Help me help someone

D

dalley

New member
A friend of mine gave me a multitrack version of a song to mix as a favor ... I've spent some time with it trying to get levels, EQ, comp, etc. I still think it needs something or has something funky going on but can't put my finger on it. Maybe I just dont care for the song. Anyway its a pop tune, don't be scared by the intro beat ... it doesnt last. Any comments welcome, thanks in advance

 
it seems the electrics and acoustics are occupying the same panning space. the doubled part makes it seem like there's a strange tone going on.

what were the vocals recorded with? a dynamic. that's my guess.

things seem distant.

i think there's just some mids that can be taken out of the electric guitars. and maybe center the acoustic a bit more.
 
dalley said:
has something funky going on but can't put my finger on it. Maybe I just dont care for the song.
Click to expand...
Maybe what's getting to you is that the vocal is out of tune much of the time.

Hit it with a mild autotune.

Maybe cut the lows on the gtr a little. And use real drums, heh-heh.

Nice gtr solo.
 
thanks for the quick response ... going back and listening to the track again I see these are all valid points, I'm just tired and need to get some sleep. But now I have something to do tomorrow...

thank god for this forum :D
 
I'm not really liking the drums on the intro - they get more "natural" sounding later on. That initial beat is a bit of a turn off. Again later on it's fine....

The acoustic and electric guitar mix seems to be pretty good. Is that a Godin type guitar? Nice reverb and panning there.

The lead tone is great, and sits just right in the mix.

ooh there's that annoying drum at the end...

If you took out the intro drum it would sound better IMHO.

Love the vocalist - could listen to that singer all day!

:) :D :) :D
 
Thanks for the help ... I've made some changes based on the comments.

- run the lead vocal through a slight autotune
- EQ out some of the low freq in the acoustic that I think were competing with the bass
- elec guitars which were hard panned are now panned 10:00/2:00



he insisted on keeping the electronic drum beat at the beginning/end which I dont care for either, and I think the acoustic was some Ibanez acoustic/electric
 
I think that the 2nd version is better. I noticed the difference in the autotune at first but now I cant seem to notice it. The mix is still really good.
 
I'd edit out the intro drums until the 2nd set/kit/pattern comes in SERIOUSLY - it's off putting & a pop tunes intro should be a hook not a snub. Do a quick mixdown without it or even replacing it with a copy of the other beat for the end section- at least chop the intro to demonstrate your sensibilties & ears as a mixer/producer & to prove that you can make it better.
This seems pretty good given the materials you're working with - it's more than a bit poodle rock/whitesnake ballad/80's/Lou Graham.
 
rayc said:
I'd edit out the intro drums until the 2nd set/kit/pattern comes in SERIOUSLY - it's off putting & a pop tunes intro should be a hook not a snub. Do a quick mixdown without it or even replacing it with a copy of the other beat for the end section- at least chop the intro to demonstrate your sensibilties & ears as a mixer/producer & to prove that you can make it better.
This seems pretty good given the materials you're working with - it's more than a bit poodle rock/whitesnake ballad/80's/Lou Graham.
Click to expand...

just for you Ray ...


Breathe (version 3.0)

I think I'm done - thanks again for the comments
 
Dalley,
Sweet of you mate - it proves the point though doesn't it. Not a great intro but FAR & AWAY better than the dinky electro drum thing.
I had a chance to compare mix 1 vs 2 & you'd made a big difference at that stage. Now you've taken it a step further. If the dude doesn't like it it'll show up his problems not yours. A quick A - B of what he gave you with pitch probs et al compared to this last mix & he should be buying you beers for life - on top of a nice fat fee.
The outro is a MASSIVE improvement.
If nothing else you made yourself a nice little sample of before & after for the audio portfolio.
WELL DONE.
 
Nice drum sound... good sounds overall, sounds like you could clarify the vox a bit more (sound a bit back). Overall, good tune though, nice flow and progression. Just a few mix adjustments IMO. Cool tune :cool:
 
You definitly did a good thing with the intro/outro. In general, i don't think it was a bad idea, but it was for this song!

The mix almost seems a little empty to me, like you need an another instrument, but of course that's my preference, and not your call anyway so you can ignore :)

Good job
 
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