I need some expert ears please

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Jagular

Jagular

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OK, I'm testing this db-audioware dynamics processor direct x plug in that I used as a brickwall limiter. I can certainly tell that the new mix is louder, but I can't tell if it's "better". I would appreciate some feedback on what you guys think. Especially since you can hear it better than I (I monitor through my puter speakers :(). This was a trial dl of the proggy. Just wanted to see if it was worth buying (only $39)

I very much appreciate any feedback. The titles on the songs should be pretty self explanatory. :D




My page
 
the mix does seem a tad louder, but I want to think it sounds kinda compressed too, at the same time. I think the pluggin could be used to your advantage, but I might ease up on things a bit and let some of the dynamics come thru a bit more. I want to say the music "ducks" down a little bit when the vocals hit...but not too much....maybe not really all that much, actually. The vocals sound kinda stressed and the rimshot seems stressed too, for a lack of better words.

but man...you're a great singer and this is a good tune. I really liked the music alot. Might try a 'popper stopper' too on the vocal mic.;)
 
very cool-very nice progression/arrangement-you sound like a proffesional songwriter. I wouldnt be surprised to hear this on the radio...Excellent singing-and the vocals sound great-a few times they really seem to jump out-like on the word "greatest" a couple of times. Gotta say the lyrics really got me man-I understood every word and identified with it for sure-I think i've been in that position before *sigh*.....

The mix sounds good-I can hear that thingamajig doing its work occasionally-if you layed off it a bit-you'd still get that volume-without the squaaaash. Thats my only gripe-your a talented guy-enjoyed this man!
 
Sorry - no real mastering comments. Song sure captured a feeling though. Good lyrics that were delivered very well within the arrangement and performance.

Might be too late, but the acoustics lack some low end. Preference thing.
 
I struggle with the whole volume war thing myself.. This sounds a bit compressed to me.. I would rather have to turn up the volume a bit and hear a friendly sounding mix, as opposed to a mellow song that's as loud as hell.. Lately I'm hearing some home recordings that sound louder than some older commercial recordings, and it is not a good thing.. Especially if you didn't have the ultra high end gear to start with.. I would back it off a bit.. A song like this should hit my ears softer, even if I have to turn it up a hair..

Give it some room to breathe.. It's not a Metal song! :)

good tune BTW..
 
Hey Jag,
Very nice stuff man! Youve captured this genre of music really well. ....and DAMN fine vocals!!! Both the lead vocs and the bgs just simply kick ass!! Your voice is really comparable to some of the best male singers in this genre..... very nice man!!
If i had to nit, the acoustics seem a bit brassy to me. ....like they are lacking a little warmth that could really make them smooth. .....also, you need to get yerself a pop-filter.:)

Youve been taken care of regarding the mastering comparisons.....


....Great stuff Jag, Im looking forward to hearing more!!!!!!!!

G w/ 5 ....'cause yer a bad-ass country mutha....!
 
yeah i agree top level writing...
it is a bit loud...as a mix the whole of it...sounds very contemporary country....and i work in a shop full of country music fans so i "get" to listen to it all day long...(some still gets through as hard as i try to block it out):D....
harmonies sound great nice work .

you have a strong voice ....man thats a hot commodity.....what is wrong with those wussies in nashville????



great song

jamal
 
Hey Jag: Just stopping by to say that i'm glad some more peeps are getting to hear you sing.

I'm the wrong person to ask about the mastering thing, b/c I rarely "hear" compression, unless I'm listening to the radio. I'm one of those freaks who thinks that a lot of stuff actually sounds BETTER on the radio...LOL (I'm a sucker for BBE sonic maximizing fun).

Anyway, as usual, I don't hear any compression problems on either version. The remastered one's louder. I've been doing something lately that seems to draw fewer gripes from the talented ears here. Rather than using a true compressor, I mix down to about -6db and see where the peaks are. If there are some pretty big spikes, I try to handle those with some surgical EQ; then, I just use hard limiting until I start seeing chopped off waves...at which point, I bring it down a little. I have no idea if it's right, but when I do this, I don't get the "sounds too compressed" comments.

Please record another one. I don't care if it DOES take you a month...LOL. Just do it. :D
 
Thanks everyone for the feedback it's much appreciated :)

To all that commented about the compression - Yeah this is definitely an extreme example :D. I ran the output on the compressor until the loudest part of the song hit 0db. The compressor is pumping pretty good in some of the louder parts of the song. I think it was unanimous. It definitely needs less :D. Maybe I can find some happy middle ground (although, I wasn't all that displeased with the way it sounded before the brickwall technique :D.

Thanks all for the compliments :D. I consider praise from you guys to be very high praise indeed, based on the talent I hear from all of you here. You guys really do rock. I've learned more here in a couple weeks than I have in my 40 years and 2 days on this planet and still with a long way to go. You guys ROCK!!! More specifically:

mixmkr - Thanks for the compliment. Roger on the popper stopper. I shall be getting one soon. I have to be very careful with my plosives on the vocals. Sometimes I think it stops me from getting into the vocal. Don't know why I didn't get one in the first place. Probably just lazy :D (and since I'm pretty new at this, it just didn't occur to me until I started tracking.

Stratomaster - Professional…that would mean I should be getting paid??? ;) :D. I actually moved down to Nashville about 3 years ago to try to get into the songwriter community down here. Hadn't written a lick since I moved down here (wrote this one before I moved but recorded it recently) with the new job, new house, new kid…. Ideas are starting to flow again. Hopefully I'll have a presentable 3 song demo by this summer so I can start circulating again.

fprod south - Thanks & roger on the eq on the guitars. I will probably do a completely new remix on this eventually (piano sound had some complaints earlier too ;)). This was my first serious attempt at recording and mixing a song (I cut my teeth on an old Tascam 4 trk cassette recorder for awhile and got some pretty crappy sounding stuff out of there) :D. That combined with the fact that I am monitoring through my puter speakers could have led to some strange use of eq :D

B.SABBATH - I agree. I got to thinking after listening to the remix that if I were to put this on a CD together with some up tempo stuff (if I ever write any that is :D) it may sound kind of funny in the overall flow of the CD. Thanks for the feedback. :)

Guernica - Thanks man. Vocals are definitely my strong point. I struggle with the instruments a little. It takes me awhile to track them so they sound good (mostly because I f up all the time :D). I need to remix and revisit eq's on the guitar & piano. I may just retrack the piano in stereo. Easy enough because I have the midi track still there :D. & roger again on the popper stopper :D

Jamal - Thanks for the nod on the writing. That's really what I'm here for. You should be honored you "get" to listen to contemporary country ;)… resistance is futile…you will be assimilated. (I used to not like Country music when I was younger. I am a convert :D). I'll tell you one thing that's wrong with Nashville. It's gotten nearly as bad as pop music where you have to be a freaking model to get a record deal (not so with writing). I think in that respect the music suffers some. Don't get me wrong, I still think there is a lot of good stuff out there, but it's getting a little diluted. I for one would rather hear some 40 year old, 40 pound over weight guy with receding gray hair who can kick a songs ass (me ;)) than some hunk in a hat that pussyfoots around with it. Unfortunately, the purchasing public has become younger and more visually oriented even in Country music.

Chrisharris - Thanks for the tip and the nice words. May have to play with that a bit too. And you're right, there is kind of a magic sound of a song played over the radio. Maybe because I grew up listening non stop to the radio, but for whatever reason radio sounds good to me… Of course my songs on the radio would sound even better :D:D. I start the slow process of programming drums this week. I am still playing around with the song I will be tracking on the acoustic to determine what I want it to "feel" like. I should have that sorted out soon :D
 
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