Your kind feedback is sought . . .

[B.SABBATH]

I don't know if this is the remix, but it sounds pretty damn good over here.. very dry, but I almost like it.. It's kinda live sounding.. the tune is pretty good too.. I like the space, and it doesn't sound over compressed like a lot of stuff.. the bass is kinda dark sounding, but that's just looking to break balls.. The whole mix overall sounds pretty big to me..

I think this is a good live sounding recording.. maybe too live?!?

nice job chessrocker!

 

[boydrj]

Very nice! Has a great quality to it...a real good vibe! Great playing and top notch vocals!

You already have tons of mix stuff...I really enjoyed this tune!

 

[christiaan]

I started the stream, looked at some other threads in the meantime, posted some messages and kind of forgot about the music. Now realizing that it's on repeat and it must be like the tenth time the song is playing I must say that I'm still not bored of it yet. That may sound a bit lame but I mean it in the best possible way. I'm not really impressed by the (electric)guitarsound and guitarplaying but it's a sweet tune and the chorus is very catchy. Very nice vocals in particular.

 

[chessrock]

I don't know if this is the remix, but it sounds pretty damn good over here..

Actually, TexRoadkill is the first one to hear the newest mixdown.

Luckily, the comments on the song have gotten much more positive, and the criticisms have gotten much fewer since I totally revamped it.

Basically, I went down the list of suggestions and criticisms each person posted in this thread, addressed it and made changes. It's nice when you have so many people with great ears and great ideas.

I found most of the criticisms to be spot-on. So I sat down with it and did a lot of mucking around with the mix. Quite a few here mentioned that the guitar player wasn't playing very inspired. I even fixed that, to an extent. Basically, I noticed towards the end of the song, that the guitar player sounded like he was finding a groove -- not so stiff, like he loosened up.

So I basically copied those parts at the end and pasted those few measures or so throughout much of the whole song. This was most challenging, since the drummer didn't play to a click track, so they didn't necessarily match up. Luckily, with some editing, I was able to make it fit with the tempo, but it was pretty time-consuming. While I was at it, I also used this same method to double-track some of the guitar parts in spots (particularly the chorus, which helped beef things up).

I also found a couple of spots in the middle where the whole band sounded much tighter . . . so I copied and pasted those to other parts of the song where the playing wasn't so tight.

From the first few posts (some thought it was lacking low end), I realized I had monitor issues, so I located and addressed those pretty quickly. Crosstudio made a great suggestion on the verses, so I did that. Participant mentioned some vocal issues, so I cleaned those right up. Erichenryus mentioned doubling the background vocals on the chorus, so I did that. And I didn't even have to have her come in again. Just copied and pasted them from the other choruses, editing them to fit the tempo differences.

Then there was Crawdad, climbing on my ass over the kick drum. Finally, I had a brainstorm and tried the pitchshifter on the kick. Man, let me tell you. If ever there were a magical fix for not enough "oomph" in the kick, this one is it. I pitchshifted it down like 2 or three notes, actually, and that made all of the difference.

All in all, I'd have to say I listened to every single suggestion and thought they made a world of difference. Even Mixmkr, if you can believe it (just messin' with ya). Now, I think it sounds like a whole new recording. The band even sounds tighter and the guitar player sounds more inspired (although still not spectacular).

It was really kind of a cool team effort, I thought, as all of you had a hand in the mixing, to a degree. Thanks again for all of your suggestions. Unfortunately, I am taking no more for a while. I'm beat !

 

[mixmkr]

All in all, I'd have to say I listened to every single suggestion and thought they made a world of difference. Even Mixmkr, if you can believe it (just messin' with ya).

aah...you still remember the polls you posted, and I said; "take a hike"... back then you had some really crappy posts, and some really good posts...and the bad seemed to outweigh the good...TO ME...at that point in time. Seems like you're back on the Christmas card list...!! (just messin' with ya)

In all seriousness....you seem to know a hell of alot more about sound, mixing, mics, equipment....all that groovy stuff..than many people. So....you get put on the top shelf of having to sound perfect to get compliments However...you did have a "party" tape awhile back that I seemed to enjoy to maximum limits.. Sounded like a fun party...complete with mics under the bed, etc...

 

[crawdad]

Then there was Crawdad, climbing on my ass over the kick drum. Finally, I had a brainstorm and tried the pitchshifter on the kick. Man, let me tell you. If ever there were a magical fix for not enough "oomph" in the kick, this one is it. I pitchshifted it down like 2 or three notes, actually, and that made all of the difference.

I know, I'm a harsh bastard, but I was just trying to sell you a BBFAT!

Really, thats a technique I've been wanting to try for a while. I read an article where a lot of the dance mix guys use that trick to get the big fat kicks.

As for the process you just went through, I have been through the same thing here. I'd have to say I learned far more from critical ears here than from any other thing I've ever done. Its a very positive thing going on here because everybody tells it like they hear it, without any ego bullshit involved. I study so many things in a mix now and I am more aware of my excesses than I was before. Still learning but feeling like I might be at least on a higher plateau than the one I started out on.

What is really cool is that you found so many creative ways to improve what you had--and you got your monitors straightened out too, which is so critical to success. All in all, a great success story! (just don't tell 'em about the secret triple tube technology you used, OK?)

 

[Toki987]

I like the basic mix, Its a good rythym cut. There`s plenty of room for your B3 stabs and maybe even some horn spits occasionally. I`d like a lil more thwap on the drums. But when you get it all cooked it`ll probably be rockin.

 

[chessrock]

It's really interesting to note from a lot of the comments here . . . that I can almost tell what types of monitors people here are listening on, just from their comments. I think the key is to use as many different types of monitors or monitoring systems as possible.

Mixmkr: As far as that whole other deal we were talking about goes, I didn't think about that too much . . . I was just throwing a friendly jab in response to the reverb comment, which was funny in a "you-had-to-be-there" sort of way. But I would be a complete hyporcryt if I thought you didn't have a right to respectfully express your thoughts/opinions on any matter that may run contrary to my own.

 

[Daisy]

am i the only dog days fan around here? i always loved this song, and this is a good cover. the singer does justice to it. A+