Catching Up - Olli H

[The_Metallurgist]

As a reference I used Bonnie Rait singing Bob Dylan's song. I was after a full, smooth and modern sound.

i thought it was full. l liked the stereo image here a lot, it was really headphone friendly too - no mad panning; thank you, thank you!! exception was the drums...i really disliked what you did with them, sorry for that. if you'd like some detail, let me know and i'll elaborate.

i liked the vocal generally in principle, but thought it could have had more attention to the detail. highly dynamic stuff here to manage, and i think some of the gentle elements got buried, eg "thunderrrrr" at 1:37. then the vocal got a bit out of control around the 2:40 marker when she put some muscle into it. occasional words came over a little uncontrolled and ragged here and there, but i think this was because of your overall strategy on the compressors? perhaps some automated parameters here might have helped? it's a tricky job in a dynamic vocal, and while trying to keep it all as transparent as possible. loved the sound of her jewellery @0:43, but disliked the sibilance. i think more control of sibilance while adding some air to this vocal would help it deliver and connect. i'm still wondering over the reverb.....especially if you were looking for a modern approach?

the guitars had some smooth EQ'ing, great work here. i'd have liked to hear the slide come out in the mix more, if only to add some change to the sonic now and again and help add some fresh perspective to the arrangement. the bass guitar(?) has some amp noise which was a distraction in this song. for me, the bass was also a bit too forward and pushy because of it's level compared to the other stuff in the mix...so i'd have settled for a little less.

there's a noise on the outro, where the vocal ends, sounded like a switch?

anyway, hope this helps, must go....got some rhubarb crumble and ice cream to demolish!

ciao4now
Dave