Power pop about an angry neighbor

[Dimmi]

This scary woman who lives right above me wrote me a polite note one day concerning the fact that she does not enjoy my music. Well, by my music, of course, she meant the frequencies below 100 hz that you simply can't stop from going through all the walls in the building. It was actually pretty quiet then (and now I am usually even forced to commit the worst sin of all - pre-mix in the headphones).

Yeah, sorry, so *this* song IS ABOUT that woman. I tried to write it in such a manner so I could burn her a copy and maybe she'd give me some slack and let me, once in a while, at least turn up the "Xtra Bass" thingy on my stereo (that I mix with). And, by the way, the low end in this recording is terrible BECAUSE ever since I moved I am now unable to mix my bass tracks properly simply because I know that if I just ATTEMPT THAT, she'll flip and rant to the landlord.

Evil Woman Song

So, end of story. My questions are:

1. Am I just paranoid, or the song is too distorted? (Too much distortion on guitar maybe?) Do you think it would sound better with less-distorted poppy guitar tracks?
2. Am I just paranoid again, or the mix needs a lot more high-end?
I spent all night yesterday and the whole day today mixing it, and I was finally able to get the vocals to be *discernable* and *not ear-piercing harsh* at the same time (Simply rolling off highs off the rhythm guitar doesn't do the trick, as I figured out long ago). As soon as I add more highs to the vocals, they start to sound harsh, especially in the headphones. Same applies for raising highs for the whole mix.

Anything else good/bad you can say about this song and this mix is very welcome.

VOCALS:
8 inches away from Shure SM58 -> ART Tube Preamp ->
Darla24 card ->
Antares Mic Modeler -> EQ -> Renaissance Compressor -> TrueVerb

GUITAR:
S. Duncan JB Junior pickup in the bridge of a Mexican Strat ->
Line6 POD -> Darla24 card -> EQ -> TrueVerb

BASS:
$350 Ibanez SoundGear Bass with stock pickups, through a Bassman model on the POD.

DRUMS:
GIGASAMPLER playing a homemade kit of drum samples from old "free" SoundFonts from all over the net.
I tried spicing up the drum track with a live tambourine track (my hand still hurts! ), which, I think, saved it (the drum track).

All recording and mixing - SONAR.

By the way, here is more of my music, if anyone liked the song:

http://mp3.com/dimmi

All the best,

Dimitri

 

[CyanJaguar]

well, I liked it ALOT so I listened to your another song on mp3.com that says that all women are evil. I liked that one too.

This mix is very close to pro. It does not have the over limiting of pro mixes but it close to pro.

THe low end sounds good to me. THe whole mix sounds good as it is,but tweaks can polish it slightly.

I think the vox is not present enough. I was going to suggest cutting some bass, but try adding around 5k first. Dont use a narrow band. Boost it slightly with a wide range.

The bass could be more tight. I punchier compressing.

This is one of the best songs I have heard all month.
Keep it up.

 

[CyanJaguar]

guitar sounds great. Snare needs a bit more snap sizzle

I wanted to talk about reverb. Have you ever messed with using two reverbs on the vocal. Try it. I think you will love it. It also gives it more of a pro sound cos believe it or not, pros usually have up to 10 different verbs on a mix, and up to three on a vox.

 

[Dimmi]

Hey, thanks for your time CyanJaguar!

I just tried a slight 5k boost. Heck, you are right! Sounds a bit more commercial that way!

I will work more on bass, though I really dont have a good reference. Even if I did, the evil woman wouldn't let me use it.

Listening to the mix after a few hours' break I noticed that the vocals at times are a tad muffled, but sometimes they suddenly get a little brighter. I guess that was just how I sang it (or moved my mouth off axis sometimes). I dont hear that in the pro recordings. I bet some careful dynamic compression would fix that, but I won't bother. With my scarce experience in that area I would only mess it up.

One thing I learned over the last couple of days about vocal tracks: If you want a solid vocal track that is easy to fit in the mix, get away from the mic as far as it seems reasonable. Helped me a whole lot. (But maybe that's just because I use an SM58 and the proximity effect gives me trouble).

And those verse-to-chorus guitar leads...Jesus...I need to totally re-record them. Perhaps even change them, and with a different amp setting.

 

[CyanJaguar]

the commercial guys can spend a day working on the lead vocal, automating stuff, eqing separate words or lines and comping stuff, so dont worry about it.

I think a large diaphragm condenser will work great for your mixes. THe marshall V67 will be perfect at less than $200. Help bring out the subtleties of the vocal. The sm58 is a great mic though, except that it needs some boost for vocals.

hey, my favorite references are staind and fuel. I listen at about 82 decibels.

peace

 

[Queue]

Bring up the vocals!

I agree with CJ. Everything sounds good. I just found myself straining to hear/make out the vocals...

If you get a LD condenser, the vocals will cut through the mix easier, but that's not to say that you can't get a good result with an SM58. I remember reading somewhere that Beck used an SM58 for most of the vocals on one of his CDs...

Queue

 

[MAC2]

Question 1(a): "No"
Question 1(b): "No"(again...)
Question 2 : "I don't think so"

I thought the mix sounded great. The vocal track could use a little high end and a little more warmth....Cyan made a good point about experimenting with some reverb on the vocal(s). There's a lot of talk about different mics on this bbs but I believe it's how you use what you have that can make a difference (case in point visit Teddie's post in this forum...he uses a SM57 for his vocals )