Lock & Key

[K-dub]

It's been a bit of a busy summer, but I finally got around to finishing the composition/arrangement of this piece. Any mix comments would be appreciated, as that's where I am with this now. Thanks in advance for your thoughts and assistance!

Best,

Kev-

 

[mjbphotos]

The words are hard to distinguish during the high part (before the heavy guitar kicks in). Might want to bring the synth lead up a bit.

 

[kip4]

The words are hard to distinguish during the high part (before the heavy guitar kicks in). QUOTE]

true this and the bass is a bit flubby. Tighten it up and it will bring it forward a bit too because it sounds kinda behind the drums. Bit of eq wouldnt go a miss there too.
Other wise its good. Puts me in mind of steeley dan.
Levels sound ok to me. seperations good well done

 

[K-dub]

The words are hard to distinguish during the high part (before the heavy guitar kicks in). Might want to bring the synth lead up a bit.

Are you talking about the female section in the middle? Yeah ... I got her effected pretty hard to try to blur the fact that she's not human. She's a synth. I could clean that up a little more. It's a fine line.

 

[K-dub]

The words are hard to distinguish during the high part (before the heavy guitar kicks in). QUOTE]

true this and the bass is a bit flubby. Tighten it up and it will bring it forward a bit too because it sounds kinda behind the drums. Bit of eq wouldnt go a miss there too.
Other wise its good. Puts me in mind of steeley dan.
Levels sound ok to me. seperations good well done

Thanks Kip! A friend of mine who listened on his system w/ a subwoofer reported similar -- so you're the second to mention the bass element. Thanks for the confirmation ... it helps when I hear something from multiple sources.

I've got a surround sound system w/ a subwoofer, but I laid hardwood floors in my studio space a year or two ago and had to disassemble it to do so. When I put things back together, I put everything back in its place, but then never reconnected the wiring to the amp ... which sits at my feet as I type. Yes ... I can be occasionally quite lazy.

 

[ido1957]

Good tune - I thought the guitar was a little low in the earlier section. The rest is good for me....

 

[mjbphotos]

Surround sound system is no way to mix, unless you ARE mixing for surround sound!

Yes, the 'high part' must have been the synthisized thing.

 

[K-dub]

Good tune - I thought the guitar was a little low in the earlier section. The rest is good for me....

Thanks I -- I'll attend. Still tweaking things ...

K-

 

[K-dub]

Surround sound system is no way to mix, unless you ARE mixing for surround sound!

Yes, the 'high part' must have been the synthisized thing.

True! I don't. I mix stereo mostly ... turning the sub on only to gauge low end impact.

 

[K-dub]

Took the advice offered above -- rolled off the bass a bit, reduced the effect on the female vocal and brought the level up to increase intelligibility and brought the synth at the end up a little more. New mix is up top.

 

[TripleM]

Drums sound great. Performances are excellent. Vocals sound great.

I couldn't stand that keyboard sound in the riff in the intro and the middle break. Reminded me of every 80's song I hated. And there were a lot of them.

Little muddiness in the low end? There is a hint of it to my ear in the bass.

 

[rayc]

The high synth & high vocal both need a little work - they also seem out of context when compared to the piano accordian patch. The high synth/string line does need a little mellowing.
Good song.

 

[K-dub]

Drums sound great. Performances are excellent. Vocals sound great.

I couldn't stand that keyboard sound in the riff in the intro and the middle break. Reminded me of every 80's song I hated. And there were a lot of them.

Little muddiness in the low end? There is a hint of it to my ear in the bass.

lol ... it's a melodica -- and -- Yes, I can play that song by the Hooters that features it. Steely Dan also uses one frequently in their arrangements -- and Fagan played one on several tunes when I saw them live this year.

I trimmed some of the low end out of the mix, and brought the bass part up. I think it's in better balance now.

Thanks Trip!

 

[K-dub]

The high synth & high vocal both need a little work - they also seem out of context when compared to the piano accordian patch. The high synth/string line does need a little mellowing.
Good song.

In the newest mix, I brought the synth out front a bit more ... and eq'd it slightly so that it's not as penetrating. I also dried up the female vocal and pulled it slightly back into the mix. Believe it or not, the first two mixes were on phones ... and this last one I referenced through my monitor set up.