New Song "Come With Me"

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ido1957

ido1957

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New song we just started mixing. Time for you guys to let us know how it sounds :)
Using a 430MKII for vocals, ISA 2 for instrument preamps.
Still learning how these things operate.
Hamilton Steele "Come With Me"
 
Gerry,
Interesting riff - a bit of 60s and fun.
Everything seems to loud all at once to me.
When the cymbals are happening along with the wide panned guitars there's too much happening out wide.
The toms add to that a bit.
May be a little too much low end happening but the bass is almost there - needs a little definition - it's almost perfect in the intro but then seems to get a little lost.
Do you have separate files for the drums?
If Y you need to work on how the bass & kick drum are treading on each other.
You may need to clear the centre for the solo as the riff underneath it seems to collide a couple of times.
Cool stuff.
 
Hi Ray - yes we got the individual drums from Jason this time. It's new for us but we're having fun mixing them to see how everything works together, and interacts with the other parts of the song. Thanks for the pointers on the mix - we worked on this all day yesterday (recording and mixing) and by about 8:00pm I could tell my ears were getting tired. I figured it was time to get some fresh ears :D
 
The kick drum is too strong. It almost sounds like it's making a master compressor slam down on the rest of the mix.
 
I really like this song, but to me, the whole thing sounds like it's being over-compressed. It could be just the drums, but I'm not sure. I guess I'm not a fan of the ultra-compressed sound. I know it exists in the commercial world, and there are successful recordings which employ this, but to me, it seems to take away a lot of the detail.

Thanks for letting me kick around on the drums for this one! Makin' me work, no doubt... :)
 
Oops! Thanks Schwarzenyaeger and Jason! Friggin' bass player (me); we mixed/ listened for hours on 2 sets of playback speakers but didn't notice the BASS (mostly) and KICK levels are dominating the mix and master compressor. I guess our ears were getting tired. I'll try to remix tonight, Gerry's working overtime :(
 
I immediately thought it sounded punchy which I like but the kick is really still dominate imo. Not by a lot but after a while it's all my ears focus on. I'm listening on some pretty high quality headphones that do NOT accentuate the bass.

Everything else sounded great to me. Cool vibe.
 
Second mix is really good! So much better than the second. Much more clarity in it. It's a really busy song in some place and it keeps it interesting. The vocals sound REAALLY GOOD! Very smooth. If it makes you feel better if i mix a song for any longer than an hour or two i always end up with a really kick/bass guitar dominated mix. You aren't alone.
 
Thanks Retrohazard and Shan! After a few more listens I tend to agree with Retrohazard, the kick is still a bit hot/ dominating; I'll try to tweak a bit more tonight. Shan, your comment about the vocals is good to hear, we're experimenting with a new channel strip we picked up, an ISA430mkII (link: ISA 430 MkII | Focusrite), lots of tweaking done/ to do on it 'cause my vocals need all the help they can get! BTW on this song Gerry (ido1957) is doing Rythm guitars on Strat, Lead Break on Strat, I'm doing Bass (Reggie Hamilton Jazz), 1 Guitar on Strat and Vocals. Jason Jones (poeticintensity) is on Drums (yay!).
 
I think it sounds really good. Kick is a tiny bit heavier than it needs to be. Its not horrible though. I think all the instruments are clear and not walking over any others. Its sometimes hard to get "twangy" guitars to fit in a mix and sound good but you guys pulled it off. Great job.
 
Second mix is much, much better. Took care of all of the compression issues I had. The thing that's bothering me now is the hi-hat. It sounds a bit harsh. I usually fix it by just lowering the volume of the hi-hat track. The mic I use on the hat can be a bit harsh, so I just turn it down. The overheads aren't harsh at all. Great job on the second mix, man!
 
Mike,
MUCH better.
The swing & groove are more apparent now as well.
 
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Thanks Bruthish, Jason and Ray! Mixed a bit last night, slight adjustments to Bass, Kick and High Hat. You know how that works; you touch one thing and everything changes. Hopefully I didn't screw it up. How is it now?
Same link:
Come With Me
 
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Yup! Sounds good. Hi-hat issues are solved.. If it were me, I'd pump up the kick a bit. It seems to have lost a bit of its thump. Also, the toms seem panned right down the center. Tom 1 (in natural space) should be about 25% left, tom 2 should be panned about 25% right, and tom 3 (floor tom) should be at about 65% right.

Also, if I'm getting really nit-picky, the drums seemed a bit distant (too much reverb, perhaps?) when compared to the rest of the instruments. Not bad, though.

Getting better all the time! Keep at it!
 
I do agree that the drums (snare in particular) sounds a bit too reverby in comparison to the rest of the instruments, but I thought the panning of the toms was fine. Other than that, well balanced.
 
PoeticIntensity said:
the toms seem panned right down the center. Tom 1 (in natural space) should be about 25% left, tom 2 should be panned about 25% right, and tom 3 (floor tom) should be at about 65% right.
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You're probably right, not panned out far enough; I had tightened the spread from about 100 degrees (25 L to 65 R, drummer's perspective) to about 20 degrees (10 L to 10 R) which might be alright if the listener in the audience was "way in the back" but as you point out it's probably better if I bring it up a bit (front row center). First time I'm mixing your individual tracks 'cause Gerry's still working overtime :( I'll try for tonight but have other commitments myself.
 
I loved the song. Great feel.

Loved the bass sound. Great definition.

I'd turn up the guitar solo.

Rhythm guitars sound a little muffled to me. Missing some upper midrange and/or presence. I think you could also turn them up a bit. Somehow I'd just like a little more power/umph from them.

Love the drummer. Great fills. I thought the drums sounded great.

I think this would be a great song for double tracked vocals. I know - I always say that. RAMI'll bust me for that. :)
 
PoeticIntensity said:
the drums seemed a bit distant (too much reverb, perhaps?)
Click to expand...

Reading thru the comments after I made mine. I originally had a similar critique. But then I compared it with a pro mix (Green Day of all things - it's what was handy) and I thought the snare compared favorably well with that. So I took my comment out. But maybe I was right the first time. Anyway, it's worth a listen and consideration.
 
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