remix and recommended reading

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SLuiCe

SLuiCe

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In my last post I got a ton of quality feedback on "Dry," including a recommendation from Crawdad to read what turned out to be quite the informative rant from Sonusman on the Mixing/Mastering board. For some unaccountable reason it was my first time visiting the board, but I found Sonusman's thread answered most of the issues you all raised on "Dry." The thread is VERY GOOD reading for those of us still in our first year of this complex stuff.
Now my ears are kinda of numb after a few hours of toying with it, but I think after the combination of everyone's ears and Sonusman's thread, I'd like to know if you hear an improvement while the song is still fresh with me. :D ? :eek: ?or :mad: ?

There's still a few small pops I haven't yet figured out how I'm gonna dispose of. But among other things I cleared up a shitload of sibilance both by cutting high end on the aux reverb and on some of the tracks themselves. I did no mastering EQ so I'm very curious what your ears are saying...

www.nowhereradio.com/sluice/singles
 
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SLuiCe said:
:D ? :eek: ?or :mad: ?
Click to expand...

lol! :D Dude, that's gotta be the funniest use of smilies I've seen on this board.

Gonna go listen now...


Chad
 
cleared up the mud!

All right! Yep, cleared that mud right up, and the upper-lows aren't so boomy.

Can't escape the feeling that the mix is now heavier around the 8kHz octave; I'm hearing that in the snare crack, and the cymbals. Also, a little bit around 1kHz in the guitars + vox + bass + snare. Other than that, a huge improvement. You're gettin' there! ;)


Chad

PS: Just listened again, and noticed that the vocals get buried a bit around 2:40. Still (IMO a better mix).
 
The fog is lifting big time! You're a quick study, Sluice! Now, I can get a much better picture of the mix and the song. It sounds much cleaner. Whatever you did with the low end is the ticket--I still hear the kick and bass, but now there is definition. I have a few more suggestions, but you are dialing it in now. Reminds me of a David Crosby type of tune.

OK. I would bring down the opening crash cymbals a little. Rest of the kit sounds really good. The electric guitar rhythm that comes in when the song hits full steam is fighting with the rest of the mix. It sounds harsh as is. When that comes in, vocal intelligibility goes bye bye. I'd try and EQ some 2-4k out of that guitar and turn it down, pan it extreme, or something to get it out of the way. When your ears clear, listen to this guitar and the vocal at the same time. I think you'll hear what I'm saying.

That same rhythm is fighting with the lead solo. I would turn it down there too--AND--bring that solo up and into the spotlight.

Last, you get the Crawdad rubber stamp suggestion. Turn your fine voice up even more. Its carrying the melody and the lyrics--the meat of the song. Believe me, the music tracks ain't gonna disappear if you do. Back the vocal verb back 10-15% more. I really want to hear you!

These suggestions are smaller and finer. You have a good handle on the big picture, I think. As is, its a vast improvement over version 1.

Oh, and tell us your mics and signal chain for the drums. I wish I could get drums to sound this good!
 
Crawdad, you've a very good ear. Thank you. I wish I could claim to play real drums, especially in my apartment. The drum sounds come from a Korg Triton. I run them in as audio then EQ them as neccessary...usually gotta beef em up. The drums have come a long way from my first songs this past winter. The mics I do use are SM58 for vox and acoustic guitar and SM57 for electric gits.
Thanks again... I'll try your tips out tomorrow!
 
Maybe I should just buy a Triton and quit fooling with these damn drums! You know, one thing I've learned--it sure is easier to mix somebody elses song rather than my own! Its a lot less work too! :D

I'll listen to Dry v.3 when its up! Oh, and I'm glad you got to read Sonusman's Mixing thread. Its great stuff, isn't it? Thats one I can read over and over. It brings back the essentials, which can easily be forgotten over time.

A 58 for vox and acoustic? You sure used what you have to your advantage. I really like seeing that. I've heard condenser recordings of acoustics that didn't sound that good. Your next gift to yourself should be a LD condenser. You DESERVE one!
 
Agree 100% with crawdad about the vox, turn 'em up! It's a great song, and your singing and lyrics should be out front. You're such a fine writer and singer, I think everything should support the message.
Sounds like you're down to the eq stage (which drives me nuts trying to tweak on my stuff).
This was strong to begin with, and has gotten even stronger.
To my ears, maybe the track is slightly mid heavy? But some of that could be my own loss of high end, too.
Impressive, man.

Mark
 
To this I will mellow with greens

You got some great stuff,hope you don't mind if i burn me a CD of your shit...great for hanging and doing bongs
 
Great mix! Everything sounds about where it should be. I would push the vocals up some but for my tastes, leave all the verb on 'em. Jeez, I like this tune. It just kind of haunts you. Very, very nice.
Oh, and fuck a bunch of commercial radio, all the good music in the world is being made right here.
 
Crawdad- RE: the Triton...you're probably kidding, but my guess is that you have the patience for it. It's no Casio. And I don't use any factory drum patterns, but with some tweaking and some persistance, it's a lot of fun to compose drum parts with it. And yes, I definitely need to explore the mic options...especially if I start playing with a band again. (If I can deal with all the babysitting it almost inevitably entails :eek: Thanks again!

Participant- Your comments have been very helpful as well on this one. EQ advice is ALWAYS helpful!

MKG- Thanks for the encouraging words...I guess I'm still building that vocal confidence so many of us here struggle with in our mixes.

WISC- Go ahead and burn it and...well..."burn it" ;)

Track Rat- This truly is where the music is being made. And what a VARIETY to choose from. Thanks for listening bro.

I'll probably spend the next hour or two applying a few more tweeks after your suggestions, throw the file up on NWR, then move on to another project- I think something with a little "punch" I've been meaning to try...could flop, but that's part of the excitement I suppose...
 
OK I just sent the mix off to NWR with I believe all of your recommended changes...and they seem to be great recommendations, including Sam's from the original post who yelled at me about the loud cymbals from the very start. Also I spread a little change over the last few measures. So far the mix sounds less harsh to me now. Thanks again for all the help :)
 
I'm not going to offer any advice, as Crawdad is telling you all the right stuff, imo, and it would be redundant to just repeat. But, I will say, your stuff is really starting to be just great. Your voice and writing are YOUR tickets...you lucky bastard. This latest mix is the best I've heard from you. Major dynamic changes, and to me, that makes all the difference in the world (sometimes;) )...but especially in this case. You're really showing your producer talants as well. I will comment about the thrash gtrs and the vocals trying to occupy the same space. Panning or subtractive eq seems like the best choice.

Killer lead too, dude....way ta go!
 
Didn't read anyone elses comments, just listened to the tune. The vocals seem to be in front of the overall mix, good effect, but the vocals need to be normalized a bit.

Can't say I really have any complaints about the instrumental side. Around 1:50 I really like the way you sustained the harmony on the vocals. Think that effect should be used a couple more times ;)

At 2:30-3:00 I hear quite a bit of clipping/distortion on the guit's I think, not sure what track as there is so much going on there. Again at 4:00+, on second thought, it might be drums... Actually sounds like a dead mic filament, or a washboard... It's not the kick... Not sure.

Kick ass tune!

W.
 
got into it

great song, you sing like you mean it. i just love vocals like that, it draws me into the song. very nice!!!!!!!!!!

thanks for the tune!!!!

peace

rick
 
Ah! Yes! I can't tell you how good it was to finally hear you sing and to catch those awesome lyrics for the first time. This mix has really come light years since the first version. You've blown my mind! If you're happy, I'd say this was a win/win situation cause you really made my ears happy. If there is anything at all bugging me still, its that electric rhythm, though its sitting much better. Overall, though, I'm pretty amazed at the way this one has come together. Now, I think your soul is coming through, and big time, I might add. Thanks for sharing this one and taking the time to tweak!
 
You already know I love the tune, and your being advised by people with superior ears than mine, so I'll just say it sounds better.. That one synth makes it sound like there's a telephone ringing in the background... unless it's actually a telephone ringing in the background. I have gotten that a few times myself. My guitar pickup picks up the phone sometimes even when I'm recording direct.. (around 4:14ish.)

I like the new ending.

you da man.....................man.

late
sam
 
hey SLuice....I am listening to your tune in just a sec...can you provide the link to the sonusman mixing article? I believe I have read most of it before...but, I need to do *exactly* what you are doing...mix, remix, remix, read, remix, read...etc.

I am in a bad habit of "starting over" when things don't sound like I want them to. my mixing is totaly juvenille. you will get a review in a second ;)
 
wow, those drums kicked my ass when they first came in (in a good way)

i am not intending to give any mixing advice, becuase I am way out of my league here - but...the vocal has some serious dynamic range, on the first verse esp. Not a bad thing neccessarily...lord knows we could use more of it as a whole...but...I still think I'd compress it a tad, without altering the real "tone".

loving the lead guitar work around 1:00

really good stuff here man. I like it...wish I could play guitar like you. that lick at 5:21 rocks.

peace

-wes
 
yeah this new mix is sounding good right now..








sam coughs... raises volume.. coughs again.. giggles.. coughs..
 
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