Icarus

skids

skids

New member
This is another older song from our basement. It needs a better mixing job as this was done before I even learned a little from this place.

Just wanted to throw it up and see what you thought in terms of song, mix, whatever. My plan is to go back and remix many of these songs. Any advice for the remix would be great.....



besides retrack because that probably won't happen! :eek: ;) :D




The song is Icarus

http://www.nowhereradio.com/artists/album.php?aid=2933&alid=-1
 
I think the vocals are too forced in the beginning...would just like to hear that sung a little differently...maybe using that intensity more at the end of the song than beginning...otherwise...love the vox..they mix very well with the piano.

I would bring the background music up a bit...I would like to hear the vox blend a little more with the music. Really like the accent vox. too. All in all...its a really good place to start!
 
The singer or singers (can't tell if it's the same person) have nice voices. I liked the harmony. It follows through almost the whole song, which was cool. Pretty neat song overall.

The vox are pretty dry. They need some spice. Boy the lead singer was right on top of that mic huh? But again, a real nice voice.

For some reason I didn't like the piano part. I think the idea of a high piano part was good. It just followed the melody line too closely. So there's too much competition for the listener's ear.

What was that clicking when the guitar did that stutter stop stuff? That was a little weird.

Overall a decent song.
 
Another nice one from you guys. Definitely worth working with. I personally think it could use a major kick in the bass. This will help the vocal sit in the mix better too I believe. Nice vocal again too by the way. The pick in the acoustic could use some taming IMO. It's not really bad, but adds to slightly hyped crispiness I think. I get Tori/Ani vibe from this one. Nice stuff fo sho.
 
Nice song skids. I love the loose feel of the vocals. They worked great together.

My biggest problem with it was the panning. The acoustic and piano didn't balance very well. It's hard to tell how many acoustics you have. Two? If so, maybe pan the acoustics stereo and put the piano in the middle.

I like the subtle tambourine. Didn't notice it until second listen. Perfect.

I could barely hear snare. That could come up quite a bit.

Cool tune. I'd like to hear the re-mix.
 
First listen: Okay, this is probably going to offend someone, but is the lead singer a guy or a girl? If it's a girl, I'm kinda turned on. If it's a guy, I need to shower the unclean feeling off and then watch some football. (Some of my best friends are homosexual; don't get me wrong. Just not me.) I wondered the same thing about Radiohead's lead singer the very first time I heard him -- the album before OK Computer. He has a very effeminate voice at times as well. What the hell am I talking about?

Second listen: Anyway, back to the song. I really like this voice. Kind of an Irish flavor. Reminds me of Hammerbox a bit, too, if you've ever heard them. Kind of obscure.

Well mixed overall. The lead vocal may actually be a bit TOO prominant. It's good, but don't shove it down my throat. :-)

Excellent guitar playing and sound. Drums are pleasing in mix and playing.

Don't hear a lot of bass guitar in there. That would definitely add some "fat" to a song that seems to need a little "fat" to offset such a strong voice.

Nice tom licks. Simple. Effective.

I really enjoyed this song. Unlike a previous post (can't remember whose), the piano doesn't bother me much. It's quiet enough to not distract me too much. It keeps things from being too bland, and it offers some good harmonies, in my opinion.

Oh, yeah, there's a little pop, click thing at the end, but that may just be a byproduct of hitting some button or key. Still, it shouldn't be there.

This is all very subjective, of course. Nice job. I liked it. Can't find much to pick on. Give me more! Label music sucks! :-)

Hey, I think I just hit upon a new mantra.
 
very cool song skids.. it's different..

there's a serious lack of low end.. I think if there were some lows the vocals wouldn't seem as loud.. interesting voices and progression.. some of that clicking on the acoustic didn't sound right.. like when you were muting it for the stops.. minor nit.. an audible drum beat would help too.. things seems a bit bright without the low end.. definitely worth working on!

cool/different sounding tune.. I liked it a lot..
 
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PiltdownMan said:
First listen: Okay, this is probably going to offend someone, but is the lead singer a guy or a girl? If it's a girl, I'm kinda turned on. If it's a guy, I need to shower the unclean feeling off and then watch some football. (Some of my best friends are homosexual; don't get me wrong. Just not me.) I wondered the same thing about Radiohead's lead singer the very first time I heard him -- the album before OK Computer. He has a very effeminate voice at times as well. What the hell am I talking about?
Click to expand...


MUHAHAHAH!!!
 
Hey man....how's it goin'?

Cool tunage....
Guitar tone is real good but could be louder at some parts and softer in others....further away in the stereo field but raised volume....

Mika's vox is super but it is right in your face....
needs warmth...verb....space....I dunno...
bass is too low in the mix....piano needs to go to the opposite side of the guit.....
harmony vox are too low....
needs kick and snare on the drums...


You have real good ears man....you need a pair of Monitors....a whole new world will open up for you man....


Really GOOD song you guys...
I dig this in a real big way...very cool..


Hoping all is well with you and your family man...
Joe :D
 
Nice

Since you aren't going to re-track anything. Bring up the vocals just a little and add a little more reverb on them. Very nice piece, cool sound

If you were to ever re-track it. Instead of having the piano just echo the voices, create a part for between the vocals when its just guitar, drums.
 
This is a really nice recording. What are you tracking to? Sounds analog.

Nice drums, nice toms. Bit more snare as has been already mentioned, I'd like more kick. The vocals sound too loud to me, not overally just a bit, like 2 or 3 dB. Good singer.

Cool stuff.
 
Wow! Thanks everyone for the responses!

Emeric - Analog? I would not even know where to start! :) If it sounds analog, then that good IMO. Thanks. I am tracking to ProToolsLE. I agree the snare could come up with the vocals down maybe with verb. Thanks for the compliments.

sloop - Up with the vocals huh? Maybe I will add the verb and see from there. Thanks for the kind words. On the piano part, I see what you are saying. My wife will have to argue that! :D

joro - Partner! Things are good with the new bambino. Sleep is harder to come by but that goes with the territory! Hope things are well with you.

I may need to compress the guitar more or ride the fader. Vocals more verb. Agreed. Bass up for sure. It's hard because the notes I play on this move down the neck pretty far. I imagine it's harder to mix that because the frequencies are higher. More kick and snare. Yes.

I wish I could afford monitors, but I can't at this point. I have learned to deal with the headphones a lot better now. The bass killed me before. No I know the adjustment better, but I still need those monitors.

SLuiCe - MUHAHAHAHAHA!

B.SAB - Different is good, right? I think so :) Thanks for the compliments. Low end fix to come! The clicking I think is the pick hitting the pick guard in stopping the strings. I will check that out. Since it has been pointed out, it drives me crazy! :D

PiltdownMan - My wife is a girl :) She actually does have a lower voice naturally, but she can hit the falsetto harmonies as you can hear. If you are comparing her to Radiohead, she would not be offended. ;) :)

See notes above. I think you had similar points that I addressed. You are right on. Thanks very much for the compliments all the way around.

fprod - Panning problem. Actually I think joro said something similar. There is just one acoustic, but I miced from above the shoulder and from in front. I panned the two tracks out. I think I should pan them further, although I really am not sure about the piano in the middle it was recorded stereo and I like the stereo spread. I think I just need to get the right acoustic mic track on the right side for balance. Another snare up vote. Thanks for the compliments.

SLuiCe - "A major kick in the bass" Right on. See my response to joro on the bass. Any thoughts on that? Have you mixed a bass line that uses higher notes. Acoustic pick again! Arg! Tori is her favorite so she will be pleased. She is an Ani fan too. Thanks for taking the time!

Trip - Thanks for listening to this one. Just one singer, my wife. Vox need more verb for sure. And you are right once again. Our micing techniques need help. She loves to eat the mic. I think it is the performance thing. She is very passionate. Rea=garding the piano part - I hear you but that's my wife's baby and we are not retracking :) :D I think the clicking was the pick hitting the guard on the stops. I will check it out.

t_b - I am not sure what you mean about the forced vocal, but you are right the background music needs to come up or the vocal down. At least the vocal needs more verb. Thanks!
 
skids said:
SLuiCe - See my response to joro on the bass. Any thoughts on that? Have you mixed a bass line that uses higher notes.
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If you have detailed EQ control (parametric maybe?) take a look at 125Hz. I've found this to be a very important frequency in bass. This might be where to look for boosting on this song. Try 3dB's at 125Hz, then adjust from there. If it's not pleasing, then try the same approach moving slowly and attentively up the frequency range. If you can't get it with this approach, unless someone suggests otherwise, I think you may need to retrack with more warmth/low end coming from the source. Just some experimental thoughts. No guarantees. Good luck!


Tom
 
Also, if you're playing a lot in the higher registers on the bass, consider some careful cuts from 500-800 Hz in the guitars/piano, or vocal. You'll do well to "solo" the bass individually with those tracks and listen for turf disputes. 500-800 is pricey real estate, almost always in hot demand.
 
to tell you the truth.....i like how it sounds now and the way it is mixed............it is much drier than your typical 'commercial' mix in the vocal and acoustic guitar......but the dry mix kind of works on this one..............

cool song.......good vocals..........
 
Guitar needs to come down to make room for the backup vocals. Harmony vocals, good ones, like these are, in her falsetto, very unique vocals like this ... deserve a completely unchalleneged spotlight. If the backups don't tightly track the lead, IMHO, bring them up out of the mix to support the lead and go ahead and slather them in delay, and pre-delay, they must be heard well at any cost, they are simply too unique to bury.

I want more reverb on the piano, or less on the vocal ? I want the piano placed elsewhere in the stereo field ? Yeah move it over to the right or something.

Ok by 2:50 things are sounding really good mixwise, maybe I'm becoming accustomed to this mix?

Very interesting piece of music.

second listening :

Yeah this piano needs to be double tracked and panned for some space if it's not a stereo piano ... it's nice.

I'd rather hear the piano more forward in the mix than the guitar it really goes better with her falsetto, the contrast between her really 'coloratura' falsetto and the roughness of the guitar is not appropriate for this piece of music.

The contrast should be between the mix of the piano and her falsetto backup ... and the lead vocal. Bury the guitar.

Chants : More piano, more piano !!! :D

What this woman is doing with her voice, she is not shy with doing it, so back off on some of the top end EQ on her voice ? or maybe just lower the guitar.

Are you pumping the top of her vocal lead to get her 'out over the guitar' ?

And if the guitarist is doing the mixing here ... well ... sorry dode ! ;-) IMHO

Very nice piece, cool song unique singer.

If there were some room for a violin it would be cool, it's a very tight song, and lowering the guitar a bit will give it even more room to breath.

Thanks for sharing this. Her husband shouldn't allow her to make those groaning, grunting sounds ... :D
 
studioviols said:
Thanks for sharing this. Her husband shouldn't allow her to make those groaning, grunting sounds ... :D
Click to expand...

Studio I'm her husband! :D Alright, got my coffee here to respond to a studio post ;) :)

I think you are right on the guitar. I think it needs to be compressed more to even it out and then bring it down. Yeah, I suppose I could bus the instruments to an overall comression. I might try that too. Although that seems like it might be harder as different instruments react to compression differently.

The back-ups could probably come up with some delay. Where have I heard that before? ;)

Regarding the piano, it sounds like I need to work on the space there. It is recorded stereo. Maybe I cut too many lows out and lost some of the stereo spread. We'll see on raising the piano after the guitar is tamed a little.

From my memeory, I think I did boost her highs a little. I might tame those and see.

Violin would be cool on one of our songs sometime. I'll look you up! Thanks for the kudos.

Powder Thanks for the compliments. I usually mix on the dry side as I guess I like her voice. Of course I am a little biased! ;) We'll see when I get to a remix.

Tom Thanks for catching up with my questions and taking the time. I think you are right on with everything you said for advice. I did boost some at 120Hz if remember correctly. I usually do boost there on bass. I don't think it was 3dB's though. I think I will have to keep moving up the frequency range to get the definition there. Hopefully I can get enough lows back to fill this thing out. One thing I should have done was cut the mids coming from my bass and maybe boosted the lows knowing I was playing in the higher register. Live and learn!
 
damn... i'm amazed by the talent around here. this is a really wonderful song.

as for the mix, if it was me, i'd compress the vocals a little more very gently, 1.25:1 and aim for about 5 db of squash.

next i'd bring the drums up just a tad, at least the snare. maybe an eq of 3 to 4 db at 5k would bring it out a little more.

as for the bass, i wouldn't sweat the low stuff so much, but i'd bring the upper mids up (around 2k5) just a bit to get some of the movement that the bass line is doing.

great song... wonderful singer... her voice reeks of "attitude".
 
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