Funk/Rock: Casual by Nature

[LeeRosario]

http://soundclick.com/share?songid=6524447


put up a new tune from my continued home recording sessions. Another continued research piece. NL5, if you get a chance to hear this, let me know what you think of the kick compared to "the cycle". Completely revamped my mixing approach on this one. it'll be real obvious.

Anyway, hope all enjoy.

 

[JohnDude]

I like the guitar and the bass counterbeat eachother. I can hear that this piece is mixed very good, it's like the volume is there without making it sound too harsh on the ears. This song is cool!

 

[rayc]

Wow, that bass growl is nice!
I liked the bass drum on cycle -it suited it! The bass drum works as it sits on this too.
The synths scratchy solo is a waste of space to my ears - it breaks down the groove & flow - trendy but...the same with the little squeaky bits in the general sections.
Nice guitar in the fade out.
The groove doesn't quite have the emphasis points of classic FNMore but that's been over done in the last 10 years I suppose with the rise & souffle'ing of rap metal.
It's a pretty up the middle mix with the image clues & cues coming from the twitchy bits.

 

[heatmiser]

I like the kick sound quite a bit. overall not my kind of thing aesthetically, but sounds very commercially viable. i'm hearing kind of a residual wash from the cymbals when there is a lot going on, but i'm on comp speakers, so who knows...really a great mix.

ahhh...living in florida and cranking out mixes like this...you've got it made...i miss florida.

 

[LeeRosario]

guys, can't begin to thank you for the kind notes.

rayc


I really think I want to shed a tear of joy right about now. I always told myself, "alright, the bass needs more impact. the day I get the thumbs up from ray on that, then I know I've made it home."

And you make a good point on the scratches...too 90s. Honestly, I wasn't expecting to take this song so seriously, but after listening to it a few times, I think it would be a sin not to improve on it.


Quick side note...

I'd like to think that I do have a fairly diverse circle of engineer colleges either online or in person, some older who have been great mentors, and some around my age, who have been great competition and conversation starters.

However, it amazes how much the bass is over looked in a rock mix. I myself am always striving to perfect that.

I've learned to see the bass as the guitar's lifeblood in a mix. The better the bass, the better the guitars. etc.

Hopefully I can work on having a better solo, exchanging notes with the guys and perhaps getting a little more serious with this.


heatmiser,

I guess I can't complain for now . I can see florida being a good place to hone the technique without too much wear and tear. Not the kind of place to cramp someone's style, very low key. I can't complain.

 

[Seeker of Rock]

Now I'm listening on the shittiest of laptop speakers, mind you, but relative decibels still come through, just in a tin can sort of tone. I would say to your effort, GREAT MIX!!!! Song is alright, but this forum I guess is not so much on the writing. GREAT PRODUCTION. Oh yeah, and there is a part in there somewhere, midway through maybe, that the guitar micing, well as it was not pulled down in the mix, sounded a little too "live" relative to the rest of the tracking/production.

 

[LeeRosario]

Now I'm listening on the shittiest of laptop speakers, mind you, but relative decibels still come through, just in a tin can sort of tone. I would say to your effort, GREAT MIX!!!! Song is alright, but this forum I guess is not so much on the writing. GREAT PRODUCTION. Oh yeah, and there is a part in there somewhere, midway through maybe, that the guitar micing, well as it was not pulled down in the mix, sounded a little too "live" relative to the rest of the tracking/production.

hmm...I wonder what part that could be? thanks for the kind words



I did update the song:

-I took out the little scatchy bs. the song actually "walks" now
-I passed the overheads through a stereo deesser to smooth out the high end issue that could be a problem on some speakers. My car for example was a little shrill on the high end.
-I mastered the mix clean, so it should sound cleaner.


As for the little synth breakdown...still figuring out another approach to that. I'll keep everyone posted.

 

[solaris1982]

I like the synth breakdown...I also really like the song in general. Good mix...nothing jumps out in a bad way. Love the bass (both the actual playing and the production).

It kinda has a 311 vibe going on...I really like it.

 

[LeeRosario]

it's funny about the 311 reference actually...that was the inspiration behind this.


For the longest time the singer I use for my home based projects gets this Nick Hexum comparison that would just piss this guy off. He just has that kind of voice and well, what can he do?

So here I am like, "dude, why don't we just go with the flow and just humor the listeners? I mean, we might as well stop beating around the bush and make a song that's blatantly 311". Amazingly, he dug that and here we are. I think we took it as a chance to spin off of their older work.



I just realized the song didn't update, I hate soundclick. I've gotta find a new way to save my mixes online.

 

[Lt. Bob]

nice!
I keep running into more and more board folks that live close to me. we need a florida jamfest!

 

[LeeRosario]

nice!
I keep running into more and more board folks that live close to me. we need a florida jamfest!

i'll vote for that!


by the way guys:
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=648771

both songs updated. I'm spent, I'm gonna go forget about music for a little bit.

 

[rayc]

I love the way it turns into a Saabbath riff at 3min.
MUCH more focused without the scritchies - nothing distracted me from the song at all - excellent mix & swagger.
The only nit I have is the fellow sings "break it down" & nothing happens!
It's like screaming "let's rock" but nothing changes or announcing a soloist who doesn't.
The synth solo? Um, this will sound bad but I didn't notice it - it was the one part of the song where my attention wavered.
GREAT recording & mixing Lee - & wow - the bass!

 

[WhiteStrat]

Wow...this is great. The song and the recording and production of the song. Very textured. Obviously the bass is key, but the layering of the synths and guitars is top notch.

I'd say the vox could come up a bit. And I mean that as a compliment. I think lot of home recorders (me included) bury the vocals in the mix a bit, because the vocals are often the weak link. But the vocals in this one are great, so I think they should come up a bit.