"I Believe" In Mixing Advice...(Please)

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Robertt8

Robertt8

Well-known member
Okay, sorry about the couple postings of this freakin' song, but I've finally re-recorded it in a key I can sing it in. Now, I'm looking for MIXING ADVICE. **I promise, you'll never see this song posted here again...**:D

URL: http://bob.birdsallinteractive.com/
SONG: I_Believe.mp3

OR:
(either way will get you there)

By the way, this was recorded with a SP C1 into a Audio Buddy (pre-amp) into a Behringer Ultra-Dyne Pro (compressor), into my Roland VS-880 EX. The acoustic guitar was a middle/lower end of the line Martin (with shitty old strings), and the bass is a piece of crap Squire (with even older shittier strings) plugged straight into the Audio Buddy. The drum machine is a Boss Dr. 770 plugged straight into the Roland...that about does it.

Any advice would be great!

Thanks!
 
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I'm hopeless for mixing advice but this is the best version of this song you put up yet.

Great job, I love the tune.
 
I was only too glad to d/l because I didn't hear it the first time. Well, I say glad..............what the hell it was only 17 minutes I think. Well worth the wait. Everything is in it's proper place, levels are good and clear as a bell. Good tune too! You have a good voice and performed it well. Honestly, I was looking for something but just couldn't find anything wrong. Good job.

bd
 
Come on people...this can't be perfectly mixed! I've got no idea what i'm doing, and I didn't touch a single EQ setting!


LYNX: Thanks for listening! I'm glad you like this version best. At least I think I'm headed in the right direction with it.

BDBDBUCK: I can't believe it took like 17 min. to download! I can usually download it from our server in like a minute or less! huh...I'll talk to one of our server people...anyhoo, I'm glad you like the tune!
 
Hey..., cool. I learned a lot on this. Nothing to add on mix, I likes that... nice song.
The brushes were a bit odd after hearing stick and snare. But it was an interesting twist.
 
Not my favorite mix of this song. I still love the song. But I seem to reacall earlier mixes had electric guitars. That seems better for this song. Just my own preference.

I could hear some small syncing issues on the doubled guitars.

I liked the bass on this version. I'm listening on small headphones, so it might be too boomy on a bigger system. Can't tell for sure.

I'm hearing opportunities for harmonies that you could take advantage of.

Again, great song... But I've liked the other mixes/versions better.
 
TOKI987: Thanks for listening, and I'm glad you dig it! I'm not quite sure what you could have learned from this tune, but I'm glad I could...um...help. Thanks!

TRIPLEM: Damn! I guess you can't please everyone. I've just done too many damn versions of this tune. Actually, none of the other versions had electric guitars. I fiddled a bit with them on this version actually for a little intro and little solo part, but I couldn't find a sound or lick that I liked, so I just canned it for a simple rhythm groove.

As for the syncing of stuff...I never seem to get that perfect...god knows I try!:rolleyes:

I was wondering if the bass would be too boomy myself. I kind of have a knack for doing that...especially with my limited monitoring setup and lack of eq knowledge.

And I think you're right, the more I hear the tune, the more I can visualize little back up vocals in a few spots.

Again, and as always...Thanks for listening, and thanks for the feed back!:p
 
Toki987 said:
Hey..., cool. I learned a lot on this. Nothing to add on mix, I likes that... nice song.
The brushes were a bit odd after hearing stick and snare. But it was an interesting twist.

Were those brushes?? I was thinking it was static on my cans...hehe. I'd have to agree they were a bit much.

Robert, i don't have any mixing comments, but your other versions were better than this one. I think the more you sing it, the 'mellower' you get. And this isn't a mellow song, man. Well, at least when I first heard it. JMO.

kt
 
KEVIN: Yup, those were brushes. Oddly enough, this is the same drum configuration that was on the take that you liked earlier (so it should be the same on that one as well). A few of the previous versions had different drum tracks, but I realized I liked the change-ups better in this one. I think this is one of the few that I'm actually on key through most of the song(singing), so any time that happens, I think I'm happy with it. The other vocals just seemed like I was trying too hard. I think this is more the way I envisioned it...frankly, I'm just getting tired of listening to it, so I wanted to wrap it up and move on soon.

Thanks for the feedback!
 
Robertt8 said:
BDBDBUCK: I can't believe it took like 17 min. to download! I can usually download it from our server in like a minute or less! huh...I'll talk to one of our server people...anyhoo, I'm glad you like the tune!

No need to get after the IT guy...........it's the dial-up on this end! Sorry!

bd
 
Can someone with a pair of monitors or good speakers check this tune out to see if the bass and or guitars are too boomy...ya know...general EQ stuff?
 
Robertt8 said:
Okay, sorry about the couple postings of this freakin' song, but I've finally re-recorded it in a key I can sing it in. Now, I'm looking for MIXING ADVICE. **I promise, you'll never see this song posted here again...**:D

URL: http://bob.birdsallinteractive.com/
SONG: I_Believe.mp3

OR:
(either way will get you there)

By the way, this was recorded with a SP C1 into a Audio Buddy (pre-amp) into a Behringer Ultra-Dyne Pro (compressor), into my Roland VS-880 EX. The acoustic guitar was a middle/lower end of the line Martin (with shitty old strings), and the bass is a piece of crap Squire (with even older shittier strings) plugged straight into the Audio Buddy. The drum machine is a Boss Dr. 770 plugged straight into the Roland...that about does it.

Any advice would be great!

Thanks!

did you record to a click track? you didn't did you. the doubled guitar is out on the right of the bass which is sharp to the kick. the doubled vocals sound forced... like you were trying to nail the take. kill the double. try it with just one track and add a bit of chorus (not so that it's noticeable) and you might be able to get away with it.

the song is a lemmon. and i am not basing that on my taste preference. it will be a good etude so i would finish it. try a techno slant on it or add some scratch. reach beyond your comfort zone and you will[/u] be surprised.
 
Re: Re: "I Believe" In Mixing Advice...(Please)

a_super_critic said:
try a techno slant on it or add some scratch. reach beyond your comfort zone and you will[/u] be surprised.

Yeah, you'll be surprised at how quickly a perfectly decent song can turn into shit when you do it somebody else's way.

Ignore the synth king, okay?

I know where you are on this tune, and I haven't had a chance to listen to the current incarnation, but if you think my advice is worth anything, then do this...walk away from it for a few weeks. You've still got the "high" version that you posted, right. Use that as your starting point when you come back to this...and you may find that you're done :D
 
The mix sounds just about perfect to me. As usual SC has mixed some useful comments with a crock of shit. This is a good song, and a nice recording of it. I can't hear the bass on my PC so I don't know about that comment but his mention of scratch and reaching out of the comfort zone is good advice, though not really necessary here. Good job.
 
TripleM said:


Again, great song... But I've liked the other mixes/versions better.
See, without even listening, or reading above that one post, I could have predicted this, lol. I do it ALL the time, and I'm trying to learn to just walk the hell away for a bit. My experience has been that after the first couple of mixes, when you kinda' get the EQ somewhat close, later mixes just go downhill unless you decide to basically redo all the tracks from scratch.
 
Re: Re: "I Believe" In Mixing Advice...(Please)

a_super_critic said:
the song is a lemmon. and i am not basing that on my taste preference.
LOL... you are like a walking dichotomy.


"Well... I didn't really like that... but I'm not saying that based on my personal preference or anything."


lol....


:D


Not only was that a colossal self-contradiction... but in addition, I couldn't possibly disagree more.

This song is faaaaar from a lemon... especially based on our "local" standards, but even in the "real-world" I can see where this would have a decent amount of appeal. It's no top-ten hit, but it's definitely catchy and worth a listen. Nice groove. I don't mind this mix either. I can't remember all the details of the previous mixes, so I can't say which one I prefered... but this one isn't bad.


WATYF
 
Dude,

shut up about the mix already. If you wanted a pro mix you should take it to a pro place.

DUDE, this song is of the chizzle for rizzle. I think your voice is in its PERFECT range, and the emotion is stunning. Hearing it in this range, you have a very nice voice.

The song is good. Most your songs are good. Keep pumping out the new songs in this range and with this emotion and let the mix worry about itself.

score: B+
 
A_SUPER_CRITIC: You sure are aptly named aren't you? Yeah, this was done to a sort of a click track...I usually create a beat that I'll use in the song, loop that and record to that. I don't see why that would make me off. If anything that keeps my ass on beat. I'll admit, I've got a late hit here and there on guitar/bass...whatever (after all that's the beauty of a human playing it), but over all it should be on. Are you saying that bass guitar isn't tuned to the kick? I've never heard that one before...As for the doubled vocals, it's actually two tracks recorded completely independent of each other (I did 2 separate recordings where I couldn't hear the other one) and just blended them in a couple parts, so any sound that sounded like I was "trying to nail it" is completely coincidence.

Someone was bound to dislike this song, and I'm glade I've finally found that person...at least that will admit to it. I'm a little confused by your comment that first you say it's a lemmon (sic), but in the following sentence claim it's a good etude(sic) (huh?) and should finish it? I'd try a techno slant to it if I didn't hate techno about as much as I hate disco. I've got no problem with experimenting, I just don't want to experiment with music that will set me off on some kind of postal killing spree.


CHRISHARRIS: Good call...walking away from this song sounds like a REALLY good idea. That's why I figured I'd get a last show to the good folks on this board and see if there were any relatively easy fixes...EQ or whatever. I already redid this stupid song again, so I figure this will be the take I'll try and do little adjustments to. Thanks for responding...


ASHULMAN: Thanks for the popping in and listening...I appreciate the comments.


WATYF: Always a pleasure...and thanks for the encouragement! I was actually aiming for a bottom 200 with this song.:)

CYANJAGUAR: Thanks. I'd take this damn song to get a pro mix if I had any money. Instead it goes to the gouging, bastard apartment owners in San Francisco, and getting myself good and drunk on the weekends. the girlfriend doesn't help much with the saving of money either...Thanks for the nice voice comment. I don't get that much. Thanks for listening...again.


Thanks people.
 
Robertt8 said:
I'd try a techno slant to it if I didn't hate techno about as much as I hate disco. I've got no problem with experimenting, I just don't want to experiment with music that will set me off on some kind of postal killing spree..
Ok, that was fukkin' funny. You get to stay.
 
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