Please comment from a Mixing and/or Mastering point of view...

[datune]

Hello!

I have recently recorded, mixed and attempted to master this remake of David Bowie's "Space Oddity", performed by a friend of mine.

It has all been done in a low budget Studio using Cubase 5.1, a Gina 20 bit Soundcard, the mic used was a SM58 etc...

Im not really interested in the arranging part of the Song etc.. i would rather love to hear comments on the Sound itself, especially the vocal, and how it sounds overall on your System.

I would just about LOVE to get a few comments from Mastering Engineers (if there are any around on this board, i know it's asked a lot....)

Well, either way, all comments are welcome and if a few people could let me know how it sounds on there system, id appreciate as well.

Thanks a lot in advance for your time listening

Best regards from Vienna,
datune

 

[SLuiCe]

I'm a big bowie fan, so I'll bite on this one.

Vox sound a bit forced to me. The notes are on for the most part, and not a bad voice at all. But the way the words are coming out sound too...choppy... for this song. Umm, how to say....Think freedom when you sing this one. Let the words roll out on their own will...

Oooo, I like that breakup around 3:45. Very cool play on that. Instrumentally this is a pretty interesting arrangement, and fairly well recorded. Are those acoustics mic'ed or plugged? They sound plugged to me. I prefer a mic'ed acoustic personally, but it may also be I'm too used to the original (which can be applied to everything else I've said too

But this is very well done. Nice work!

 

[mixmkr]

I think the acoustics sound very "godin-ish" sounding and thin and compressed sounding. A realistic acoustic sound may not be what is nec. called for in this song, but a more full freq. guitar would do better. Also, they are the same volume thruout the entire song, which I don't think is best when the singing is happening. Same with the vocals. Scoot in on the mic some more and slap a pop filter on it, if you haven't already...get some proximity effect going to fill the sound out. Your "takeoff sound" was a tad loud. Towards the end...there is that crackling noise...that isn't working either. So...I'd improve on that sound to better define what it is supposed to be, or ditch it all together. Additionally, you have some interesting sound effects/ear candy going on in the background...and they could be stereo'd out a tad more, and brought more to the foreground...less reverb. I know you're not interested in hearing about the song/playing etc. ...but the break at 2:41, needs some excitement in the strumming...along with the rest of the arrangement, at that point of the song.

I'm no mastering engineer, but I think you'd find they would be cutting some of the midrange, to smooth things out, especially the vocals and the rhy gtrs.

 

[B.SABBATH]

cool... you already got some good tips, so I will just enforce that the take off was too loud.. Wasnt there a little solo missing at 3 ish?

Interesting break up at the end..


nice job overall..


sam

 

[datune]

SLuiCe : Thank you for listening
I can't do much about the voice since i am merely the one who recorded it in the first place, i am not the singer. About the guit., you are right, it is plugged.

mixmkr: Thank you for listening
Could you maybe explain what you mean with -->"godin-ish" sounding <-- , i don't understand that (my native language is not english you see).
Also, there is only 1 guitar playing, i took two takes and panned them both, the get a more full sounding guitar, which was requested for this song.
And yes, you are right, realistic instruments was not really what the performer wanted to achieve.

I don't really know what a proximity effect is supposed to be, maybe you find the time to explain?

About the rhythm effects in the background, well, i'll try to play around with them a bit more, though i feel that they are quite a lot upfront already, but maybe i only feel like this because by now i have heard the song a few hundred times (no kidding!).

Like i said, im only partly responsible for the arrangement, i am not really too fond about the crackling at the end myself, but sadly enough i am not one of the lucky people who can afford a tc fireworx (god, how much i would love to have this beast, you have no idea), and thus i had to improvise a lot, eg. using pink noise along with lo-fi crackles and mixing it all together, doing a lot of frequency work on the voice to get that kinda "talking through the transmitter sound", i know it is not perfect, but i feel it is the best i could achieve with the gear i have right now.

I agree about the break that needs more excitement, but it is not all that easy, as you for sure know

About cutting the midrange....well, midrange involves a lot of frequencies (a tiny bit more specific?)

I will make the takeoff a tiny bit more silent, i simply didn't notice it anymore that it might be too loud.

B.SABBATH: Thank you for listening!
About the solo missing, i have no idea, i am merely the one who recorded, mixed it down and tried to master it.

But im happy that in general the Vocal SOUND seems to be OK, that was the most difficult part for me, getting the Vocal done correctly.

I would still love to get a comment from a Mastering Engineer, regarding the overall loudness of the Song, etc...