Hat in the ring

  • Thread starter Thread starter BroKen_H
  • Start date Start date
Yeah, I don't know how the threshold on the bass got bumped all the way up...down?...(still confused on how that works), but it was squashed flat and lost all it's pluck and livelihood. Fixed that.

Seems that if I just turn on a limiter it squashes everything to oblivion and I can't hear the difference...funny about that, I have pretty decent ears from what I've mentioned correctly in others' songs.. Maybe I should just work without if I can't catch what it's doing. :)
I know I like what the C1-L1 does to thumpy (bass and kick) to get them leveled out, and I like what it does to voice to keep things even when it goes from single to multiple. Maybe I'll just stick to that.
1.4:1 on a final bus compressor is obviously WAY overcompressed and limited to death. :confused: Maybe there's something else going on I'm missing.

Anyway, thanks for the listen, Trip! :D
Fixed the bass yesterday, hopefully it got better. I've considered taking the kick down just a tad, too. It really grabs my attention every time the song starts.
Thanks for the compliment on the voice. It's getting better now that I'm singing and practicing decently again. Still not where I want it, yet. But better.
Trying to work with the guitars, but may completely retrack. They get buried in part by the strings when they come in...trying to get that elusive mix of the two that sounded so good in Whitesnake songs...
Funny thing with guitar tones. I listen to a lot in the thread on such topic and I really don't like the sound of most of the guitar tones there, but they sound great in a recording. When I record something I really like on the guitar, it sounds ... well, not bad, but not great either when I get it in the mix... Something my ears are still missing. :) I'll just have to keep listening, keep learning, keep experimenting, keep trying. That's what the game's all about!
 
Okay. Killed all compression. Only thing left is a limiter that barely flashes just to keep from having clipping. Gen 3!

 
Ibhavent read through the thread but heres my 2 cents...I listened to the ine you labeled "start of round 2" on the first post of the thread
great lyric! I like the arrangement and the vocal melody. Drums seem to be in the background of the sound stage. The performances are good but the guitars and the bass seemed too sqaushed and lacking in dynamics. I think you have a bit too much compression there.
All in all its a very good song and I enjoyed the listen
 
I'm not hearing the distortion of the earlier version. That crash cymbal still sounds a bit distorted. Personal taste, but I find the main rhythm guitar too loud. It's almost more prominent than the vocal. I would pan it wider and drop the level.
 
I'm being extremely frustrated by Windows 10. Even renders sometimes come out with clicks and pops. Propellerhead assures me that shouldn't be possible. Maybe I have multiple sound drivers going. That would cause the problem. I'll have a look at that. The stage three mix was the third attempt at getting a clean render.

Jimi! Thanks for the listen. Yeah, this is my strongest effort so far. My songs are getting better (extremely biased opinion). All the dynamic flaws (I hope) were tamed in the third stage (Post #42). It is wide open with just a final limiter barely ticking to keep clips out. Once I get it right, I'll set it to -3dB and it'll be ready for mastering (if I can ever afford it...) Stupid Obamacare! :mad:

Robus. Thanks for all your help and listens. Really made a difference when you clued me in to the squashed sound! :) I'll listen to the guitars. I think they can go wider, but I was really proud of that guitar line, so I've probably got them a bit loud. :) It's better now than it was a phase I... If we get to Phase IV will the ants attack (Adapt or die!)?
 
Okay. Finally got the balance I was looking for with the strings. EQd the guitars back a bit, pulled them back and wider just a bit. Played with the final EQ. Kissed a 1.4:1 compressor just to get things to gel. Still letting the limiter barely touch things. Hopefully this is a decent final mix that I can set the limiter margin back to -3dB and let it ride. I'm pretty happy with all the work. Any final tweaks, or have I completely thrown it in again?

 
Listened to post #46 Broken_H. Cool track, first off. It has a real 80's rock kind of feel to it.

Good clarity and separation for the most part. Having trouble making out the kick for the most part here, and the snare seems not to have too much body or 'life' to it. I am just getting a quick snap/hit and then it's gone.

I quite like the bass tone. It feels a touch hot in the mix (subjectively), but I like the sound. Details? Sorry, I haven't read through the thread, so apologies if you have already mentioned recording or mix details there.

Overall tone of the mix is hot in the regions between 3kHz - 5kHz I think, because I am getting a little harshness in the snare/vocals and cymbals there and this is always where I notice this kind of stuff.

Tiny tweaks maybe, but we could be getting into subjective areas here.
 
Okay, up the kick a bit. Thanks. I fiddled with it because I thought the kick was too loud.

I didn't give a lot of detail on the bass, because I'm using Reason Rack Extensions (REs) and very few would benefit. I am doing a parallel bass track with a crossover. Using the new bass amp sim on the bottom and the Kuassa Vermillion on the top. Fattened and attack compressed on the bottom to sound like an 18" and distorted (slightly) and run through a 4x10 cab on the top. Crossover @ 150Hz. My live setup (back in the 80s) was 2 18s and 8 10s run from Crown amplification off my Yamaha B100 head with a crossover at said 150Hz. Been trying to dial that tone in for a long time. This is pretty close. Bringing the kick back up will probably drive it back down a bit in the mix (it's ducked)

Yeah, I added a tape sim to give it a bit of warmth and the tape sim I have has a 3 band EQ. Hit the mids up a bit, so I'll look at that. Maybe just pull down around the affected frequencies. I'd like a lot more scoop, but that's not where modern mixes sit anymore. Probably went too far...3-5k seems pretty high. I'll take a look there as well.
 
okay. I think it's where I want it for now. I'll pry it around if I ever get cash for mastering.
Bass sounds good.
Kick sounds good.
Voice is what I expect.
String balance is where I want it.
Guitars sound a bit down to me, but consensus is they're where they need to be.

Nuff fer now!
 
First let me say that I like the song, great job on everything. But when I first heard it, when the vocals started I felt like I knew the song, that I had heard it many times. For three days I have been racking my brain trying to remember what you song reminded me of so strongly. I think that I finally figured it out last night as I was falling asleep. It reminds me a lot of 'Jackie Blue', by the Ozark Mountain Daredevils. I can't shake the feeling though that there is something out there that is even closer sounding. Or, it is just that your song is one of those rare songs that immediately sounds and feels like it has been a part of our musical consciousness forever. That is certainly not a bad thing.
 
I hear them all the time...never thought I'd write one. I'll have to re-listen to Jackie Blue, because I just don't remember it sounding like that...maybe I'm thinking of a different Jackie Blue.
But I do certify that I did not try to rip off another song. Not consciously, anyway. When I was writing Oh Lord, My God, I sat down with my guitar and started doing the intro solo. When I got done, I couldn't help think I'd heard it before, so I soloed it and played it several times before I realized that it was the beginning of Page's solo from Stairway to Heaven (which I've never played as a guitarist). :)
 
The bass is too loud and one of the notes in the chorus is overwhelming.
You'll probably have to go in & do a lot of automation to deal with the overwhelming and occasional underwhelming notes.
Apart from the bass it all seems cool
 
Thanks for the listen, Ray. The bass has been my biggest battle. Lots of people want them down. Lots of people want them up. At one point (and I still don't know how it happened), the compressor on the bass got cranked up (-40 Threshold, 11:1)...I've got it kind of where I like it now (-12 Threshold and 4:1), but I'm going to listen for the note in the chorus. Maybe I took the compressor too far out of the picture.
Yeah, I know the numbers are subjective, but I only give them for comparison.
 
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