12-12-2014, 06:58 PM
a sparse arrangement has it's challenges, the main one being a problem with where to place things in the stereo field while trying to keep the spectral balance as equal as possible. i felt your challenge with the guitar, for example. placing it center would have made the mix quite mono, but panning it anywhere different will tend to bias the spectral balance along with it. over monitors you'd get away with it, but in the cans this is going to pull on one side somewhat. difficult one that. when the tin piano comes in, it's joining the guitar in the right channel...it might have been better on the other side perhaps, helping to pull the spectrum back on a more even keel, at least while the tin is present....but the problem would come back when it's gone. this is one of those situations where the arrangement can give issues in the mix. the tin currently panned right, is highly fatiguing being on one side in my Ovations.
there's a tendency for build-up in the instrumentation with some irritating frequencies from the vibra and rhodes, the ringing got irritating pretty quickly; the sustain is the problem for me, starting at 1:03. the effects on the vibra can, and did, make me feel nauseous. in mono it's not a problem....it's the interplay between the two channels which causes it.
for me, the vocal was too close and i'm also hearing every nuance. with an untrained voice we want to avoid that as much as possible by whatever means available (and this wasn't a nice mike, which did nothing to help matters....but out of our control). i liked your effects during the chorus which gave a nice touch to the emotional delivery at that point; good call. i also liked your fades on the vocal in an effort to keep the problems away from the listener which was a symptom towards the end especially. the sibilance was a problem for us all. however, on slightly higher auditioning levels the sibilance in this mix comes out and bites (hello Equal Loudness contour). some dynamic eq would have helped to keep it in check in the mix. i thought the vocal level was up too much? good for radio though.
the Upright was in my face, up close and far too personal, it sounded pretty dry to me....maybe a hint of mono verb with a shortish pre delay would have helped give it a bit of distance and retain this distance in mono. i think a different compression strategy on this instrument could have made it less volatile and more consistent in the mix, it's dynamics sounded a little....dynamic; it drops away quite quickly after the attack, in other words. do you see what i mean?
you did a good job on the drums, keeping the white noise at bay too. drums were mixed from the drummers stool.....i'm in the audience so if they aren't mixed to my perspective i get distracted. given the audience outnumbers the drummer i'd turn the kit around personally....even if the drummer's left handed. it was a shame about the kick...no harmonics, bass rich, booming headroom sapper. i think a sample would help here with the harmonics present blended in to suit. would you have done this ordinarily had you taken a different mixing strategy [your comment in the intro refers] ?
regarding the ambiance you chose, i heard the illusion of a big space which contradicted the upright bass's proximity (and it's missing ambiance and placement in the room) and the vocals' proximity also. i suspect this was chosen more for ear candy than practicality? but it's giving me contradictory messages about the space and where the stuff is within it. i think if you'd got this fixed, the mix would have been a lot more involving, believable and it would have avoided the potential for distraction.
if this hadn't been an mp3, you might have seen me bobbing my head though
and i'd like to have heard the other 70+ percent that the codec's algorithm is denying me........ 
perhaps one day?????????????????
there's a tendency for build-up in the instrumentation with some irritating frequencies from the vibra and rhodes, the ringing got irritating pretty quickly; the sustain is the problem for me, starting at 1:03. the effects on the vibra can, and did, make me feel nauseous. in mono it's not a problem....it's the interplay between the two channels which causes it.
for me, the vocal was too close and i'm also hearing every nuance. with an untrained voice we want to avoid that as much as possible by whatever means available (and this wasn't a nice mike, which did nothing to help matters....but out of our control). i liked your effects during the chorus which gave a nice touch to the emotional delivery at that point; good call. i also liked your fades on the vocal in an effort to keep the problems away from the listener which was a symptom towards the end especially. the sibilance was a problem for us all. however, on slightly higher auditioning levels the sibilance in this mix comes out and bites (hello Equal Loudness contour). some dynamic eq would have helped to keep it in check in the mix. i thought the vocal level was up too much? good for radio though.
the Upright was in my face, up close and far too personal, it sounded pretty dry to me....maybe a hint of mono verb with a shortish pre delay would have helped give it a bit of distance and retain this distance in mono. i think a different compression strategy on this instrument could have made it less volatile and more consistent in the mix, it's dynamics sounded a little....dynamic; it drops away quite quickly after the attack, in other words. do you see what i mean?
you did a good job on the drums, keeping the white noise at bay too. drums were mixed from the drummers stool.....i'm in the audience so if they aren't mixed to my perspective i get distracted. given the audience outnumbers the drummer i'd turn the kit around personally....even if the drummer's left handed. it was a shame about the kick...no harmonics, bass rich, booming headroom sapper. i think a sample would help here with the harmonics present blended in to suit. would you have done this ordinarily had you taken a different mixing strategy [your comment in the intro refers] ?
regarding the ambiance you chose, i heard the illusion of a big space which contradicted the upright bass's proximity (and it's missing ambiance and placement in the room) and the vocals' proximity also. i suspect this was chosen more for ear candy than practicality? but it's giving me contradictory messages about the space and where the stuff is within it. i think if you'd got this fixed, the mix would have been a lot more involving, believable and it would have avoided the potential for distraction.
if this hadn't been an mp3, you might have seen me bobbing my head though
and i'd like to have heard the other 70+ percent that the codec's algorithm is denying me........ perhaps one day?????????????????
Beware...........Cognitive Dissonance!