19-08-2022, 11:19 PM
Well this was an odd one. So many different directions for this one to go. So much thickness and brittleness to handle.
I chose not to do any re-amping on this and let the electrics play a lesser role than the acoustic which really set the rhythmic character for this song. The da-da-da-da-dot of this song and the dynamic of that figure was emphasized (or at least attempted to be emphasized). I felt the vocals were a stark contrast to the ensemble and I struggled a bit with the vocal placement. I listened to a lot of the mixes here and found many of the vocal approaches more suitable than mine, but I do like the contrast.
I did something I almost never do. I found most of the instrument tracks to very bright. As a result, I rolled off top end on almost all guitars. I never do that. The solo guitar track was incredibly brittle, and it took a great deal of EQ to tame it so I could place it the sound field without ripping my ears off the side of my face. And what's the deal with the mandolin piano? An odd sonic character, that.
I would be interested in what you think of my solutions. I like to try and discover the song in the tracks. How do you think it turned out?
As always, I appreciated your responses.
Happy mixing,
mITc
Version 2:
I switched out my SSL bus compressor for a Shadow Hills and that really changed how I could push the drums and the mix into the bus.
This is the resulting mix and remaster of that change. I also shortened the reverb time on the Hall. I also thickened the vocals and treated them more as a textural and rhythmic/groove entity.
Version 2a:
Dropped my bus master a few db as it was getting a bit crunchy on the bus. Dropped overall delay and reverb masters a scoche. touched up the vocal master a few db and shaved a db or so from the acoustic master. Added some gain rides to the ensemble toward the end to build energy to the out. Previous mixes for this were very hot (>-11 LUFS), so dropping the master bus level allowed for better dynamics while mastering and at a more nominal listening level.
I chose not to do any re-amping on this and let the electrics play a lesser role than the acoustic which really set the rhythmic character for this song. The da-da-da-da-dot of this song and the dynamic of that figure was emphasized (or at least attempted to be emphasized). I felt the vocals were a stark contrast to the ensemble and I struggled a bit with the vocal placement. I listened to a lot of the mixes here and found many of the vocal approaches more suitable than mine, but I do like the contrast.
I did something I almost never do. I found most of the instrument tracks to very bright. As a result, I rolled off top end on almost all guitars. I never do that. The solo guitar track was incredibly brittle, and it took a great deal of EQ to tame it so I could place it the sound field without ripping my ears off the side of my face. And what's the deal with the mandolin piano? An odd sonic character, that.
I would be interested in what you think of my solutions. I like to try and discover the song in the tracks. How do you think it turned out?
As always, I appreciated your responses.
Happy mixing,
mITc
Version 2:
I switched out my SSL bus compressor for a Shadow Hills and that really changed how I could push the drums and the mix into the bus.
This is the resulting mix and remaster of that change. I also shortened the reverb time on the Hall. I also thickened the vocals and treated them more as a textural and rhythmic/groove entity.
Version 2a:
Dropped my bus master a few db as it was getting a bit crunchy on the bus. Dropped overall delay and reverb masters a scoche. touched up the vocal master a few db and shaved a db or so from the acoustic master. Added some gain rides to the ensemble toward the end to build energy to the out. Previous mixes for this were very hot (>-11 LUFS), so dropping the master bus level allowed for better dynamics while mastering and at a more nominal listening level.