Another mix in the bag (until touch ups are needed) MotherLoad

[loweche6]

Title says it all

[loweche6]

Third mastering attempt. I think my vocals may be poking through my mix a tad too much for the treatment I was giving it. Totally going for a "how loud can I make this before it falls apart" type master. If I was more subtle with my compression, I think it would sound much better, but was just testing my limits of sorts.

[HbGuitar]

Lots to like about this mix...nice separation, smooth vocals....Banjo, accordion and guitars are clear bright.....and nicely controlled

from my own perspective....i felt pretty fatigued by about the start of the final verse......I think the cause is found in several areas that all contribute small amounts.....so nothing in itself is too much but the sum is

1. All the acoustic instruments are clear and bright.....there is no contrast
2. The bass and BGV are relatively low in the mix so there's no relief from the brightness
3. The mix is very wide....I image you have enhanced with a stereo widener...so that initial spaciousness is replaced with disbelief in the spatial illusion you are creating.
4. The constant strumming guitars panned wide are fatiguing
5. trying to listen to guitars, vocals, banjo and accordion all at once is fatiguing - especially as they are all bright ( did i mention the brightness?)

as i said..plenty to like and you obviously know how to mix. I think you probably need to decide what 3 things your listener should listen to at any one time....and change that from section to section.

Good work

[pauli]

Another quick tip comes to mind: consider automating some sort of transient reduction on the plucked strings, reducing the transients on instruments only when they're not in the spotlight. Compressors, transient designers, dynamic EQ, multiband compressor, saturation... any would work, but my gut suggests the most transparent option you have available would be the best.

[loweche6]

Touched it up based on your recommendations. Thank you guys for your input. Brightness is something I have always had to fight. I was born with shit ears (left eardrum is completely rebuilt). Add to it that I'm mixing through some sony consumer level speakers through an old Kenwood amp, and you could see why I might need to hear a little more high end ;-)

Here's my next go at it. (I still think the background is almost unusable at any suitable volume, but I brought it up for the low mid content)

[loweche6]

Does my vocal seem small now? Crap.

[loweche6]

OKay, i think this hits it. Btw, there was no use of stereo widener in the making of these mixes. I had, however, somehow managed to leave the gain of one of my resonant frequencies up at about +24 on my acoustic notch eq. . . i'm sure that didn't help at all.

[HbGuitar]

To my ears this is much better.....stereo image is more believable and because of that, the mix now sounds like an ensemble performance rather than wide guitars and a central voice.

Also, guitars and banjo seem better balanced together. I can enjoy the melodic banjo picking and the percussive support of the guitar at the same time now

bass and BGV now bring that bottom end support so there is more tonal contrast happening

Touched it up based on your recommendations. Thank you guys for your input. Brightness is something I have always had to fight. I was born with shit ears (left eardrum is completely rebuilt). Add to it that I'm mixing through some sony consumer level speakers through an old Kenwood amp, and you could see why I might need to hear a little more high end ;-)

I honestly think you have good ears - everything sounded good in your earlier mix (plus you make some pretty insightful comments about other peoples mixes)......its more a question of having a plan....cos everything can't sound good at the same time....

mixing on sub-standard speakers is a challenge I can relate to...up until a couple of months ago I was using 12 yr old Dell PC speakers!

[loweche6]

I appreciate it. I think I've learned to hear through my bad tools, and have been able to translate what sounds good through my ears. And thank you very much for your kind words. I have to keep that phrase in mind, always remind myself of it "Everything cant sound good at the same time." I think Mixerman kind of hits on that in Zen and The Art of Mixing. If you haven't read it, it's a fantastic read. Happy mixing!

Draper

[Third Party]

I didn't listen to your earlier versions, but reading the posts it looks like you may have been suffering from the law of diminishing returns.
However this is a real nice mix. I'm listening on a pair of HD650 headphones. It real smooth, but with nice clarity. Vocals sit real nice with subtle (and not obvious) reverb, and I like what you did with the backup vocals which were a real challenge. I like the overall depth and power that develops in the chorus before the lead break. The lead break is well handled ... up front and centered. Not a big fan of the fade out on a live performance. Great job.