New Song - On The Edge

ido1957

ido1957

9K Gold Member
New song - On The Edge...
Just finished this mix so it's time to get some insights into the overall balance etc. for this.
Main check would be drum mix as we are now mixing drums from the individual tracks so all you drummers give us your feedback please :D

ido1957-Vocals, Guitars
mjhamil-Bass
PoeticIntensity-Drums

Thanks guys!

View attachment 96537
 
Good groove, loving the bass. Vocals sound really good. I like the energy of this song. You're probably tired of hearing it from me, but the guitars are too close to the center for my taste. Personal preference, but I'd like to hear some air around the vocal and a clearer separation between the clean guitar on the right and the overdrive one on the left. However, this is a minor thing compared to that song I commented on a couple of months back. I think it is because your basic guitar tones are just better for this mix than was the case with the earlier one. That guitar had a kind of wooly tone. These do not. There's a nice clarity in both of the them. They really sound pretty darn good. The playing is good too. Solo is too low. Drums sound fine to me. Hopefully some drummers will comment.

That's what I have for now. I'll comment again if there's a new mix. Of the songs of yours I've heard, I like this one best so far.
 
Hey, I dig this. Whole mix sounds fine to me. The guitars sounds really good although I think the lead one could be a little more panned to the side. Bass sounds quite fine!

The drums sounds really live and I like this a lot. The cymbals might be a little loud, but I really like it this way for this kind of song. The drummer is really good, I loved the triplets near the end.
 
Gerry, Mike & Jason,
Cool track.
Vocals sound excellent.
the snippets and pieces of lead lead a lift as does the solo.
 
Thanks to all of you! We struggled with the Lead Guitar volume (too loud/ not loud enough) and I guess we'll need to adjust it hair (or 2?). With help from all of you my bass sound has been getting better, I think. We struggled with individual drum mixing and I think we're getting close; hoping we do justice to Jason's sound. Gerry did some interesting work on his vocals and guitars this time ;)
Thanks again to Jason Jones @ artcitysound for his fabulous drums! :D
 
Nice, very natural sounding mix.. good playing and tight arrangement. Really like the vocals. They have a quality that really cuts through the mix without sounding loud. Maybe it's upper mids?

Re the drums, I'd like to hear the snare crack a little more, maybe a little more attack on the toms as well, but that could be personal preference. I liked the level on the lead guitars.. maybe you've fixed that since the above comments?
 
Hey, guys! This was certainly a fun song to play. The mix sounds good generally, but since you asked for it, I'm gonna give ya some pointers on the drum mix as my ears hear it. I'm listening on Adam A7X monitors in a purpose-built control room.
Here are my notes. (Please take this with a grain of salt, I'm gonna be picky)
1. I think you may have the close-mic drums flipped panning-wise when compared to the overheads. You've definitely got the overheads panned from the audience perspective, but I'm not sure you've got the individual close-mic tracks panned to match.
2. The drums as a whole seem to be lacking body. They don't sound as strident as the original mix you gave to me, but they still sound like they've got the EQ-smiley-face treatment going on, and it makes them sound a bit flimsy and thin. When I mix my drums myself, I used to put a light EQ on the whole kit (drum-bus) to cut out a bit of the 400HZ-ish range, but I don't do it anymore. Sounds like you've done something similar to a more drastic degree.
3. The drum kit as a whole could come up a bit in the mix, but this could be because I'm missing the body of the drums and want to hear it. I think they would sit quite nicely if the body came back.
4. Overheads are too loud, but only by about 2 or 3 dB, and it sounds like you may have cut out everyth[ing but the high-end from the overheads. Personally, I don't like doing this much, if I want the drums to sound natural because the overheads should be the main source of sound for the drums. The close-mic tracks are just to accent or to add detail to a certain drum. I'm not sure, but I think you may be using the overheads as a "cymbal only" source, and that may be why the drums lack a lot of body.
5. The kick sounds pretty good! Thanks for putting the "slap" back in.
6. The overall balance between kick / snare / toms is well-done. The snare / tom / kick rolls sound really nice.

That's about it for now. I'd have to say this mix is much better than the original one you sent me before you posted to the board. Mixing acoustic drums is tough and takes practice. Keep it up, guys, and thanks for letting me play along to such a great tune!
 
I thought this sounded pretty good. Nice clean rhythm guitar tone. Vocal sounds nice and clear. Bass has a nice sound and it's a nice part.

I only have minor complaints on levels. I'd nudge up the lead guitar solo by a db or so. I'd nudge down the clean rhythm guitar down by a db or so.

But that's it. I think the tone on things are nice. Reverb/space sounds good. Energy is good.
 
Thanks fatfleet, Jason, and TripleM!
fatfleet: We haven't adjusted anything since first post yet, waiting for you to comment :)
Jason: Gerry let me try drum mix this time, without referencing previous songs or mixes. You're correct, I was having trouble with that nice new snare dominating through the overheads no matter what I did so I approached it from a different point of view and used audience perspective. I shelved the overheads just above the snare "crack" and used direct mics for everything else. I agree, I lost some of the stage ambience of "above" the drums. I'll try again with a wideband notch filter on the O/H's to tame that snare, but last time I lost a lot of other things also. This way gave me at least some control with the toms, etc.
TripleM: We test our mixes on several different speakers and headphones, some show off the Lead Guitar more than others as well as the Rhythm Guitars. A few more minor adjustments may be in order.
 
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Poetic's drum mix comments are what I heard too - a little too much volume. The kick is there, but only with a low component, missing some 'click' or body.

Are there 2 rhythm guitars, or just 1? don't hear a 2nd guitar part, so guessing that its just a stereo-ed or EQ-delayed effect. If so, I'd pan the lead guitar and rhtyhms a little more each to one side. The lead is totally unnoticeable, so needs to come up a bit.

Good song and good feel to it!
 
Yeah, I like this song. You guys have come a long way with arrangements and mixing. (Songwriting has always been top rate from you guys). This song moves along and has some good changes to keep me plugged in.

My only thoughts were with the overheads on the drums. I thought the crash cymbals were thin. Then I read Jason's comments and he pointed out the important stuff. Stuff I missed.

Cool man. Nice vintage rock vibe.
 
This is a really tight performance. Great song and really good arrangrment. Also, I like the mix. Only thing I would suggest is the same thing others have said...to bring the lead guitar up a bit. Actually that's a matter of personal preference. It sounds good to me.
 
I liked it, catchy tune. Vocals sit real well.

Personally, I'd like some more drums. Listening on headphones, the cymbals, ride, hats are pretty present but the actual drums are a bit buried. As to the solo guitar (solo and fills), levels seem fine, though it could come up a tad. The tone is more in question for me. Too preamp-y sounding without much air, life or something. It just doesn't breathe, or excite.

Just my observations, don't hate me.
:D
 
Hi guys, just want to say thanks very much for all your feedback :D

Mike and I are super busy with work at the moment (up very early/ending very late) so it's taking a bit longer to do a remix with all your comments/suggestions etc... Mike has done some changes to the drums and they sound good but there's impacts to the mix and a few other items he has to work on too. As soon as he is done we'll post a remix and you can have a listen and let us know how it sounds.

Thanks! :D:D:D:D
 
ido1957 said:
New song - On The Edge...
Just finished this mix so it's time to get some insights into the overall balance etc. for this.
Main check would be drum mix as we are now mixing drums from the individual tracks so all you drummers give us your feedback please :D

ido1957-Vocals, Guitars
mjhamil-Bass
PoeticIntensity-Drums

Thanks guys!

View attachment 96537
Click to expand...

Hi, Ido - I just realised you had one in the clinic. Must've missed it before! :D

I like this - it's outside my normal listen. It has a kind of energetic Carlos Santana feel to it. Everything is nicely balanced. The bass is great - so busy, but never distracts from the song. It's so easy with a bassline like that to be dynamically uneven - either you've squashed it and tinkered with it a hell of a lot, or mjhamil is a very, very even-playing bassist. Brilliant.

If I have one concern, it's that the mix is tending towards the high mids/treble. A slightly warmer, rounder-sounding, more intimate mix might suit the song better. I reckon that could be a mastering tweak.

Overall, excellent. :)
 
Wow. This sounds very different from your past mixes! Everyone around here is changing their shit up...I like it!

It's a really tight and solid rock groove. The bass is relentless throughout and really keeps things moving. I like that the mix actually sounds more heavily processed than what I remember from you before. I always thought you had very straightforward, clean mixes, but this has maybe less clarity, but a lot more energy and almost a live feel to it in partly due to the way you've processed all of the sounds I think.

I was listening on tracking phones, but it sounded like there was a slight phaser or something on your voice. It really stood out at first, but I got used to it quickly. To my ears, the drums were a little buried and indistinct. I would like them up a bit in level with maybe less cymbals? Might just be me though. Overall, I thought it was a great mix. I could use more punch from the drums, but that's about it.
 
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