messin' with the kid (mix advice welcome!)

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jimistone

jimistone

long standing member
This is my 1st stab at a mix. There will be a B-3 organ part added to this (have to go out of town to track that.)

Im doing an album of mostly original blues tunes and this is one of two covers for that project.
Any tips on improving the overall mix are much appreaciated.
Im playing bass, rythem guitars, lead guitar, and doing the vocals. My partner in the studio is doing drums.


messin' with the kid
 
lead gtr tone was nice and the vocals fit the style. However, the music needs something more. maybe the organ will be the missing ingredient. the drums have a different ambience to them also...and maybe a tad quiet.
 
oooh..and that ending was pretty rough. Fade those last notes out better and clean up that noise in the fade too.
 
mixmkr said:
oooh..and that ending was pretty rough. Fade those last notes out better and clean up that noise in the fade too.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I agree the ending had some guitar noise and wasn't tight enough.
Thanks alot for giving it a listen mixmkr.
 
very nice stuff--how can anyone not like the blues? :cool: you've got the right voice for it and the guitar solos sounds great--they're neither sparse nor over-the-top. i agree with mixmkr about the ambience on the drums... sounds like a very small room.
 
Very cool! Maybe a little more Kick. Not that it doesn't work well how it is. I just like kick:)


F.S.
 
ya know, on a repeated listen, this sounds good, and the drums don't really bother me now. Is this the same mix as a couple days ago? I usually go overboard with reverb and stuff, but these tracks are kinda on the dry, sterile side. A nice "cedar room" reverb on the ld gtr and drums 'might' be nice...used sparingly. Just to make it sound like it is in a room and not so "direct in" sounding. However, you listen to a lot of records, and they are dry like this too.
 
mixmkr said:
ya know, on a repeated listen, this sounds good, and the drums don't really bother me now. Is this the same mix as a couple days ago? I usually go overboard with reverb and stuff, but these tracks are kinda on the dry, sterile side. A nice "cedar room" reverb on the ld gtr and drums 'might' be nice...used sparingly. Just to make it sound like it is in a room and not so "direct in" sounding. However, you listen to a lot of records, and they are dry like this too.
Click to expand...

Yes, its the same mix. I have "smooth hall" and "wet plate" reverb on the vocals, lead, and rythem guitars...nothing on the bass, and a gate on the kick (some bass guitar bleed through on the kick needed to be silenced). Im not sure what I have on the snare and toms....not the same reverb though. I didn't put alot of reverb on these tracks, because everytime I mix something....2 weeks later I realize there is too much verb on it. Do you think I need to crank the reverb, that im already using, up a notch or 2? Do you think it needs a different type of reverb...maybe a "large room" or something like that?
 
jimistone said:
Yes, its the same mix. I have "smooth hall" and "wet plate" reverb on the vocals, lead, and rythem guitars...nothing on the bass, and a gate on the kick (some bass guitar bleed through on the kick needed to be silenced). Im not sure what I have on the snare and toms....not the same reverb though. I didn't put alot of reverb on these tracks, because everytime I mix something....2 weeks later I realize there is too much verb on it. Do you think I need to crank the reverb, that im already using, up a notch or 2? Do you think it needs a different type of reverb...maybe a "large room" or something like that?
Click to expand...

Drums don't bother me a bit (I like 'em) That's you on the bass too? Hey brutha, those guitar licks @ around 1:99 are FUCKING KILLER, and I hate you lol :D . There are a few places i'm hearing as for as vocals go (mostly at the end of your lines) where the guitar over powers them, maybe a simple fader ride here and there in those spots. Overall Mike, this kicks some big ass boy! I need a gig in a bad way, you needing another guitar player/singer? I'll be good this time I promise :D . Tell Donnie I luv'em and to kiss my black ass!

Yeah, mess around with some more verb's, but for me this sounds fantastic as is. Killer blues man..
 
take this for what it is worth..since I've said I would wash my clothes in reverb, if I could.... but yes, I would maybe kick the verb up a little, but not that it is REALLY noticable. I really like room reverbs, just to make the instruments sound like they are IN a room...more realistic sounding to me. I really can't hear the reverb on your mix, but that might just show you my flaws. Stuff like large auditoriums, and longer delays, I personally use them for stuff like toms and guitar lead tracks to give them that 80's sound!
 
sounds cool, I like the way you arranged, picked, and mixed . I remember that tune from the 70's. Another good one you could wail on from that same yr or two is called Hiway 49.
 
take this for what it is worth..since I've said I would wash my clothes in reverb, if I could
Click to expand...

:D ...that's why I love mixmkr. I hear some reverb on this, nothing washed out by any means. For a tune like this, I think your on the right track with the reverbs...just my lousy 2cent :)
 
Thanks so much for your input guys!
I tweaked the mix:
brought the volume on the drums up a couple of clicks, changed the "smooth hall" reverb to a "reverb room", added some more room reverb to the drums, and brought the vocals up a tad.

I am going to get the keyboard tracks cut today....I will post the results.
 
Toki987 said:
sounds cool, I like the way you arranged, picked, and mixed . I remember that tune from the 70's. Another good one you could wail on from that same yr or two is called Hiway 49.
Click to expand...

Who does that, im not familiar with it?
 
Really nice. I busted out my harmonica and played along....yea baby!
Great job! The B3 will be a nice addition.
 
Monsignor Stone,

Pretty cool cover! :cool:

Your pickin' and a grinnin' is spot on, very tight and sounding pro.

Mix-wise,

There seems to be a few areas that could use a bit of tweak to bring it together.

The vocal needs a bit of bottom end warmth; Touch up the 100Hz range by about 3 or 4 db and that will give it more authority and focus.

The rhythm guitars are a bit too forward in the mix and the stereo effect you have on them is too strong compared to the rest of the mix which has a diffuse stereo identity in the mix; Perhaps bring them in slightly on the panning, drop their level about a db overall and drop the 250hz eq on them also about 1 ~ 2db as they are a little too warm compared to the rest of the mix.

The drums sound pretty good but the toms are coming through a bit on the tubby side and bit too far forward compared to the kick and snare.

The bass guitar could also use a bit more snap and presence in the mix; perhaps a bit of 4Khz presence boost of about 3 ~ 4 db and a hair more bottom end - 50Hz boost of about 2db.

Good tune, I remember it well from the Blues Brothers movies...they used more horns and keys on their rendition and there's no need to be a complete copy cat so perhaps consider adding a fiddle in there to give more of a Mississippi feel or perhaps some harmonica stabs here and there.

Cheers! :)
 
The Ghost of FM said:
Monsignor Stone,

Pretty cool cover! :cool:

Your pickin' and a grinnin' is spot on, very tight and sounding pro.

Mix-wise,

There seems to be a few areas that could use a bit of tweak to bring it together.

The vocal needs a bit of bottom end warmth; Touch up the 100Hz range by about 3 or 4 db and that will give it more authority and focus.

The rhythm guitars are a bit too forward in the mix and the stereo effect you have on them is too strong compared to the rest of the mix which has a diffuse stereo identity in the mix; Perhaps bring them in slightly on the panning, drop their level about a db overall and drop the 250hz eq on them also about 1 ~ 2db as they are a little too warm compared to the rest of the mix.

The drums sound pretty good but the toms are coming through a bit on the tubby side and bit too far forward compared to the kick and snare.

The bass guitar could also use a bit more snap and presence in the mix; perhaps a bit of 4Khz presence boost of about 3 ~ 4 db and a hair more bottom end - 50Hz boost of about 2db.

Good tune, I remember it well from the Blues Brothers movies...they used more horns and keys on their rendition and there's no need to be a complete copy cat so perhaps consider adding a fiddle in there to give more of a Mississippi feel or perhaps some harmonica stabs here and there.

Cheers! :)
Click to expand...

Thanks alot Ghost,
I like your mixes, so, I will incorporate your suggestions and post the results.

I didn't get to track the keys yesterday, I have a nasty cold and the keyboard player has an elderly mother who may catch it. Have to wait till next week on that. So, I will tweak this mix as best I can...then mix the keys accordingly.

You are correct about the rythem guitars...I have them panned almost all the way L/R of each other. I think they are a little too muddy also...im just not good at fixing the problems I hear, thanks for narrowing the tweaks down for me.
The only other thing I hear, that may need to be tweaked, is the volume on the lead guitar and fills....it needs to be dominate, but may be a tad too loud. Alot of blues tunes have the lead guitar very hot in the mix though...so, I dunno.
Thanks again Ghost.
 
Nice stuff JS.

This is the kind of music I'd be making if I had talent :D
 
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