Mix request, original song, 10 tracks.

  • Thread starter Thread starter shdowmyst
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shdowmyst

New member
Hi, I'm fairly new here, first post actually.
I'm a hobby guitar player, never really tried song writing or mixing.
About a month ago started messing around with recording and slowly the project grow larger and more complex.
Eventually i hit a wall, I'm not particular happy with the arrangement or mix of the song, constantly feel like there is more to it, but I just cant unlock its potential.

So, the song: https://soundcloud.com/myst-shdow/title-what-title

its inspired by Daft Punk and Sophie Ellis bextor, somewhere between pop / chill out.
the samples are completely original: guitar, and bass recorded live, the vocal parts sung by my sister.
for the equipment I've used ESI maya 44e, and some old unknown mic.
I've rendered the tracks individually (10 tracks, lossless) Uploaded to various sources:

wet version link (eq and reverb)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BztZrtw1XRCQSnQ3N3lBMjFyYnM/view
https://mega.co.nz/#!KMx3mDpK!Lta-mFfE7mMuxSaKUbFF45J63BFKM5ZMz2vxGPgyDJQ
http://www.gbr.cs.hu/winter/mix-v4-67bpm.7z

dry: (only some reverb)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BztZrtw1XRCQZGRqZkVtdFFwblU/view

even dryer (amp sim, or basic vst, no reverb, eq or anything else)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BztZrtw1XRCQeG5CaXdER0sxc00/view

The VST effects are applied to each track, and i tried to normalize the volume. Its uses 67 bpm 4/4 (sometimes doubled) key is: G# Minor

Feel free to remix, and re-areange the song (didnt have a name yet) I'm also interested in tips or suggestions,
and possibly a longer term partnership since i feel like i'm not bad and writing bits and finding matching rythm and melody but putting them all together is currently beyond me.
 
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I'll give it a shot. Can you post the tracks without VST effects? I won't be able to download them until later tonight, then I'll need a few days.

I might have some alternate arrangement ideas, but it's got a cool vibe as is.

J
 
Thank you! I'm not in a hurry, so take your time. Took me weeks to write and record, these things aren't fast.
Uploaded a dry (well, dryer) version https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BztZrtw1XRCQZGRqZkVtdFFwblU/view
Disabled every non essential VST. If you want a completely raw recording tell me, and i will upload it. (I used amplitube for the guitar and bass, so without it it just the capture trough the sound card)
Also can give you the midi for drums and keyboards.
 
That's cool, the amp sims are fine - I just wanted the tracks without reverb, delay etc. I'll use your mix and the wet tracks for an idea of what you were thinking along those lines.

I will PM you with any questions or ideas. Thanks for the opportunity!
 
JMac52 said:
I will PM you with any questions or ideas
Click to expand...

just saying... why PM? Of course you're not obliged, but IMO this thread is also for sharing/learning ideas on mixing and arranging.
I for one would be interested in reading all ideas.
 
I'm not a real expert on the genre but here are some observations, feel free to take any of these or none ;)

- Shorten the intro; at this point I think you want to as many listeners as you can. This version might work for DJs but I think it's too long for average listeners, they'll lose interest
- Vocals; the vocals with effects are nice and fit pretty good but it feels like the lead vocal is missing; I think you need to come up with something
- at 0:44, I'd have the guitar change into a funkier tone, or just anything different from intro; in the same point for a few chords the guitar feels a bit out of tune, not sure if it's actual tuning or a glitch in performance
- abrupt ending... I guess this is WIP?
 
I second JMac52, can you please give dry tracks. They're still fully reverbed.
 
pmilani said:
I'm not a real expert on the genre but here are some observations, feel free to take any of these or none ;)

- Shorten the intro; at this point I think you want to as many listeners as you can. This version might work for DJs but I think it's too long for average listeners, they'll lose interest
- Vocals; the vocals with effects are nice and fit pretty good but it feels like the lead vocal is missing; I think you need to come up with something
- at 0:44, I'd have the guitar change into a funkier tone, or just anything different from intro; in the same point for a few chords the guitar feels a bit out of tune, not sure if it's actual tuning or a glitch in performance
- abrupt ending... I guess this is WIP?
Click to expand...

I'm not sure about the intro either. The general idea was to make it a bit chill and upbeat at the same time. So it switches (thats why the middle part slows down as well)
About Vocals, she is not very experienced either, what exactly do you mean by lead vocal? Also, it was my first try recording and mixing vocals, i checked tutorials, tho it seems every vocal mix is very unique.
Originally, it had an ending like the intro, tho it didn't fit, so kinda cut it. Personally i didn't miss it, but maybe cause i during production i've listened it about 7000 times.
 
What I mean with the vocals: in particular how you edited and mixed it, it feels like a secondary background thingy. The lead vocal should be the main vocal part, and would usually be given more prominence.

Another note, I think you could greatly improve by tightening up timing, it's not 100% consistent right now.
In particular guitar parts and vocals. With 'human' drums it's not such an issue but to me when playing against electronic drum instruments it feels quite weird if timing is not right.
Also it's not only a preference, but tightening should really improve phase relations and clean up the sound, and give it more punch and energy.
 
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pmilani said:
just saying... Why pm? Of course you're not obliged, but imo this thread is also for sharing/learning ideas on mixing and arranging.
I for one would be interested in reading all ideas.
Click to expand...

ok
 
shdowmyst, do have any reference tracks to suggest? I wasn't familiar with Sophie Ellis-Bextor so I listened to couple of tracks last night. Your sister's voice is similar. I agree with pmilani on the vocals - I will probably use the delay much more sparingly, you know, feature the voice and not the effect. But I also should listen to more tracks in the genre you are after.

I plan to do a mix with your drums and one with a different drum track, iff'n you don't mind. I like drums to help lead me in and out of different sections; the track as is is really rigid in that regard. And I'll be muting that shaker for a good portion of the song - too much for me! :)

J
 
I dont mind any changes :) I listen to lot of different styles, and enjoy different mixes too, so feel free to experiment!
As for reference tracks, have a few:
daft punk - get lucky almost a cliché, but returned it many times for technical solutions and inspirations
- Sophie Ellis-Bextor - Party In My Head The ambient of this song is one of my favorite, also used it as reference for bass / drums a lot during recording.
afterlife - speck of gold Also a great ambient in the song, for the slower elements, and general sound of effects.

Hope that gives you some insight :)
 
OK, given this a listen:



I'll save my caveats,excuses, etc until after your review. Maybe I won't need them. :D
 
JMac52 said:
OK, given this a listen:



I'll save my caveats,excuses, etc until after your review. Maybe I won't need them. :D
Click to expand...

You got some really go ideas in that mix. The intro cut is necessary, I i would cut it even shorter. Also like how you muted the shakers, tho when they active i think its a bit too forward. Muting the guitar during the slow part in the middle of the song sounds cool. Have you add some new pads there, or just brought the original keyboard track more to foreground?
Also i like how you fade in the guitar effect part after the slowdown. Maybe a low pass filter there on top of the fade in would sounds good as well.
Whats the effect chain on the vocals? sounds nice and natural. Also, are these the original drum tracks?
What i didn't like (sorry about that :) ) Is the 100% pan on certain parts, it sounded really weird in a headphone. Also near the end, drums seems a bit out of sync.
Overall its a great work, definitely give me a new perspective on the song, So, thanks for your time end work on that mix! :)
 
shdowmyst said:
Muting the guitar during the slow part in the middle of the song sounds cool. Have you add some new pads there, or just brought the original keyboard track more to foreground?
Click to expand...

The guitar in that part sounded out of the tune; I was going to replace it but when I I had it muted it sounded good that way (with the keyboard level up) and I thought let's just give the guitar a little break. I did add the pad, even with the fader pulled almost all the way down it still pokes through maybe a little too much.

Also i like how you fade in the guitar effect part after the slowdown. Maybe a low pass filter there on top of the fade in would sounds good as well.
Click to expand...

I'll try that. It seemed you wanted that sound for the guitar at that point, I was just looking for a way to transition to it. I didn't think for very long, the fade-up was the first thing that came to mind.

Whats the effect chain on the vocals? sounds nice and natural.
Click to expand...

I have the vocals across three tracks. All of them are using Eventide Ultrachannel to varying degrees (I also used it on the Intro guitar). It's one of the few non-Logic stock plugins that I use. Eventide was giving it away when it was introduced, I think it's like $150 now. It has EQ, two compressors, and micro pitch shift and stereo delay that I like to use for vocal thickening. The differences are how wet the pitch shift and delays are, and I think I tweaked compressor threshold. There is a delay send on each that I think may be what is pushing the vocal back more than I like when I listened again today. And of course one of them has a heap more stereo delay.

I also used an Envelope Shaper, primarily to soften the "C" in "Can't".

Your sister has a nice voice and I just thought it should be featured more in the song. If you could write a few more lyrical lines I think it would help the song. Having her double her own voice will sound better than my plug-in shenanigans. If she can sing harmony, even better.

Also, are these the original drum tracks?
Click to expand...

Yeah, they're the original but I copied and pasted some of the sidestick/hi hat track in places for variation and transition. I spent a little time trying to come up with new parts, but didn't immediately hit on something that would blend right sound-wise. I actually hear acoustic drums for this song.

What i didn't like (sorry about that :) ) Is the 100% pan on certain parts, it sounded really weird in a headphone.
Click to expand...

No problem I listened to it in my car and on my home stereo (which is in one of the crappiest sounding rooms ever), but I have to admit to not listening on headphones. Still haven't, better give it a try!

Also near the end, drums seems a bit out of sync.
Click to expand...

Yeah, shit - I needed to extend the song to accommodate the fadeout, and I didn't get everything aligned correctly when I copied and pasted. It's one of those things - I heard it, then I didn't hear it, I fudged the shakers and drums and thought they were lined up, but I don't think I really looked close at the guitar-drum alignment. Sorry about that!

Thanks for your feedback, and for letting me mess with your baby. I think the song has potential. If I get a chance to make some revisions, I'll post an update.

J
 
I like the overall song, although on the vocal tracks I downloaded the ends of the verses seemed…cut off,and slightly distorted, I did what I could. I used pitch correction and de-essing on the vox. ran a send from the kick to trigger a sample for more punch., panning, eq, and a liberal sprinkling of a couple of reverbs rounded everything else out. Hope you like it.

View attachment Fly With Me.mp3
 
Hi,
sympatik music, very cool ! I'm going to try something for fun and I will send you a mix of this in a few days...
((it's my job, I will do the mix in protools))

Sorry for my english (I'm french !)

Mat.
 
Can you repost individuals tracks like your dry export (without reverb, just essential fx) ? Because Google Archives are corrupted, unable to decompress files...

thanks
 
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