Rise Up Singing

[Vinnie]

Here is my mix of "Rise Up Singing", I hope you like it.

I've got so much to learn to become a better mixer and welcome any replies. Cheers!

Vinnie

[Mike Senior]

An interesting vision here -- much more live-sounding, with a greater emphasis on the effects. No problem with that in principle (although I do personally tend to prefer drier sounds for music like this), but in practice I think I might roll back the reverb times a little to avoid dating the sound. The drums and hi-hat in particular seem to be triggering too obvious a 'tshhhhh....' tail, which doesn't tend to be as fashionable these days. A bit of high-cut in the reverb return path would probably help in that respect too, of course -- the brighter your reverbs, the more likely they are to be heard in their own right, roughly speaking.

This multitrack is a bit of killer for mono-compatibility, because the drum overheads and piano both have issues to be tackled there, and folding down to mono does impact quite a lot on both these parts at the moment -- the body goes from the piano, and the 'air' reduces on the hi-hat and cymbals. It's a thorny one, I'll freely admit, and there must inevitably be a compromise, but experience suggests to me that there's probably a better compromise to be had than this.

As far as balance is concerned, I reckon you could probably bring the vocal up, given what a great performance it is, and maybe pull back its reverb a touch (perhaps under automation control, however, because it works quite well as it is in the choruses). The snare/clap combination is the other main area that niggles, because it does seem to leap out unduly from time to time. Whether this is something you could handle with compression/limiting or whether you need to do some more automation is a moot point, although I reckon you could probably get away with a bit more compression if you wanted, given the more 'produced' sound you've gone for -- and that might also mean you could use more of the natural room and less effects to get the degree of ambience you require overall.

[Godawg1023]

Vinnie,
If I had to pick one thing to critique about this it would be the lead vocal level would need to be slightly louder throughout. Just a tiny bit though.
I really like the verb treatment and it fits with the "retro" feel of the tune and the vibe of the playing. There certainly is a movement of more retro sounding stuff like this, Jack White, the Dap Kings, and the Alabama Shakes come to mind. So it seems a valid mixing avenue for this sort of tune.
In addition the backing vocals seem to be needing a little more verb to be in the same "room" as the lead vocal. They seem to be in another, drier space on this mix.
Great balance though, and another good mix. Thanks for sharing it.

[Vinnie]

An interesting vision here -- much more live-sounding, with a greater emphasis on the effects. No problem with that in principle (although I do personally tend to prefer drier sounds for music like this), but in practice I think I might roll back the reverb times a little to avoid dating the sound. The drums and hi-hat in particular seem to be triggering too obvious a 'tshhhhh....' tail, which doesn't tend to be as fashionable these days. A bit of high-cut in the reverb return path would probably help in that respect too, of course -- the brighter your reverbs, the more likely they are to be heard in their own right, roughly speaking.

This multitrack is a bit of killer for mono-compatibility, because the drum overheads and piano both have issues to be tackled there, and folding down to mono does impact quite a lot on both these parts at the moment -- the body goes from the piano, and the 'air' reduces on the hi-hat and cymbals. It's a thorny one, I'll freely admit, and there must inevitably be a compromise, but experience suggests to me that there's probably a better compromise to be had than this.

As far as balance is concerned, I reckon you could probably bring the vocal up, given what a great performance it is, and maybe pull back its reverb a touch (perhaps under automation control, however, because it works quite well as it is in the choruses). The snare/clap combination is the other main area that niggles, because it does seem to leap out unduly from time to time. Whether this is something you could handle with compression/limiting or whether you need to do some more automation is a moot point, although I reckon you could probably get away with a bit more compression if you wanted, given the more 'produced' sound you've gone for -- and that might also mean you could use more of the natural room and less effects to get the degree of ambience you require overall.

Hi Mike,
First of all thank you so much the for the tips and suggestions and for taking the time in your busy scheduled to give this one a listen. I did investigate and you were right all the subtleties you mentioned above, needed to be addressed, it sure made a big difference, now I am more happier with the re-mix. What this taught me is, I need to take more time to critically listen to those subtle details, cause when all combined together they can foil a mix. Great lesson here, thanks again. I have re-submitted my re-mix.

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Vinnie,
If I had to pick one thing to critique about this it would be the lead vocal level would need to be slightly louder throughout. Just a tiny bit though.
I really like the verb treatment and it fits with the "retro" feel of the tune and the vibe of the playing. There certainly is a movement of more retro sounding stuff like this, Jack White, the Dap Kings, and the Alabama Shakes come to mind. So it seems a valid mixing avenue for this sort of tune.
In addition the backing vocals seem to be needing a little more verb to be in the same "room" as the lead vocal. They seem to be in another, drier space on this mix.
Great balance though, and another good mix. Thanks for sharing it.

Hi Godawg,

Thank you for the suggestion and kind words. I have submitted a re-mix and have implemented your suggestion for a up'd lead Vocal. I also gave your suggested retro bands a listen, you were right they do have more reverb. Next time I mix a tune like this I may use one as a reference track. The problem i need to keep the reigns on is taming my reverb amount, most of my influences were from the 70's and they used lots of reverb back then. Drier seems to be the way of the times, but doesn't have to be depending on the material and the genre. I am still learning on how to use reverb effectively and creating the right illusion. Thanks again for the feedback and your reply, also welcomed.

Vinnie

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Re-mix of Rise Up Singing. Thanks to those who provided the positive feedback to make it better I really find this website to be a very useful tool for learning. Each step along the way, I am becoming more confident with my mixes.

Vinnie

[uzilevi]

hi vinnie you jast backed up to much on the reverb but the vocal is the same like before with reverb so the vocal came in and all the rast came out. and i have a problem with the eq of the snr, to much mids ,its makeing the track darker than it is. keep on loking for the balance and if you like my mix look for what you like and try to do it in your mix.

[Vinnie]

Hi uzlevi,

Tks for giving mine a listen, I value your opinion and liked you version, that's what original prompt me for the challenge.

You are right, vocals are drier than the original I submitted and the ambience on the backup tracks also. Still learning and experimenting on how much is too much. I think somewhere in between is where I feel most comfortable for my taste As far far as the snare goes, I'm okay with that. Tks for your feedback.

Vinnie