First ITB mix ever! Rock tune

[RAMI]

"Pump Up The Jam", that was done mainly in analog. Actual tape loops and live instruments.

You sure about that? I'm pretty sure it was pretty much all synthesized. The "singer" they put on the cover wasn't even the singer on the actual song.

Anyway.....

RFR, this sounds good, especially for the first in the box mix. Love the guitar sound, the voclas and the song. The snare is a little box-y and missing some high end (the wires) to me and I can barely hear a kik. But tracking, performance and mix-wise, this is very good stuff.

 

[DM60]

You sure about that? I'm pretty sure it was pretty much all synthesized. The "singer" they put on the cover wasn't even the singer on the actual song.

Screwed up, "Pump Up The Volume" is what I was thinking about.

 

[Tadpui]

Great performance, great song man. I think that the vocals are too loud, and they have that SM58 straight-off-the-board kind of sound to them. I think the vocals could use some compression, personally, but I'm a big fan of squashing vocals a bit (or a lot). Maybe just a hint of ambiance on the vocal would be good as well. Drums sound fantastic. That snare is just killer. Guitar and bass sound good too. Everything is obviously well tracked and engineered, and I like the mojo of the analog path.

 

[RFR]

Thanks for all the comments, observations and tips. Going on some suggestions, I did another mix. I cant tell anymore since Ive listened to this tune too, too may times.

Anyway, I made some subtle or not so subtle changes.

I brought the vocal down a wee bit.
Brought up the bottom end ( bass and kick)
Put a bit more snap and crispness into the snare
Added a tiny bit of compression and put in some more reverb so its less dry.
Brought up the background Vocal. Previously I had it buried, and in the mix just enough so you couldn't so much hear it, but added a little something to the choruses. Why? cause the vocal kind of sucked, but the bass player insisted on having it in there. Well, now you can hear it a bit more....just a bit.

Here you go. Hope I improved rather than ruined the song.



Edit:After uploading to soundcloud and listening to it here, it seems more drenched in verb than on my mix. Their compression perhaps??????

 

[RFR]

Any takers and comments on the second mix? As posted in my previous post?

 

[RAMI]

Any takers and comments on the second mix? As posted in my previous post?

Sorry man. Didn't see the re-mix. I'm glad you posted again.

Well, I don't know about everyone else's issues, but my issues were more drum related and I think you addressed them superbly. That snare cracks now! And I can hear the kik well. I'd still like a little more kik, but there's a good chance that I like too much kik, so if you leave it as is, I'm sure it's fine.

I like roominess sound you gave the overall mix. Makes it sound very....."real". Great stuff, R.

 

[DM60]

I didn't see the update either.

Listening on my stereo, full floor speakers and a sub, room semi-treated.

This is pretty close to pro to me. Background vocals are enough you can hear, but if they are not optimal, you can't hear it. Nice blend. Bass sounds nice a full on my system. Not sure if it was my HPs, but where it is now really gives the song a nice floor. Vocals sit really nice, forward, but it fits.

This is really a very good mix! Not sterile, very natural sounding, very honest. Nice stuff.

 

[RFR]

Sorry man. Didn't see the re-mix. I'm glad you posted again.

Well, I don't know about everyone else's issues, but my issues were more drum related and I think you addressed them superbly. That snare cracks now! And I can hear the kik well. I'd still like a little more kik, but there's a good chance that I like too much kik, so if you leave it as is, I'm sure it's fine.

I like roominess sound you gave the overall mix. Makes it sound very....."real". Great stuff, R.

Thank you so much.

Coming from a man who's mixes have continually shined, your critique means something.

Since I did the remix, I let it sit and give my ears a break and figured what the hell, today I'll give it a bump, or rather gentle nudge to see if anyone wants to hear the remix. Thanks for doing so.

I didn't see the update either.

Listening on my stereo, full floor speakers and a sub, room semi-treated.

This is pretty close to pro to me. Background vocals are enough you can hear, but if they are not optimal, you can't hear it. Nice blend. Bass sounds nice a full on my system. Not sure if it was my HPs, but where it is now really gives the song a nice floor. Vocals sit really nice, forward, but it fits.

This is really a very good mix! Not sterile, very natural sounding, very honest. Nice stuff.

Thanks for doing so. (having a second listen)

Sounds like you listened on a decent system too. I like that. Light years ahead of a laptop or earbuds. I'm glad you liked what you heard, and thank you for your kind words!

I may or may not be done with this one mix.

I want to leave all the intro banter in the final version because this was a live in studio recording, and will be going on a Album as such. Not looking for polish here. Just good sounding live Rock and Roll record.

However in the intro banter the "Pump up the Jam, pump it" has too much plosives for me. I'm sure in reaper there is a way to edit to make that less apparent, but I haven't figured that out yet. Also the lead vocal has a bit of a harshness to it, more noticeable when I crank up the volume.

Anyway, thanks for your second listen, and your wonderful comments.

​

Really solid R&R!
I love his voice...he's got that Peter Wolf thing going on.

Yeah, I agree with whoever said it was a bit dry....but that's a taste choice. If I was mixing it, the only thing I would change would be just a touch of 'verb...not Hall kind of shit, but just to give is some larger room ambience.
Great guitar tone....what was used?

Miro! So sorry I missed your comments first time around. Thanks for the listen, and kind words. I did a second mix that gave it a bit more bottom and some more ambiance.

The guitar. That was a 62 fender Strat, no effects, into a 60s Fender Bandmaster amp. It was sufficiently cranked and I had a 58 on the cabinet and an AKG 414 a couple of feet away to get the room and the amp. I blended the two together but on different tracks. Direct mic was panned at about10 O'clock and the AKG was panned around 5 O'clock. Gave em both a touch of verb and that's it.

Thanks again!