digitcallous
New member
This song just blows me away! Sometimes I feel smug working on my little tunes, and then I come in here and hear songs like this.
Hats off to you, Khompewtur.
DC
Hats off to you, Khompewtur.
DC
I ran out of soda, will buy some more tomorrow
- Thread starter Khompewtur
- Start date
cellardweller
New member
Always amazed at the level of talent around here, this is certainly no exception.
I give it the
*double devil horns*
I give it the
*double devil horns*
Kelly5150
New member
The fixes were perfect...
The kick is much better, nice and thick...
And the bass sounds way better, like your other stuff....
You did an excellent job man....
I also agree with Pedullist, some better drum samples would do your music more justus....
I love the leads in this, very cool, they fit in beautifully...
The kick is much better, nice and thick...
And the bass sounds way better, like your other stuff....
You did an excellent job man....
I also agree with Pedullist, some better drum samples would do your music more justus....
I love the leads in this, very cool, they fit in beautifully...
Khompewtur said:
Oh no you don't! You're not getting off that easy! Not with a song this good.
Nothing wierd about that at all. When you compress/limit the 2-bus on a mix it makes it difficult (sometimes impossible) to get your fader levels balanced. Better to do your volume adjustments first then compress/limit if the dynamics are still too much.
In a Mr. Miagi voice: Always remember breath, very important!
One other thing I noticed about this mix is that it seems the chorus parts are trying to be a bit louder, but the mix seems to get congested there. Maybe drop everything down level-wise, and a bit more during the verses so that the chorus can come up without running out of headroom. Even a small overall level boost can really add life to a good chorus.
BTW the changes you made were a significant improvement.
SLuiCe
New member
Very nice Khompy! Definitely my favorite from you. Nice guitar sound. Makes me think I should switch to POD. I might be working too hard.
Nice guitar parts in this. I also like the vocal melody. The vocal effects work well too. And I like the lyrics. I'm sure the mix has been covered. Great song man.
Nice guitar parts in this. I also like the vocal melody. The vocal effects work well too. And I like the lyrics. I'm sure the mix has been covered. Great song man.
Khompewtur
*Retired*
Hey some really nice feedback on this one. I really appreciate everyone listening and I like the fact that what everyone taught me can be reused again in the future.
Joro - Thanks for listening *pie* yes we will be knocking em back at the next jamfest i guess that's the *pie* inspiration
The bass *pie* stuff is done through a guitar *pie* pod without distortion and tracking it sounds pretty pedestrian. I think the biggest difference as we saw earlier in this *pie* thread is the eq presets in the mixing stage have always made a huge difference for *pie* me.
B.SABBATH - See you then. Btw, I don't remember you answering last time, what line of work are you in?
Teacher - Thanks for the listen Teach. Ha! if it were miced i'd screw it up oohhh so bad. I did a lot of editing on the drum velocity's so it's gonna be up and down quite a bit.
Guernica - Bukowski? Hmm.. not familiar but I probably know him through osmosis. My last name ends in 'ski' also so we maybe have similar sensibilities from our hard times in the potato fields of home
Thanks for the review and nice thougts, very appreciated and for once I am really glad the lyrics got noticed.
skids - Thanks very much skids. This is your can of worms you opened with them drum samples. Oddly i can now listen to two different samples of a drum and make a "better/worse" decision for my own music and it's your fault. Something i'd never fathomed till your timely advice.
I may have gotten a little extra gain on the kick when i switched to the newer sample. There's tons of velocity editing all over though so i could have hits all over the place. I guess i did that hoping to imitate the irregularities that a real drummer would have, plus for dynamics. Thanks very much for the review skids.
chris - Ok I'm gonna read between the lines here and say...
what??
is it my "goofy-foot" style of drumming that you're thinking about?
hey, i like them lines though Thanks very much for the listen.
Baseball has been Peddy Peddy good to me - Thanks very much Ped. I hear ya on the nostalgic thing but I haven't been able to place it either, a very unsettling feeling. I hear ya on the mix comments, learn a little bit every day.
I haven't invested in any sample packages yet because I really wouldn't have a clue to what I was buying. skids pointed me to some shareware samples that I thought were amazing, so i'm guessing once I start paying for them I'll be like "Whoa!" Those are really encouraging things to say, thank you.
MC Gitarz - Milan that was really really encouraging, I will probably think of your words on a dark day when i want to give up. Thank you. Seriously, that feels like a get out of jail free card.
You gotta love listening loud. When the table is shaking and the cone is putting a breeze in your face it can't be beat. Hope your neighbors didn't call the fuzz.
digitcallous - Ahh.. please don't say that digit. I mean i'm glad you liked it, but don't get down on your stuff. Although i know what you are describing, it happens to me in the clinic here only like every other day. About the only person i can think of who never felt like that is probably Yanni.
cellardweller - I'm just hoping not to drop the ball man! Thanks for the hornz
Kelly5150 - I'm glad the fixes seem to be working. The advice was dead on. I'm not sure why it's so hard to see when you're making the first version, but it really helps having people check your blind spots.
I'm gonna look into some samples soon.
M.Brane - Hahaha! Love the Miagi reference. I noticed what you are saying too about the choruses, still needed a bit more room.
Yeah i was surprised at the difference of pulling back, the whole 'less = more' concept is difficult to grasp for me. I was under the impression for a long time that the goal was to pin as close to the redline as you could for the entire song duration and screw dynamics.
ugh!
SLuiCe - Thanks very much, i must've done something right here.
I'm really finding the POD to be a really useful tool. Not end all of guitar sounds, but versatility for bang for buck it's been one of my better buys.
Speaking of sound buying. I told you about selling the Triple Rec to these guys in a band in Philly. Instead of the normal ebay transaction, they drove up to my place I brought them into my room placed a guitar in their hands and let them crank away on the amp. There are TWO gigging guitarists in my room checking out the amp.
I get an email a week later from the buyer who is pissed because the amp is making too much noise. I can see if you were dissatisfied from something you got in the mail, but i mean there were here to test it out. Just a funny story (for me, probably not for them).
Joro - Thanks for listening *pie* yes we will be knocking em back at the next jamfest i guess that's the *pie* inspiration
The bass *pie* stuff is done through a guitar *pie* pod without distortion and tracking it sounds pretty pedestrian. I think the biggest difference as we saw earlier in this *pie* thread is the eq presets in the mixing stage have always made a huge difference for *pie* me.
B.SABBATH - See you then. Btw, I don't remember you answering last time, what line of work are you in?
Teacher - Thanks for the listen Teach. Ha! if it were miced i'd screw it up oohhh so bad. I did a lot of editing on the drum velocity's so it's gonna be up and down quite a bit.
Guernica - Bukowski? Hmm.. not familiar but I probably know him through osmosis. My last name ends in 'ski' also so we maybe have similar sensibilities from our hard times in the potato fields of home
Thanks for the review and nice thougts, very appreciated and for once I am really glad the lyrics got noticed.
skids - Thanks very much skids. This is your can of worms you opened with them drum samples. Oddly i can now listen to two different samples of a drum and make a "better/worse" decision for my own music and it's your fault. Something i'd never fathomed till your timely advice.
I may have gotten a little extra gain on the kick when i switched to the newer sample. There's tons of velocity editing all over though so i could have hits all over the place. I guess i did that hoping to imitate the irregularities that a real drummer would have, plus for dynamics. Thanks very much for the review skids.
chris - Ok I'm gonna read between the lines here and say...
what??
is it my "goofy-foot" style of drumming that you're thinking about?hey, i like them lines though
Thanks very much for the listen.Baseball has been Peddy Peddy good to me - Thanks very much Ped. I hear ya on the nostalgic thing but I haven't been able to place it either, a very unsettling feeling. I hear ya on the mix comments, learn a little bit every day.
I haven't invested in any sample packages yet because I really wouldn't have a clue to what I was buying. skids pointed me to some shareware samples that I thought were amazing, so i'm guessing once I start paying for them I'll be like "Whoa!" Those are really encouraging things to say, thank you.
MC Gitarz - Milan that was really really encouraging, I will probably think of your words on a dark day when i want to give up. Thank you. Seriously, that feels like a get out of jail free card.
You gotta love listening loud. When the table is shaking and the cone is putting a breeze in your face it can't be beat. Hope your neighbors didn't call the fuzz.
digitcallous - Ahh.. please don't say that digit. I mean i'm glad you liked it, but don't get down on your stuff. Although i know what you are describing, it happens to me in the clinic here only like every other day. About the only person i can think of who never felt like that is probably Yanni.
cellardweller - I'm just hoping not to drop the ball man! Thanks for the hornz
Kelly5150 - I'm glad the fixes seem to be working. The advice was dead on. I'm not sure why it's so hard to see when you're making the first version, but it really helps having people check your blind spots.
I'm gonna look into some samples soon.
M.Brane - Hahaha! Love the Miagi reference. I noticed what you are saying too about the choruses, still needed a bit more room.
Yeah i was surprised at the difference of pulling back, the whole 'less = more' concept is difficult to grasp for me. I was under the impression for a long time that the goal was to pin as close to the redline as you could for the entire song duration and screw dynamics.
ugh! SLuiCe - Thanks very much, i must've done something right here.
I'm really finding the POD to be a really useful tool. Not end all of guitar sounds, but versatility for bang for buck it's been one of my better buys.
Speaking of sound buying. I told you about selling the Triple Rec to these guys in a band in Philly. Instead of the normal ebay transaction, they drove up to my place I brought them into my room placed a guitar in their hands and let them crank away on the amp. There are TWO gigging guitarists in my room checking out the amp.
I get an email a week later from the buyer who is pissed because the amp is making too much noise. I can see if you were dissatisfied from something you got in the mail, but i mean there were here to test it out. Just a funny story (for me, probably not for them).
B.SABBATH
New member
this tune hits the right spot Khomp.. I had to listen a few times just to listen.. ***** for the tune alone! guitars could be a bit brighter e.q. wise, but the sound of them is great.. I love hearing someone get a decent tone going direct.. hate the drum programming.. the mix is kinda boomy too.. the song and performances are great! I listened to it 'quite a few times' over the past few days..
chrisharris
King of Bling
sorry, no...lol. I was referring to the guitars, distorted rhythm gits...I think Sam may have touched on it...a little on the "small" side = "dull" side, which may mean they could use a slightly brighter EQ. I really don't know, they just came across a little (very little) on the boxy side.Khompewtur said:
what??
Good one.
Lt. Bob
Spread the Daf!
Nice........I find the recording to be just the least bit 'dull'. NOTE: I said least bit....not very dull....just a little. I'd like to hear the overall EQ bumped up a little bit around 5k or so.
Cool tune.....I like the structure and the interwoven vocals......the git parts are cool also. The bass line is very nice.......
A good piece of work.
Cool tune.....I like the structure and the interwoven vocals......the git parts are cool also. The bass line is very nice.......
A good piece of work.
Doug H
I'll be there
Love that guitar sound. Clean LP? Great vocal track too.
Bass, where the beef?
Good arranging, but the mix still needs a bit of work to gel I think. Mostly the reverb settings, although I like the effects. Kick is too loud and punchy on my headphones.
Cool guitar lick.
Good tune, your singing is really good.
Bass, where the beef?
Good arranging, but the mix still needs a bit of work to gel I think. Mostly the reverb settings, although I like the effects. Kick is too loud and punchy on my headphones.
Cool guitar lick.
Good tune, your singing is really good.
ChristopherM
New member
Great song. Great recording too.
Guitars did seem a little "held back" but not to the point to distraction.
Guitars did seem a little "held back" but not to the point to distraction.
Khompewtur
*Retired*
Ok, hopefully this last round of changes should put this in the "finished" category.
- In trying to address the dull mix comments I wasn't sure exactly how to fix that till Lt. Bob gave me a suggested eq range. I went back to the instrument submix and boosted a curve on the 5k range. This magnified any sibilance so i had to add de-essing to the vox.
- Cleaned up some fret noise, amp buzz, on transitions.
- I took off more compression and limiting on the submix and mix, hopefully you don't hear compression distortion on the choruses. I had to sacrifice some overall gain but hopefully this will be cleaner.
- I reviewed the velocity on the kick, there's a lot of dynamics in the drums so thing may appear louder in some spots, too soft in others.
Thanks for everyone's input, been mucho helpful.
Lt. Bob - Thanks for the review Lt. I wasn't sure how to approach the dull mix problem till your suggestion, thank you.
Sabbath - Thanks for all the listens and review Sam. Sorry the drums didn't cut it for you but if you know my stuff ... baby steps .. baby steps.. Happy Halloween Spooky!
Doug H - Good call Doug, yes a clean LP. Damn, that's accurate ears. I tried to adjust the kick in some spots, thanks for the listen.
ChristopherM - I had to scoop a shade of mids out of the guits, they were obscuring vox too much for my taste, maybe the 5k boost will add a little more brightness to them. Thank you for reviewing.
Oh p.s. Happy Halloween Everyone.. I am dressing up as an Alconaut Cosmonaut tonight, which is Russian slang for an Alcoholic Astronaut. Have fun.
- In trying to address the dull mix comments I wasn't sure exactly how to fix that till Lt. Bob gave me a suggested eq range. I went back to the instrument submix and boosted a curve on the 5k range. This magnified any sibilance so i had to add de-essing to the vox.
- Cleaned up some fret noise, amp buzz, on transitions.
- I took off more compression and limiting on the submix and mix, hopefully you don't hear compression distortion on the choruses. I had to sacrifice some overall gain but hopefully this will be cleaner.
- I reviewed the velocity on the kick, there's a lot of dynamics in the drums so thing may appear louder in some spots, too soft in others.
Thanks for everyone's input, been mucho helpful.
Lt. Bob - Thanks for the review Lt. I wasn't sure how to approach the dull mix problem till your suggestion, thank you.
Sabbath - Thanks for all the listens and review Sam. Sorry the drums didn't cut it for you but if you know my stuff ... baby steps .. baby steps..
Happy Halloween Spooky!Doug H - Good call Doug, yes a clean LP. Damn, that's accurate ears. I tried to adjust the kick in some spots, thanks for the listen.
ChristopherM - I had to scoop a shade of mids out of the guits, they were obscuring vox too much for my taste, maybe the 5k boost will add a little more brightness to them. Thank you for reviewing.
Oh p.s. Happy Halloween Everyone.. I am dressing up as an Alconaut Cosmonaut tonight, which is Russian slang for an Alcoholic Astronaut. Have fun.
MC Gitarz
New member
Hate to keep blowing smoky kisses in the direction of your arse but I've been cranking this tune daily. I guess it has all the elements I like in rock music.
Just for shits and giggles - let me know if I'm close to guessing some of your influences or tastes: Fleetwood Mac (Bare Trees), REO Speedwagon (very early, when they didn't play pop), Boston, Moody Blues. I hear distinct influences from these four - or maybe I don't - I also hear subliminal messages in old Beatles recordings. (I haven't played your song backwards - yet)
So that's a POD? Which one? Santa needs an idea and I need to break out the Strat.
BTW I like the higher end adjustment - just puts a slight edge on all of the tones.
~Milan
Just for shits and giggles - let me know if I'm close to guessing some of your influences or tastes: Fleetwood Mac (Bare Trees), REO Speedwagon (very early, when they didn't play pop), Boston, Moody Blues. I hear distinct influences from these four - or maybe I don't - I also hear subliminal messages in old Beatles recordings. (I haven't played your song backwards - yet)
So that's a POD? Which one? Santa needs an idea and I need to break out the Strat.
BTW I like the higher end adjustment - just puts a slight edge on all of the tones.
~Milan
skids
New member
Nice work Khomp. Again, great song! Gets better with each listen. I think the changes you made do sound much better to me.
I think the kick level sounds good to me now. It is a little dry for my taste, especially in contrast to the vocals.
I would love to hear a ride cymbal during the chorus. I don't know for sure but I would love to hear a version with it. It seems like it would fit nicely in terms of rhythm and sound, and really add more to the dynamics. Just thoughts.
Great stuff Khompy. It's a keeper for sure.
I think the kick level sounds good to me now. It is a little dry for my taste, especially in contrast to the vocals.
I would love to hear a ride cymbal during the chorus. I don't know for sure but I would love to hear a version with it. It seems like it would fit nicely in terms of rhythm and sound, and really add more to the dynamics. Just thoughts.
Great stuff Khompy. It's a keeper for sure.
Khompewtur
*Retired*
Thanks for checking out this modified version guys, i wasn't sure if that high end eq boost would sound to shrill or what so I'm glad you verified for me.
MC - About all of those that you mentioned i think i listened to Boston the most, especially i like some of the tasty guitar tones. Not familiar enough with the others. But really i've listened to tons of Metallica and Tool and Pumpkins and Alanis, but i know i'll never sound like them so... i guess i gotta go my own route.
POD's are the amp modellers, there's POD (kidney bean shaped)and POD pro (rack mounted). They try to simulate the distortions and controls of various amplifiers and also emulate different cabinet types, plus some f/x like delay, chorus, etc.. Basically next generation of rack fx unit. There running around $4-$500 depending on the model and version.
One thing i found cool about them is you can download new f/x via a midi interface. So even if they come out with new distortions on future versions you should be able to download the upgrades.
Skids - I played around with the reverb on the kit it was hard to settle with a spot especially when i changed the master volumes to all different output levels.
A ride would be cool but i think i'd need a real cymal or a better sample (i'd run into that problem i had in the beginning of 'kindling wood' with sampled cymbal hits overlapping making their fake nature obvious). My roomate's boyfriend took the cymbals out the day after I sampled them all
, maybe i can try what i got on tape, but do you have any next level sample packs you'd recommend? Oh, thanks for helping me with this version.
MC - About all of those that you mentioned i think i listened to Boston the most, especially i like some of the tasty guitar tones. Not familiar enough with the others. But really i've listened to tons of Metallica and Tool and Pumpkins and Alanis, but i know i'll never sound like them so...
i guess i gotta go my own route.POD's are the amp modellers, there's POD (kidney bean shaped)and POD pro (rack mounted). They try to simulate the distortions and controls of various amplifiers and also emulate different cabinet types, plus some f/x like delay, chorus, etc.. Basically next generation of rack fx unit. There running around $4-$500 depending on the model and version.
One thing i found cool about them is you can download new f/x via a midi interface. So even if they come out with new distortions on future versions you should be able to download the upgrades.
Skids - I played around with the reverb on the kit it was hard to settle with a spot especially when i changed the master volumes to all different output levels.
A ride would be cool but i think i'd need a real cymal or a better sample (i'd run into that problem i had in the beginning of 'kindling wood' with sampled cymbal hits overlapping making their fake nature obvious). My roomate's boyfriend took the cymbals out the day after I sampled them all
, maybe i can try what i got on tape, but do you have any next level sample packs you'd recommend? Oh, thanks for helping me with this version.
skids
New member
Khompewtur said:Skids - I played around with the reverb on the kit it was hard to settle with a spot especially when i changed the master volumes to all different output levels.
A ride would be cool but i think i'd need a real cymal or a better sample (i'd run into that problem i had in the beginning of 'kindling wood' with sampled cymbal hits overlapping making their fake nature obvious). My roomate's boyfriend took the cymbals out the day after I sampled them all
Khomp-
Not sure I understand that first statement, but if you only have reverb on the whole kit, you may consider some additional reverb on the kick alone. With samples (shareware) you never know if you are even getting a drum sound from the same room or kit. So you probably have to work each drum (and cymbal) reverb individually to get the kit sounding as one.
I hear you on the ride cymbal samples. Cymbals are the worst. I have not really worked with samples too much. I have had the luxury of working with a drummer.
I think Drum Kit From Hell is the best sounding from what I have heard, especially for your type of music. See SLuiCe's song up now on the board. Killer drums and I am almost positive they are from Drum Kit From Hell. Of course his programming kicks ass which is at least half the battle IMO in getting realistic drum sounds.Hope that helps!
Much clearer
Cutting back on the comp/limiting has really lifted a cloud off this mix.
I can make out all the parts much better, and the chorus has a bit more impact without getting mushy.
I think the only improvement you could make on it at this point would be to track a real drum kit.
Cutting back on the comp/limiting has really lifted a cloud off this mix.
I can make out all the parts much better, and the chorus has a bit more impact without getting mushy.
I think the only improvement you could make on it at this point would be to track a real drum kit.
jjtcorsair
New member
Put me on the fan list and I've haven't even finished listening. I like the blend of sounds and moods. Love the post chorus lead guitar sounds. You've got a great feel for the mix, especially the vocal placement in the chorus between the guitars. I'm hearing a little edit or something in the left guitar during the first chorus after "heaven knows what I've lost", but whatever. Awesome song too. I know this a mixing forum but the lyrics are really nice. The kind of lyrics that make people want to know more. I'm hearing Foo Fighters, Tom Petty, Thin Lizzy, XTC. But really it's a very original piece despite that.
Keep 'em coming.
Jon
Keep 'em coming.
Jon