Discussion on the raw tracks

[kjedrusiak]

There are a lot of things that needed addressing with these tracks.

I've have at least 6 tries at mixing this song...so here goes.

In general the levels are all over the place...even on the same track, especially the lead vox. The lead vox pops a few P's and a bit of sibilance.

And based on the way it was recorded (live with little separation) there is a lot of bleed.

I forget which, but one of the keyboards plays a wrong note/chord near the beginning of the song.

Over all it is a lively track, worth going over and doing another mix or two or three or four, trying to learn more about Studio One 3, it's capabilities and plug-ins. I want to learn how to attack each issue and see if I can get a decent final result.

Mix On!

[bukraish]

Hello Kjedrusiak, Yes the issues you mentioned are all present in the track, but you can address each of them without too much hassle. As for the levels, multiple compressors on the same track should help out, with each doing a certain job; one for suppressing the highest peaks, one for overall tightening up, and one to add movement was my approach to this song. Also, a de-esser and some filtering can be very effective when dealing with sibilance and plosives. The bleed is pretty heavy on this track, so I went ahead and gated the main and backing vocals, but there would still be some bleeding issues whenever they would sing so it was not a perfect fix, but definitely better than nothing. As for the keyboard, a quick edit will fix the problem, the same note is played in the next bar, but at a slightly higher tempo, so I would use only the note and not the whole bar, copy and paste it over the wrong note, and apply some fades. The track is indeed very lively and there is sometimes a lot happening all at once, which is why its a great track to practice on. Good luck my friend!