown PA in your house?!
LOL
i'd love to hea that.............


ok, song deleted, moving on to the next one......
Click to expand...

I've got a full PA--it's only about 12,000 watts--4 2x15" mains plus mids and horns, 4 18" subs. But I'm about to fire it up for a big party (I live in the middle of nowhere, so parties can get loud) so I'll throw this on and see how it translates at those levels!
 
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