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"Who I Am" Chris93 Mix
#1
Here's my mix of this. It's great to be able to get such good quality tracks to mix, makes it worth doing. Also, this way I know that any/all problems are my fault. Smile

I particularly like the lead vocal and bass tracks, which I notice are both on an AK47...

I did this about a month ago and only discovered this forum last night. Mixed on Shure SE215 in ears and also sounds good on a small Denon HiFi. Most of the plugins on this are from Antress.

It can get a bit strident on the Shures when all the strings come in (particularly at 2:11) but it's fine on the hifi, which I supppose you'd expect. Not really sure how it actually is on proper monitoring. Smile

Guitars are a bit lost but I managed not to notice until I had the mix at about this point and then I decided to leave it as any attempts to fix it made the mix worse and I'm happy enough as it is.

Thanks,

Chris


.mp3    Who I Am Chris93.mp3 --  (Download: 7.08 MB)


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#2
Hi Chris,
I like balances between instruments and the prevalence of the lead vocal in the best traditions of country music, though, lead vocal feels little bit disconnected from the rest of the arrangement. I guess that lead vocal would benefit from more spaciousness and subtle 1,5 - 2 sec reverb would help here. I think that level and panning of background vocal not very good, for example, at 0:46 it starts too loud at the left side and works more like a distraction than a supplement, try to compress background vocals a little bit more and it will be easier to find appropriate level.
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#3
Hi Chris,

I like the drums! They have the straightforwardness and (rather low) prominence I'd wish them to have here (I found the 'brushiness' of Ian's drum mix very appealing, but it probably does not suit the style too well). Generally, I find SergeiK's comment very plausible, but would be a bit cautious with compression and reverb on the vocals. For my taste, uzilevi's mix marks a line for vocal treatment of this song before which one should stop.

The overall frequency balance sounds a bit odd to me. After A/B/C-comparing against uzilevi's mix and a rough mix I created myself, I slightly raised 200 Hz, slightly cut 1.2 kHz and added a high shelf above 5 kHz, and everything already sounded a bit more logical to me. While playing with the EQ, I found that I would probably lower the lead vocal as well (and the background vocal even further).

Overall I think the mix fits the song, and I like it :-) Let me read your post again... ah, yes, guitars... you are right, but the funny thing is: I don't miss them. And when I now solo them in the multitrack, I still don't. Not much anyway. I think they already serve their purpose.

Marc
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#4
Thanks for the comments. I intentionally have the vocals very prominent like that because the song is very "sing-along" to me and I think it helps encourage that. The intention was partly to make the song easy to recognise quickly (ie: on a background radio) by having the vocal bass and snare the first things you hear when you bring the volume up from silent. I think more reverb on the vocal would make it feel less "cosy". The bigger sounding direction also works but I don't think it's the direction I'm trying to go in. I have an instance of Epicverb inserted on it set to "ambience" rather than "reverb". The backing vocal is fairly loud to make the mix feel more "inclusive" and "friendly" rather than having a "rock star" lead vocal more important than everything else.

Again, I absolutely value the advice and don't want to seem dismissive of it at all, I just think it's maybe towards a different sort of mix than what I was trying for.

Listening back now I do agree about it being a bit distracting when it comes in at 0:46, but I hadn't noticed until now. That's the benefit of having someone listen to it who hasn't heard it before I suppose. I have a theory that this is to do with a shift in the perceived centre (see below) screwing with the listeners perception of where everything is. Tongue To me, it doesn't have the same effect after that, possibly because the listener has already established the positioning and isn't thrown off the second time.

The backing vocal is only actually 17% left but it probably seems further because the lead vocal is 8% right. Smile I did this to get more panning separation between them while still leaving them fairly centered. Out of interest, did anyone notice that I'd done that with the lead? I suspect that you'd assume it to be in the centre and just hear it there automatically. Tongue This Oh, right, OK, so the centre isn't in the centre... could be the cause of the distraction.

Having just taken a look at the project again theres really not much on the drums at all. 10EQ (free API 560 thing) used on kick and reaEQ on toms and room/OH. Seventh Sign (free 1176) on the drum group. Nothing at all on the snare apart from having the top mic about 5db louder than the bottom. Lead vocal is Antress Lost Angel (free LA2A) and backing vocal is Seventh Sign.

The Master Bus has a Lost Angel (1.5-2db reduction at most) "Modern Analoguer" (tape effect thing) a very dry 316ms plate reverb and the Kjaerhus limiter doing 2db reduction at most.

I really like the Antress stuff. Smile

Thanks again for your comments, it really is helpful to get input on this. Any advice on what I should do to improve the "family sitting in a barn" feel but without making it feel too crowded? (OK, it can be a bigish barn Big Grin) The master chain was mostly meant for this sort of effect.

Chris
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#5
(24-06-2012, 01:02 PM)Chris93 Wrote: Here's my mix of this. It's great to be able to get such good quality tracks to mix, makes it worth doing. Also, this way I know that any/all problems are my fault. Smile

I particularly like the lead vocal and bass tracks, which I notice are both on an AK47...

I did this about a month ago and only discovered this forum last night. Mixed on Shure SE215 in ears and also sounds good on a small Denon HiFi. Most of the plugins on this are from Antress.

It can get a bit strident on the Shures when all the strings come in (particularly at 2:11) but it's fine on the hifi, which I supppose you'd expect. Not really sure how it actually is on proper monitoring. Smile

Guitars are a bit lost but I managed not to notice until I had the mix at about this point and then I decided to leave it as any attempts to fix it made the mix worse and I'm happy enough as it is.

Thanks,

Chris

Interesting. Normally I'd call the vocals a little too high in the mix but with this particular mix they work where they are. Also, congratulations on showcasing that beautiful backing vocal; so many people who've done this song tend to bury it. Smile

Found the snare a little snappy here; might try pulling back on the top mic 3-5 dB to bring out more of the smoother sound of the bottom mic.

Things sound a little boxy and constrained overall. I suspect you could clear up a lot of that by panning your stereo arrangement just a tad wider and pulling back a dB or two on the midrange at 1-2 kHz on the banjo, mandolin and dobro tracks.

Otherwise, a solid, enjoyable mix! And, once again, nice use of the backing vocal! Love it! Cool
John A. Ardelli
Pedaling Prince Pictures
http://www.youtube.com/user/PedalingPrince
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#6
(25-06-2012, 02:25 AM)Chris93 Wrote: The backing vocal is fairly loud to make the mix feel more "inclusive" and "friendly" rather than having a "rock star" lead vocal more important than everything else.

Exactly what I've been saying about it. As I said in my critique of your mix most people mixing this song here tend to bury that backing vocal. Because of the nature of the song I feel it should have a more "live" vibe to it, as if the singers are standing right there singing to you, and in that context the backing should be as loud as the lead. Wink

(25-06-2012, 02:25 AM)Chris93 Wrote: The backing vocal is only actually 17% left but it probably seems further because the lead vocal is 8% right. Smile I did this to get more panning separation between them while still leaving them fairly centered.

I usually do this whenever the backing vocalist and lead vocalist are different people to create that natural sound, as if the two of them were standing on a stage in front of you.

However, if I'm not mistaken the lead singer of Uncle Dad did his OWN backing here; in those cases I tend to center them both, unless the backing vocal is double tracked in which case I'll pan the two backing tracks hard left and hard right.

Of course, when there's a GROUP of backing vocalists, or multiple tracks of backing vocals by the same artist, I'll tend to spread them evenly across the stereo image.

(25-06-2012, 02:25 AM)Chris93 Wrote: Nothing at all on the snare apart from having the top mic about 5db louder than the bottom.

Interesting considering that, before I read this, I suggested in my critique that you lower the top mic by about 5 dB... Wink

(25-06-2012, 02:25 AM)Chris93 Wrote: Any advice on what I should do to improve the "family sitting in a barn" feel but without making it feel too crowded?

Offhand, I'd say just keep your reverb effects subtle. In short, if you can hear them clearly when listening to your full mix you've probably got them up a wee bit too high. Wink
John A. Ardelli
Pedaling Prince Pictures
http://www.youtube.com/user/PedalingPrince
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