Finished another remix -- anything very noticeably off?

[Nola]

It's mostly the vocal. The acoustics sound ok, but I agree with John that they always sound different. Brut has a nice acoustic sound going in the clinic right now too, and yours is good but different. Listening again, I think the vocal has more of an effect on the overall tone of the song for me since it sounds much better at 1:20 when the vocal stops, another guitar comes in, and there's a nice top end cymbal splash that fills it out pretty well... so, i think it's just that vocal that is sitting in the range of the other guitars and upping the boxiness of the track during those sections.

Cool, thanks for expounding. Personally, my biggest issue with this mix is the acoustic is fighting the vocal a bit volume-wise, but when I reduce the acoustic the song loses too much energy (the acoustic has a jangle strum almost acting like a hat and provides some "drive" forward). The vocal, with the acoustic muted, sounds good. With it, it gets a bit congested. With the acoustic lowered, the overall song loses energy. I'm unsure how to resolve that situation at this stage in my mixing. I tried notching some on the acoustic to fit in the vocal, but it doesn't seem to work, and the acoustic begins to sound weird.

 

[andrushkiwt]

i don't know, i think you have the guitars living in the 600-1000 range and that mic is abnormally boxy too, so together they are clogging up that mid range. that's probably where it's coming from, to me, and possibly why the vocal isn't shining through as much.

i cut out 200-500 on the bass because that's where i want the guitars to have more thickness, for example. so, at this point, since you're getting very good at mixing in general, possibly focus more on which sounds you start with so they have room for each other. you acknowledge the mic has a boxy/old radio tone to it, yeah, so compensate maybe with the starting sounds from other things.

like a post above, it's really not bad or anything. but even as a casual listener, I would think the vocal was poorly executed, but only because it's tone doesn't contrast nicely with the other pieces. but then, that's only something i am able to pick out because i've been mixing music for a bit now. i wouldn't stress about it. just notch down some notes for next time.

 

[Nola]

Cool, no problem, and all points noted. I currently have another vocal on a modern mic, but I sang it more staccato for some reason and hated that take. I remember when I first posted the song months ago Robus liked that [staccato] take so much better. Maybe I should reconsider doing it more legato but on the modern mic. I'll see if I have time for that this weekend. I like this old mic and current take, though (I feel it's "vibey" and fits, for better or worse), so it would be more for experimentation. Really my goal is to somehow get the acoustic to provide the janglely drive yet also be lower to allow the vocal space. I can't seem to get it right with any EQ or volume settings. That's my only peeve with this mix, and it's driving me a bit nuts, tbh. I really get no pleasure out of mixing!

 

[rayc]

The melody sounds incomplete because it uses the beginnings of Kurt Cobain phrases.
Musically it sounds like you've used the sonics of Nirvana's MTV Live/Unplugged recordings as the template and threw in a J Masics style solo to add colour.
Sliding up to the note or even through it has some history - Tom Verlain, Richard Hell, etc etc. and it can create tension or sense of expectation in/for/from a melody. Sometimes this is a happy accident that makes hay from limitations and sometimes, though rarely, it is a choice by the singer or lead player. Psycho-acoustics and sophistry don't save much though. If it's part of the manifesto - publish it and be damned. If it's an afterthought try a little harder or collaborate. If it's a happy accident celebrate it.

 

[jimistone]

good sound on the mix..except I agree about the lead guitar being kind of harsh.

 

[Nola]

The melody sounds incomplete because it uses the beginnings of Kurt Cobain phrases.
Musically it sounds like you've used the sonics of Nirvana's MTV Live/Unplugged recordings as the template and threw in a J Masics style solo to add colour.
Sliding up to the note or even through it has some history - Tom Verlain, Richard Hell, etc etc. and it can create tension or sense of expectation in/for/from a melody. Sometimes this is a happy accident that makes hay from limitations and sometimes, though rarely, it is a choice by the singer or lead player. Psycho-acoustics and sophistry don't save much though. If it's part of the manifesto - publish it and be damned. If it's an afterthought try a little harder or collaborate. If it's a happy accident celebrate it.

Thanks for the feedback, Ray. The comment is a bit of an enigma where I'm not sure what to deduct from it, and I don't understand the reference to an incomplete melody or Cobain, but I appreciate the listen and the time you took to comment and give your thoughts. I just wish I understood them better so I could take something from them. Haha. No worries.

good sound on the mix..except I agree about the lead guitar being kind of harsh.

Thanks Jimi. They were really harsh before, so this is about the best I can get them without sucking the life out. It was a strat on the treble setting, which tends to have that ~3k spike.