Jessica Childress-Slow Down: Mix by Stu

[Stu]

OK Everyone:

Let the criticism rip!

I couldn't get the damn vocals to my liking. Jessica is a very enthusiastic singer, but her (live) mic technique sucked! Maybe it's just me.

[italo-almeida]

Your mix needs more low and presence. It feels like is playing distant.

Sorry my writting. I'm brazilian and i don't practice too much english.

Success!

[Stu]

Well now's your chance to improve your English. In addition to being involved in the music industry, I have two ESL teaching certificates: CELTA and TESOL.

You are correct with your comments about my mix. I felt this was another salvage job more than a proper mix.

I'm quite surprised at the engineers at Telefunken: with all their great mics and preamps, you would think they would've recorded better at the source, and might have suggested the bass player to make a slight adjustment or two. I felt that the bass player was incredible, but he epitomised the "ho-hum fart" bass sound (round-wound strings with the treble knob turned way down, and the volume knob (probably) turned way up), that has become standard fare in the last 30 years or so. If he's after a more fundamental "bass" tone, than use flat-wound strings: they give the punch, clarity, and bass tone that's needed, and are appropriate for this kind of music. In my experience, flat wound strings tend to make a bass easier to mix, and it easier to give it a proper pocket in the big picture.

I tired adjusting the low end a little, but then the mix becomes muddy. I will redo the presence and possibly the reverb and/or delay, as I agree with you, that these areas are a bit week; however, so far, my efforts here have made the mix sound thinner. My purpose here was not t alter the acoustics of the recording space, or at least alter them little as possible.