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If You Say - Mix by Olli H
#1
My version of this nice song.

I tried to keep the sound smooth, warm and intimate. I wanted the mix to have troubadour feeling.

It was very difficult to me, and I have a feeling, that it's not yet ready. Something is bothering me but I can't pinpoint what it is, so that I could try to fix it. Maybe I'll mix some other song first, and then I'll listen this again.


.mp3    if-you-say-olli-h.mp3 --  (Download: 7.94 MB)


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#2
I had a listen and dont know what to suggest ... Balance is great, sound is a little dark but as you may know I like that :-) Could be its a matter of space and debth ? The clarinet for instance could be further behind with some early reflections. This type of music is often best when you aim for an illusion of a great stereo recordin, without audible compression, eq or anythin. For instance some deep bass double bass notes wanted attention - maybe back off if youre boostin and compressin.
In my opinion that is.
Sound like a good idea to sleep on it for a day or 2.
Old ears, old gear, little boy inside love music and sounds and my wife, not necessarily in that order
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#3
THanks for listening.

I probably do a new version with different kind of bass. First I tried to do a natural version, then I went for a weird sounding bass by imitating Stings "Moon Over Bourbon Street" sound. This version is something inbetween, and maybe that's a problem. It should be 100% something and not a mixture.

Actually, I already added quite much early reflections to clarinet. Maybe I'll try little more, but on the other hand, I don't want to "hear" the plugin too much.

Ad yes, I will keep this song as dark. Smile And dark will be also the new "70's rock'n'roll song" that I'm gonna try. Dark but not muffled, hopefully
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#4
Ah so it could be leftovers from the Sting treatment that makes the bass sound that way. Very good song and mix that Sting tune by the way.
I would like to hear your version with 100% bourbon bass :-) Maybe thats what you should use as the base to build the mix around !
Old ears, old gear, little boy inside love music and sounds and my wife, not necessarily in that order
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#5
For some reason I don't get the email notices of replys always. So I've missed your comment. Just for fun I'll try to do that Bourbon version. Smile
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#6
I think that the song was made to sound dark. So I think you got a perfect overall sound for it!
mixing since April 2013
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#7
Sounds very good, Olli. The bass is still a little boomy on some notes, and some others disappear in the mix, but that's all I can criticize.

... I should resume my rough mix and get that bass under control there too. It's not impossible, just needs a little more work.

Regards,
Steffen

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#8
Thanks for the comments.
I agree with you Stoman, the bass is quite difficult in this song. Maybe some note by note automation should be done. Sometimes I do it, sometimes it's against all my principles. It depends on the day.
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#9
What needs to be done needs to be done. Wink

Perhaps you could also try a combination of parallel compression and transient shaping. It sometimes helps to stabilize a bass that is both very dynamic and lacking definition. You may also have to add a limiter to the bass bus.

My first approach when I did my 1-hour rough mix of this song was similar to yours, with heavy drums and bass. But I think I'll start from scratch and try a softer treatment instead.

Regards,
Steffen
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#10
Here's my quick bourbon bass version. I'm not sure what I think about it, but it was fun to try.

I added more phaser and tremolo to bass. (I don't know how the effect was done in Sting's song.) I turned down little bit 2 K area of guitar, because it was masking the effect. In Sting's song the bass is almost alone (with hi-hat), so the effect is very prominent although it's not that strong.

@stoman: I didn't do any boominess fixing with this test. I might try some tricks you mentioned later if I come back to this song.

I like this James May. I already downloaded his other song to mix.


.mp3    if-you-say-bourbon-olli-h.mp3 --  (Download: 7.94 MB)


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