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Stray Cat's Upper Hand
#1
Another gem by Mr. Talbot.

As with most of Patrick's compositions, the recorded tracks are pristine with the song seemingly well thought out by the time the tracks are laid down. Thus, I feel very little is needed to make his songs really sparkle.

I opted not to use much of the room tracks this time. The mix only had compression on the lead vocals to make it easier to lay. Only very modest compression was used during mastering. Some mid-side EQing along with a mastering parametric is used to bring out tone. The only effects are in-line on the stereo master and a beat delay on the solo guitar. Typical hi-pass filtering is used only where needed. Simple, basic and fun.

This is a wonderful shuffle through the mind of a great artist and it makes me smile. Again.


.mp3    Patrick Talbot - Upper Hand.mp3 --  (Download: 10.31 MB)


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#2
Sounds Great! Love how you have used the backing vocals through out. Main Vox is certainly hotter then I would have it, but I know your preference there.
Well Done.Big Grin

Dave
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#3
(06-03-2016, 12:06 PM)Dangerous Wrote: Sounds Great! Love how you have used the backing vocals through out. Main Vox is certainly hotter then I would have it, but I know your preference there.
Well Done.Big Grin

Dave

At the start of the song, the vocals appear to be very hot, but as the song builds the lead vocal falls right into place, IMHO. Thanks for listening and commenting, Dave. I'm glad you like to backgrounds.
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#4
Sounds great to me MixInTheCloud! Smile
I agree that the lead vocal is a bit hot, especially at first, it's just a matter of broad automation, to bring it up more gradually I suppose.
The bass could be a touch louder too, I think.
And I've found the panning automation of the lead guitar in the outro a little weird TBH.
But that's me nitpicking of course, as I said, it sounds great!
"Music, in performance, is a type of sculpture. The air in the performance is sculpted into something." - Frank Zappa

Some air moved here
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#5
(06-03-2016, 08:19 PM)ptalbot Wrote: Sounds great to me MixInTheCloud! Smile
I agree that the lead vocal is a bit hot, especially at first, it's just a matter of broad automation, to bring it up more gradually I suppose.
The bass could be a touch louder too, I think.
And I've found the panning automation of the lead guitar in the outro a little weird TBH.
But that's me nitpicking of course, as I said, it sounds great!

Patrick,
Thanks for your time and interest. Sometimes I like to grab my audience with something slightly akimbo to tweak their ears a bit, so to speak. I tried the bass at lots of different levels. The one I ended up with allowed the subtleties of the keys, horns and drums to read. I probably spent more time on that part of the mix than any other. As for the pan of the solo guitar on the out, since this is a shuffle or a walk, I imagined the band taking it on down the road. This song struck me as theatrical and visual, another reason for the movement of the guitar on the out. My attempt to be different.
Any chance "How Can I" will be made available here? It is on my Soundcloud and I would love a crack at it.

Adam K.
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#6
(06-03-2016, 09:56 PM)Mixinthecloud Wrote: As for the pan of the solo guitar on the out, since this is a shuffle or a walk, I imagined the band taking it on down the road. This song struck me as theatrical and visual, another reason for the movement of the guitar on the out. My attempt to be different.

I see. Thanks for explaining your idea! Smile

(06-03-2016, 09:56 PM)Mixinthecloud Wrote: Any chance "How Can I" will be made available here? It is on my Soundcloud and I would love a crack at it.

I don't think Mike would want yet another song of mine... We don't want to transform this site into a 'Mix Patrick Talbot songs' site now, do we? Big Grin
I could put the sources on DropBox for you, although I will need some time to export all of this properly (the drums in particular which are Superior Drummer and that I use directly in my mix, not as audio tracks).


"Music, in performance, is a type of sculpture. The air in the performance is sculpted into something." - Frank Zappa

Some air moved here
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#7
(06-03-2016, 10:16 PM)ptalbot Wrote:
(06-03-2016, 09:56 PM)Mixinthecloud Wrote: As for the pan of the solo guitar on the out, since this is a shuffle or a walk, I imagined the band taking it on down the road. This song struck me as theatrical and visual, another reason for the movement of the guitar on the out. My attempt to be different.

I see. Thanks for explaining your idea! Smile

(06-03-2016, 09:56 PM)Mixinthecloud Wrote: Any chance "How Can I" will be made available here? It is on my Soundcloud and I would love a crack at it.

I don't think Mike would want yet another song of mine... We don't want to transform this site into a 'Mix Patrick Talbot songs' site now, do we? Big Grin
I could put the sources on DropBox for you, although I will need some time to export all of this properly (the drums in particular which are Superior Drummer and that I use directly in my mix, not as audio tracks).

I don't think Mike would want yet another song of mine... We don't want to transform this site into a 'Mix Patrick Talbot songs' site now, do we?

You mean it's not already??? Tongue

I could put the sources on DropBox for you, although I will need some time to export all of this properly (the drums in particular which are Superior Drummer and that I use directly in my mix, not as audio tracks)

It would be an honor. Let me know privately how to retrieve and post results.

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#8
I'll send you a PM when ready. Don't expect it too early though, as I'm working on some other songs ATM (I'm always working on some other song, it seems! Smile) and it is rather boring and time consuming task to export all the tracks and prepare them to be ready to mix. But I'll do my best not to make you wait too long.
"Music, in performance, is a type of sculpture. The air in the performance is sculpted into something." - Frank Zappa

Some air moved here
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#9
(06-03-2016, 10:50 PM)ptalbot Wrote: I'll send you a PM when ready. Don't expect it too early though, as I'm working on some other songs ATM (I'm always working on some other song, it seems! Smile) and it is rather boring and time consuming task to export all the tracks and prepare them to be ready to mix. But I'll do my best not to make you wait too long.

Take your time. I'm not going anywhere.
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#10
3-11-2016

In deference to Patrick's suggestions, I have raised the instruments against the vocals in this mix. I have warmed up the acoustic guitars as well.


.mp3    3-11-2016 Patrick Talbot - Upper Hand.mp3 --  (Download: 10.31 MB)


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