On the Quarterdeck

Nola said:
the mix sounds good, robus. i like the spacing -- how did you create so much space? i notice my recordings often sound claustrophobic.

regarding the song...the shuffle feel kind of limits where you can go with a song, imo. Like it's really hard to change rhythmically since it's such a strong feel, so a song with shuffle gets repetitive. i guess that is why you modulated, but the modulation seemed abrupt to me.
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Thanks for that Nolo. Space is really what I'm after in all my mixes. I'm a big fan of hard-panning guitars and blending them lower in the mix. Sometimes guitars have the most impact when they are quieter.
 
Robus said:
Thanks for that Nolo. Space is really what I'm after in all my mixes. I'm a big fan of hard-panning guitars and blending them lower in the mix. Sometimes guitars have the most impact when they are quieter.
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no problem robus the space is good and stood out.
do you think it's mixing guitars too loud that cause clutter in a mix? i notice even after high passing things and hard panning my mixes have a claustrophobic feel, so maybe it's the guitar volume. i'll have to try them much lower and panned, thanks.
 
Try turning the guitars down. See if you like it better. Where are you high passing? Usually 100Hz for me on guitar, vocals, and keys, 50Hz for bass guitar. I high pass everything but drums. I really think that's where a lot of the space comes from, that and just turning things down that don't need to be loud. High passing doesn't have to kill the low end, you can adjust the curve. Another thing I've found helps open up a mix is using delay instead of reverb on guitars. Sync it to the tempo.
 
Robus said:
Try turning the guitars down. See if you like it better. Where are you high passing? Usually 100Hz for me on guitar, vocals, and keys, 50Hz for bass guitar. I high pass everything but drums. I really think that's where a lot of the space comes from, that and just turning things down that don't need to be loud. High passing doesn't have to kill the low end, you can adjust the curve. Another thing I've found helps open up a mix is using delay instead of reverb on guitars. Sync it to the tempo.
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thanks for the tips, robus. using a delay on guitar would only work if the drum is programmed, right?
i high pass right around where you mention. 100 or so on guitars, 50 on bass, kick on 30hz. i think it might be a volume issue, and i also record my guitars in Le Poulin sim, so that is probably part of it, too.
 
Why wouldn't delay work without programmed drums? Just set the delay to the song tempo. I don't even bother with that. I use my TC Flashback in the loop of my amp, or into the front end for the ones that don't have a loop. I tap in the tempo and I'm ready to track. I can't be arsed with delay plugins so I record the FX right along with the guitar track. Everybody says you shouldn't do it, so I do it. ;)
 
Nola said:
I use the cabinet by the same company. I think it's call LeCab.
I really like it (for a sim)
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ok. try turning the "input" gain down on the amp head and increasing the "power amp" or "master output" on it instead. For your stuff, i'd recommend the hybrit head. i don't use his cabs though, i use Recabinet for that. just an fyi if you're having trouble with it, which your original comment made me think.
 
andrushkiwt said:
Do you know that once the vocals start, there isn't a break in them until more than halfway through the song? It makes the vocal segment seemed rushed and at a weird pace. that first musical break was past due, to me. The break, however, was very good, as is the second.
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I agree with this. It almost feels like the musical equivalent of a run-on sentence. It kinda goes on too long. Once the break happens, it is a great contrast.

The last 30 seconds of the song you have sort of a hemiola effect going on - the down beat seems to be up for debate (and the drums and bass don't seem to be agreeing).

Then again part of music is playing with people's expectations, so I don't think it's wrong or anything.
 
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ibleedburgundy said:
It almost feels like the musical equivalent of a run-on sentence.
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yes. exactly. that's what i got from it too.

Really though Robus, your instrument mixing has become very good. You didn't mention about my Allman Bros. comparison...was I way off? are they not some kind of an influence?
 
andrushkiwt said:
yes. exactly. that's what i got from it too.

Really though Robus, your instrument mixing has become very good. You didn't mention about my Allman Bros. comparison...was I way off? are they not some kind of an influence?
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Thanks Andrushkiwt, and thanks Burgundy--I had to look up the word "hemiola." ;)

I grew up listening to Allman Brothers, so yeah. Any time I hear bluesy, harmonized leads, I think of Duane and Dickey. Wish I could play like that.

I've gotten pulled into a new song, so it might be a week or two before I get back to revising and remixing this one. First order or business is to put a musical break between the first and second verses--maybe four bars, maybe eight. I'm also thinking the "white sangria part" doesn't really need to play twice right before the instrumental break in the middle of the song. Maybe I'll take one of those, drop the vocal, and move it between V1 and V2.

Drums are going to get a full revisit. Burgundy, I'll give a listen to the fit between bass and drums on the outro. Thanks for the tip.
 
I agree with what's been said about the vocal being too wordy and rushed. I think the recording is very good otherwise. Very good tones robus!
congrats
 
Pretty fun song! Sorry, I didn't read everything else, so I might be saying things others have said. Here goes:
The keyboard hard right is a bit bright. I saw the posts at the beginning about the vocals being rushed and a bit quiet. Tis true, but not too quiet. Just a smidge.
Really like the balance of the rest of the instruments and the wide area you managed to use. Also like that you don't 100% pan the drums and leave cymbals out to dry on one side or the other...:)
Nice performance, and really tasty guitar work.
 
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