Will Knox - 'Cog In The Machine'

[The_Metallurgist]

okey dokey! special version for you with less reverb on the violin. So everybody will be happy

hey Juan, que pasa?

it's coming along nicely.

Will Knox plays the acoustic guitar here, but you've detached him from his instrument? the gtr is mixed dry which forms the impression that it's really close to me - uncomfortably close i might add. and the vocal is mixed with ambiance, which has put him back a bit in the mix. that's not a problem by definition, so long as the guitar is following him?

i'd also bring the gtr center, rather than off to the left...which would then bring it in line with Will's vocal. it will then be necessary to make the ambiance of the guitar fit the vocal (or the vocal fit the guitar), otherwise the perspective and expectation that's Will is playing here, might get lost on the listener? you need to be really careful in getting Will's vocal level matched with the guitar here, so we are convinced and without any doubt, that it's him playing the instrument? i'd monitor at a low volume, really low, and check the balance between them. low-level monitoring is pretty good for checking balance in this respect, but i say this while looking over my shoulder in the direction of the Equal Loudness Contour chart

if you choose this plan, consider the EQ on the vocal and the acoustic carefully. spectral distribution is also used by our brains to confirm location and depth. soloing the vocal and the guitar, while temporarily muting the others in the gang, should help you focus on this aspect. then EQ the others to suit the needs of perspective [and expectation].

BE CAREFUL....messing with acoustic guitars for too long, because of their high frequencies, can throw our senses off balance pretty darn quickly (less than a minute...sometimes a few seconds can do it!). i recommend you have something to reference against so you can maintain your perspective.

if i was mixing this, i wouldn't want to draw my listeners away from Will's performance, because it's all about his delivery....and the rest of the instrumentation is there to support it. if you mix with this in mind, you'll be dominating.

i often learn more by spending a lot of time on one mix, than doing many different mixes. coming back again to an old mix, after a couple of weeks or months, can often give a new, fresh angle on things. i also think it's great that you are doing revisions here, and trying out different ideas. cool.

well done
'asta
Dave

PS: nearly forgot....make sure the ambiance of the drums is tailored to fit the other instruments