First time mixing a song with strings...could use some help/opinions

A

Acousticles

Student Loans Fund Rawk
Well, after reading the "Click Me" thread, I've decided to rename mine in hopes that I'll attract some of the more experienced guys to listen.

Anywho,
This is a song that two friends wrote and my brother and I helped flesh out into a more full sounding piece of work. Lemme know what works, what could use more tweaking, etc. I'm still kind of learning how to get everything to sit well in a mix, so all opinions and tips are more than welcome!

Side Note: At the time of the recording all I could manage with the drums was an overhead and a kick mic...so, not as much control over them as I'd like.

WAV File (~70 MB)

MP3 File (~7 MB)

Soundclick Page
 
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I'd love to listen but I'm not in a position to download 70meg on a guess.
Can you post the track at soundclcik or lightning mp3 or set it up as an MP3 or streamer (AAC is mac stuff isn't it?) so that those interested can get a listen without waiting for a week for the download to finish (ADSL in australia is woeful) or have compatibility probs. My PC Doesn't seem able to play the AAC file I downloaded & the auto reference to web help wasn't any help. Sorry.
I look forward to listening.
 
UPDATED LINKS IN MY FIRST POST.

Sorry about that everyone. When I transfered this from my laptop to my new computer, Reaper would no longer let me Render it. So I had to bounce it out to a WAV and then didn't have an audio converter on here to make it an MP3...Anyway, now there's an MP3 version available and I made a Soundclick account as well, if that's your thing.
 
Scattered Bones -
What did you use to record the 'cello? It's a bit thin in the intro. Nice playing though. Did you EQ it to sit with the bass & then leave it that way all the way through.
The bass needs some definition & some mud cleaned up.
The snare is a bit forward for my taste.
The duet at the beginning could be good but needs some work to blend better.
Nice song - good ideas.
What sort of keyboard is that? It's a little cardboardish - could do with a tweak or two.
This'll be good with some work. I like it now but can imagine it with a little work being really good.
 
rayc said:
Scattered Bones -
What did you use to record the 'cello? It's a bit thin in the intro. Nice playing though. Did you EQ it to sit with the bass & then leave it that way all the way through.
The bass needs some definition & some mud cleaned up.
The snare is a bit forward for my taste.
The duet at the beginning could be good but needs some work to blend better.
Nice song - good ideas.
What sort of keyboard is that? It's a little cardboardish - could do with a tweak or two.
This'll be good with some work. I like it now but can imagine it with a little work being really good.
Click to expand...

Awesome, Rayc. Thanks for such an in depth response. Alright so,
(first off I'm pretty new to EQ'ing things to sit well together, so feel free to make fun if I'm doing it all wrong)

- Recorded the cello with a Large Diaphragm Condenser about 4 feet back and at shoulder level and a Small Diaphragm Condenser about a foot or so back pointed at the bridge.
- The cello is currently EQ'd with a small peak at 630 HZ, everything below 100 rolled off, and everything above 1 kHz pulled back about 2 dB (on the cello that plays the whole time...the string harmonies and cello solo are different but we'll leave those for now)
- I just re-did the bass and have it as such:
Skinny peak at 3kHz at about 4 dB
Pretty wide peak at 200 Hz, everything below 100 rolled off at -8dB or so, between 500-3kHz -6 dB, top end rolled off completely
Compressor: 4:1, 50ms Attack, .4 s release
- The problem with the snare is that the whole kit is recorded with one overhead. Any trick to just kinda pull the snare back?
- Also, do you mean have the two voices blend better? Or piano, cello and vocals blend better?
- The keyboard is a yamaha something or other. Any ideas to liven it up?

Again thanks a ton for the input. Uploaded a version with revised bass.

Updated Version on Soundclick
 
A much nicer mix!
I use a small condensor on my 'cello about 8" away from a sound hole - not the trad way to do it but it works for me. There's not much bow in your recording - I like a little grip and push. You might experiment with the close mic next time - tilting it up or down slightly - L & R the same - you'll be amazed at the EQ variation that'll achieve. I've had some great results with a little Sony ECM 19b because it does change characteristics big time with a tilt. The room sound you get from a mic back 4' can be an issue too. The best result so far for my 'cello has been a tiny Naiant condensor with a bluetube pre - strange but true.
The snare - hm - slide along until you find it's freq and pull it down a little is about all I can think of.
The voices blend a little better now with the extra space. It might be that the male voice is deeper and less apparent in the mix - needs a little vol kick but I was after a blend of the vox. Are you using the same reverb and % for the 2 vox?
You could even ignore every one in the world and add a little sonic maximiser or aural exciter to the male vocal to round it a little.
Are you using a mac? If you're NOT try a little blockfish on the 'cello.
The keyboard/piano needs more bottom end when it's almost solo but works fine with the thinner sound when the ensemble is playing.
I roll my bass off pretty hard at 100 - 150 & peak at 3khz the same as you - though you might widen the Q a little more.
Keep at it!
 
rayc said:
A much nicer mix!
I use a small condensor on my 'cello about 8" away from a sound hole - not the trad way to do it but it works for me. There's not much bow in your recording - I like a little grip and push. You might experiment with the close mic next time - tilting it up or down slightly - L & R the same - you'll be amazed at the EQ variation that'll achieve. I've had some great results with a little Sony ECM 19b because it does change characteristics big time with a tilt. The room sound you get from a mic back 4' can be an issue too. The best result so far for my 'cello has been a tiny Naiant condensor with a bluetube pre - strange but true.
The snare - hm - slide along until you find it's freq and pull it down a little is about all I can think of.
The voices blend a little better now with the extra space. It might be that the male voice is deeper and less apparent in the mix - needs a little vol kick but I was after a blend of the vox. Are you using the same reverb and % for the 2 vox?
You could even ignore every one in the world and add a little sonic maximiser or aural exciter to the male vocal to round it a little.
Are you using a mac? If you're NOT try a little blockfish on the 'cello.
The keyboard/piano needs more bottom end when it's almost solo but works fine with the thinner sound when the ensemble is playing.
I roll my bass off pretty hard at 100 - 150 & peak at 3khz the same as you - though you might widen the Q a little more.
Keep at it!
Click to expand...

Nice notes about the cello. As I'll be playing more with the girl who perform in this song (and is singing) I'll be sure to try them out. I actually did use a tiny Naint for the close mic :). I found that the room mic gave it more body and i have the volume pulled pretty far back anyhow. Kinda just natural verb.

I'll definitely work with the snare because I seem to always have that problem. I think it has to do with the actual drum as well, because it's a very punchy, treble-y snare to begin with.

On the vocals. Yea I'm using the exact same reverb settings. I'll play around with the EQ on the guys voice a bit, I find it gets lost in the cello a lot...

I'll also check out Blockfish for some different compressor settings on the cello.

I have a paper due tomorrow, but I'll be able to get back at mixing this tomorrow night. So check back then and we'll see what I can pull out!

Again, thanks a ton for listening and providing comments. It's always amazing to have another set of (more experienced :P) ears on a song because you get used to how it sounds after mixing for so long...
 
It sounds petty interesting. I think the cello sounds pretty good. Is that another cello or a viola?

The tempo changes feel kind of awkward to me.

I also think that the vocals seem to be having a hard time competing with the cello. I've never tried to mix vocals with a solo cello before, so I can't really help you out there.
 
Dude. Personally I love this shit!

It reminds me of a song from a trippy movie soundtrack like gardenstate or wickerpark!

Creepy, original, well done.

Strings sound super in my opinion.

I want to do something like this someday!

Well done,

-jD
 
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