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heavy and dirty alternative
#1
Great song Smile

I used all tracks and went for the heavy and dirty underground alternative-indie style that was quite popular in the early 1990s.

Back when nothing offended anybody Smile

I aimed for the LIVE sound you would find in small intimate clubs back then, which, for the lucky few, found its way onto CDs and MTVs "120minutes" (Which was a stylish mix of indie-alternative genres, featuring both single videos and entire concerts. Great program, one that I miss personally)

So yeah, I don't believe in neutering music just to fit it into modern-day bluetooth-speakers. I get it, they're smart and they can be useful, but when you want the real thing to hit you in the stomach... you need something that can push more air. It's simple physics and everybody who loves music obviously knows this.

This song will sound best on vintage Cerwin-Vega speakers (If you don't have that, then use some good headphones at least) with big bass-drivers and huge horns (good old classic speakers)

And play loud of course Smile

I hope the band likes this version as much as I like their song and their playing-style.

Thanks for listening.
jacob.


.mp3    Purple Hat Mob - Access Denied (JELmix).mp3 --  (Download: 10.86 MB)


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#2
I get what you were aiming for and the live vibe comes across. That said, the added distortion (on the guitars?) tends to be a bit much and obscures the rest of the band. The vocals are pretty buried and honestly, feel neutered. After all the cacophony and music I really wanted a solid vocal to come through and give the some some purpose and grounding. I mean, the vocals are why we showed up to show, yeah?

Yes, I'm listening on headphones. But I think those issues would translate to CV speakers. I do feel the low end, even on the earbuds.
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#3
(26-11-2019, 02:17 PM)RoyMatthews Wrote: I get what you were aiming for and the live vibe comes across. That said, the added distortion (on the guitars?) tends to be a bit much and obscures the rest of the band. The vocals are pretty buried and honestly, feel neutered. After all the cacophony and music I really wanted a solid vocal to come through and give the some some purpose and grounding. I mean, the vocals are why we showed up to show, yeah?

Yes, I'm listening on headphones. But I think those issues would translate to CV speakers. I do feel the low end, even on the earbuds.

On this one I disagree with you, on both issues actually.

If I raise the vocals they separate from the music. They will become 'unglued'. Maybe for the studio-album version that would be the better choice, but in a LIVE setting I don't want the vocals to stand out too much. Not for this type of music at least.

For a singer/song-writer performance I would definitely agree with you; the words matter. But for an indie-alternative 'get pumped' show, you just want loud (Well, _I_ do anyway Smile ). You want to hear his voice, of course, but more as an instrument along all the others rather than an intellectual message. So the words are not all that important since this wouldn't be a show where you go to 'listen' to music, but rather one where you go to simply 'rock out' (And if the audience are fans they will already know the words and sing along, which would only add to the total vocal layer which could make the music sound anemic if it didn't have enough power to balance it. As I say; this one isn't meant for listening, but for participating)

About the distortion. On studio-monitors and studio-headphones you might get too much top-detail. In a LIVE setup where you blast this through horn-speakers at loud volume, the top-end will sound different and less detailed (Both because of the horns' compression-effect on the sound, but also because of the way humans hear louder music spectrum-wise). That 'top-smear', for lack of a better word, could be what's missing on your headphones (And if you listen at a sane volume, which you should to avoid getting tinnitus, that top-end will appear more prominent and 'trebley' (Too distinct treble, or too precise, or too sharp, too edgy, I hope you understand what I mean Smile ) than it would if you were dancing on the floor in a loud venue surrounded by a tight crowd of loud cheering people.

With that said I appreciate your view and comment and for a studio-record version of this song I would agree with what you say (But other people in this forum have already made that version of this song, so I didn't want to copy their efforts just to find I couldn't bring anything new to the table)

Anyway; this version will sound better if played loud on real classic horn-speakers meant for high power output (Most of us can't do that because of our neighbors though, but it really does make a difference. They color the sound in a way studio-monitors or studio-headphones do not, and I guess that could be what you're hearing here)
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#4
Imho mix has 'poisonous' mids. Needs more cutting instead of boosting. Distortion is over the top. Listened on monitors and HD650.
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#5
(29-11-2019, 07:47 PM)MakeMixingGreatAgain Wrote: Imho mix has 'poisonous' mids. Needs more cutting instead of boosting. Distortion is over the top. Listened on monitors and HD650.

Thanks for your feedback.

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#6
I think the guitars are a bit over the top. But then I'm a simple mind.

On the other hand I think sometimes extremes is what we need to wake up.

Cheers!
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#7
(04-12-2019, 09:26 PM)AndyGallas Wrote: I think the guitars are a bit over the top. But then I'm a simple mind.

On the other hand I think sometimes extremes is what we need to wake up.

Cheers!

Thanks Andy Smile
I did max them out, but the sound is much more harsh on 'normal' listening equipment (Such as reference-monitors/headphones) than on the type of speakers I designed this one for (Which clearly was a big mistake on my part, since very few people listen on PA-equipment. I learned my lesson Smile )
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