20-02-2013, 01:30 PM
Well, first of all, let me deal with a few of the issues you mention in your post. Yes, the snare does feel maybe a little thin, but a bit of additional LF would probably sort that. A narrow little 2dB dip at 3.5kHz may also help. The guitar sounds don't feel too harsh to me -- the only harshness I'm hearing it when the crash cymbals hit. I'd dip a bit of 8kHz out of them, and maybe a bit of 3-4kHz too.
I like the character of the middle-section guitar reverb too, so I wouldn't just turn it down. The secret to keeping its good points is probably to EQ the return to isolate just the more characterful parts of it (the more different it sounds, the more it'll subjectively separate from the dry sound), and add some additional predelay perhaps.
As far as parallel compression's concerned, I don't usually have too much trouble with that myself, even though I do use parallel setups quite a bit. The trick I use is to use a different parallel compressor per instrument, and then buss the dry and wet signals to a communal buss. I can then do any further balancing from there without upsetting the compression amount. The same applies even more if you start using parallel distortions, which is another thing I do quite a bit.
I think I agree that you've got too much bass frequency content in there, even on the second version, so I'd reference a bit more with that in mind, and maybe consider giving the bass a bit of dynamics control. It's also critical with kick and bass, more than any other pairing of instruments, that you sign off the EQ only when you've heard them in the context of each other. It sounds to me as if you've given each of them the same kind of territory, so they do get a little muddled for me, especially below 80Hz. I'd try to make the kick's contribution a bit more efficient and less 'broadband' in this region personally -- it'll also help the tightness of the groove.
Overall, though, I like a lot of what you've done here, and it's obvious to me that you're taking an extremely mature and reasoned approach, and in that respect I think you're completely on the right track. Thanks for posting!
I like the character of the middle-section guitar reverb too, so I wouldn't just turn it down. The secret to keeping its good points is probably to EQ the return to isolate just the more characterful parts of it (the more different it sounds, the more it'll subjectively separate from the dry sound), and add some additional predelay perhaps.
As far as parallel compression's concerned, I don't usually have too much trouble with that myself, even though I do use parallel setups quite a bit. The trick I use is to use a different parallel compressor per instrument, and then buss the dry and wet signals to a communal buss. I can then do any further balancing from there without upsetting the compression amount. The same applies even more if you start using parallel distortions, which is another thing I do quite a bit.
I think I agree that you've got too much bass frequency content in there, even on the second version, so I'd reference a bit more with that in mind, and maybe consider giving the bass a bit of dynamics control. It's also critical with kick and bass, more than any other pairing of instruments, that you sign off the EQ only when you've heard them in the context of each other. It sounds to me as if you've given each of them the same kind of territory, so they do get a little muddled for me, especially below 80Hz. I'd try to make the kick's contribution a bit more efficient and less 'broadband' in this region personally -- it'll also help the tightness of the groove.
Overall, though, I like a lot of what you've done here, and it's obvious to me that you're taking an extremely mature and reasoned approach, and in that respect I think you're completely on the right track. Thanks for posting!