Long Way Home v1

[filipandrei]

Hello guys,

What a beautiful song.
Thanks David and Mike for these multitrack.

Few edits on tambourine and shakers, they were way to off

Any feedback is always welcomed

Edit (v3 R01) 24.02.2024
- New mix from scratch and I hope the drums are not too "Boombastic" this time

Edit (v4 R01) 25.02.2024
- Trying out a new snare sample, and made some adjustment to kick and voice

[Roy]

It feels ok. The two things that jump out at me are:
-The vocal levels. It seems to fluctuate. It's the recording. I suspect that there was some punching and the comping wasn't great. It should still be dynamic between sections but it seems to deviate a lot within sections. It's not too bad but noticeable. Based on the instrumentation the vocal risks being lost as just another part of the arrangement. There's a lot going on in that range.

-The song needs more "weight". Generally the music feels to be in the mids/upper mids area (I think, I'm terrible at such stuff). So that something to look at. Maybe too much high-pass? Especially I think there should be more bass guitar. Or at least more low end body of the bass. This song needs that 'gravity' to anchor the song. It needs that help, lyrically. Right now the song feels "light" and thematically it needs more "body". The words need that support.

I think that's it. Make the vocal be in the forefront and give the song more low end support. Other than that it feels good.

Hope that helps.

[filipandrei]

RoyM,

Yeap, that's what I felt when listening to the original version after I've been sinking my ears in this mix. It needs more weight. Perhaps gaining in the lower part will make the mix "whole" and the mids will sound ok
Also, I think the snare is more up-front, and thought that before listening to the original, and masks, somehow, the vocal line.

I've tried lowering it few times before this mixdown, but I guess my ears were too pinned on the drums, and every move I've made on a track sent me back again to the drum bus
Haven't got any automation on the vocals or any other instrumentation, I'm still trying to get around having the sound of a good mixed tracks.

Thanks a lot
Your feedback is very appreciated

[Roy]

I get it, regarding the snare. Some of the vocal level changes might make it harder to gauge the snare level. It might be fine against some lines, loud against others. You have to have some faith in one or the other. If you've given the snare a lot of attention then maybe it's level is ok and any masking with the vocal maybe an issue with the vocal. Just a thought.

[filipandrei]

New mix from scratch added
Let me know what you think

[Rustyruss]

yes mix 3 better, when we have a slow song with a sparse arrangement we need all Fq covered meaning we need to cut a lot less especially the mids were there is warmth. we can also get away with using more verb and delay to fill out the space especially in the verses; the rim stick in verse is a good place to use more verb to fill gaps. Having fewer elements gives us space to make our main selected elements shine. try not to cut so much out off your guitars , maybe think about things sounding natural. I would like to hear his vocal clearer in the sense there are some nice tones in his voice that need bringing out with eq. country music is about the story so I need to hear that story. I would like the kick to have less click so it sounds a little less hard . Nice sounding balance on the kit ,set it back a bit in the verse.
Al in all great progress in rv 3. it has really taken shape and a good reference to build upon.

All thoughts sent with encouragement .
Keep on Keeping on.

[filipandrei]

Thanks Rustyruss,

Yeah, for sure, it's an encouragement!!!
Everyone's ear and perception are different, every feedback is valuable for me ( especially fresh ears and detachment ...)

You're right about the verse part. I should back off the drums a bit ( still not too happy about the sonic either )

Cheers

[filipandrei]

New small changes in v4
Cheers

[Rustyruss]

nice tone on vocal, I like the weight of the kick is there a nice 100k boost? just a thought; bass guitar; cut the subs and boost the top and rebalance maybe lower. And reverb room that the drums sit in, if you can just cut on the lower mids just to make drums sound more clear . nice that you keep reshaping things.
I am listening on buds as not at the studio.
Nice one ..
Keep on keeping on.

[filipandrei]

Hey Rustyruss,

Thanks a lot for listening ( again ) and for your feedback

I think so, 100k on the kick, I usually add that sometimes.
Well spotted on the snare reverb ( I felt that too, so I'll adjust that in the future )

Cheers