The intro guitar doesn't feel attached to the vinyl crackle - the guitar sounds 'better' than the crackles suggest it should! When the music kick in, it sounds significantly smaller than the intro, which is counter-intuitive. I think the vocal distortion is great, but the rest of the musical instrumentation is treated very softly so they don't sound like they belong together. If you treated the other instruments more aggressively it would work better I think. The backing vocals are really triggering your master-bus compression - so rethink your mastering chain a little. Otherwise - sounds great!
Interesting and creative, albeit a bit unrealized. Good sounds over-all, but not quite convinced of the need for distortion on and off the lead vox. The lack of mastering on this also hurts a bit (levels only). Good stereo spread too.
(02-11-2016, 02:02 PM)RoyMatthews Wrote: Not bad. There are some issues that jump out at me.
It feels pretty compressed overall and lacking dynamics. Except the toms are a bit loud and pop out but don't seem to trigger any more compression so I'm assuming it's over worked tape emulator or saturator of some sort. It's not bad tonally. It's warm and all that but the song feels trapped a bit. The BGVs are pretty loud and feel disconnected from the rest of the mix.
I think the vocal distortion is cool but there could be less of it. Maybe change it up in different parts of the song. It kinda takes away from the vocal and makes it fatiguing.
The Bass sits well. The snare sounds good. All the instruments sound good actually. They just feel muffled.
The vocal effect is cool on that one line but might be too different and jarring a change. It's cool to highlight the fact that that line is someone else's words than the singer's. You might just need to figure out a way to work it in more smoothly. Maybe a little delay on the lead that trails from the one voice to the other.
Hope that all makes sense.
Roy,
Thanks for your comments. Very helpful and well explained. I listened while reading them and recognized each point. Hopefully v1.1 fixes it. Thanks again. ~jp65535
(03-11-2016, 12:23 PM)joelonsdale Wrote: The intro guitar doesn't feel attached to the vinyl crackle - the guitar sounds 'better' than the crackles suggest it should! When the music kick in, it sounds significantly smaller than the intro, which is counter-intuitive. I think the vocal distortion is great, but the rest of the musical instrumentation is treated very softly so they don't sound like they belong together. If you treated the other instruments more aggressively it would work better I think. The backing vocals are really triggering your master-bus compression - so rethink your mastering chain a little. Otherwise - sounds great!
Joe, thanks for the comments. I think I fixed that intro so it makes more sense. Of course, since I posted the original I've learned that this effect is about as obvious and overdone as a rim-shot after a bad joke. Well, at least I can say I tried it.
As suggested I re-evaluated the mix-bus compression. It's gone. Created a sub-group for the bass & drums and setup the multi-band compressor there. I think it makes a difference. Thanks again for your help. I've uploaded mix v1.1 with the changes. I think it's an improvement. ~jp65535
(03-11-2016, 02:10 PM)Mixinthecloud Wrote: Interesting and creative, albeit a bit unrealized. Good sounds over-all, but not quite convinced of the need for distortion on and off the lead vox. The lack of mastering on this also hurts a bit (levels only). Good stereo spread too.
Hi Mixed. Thank you for taking a listen and offering feedback. Your comments, along with the others were very helpful. "Unrealized" was a good way to put it. I reworked the vocal distortion to smooth it out without giving up on it. Also added a clipper/limiter to the mix-bus to bring up the levels a bit. I think it gives it more drive. Then again, it may just be a pigment of my imagination.
I've uploaded mix v1.1 which I believe addresses the comments made by you and the others. Thanks again. ~jp65535
The new mix is ELECTRIC!
Pretty cool. I like the level and placement of the vocals, but not a fan of the distortion yet. Don't take this the wrong way, but I am hearing you effecting the vocals more to show you can, and not as musically as you could. Did I say that right? I might also take a look at the low content of the bass guitar. I feel it masking good content beneath it. Just my opinions on an otherwise electric mix.
Mix v1.1
The entire mix feels a little bit mid rangy (maybe ‘boomy’) to me. Makes for discomfort. Maybe clean up the bass guitar? I want to hear it open up a little.
* Lead Vocal - The vocal distortion seems a bit strong for my taste. I suggest that you keep it and reduce it.
* Rhodes - I wasn’t able to hear it in the mid sections.
* Lead Guitar (Elec Guitar 1) - I have trouble hearing it.
* Background Vocals - They sound really nice, but just a little low in the mix. Or make some room for them.
(18-11-2016, 09:30 PM)Mixinthecloud Wrote: The new mix is ELECTRIC!
Pretty cool. I like the level and placement of the vocals, but not a fan of the distortion yet. Don't take this the wrong way, but I am hearing you effecting the vocals more to show you can, and not as musically as you could. Did I say that right? I might also take a look at the low content of the bass guitar. I feel it masking good content beneath it. Just my opinions on an otherwise electric mix.
Hey Mix. Thanks for the additional pointers.
All I can say is, if you ain't a fan of the vocal distortion than you didn't grow up obsessed with the song "Born On The Bayou" by Creedence Clearwater Revival. I think in the back of my mind that's the album from which I drew my inspiration for this song.
I really do think this song just begs for some grittiness in the lead vocal. I may not have applied it correctly, but that's what I imagined when I first listened to the tracks.
Believe me, if I was adding stuff just because I can, everything would be buried in flanging and leslie speaker sims. :-)
And, yeah, that bass just ain't right. I keep adjusting, and it keeps fighting back. Sigh...
Mix v1.1
The entire mix feels a little bit mid rangy (maybe ‘boomy’) to me. Makes for discomfort. Maybe clean up the bass guitar? I want to hear it open up a little.
* Lead Vocal - The vocal distortion seems a bit strong for my taste. I suggest that you keep it and reduce it.
* Rhodes - I wasn’t able to hear it in the mid sections.
* Lead Guitar (Elec Guitar 1) - I have trouble hearing it.
* Background Vocals - They sound really nice, but just a little low in the mix. Or make some room for them.
Overall good mix.
-Michael
Hi Michael. Thanks for the thoughts and critiques. See my response to Mix above on my thoughts about the vocal distortion. From where I sit it's just got to be there. I'll try dialing it back and see if it carries the same feel.
Yep, the Rhodes is 'barely there'. Basically, I set the volume to the point it's out of the way, but if you mute it you notice something went away. Not a fan of the Rhodes in most any form.
Now that Lead Guitar comment has me worried. I need to go back and see if I lost track of it.
The background vocals... "make some room for them"... Hmmm, that sounds right.
Thanks again.
~John~