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Who I Am First try at mixing
#1
I Would love some feedback for this song. This is my first song on Sonar X2. I had a lot of fun doing the song.

Thank You

Danny

I have updated the song. Thank you for the feedback. You were right about the vocals.

Danny


.mp3    Who I Am.mp3 --  (Download: 5.7 MB)


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#2
Hi!

The vocals are too loud, so is the backing vocals.

It sounds a bit "dry" and I'm missing some low end on the kick.

Just my thoughts, otherwise good balance between the instruments.

Keep it up!

Cheers
/M
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#3
(04-12-2012, 07:58 AM)Jamolir Wrote: Hi!

The vocals are too loud, so is the backing vocals.

It sounds a bit "dry" and I'm missing some low end on the kick.

Just my thoughts, otherwise good balance between the instruments.

Keep it up!

Cheers
/M

I have updated the song. Thank you very much for the feedback.


Danny
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#4
Sounds better! Smile

Do you have limiter on the song? It sounds like it's ducking on some places.

Also, try to cut some low end out on the bass. That will free up some space for the kick and it will sound clearer in the subby domain.

Just my 2 cents.. Smile

Cheers
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#5
Your mix appears to be pretty much flat-topped dynamically, despite being 4dB off 0dBFS. Not sure what the thinking is there, but I wouldn't personally put any dynamics processor that heavy-duty over my master buss while mixing. As a result of this there's some rather unnatural gain-pumping going on -- 0:53-0:58 is particularly lumpy for example. Fundamentally it feels to me that you're trying to get the buss processing to handle some of the balancing for you, and while it doesn't work too badly on this occasion, it's not something I'd really recommend. You'll get something with more life in it if you get the balance more consistent before it hits the buss processing.

That aside, I do like a lot of the sounds you've got going here, and the lead vocal has a nice grainy quality that really suits the song, I think. The blend and spaciousness are both great too. Are the drums maybe a bit too understated? I reckon you could get away with more in that department, myself.

That 75Hz bass resonance is really taking off, so I imagine you'd not seen my notes about this multitrack beforehand. The line's very uneven as a result, and I wonder whether your bass EQ might actually have exacerbated it. Whatever, I'd suggest revisiting that if you can.

Thanks for posting, though, because this is a rewarding listen on the whole!
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#6
(20-02-2013, 10:14 PM)Mike Senior Wrote: Your mix appears to be pretty much flat-topped dynamically, despite being 4dB off 0dBFS. Not sure what the thinking is there, but I wouldn't personally put any dynamics processor that heavy-duty over my master buss while mixing. As a result of this there's some rather unnatural gain-pumping going on -- 0:53-0:58 is particularly lumpy for example. Fundamentally it feels to me that you're trying to get the buss processing to handle some of the balancing for you, and while it doesn't work too badly on this occasion, it's not something I'd really recommend. You'll get something with more life in it if you get the balance more consistent before it hits the buss processing.

That aside, I do like a lot of the sounds you've got going here, and the lead vocal has a nice grainy quality that really suits the song, I think. The blend and spaciousness are both great too. Are the drums maybe a bit too understated? I reckon you could get away with more in that department, myself.

That 75Hz bass resonance is really taking off, so I imagine you'd not seen my notes about this multitrack beforehand. The line's very uneven as a result, and I wonder whether your bass EQ might actually have exacerbated it. Whatever, I'd suggest revisiting that if you can.

Thanks for posting, though, because this is a rewarding listen on the whole!
Thank You Mike for listening to my first mix. I am 62 years old and feel that I have missed alot with this type of mixing. I am trying to learn a lot more so that maybe I can help some young musicmakers to get a little further with their music.
Thank you for your honest answer to what I have done. I am going to revisit the song to see if I can find the mistakes I made and correct them. I think I tried to put too much of everything into it. I have to learn that less is more so to speak.
Again thank You

Danny

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#7
(04-12-2012, 03:46 AM)cowboydan Wrote: I Would love some feedback for this song. This is my first song on Sonar X2. I had a lot of fun doing the song.

Thank You

Danny

I have updated the song. Thank you for the feedback. You were right about the vocals.

Danny

This sounds like a very nice mix that some bully came along and stepped on.

Odd description, I know. This is what I mean:

Everything sounds kind of "squashed" somehow. From listening closely, I think this is due to two problems:

1. Overuse of compression. Sounds like compression was used both in the original mix and in the final mastering. First thing I'd try to remedy this is take the compression out of the mastering stage; it'll probably sound better right there. You might also pull back on compression on the individual tracks to let the mix breathe a bit.
2. Lack of reverb. Most of the mixes I've seen here OVERuse reverb; here it's UNDERused. Everything sounds unnaturally flat. I suggest you try creating a nice smooth reverb that sounds like a performance on a stage in your master buss and channel the whole kit and kaboodle through it, make it sound like everyone's up on a stage.

Also, I'd bring the backing vocals up a dB or two (another common problem with mixes of this song).

Interestingly, while the sound was pretty smooth in the early going, I started to hear a fair amount of distortion in the high frequencies once the chorus arrived; could be due to the excess compression or too much processing on the bass, I'm not sure, but I suspect the compression is the culprit there.

Could be better, but not too bad for a first song done on unfamiliar software or equipment. Smile
John A. Ardelli
Pedaling Prince Pictures
http://www.youtube.com/user/PedalingPrince
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#8
(20-02-2013, 11:27 PM)cowboydan Wrote:
(20-02-2013, 10:14 PM)Mike Senior Wrote: Your mix appears to be pretty much flat-topped dynamically, despite being 4dB off 0dBFS. Not sure what the thinking is there, but I wouldn't personally put any dynamics processor that heavy-duty over my master buss while mixing. As a result of this there's some rather unnatural gain-pumping going on -- 0:53-0:58 is particularly lumpy for example. Fundamentally it feels to me that you're trying to get the buss processing to handle some of the balancing for you, and while it doesn't work too badly on this occasion, it's not something I'd really recommend. You'll get something with more life in it if you get the balance more consistent before it hits the buss processing.

That aside, I do like a lot of the sounds you've got going here, and the lead vocal has a nice grainy quality that really suits the song, I think. The blend and spaciousness are both great too. Are the drums maybe a bit too understated? I reckon you could get away with more in that department, myself.

That 75Hz bass resonance is really taking off, so I imagine you'd not seen my notes about this multitrack beforehand. The line's very uneven as a result, and I wonder whether your bass EQ might actually have exacerbated it. Whatever, I'd suggest revisiting that if you can.

Thanks for posting, though, because this is a rewarding listen on the whole!
Thank You Mike for listening to my first mix. I am 62 years old and feel that I have missed alot with this type of mixing. I am trying to learn a lot more so that maybe I can help some young musicmakers to get a little further with their music.
Thank you for your honest answer to what I have done. I am going to revisit the song to see if I can find the mistakes I made and correct them. I think I tried to put too much of everything into it. I have to learn that less is more so to speak.
Again thank You

Danny

"Less is more." You might call that one of the guiding principles of my own work. It's what I call the "principle of least treatment:" the less processing you do, the better and more natural the sound most of the time. Wink
John A. Ardelli
Pedaling Prince Pictures
http://www.youtube.com/user/PedalingPrince
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