Thread Rating:
  • 0 Vote(s) - 0 Average
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
Nerve 9 - Living Lie (M&F)
#1
Hello: I did this a few weeks ago and forgot to post it here while in a bulk mix binge. I had to restart the mix on this one 3X as finding the right strategy for me was a task. I only have the WAV as I’m not able to make a mp3 of it from my iPad. Thanks.

16-bit WAV: https://digitaldruglord.s3.amazonaws.com...AL_DDL.wav
M1 Pro MBP: is my Hattori Hanzo.
Reply
#2
I like the kind of hip-hop drum tone. It caught me off guard at first but grew on me. And it just shows another direction this song can go in.
Overall, l I like it. I do think the drums are a bit in front and feel like the focus and the lead vocals feel a bit neglected in the background. Everything sounds big and there's a lot of interesting ear candy. I just wish the lead vocals were and big as everything else. It sounds really good. When everything is happening like the sections with the background vocals or at the outro everything balances out and really works well. It has great energy. The vocal/lyrics need more love.
Reply
#3
(24-05-2020, 06:39 PM)RoyM Wrote: I like the kind of hip-hop drum tone. It caught me off guard at first but grew on me. And it just shows another direction this song can go in.
Overall, l I like it. I do think the drums are a bit in front and feel like the focus and the lead vocals feel a bit neglected in the background. Everything sounds big and there's a lot of interesting ear candy. I just wish the lead vocals were and big as everything else. It sounds really good. When everything is happening like the sections with the background vocals or at the outro everything balances out and really works well. It has great energy. The vocal/lyrics need more love.
Thanks for the listen RoyM: The note in her vocal in the Chorus "Give up this Living Lie" is very sharp and in parts of the verse, the dynamics of her vocal performance also pokes strong notes through.. so the leveling of the vocal here was based on finding a balance of embedding it enough where each word is audible, while hosting the dynamic range of the vocal performance to fit and not poke out hard when she hits the higher registers. Because it's a 2020 Rock Ballad.. I wanted to keep some hard hitting core to the song which are the drums and toms.. which carries the feel into later in the song when the guitars rain in heavy... I couldn't get a result when I first tried being shy on these parts, the later parts of the song would wipe out the energy of the beginning parts, it's a 5+min song.. when I tried the more aggressive strategy up front, this gave me a road to finish the song to me what feels more to sounding like a single complete song rather than a song with different energies that could confuse the overall listening experience. 

As I maintain, it's a tough tune, when it comes up in my review playlist, in line with the other songs in there, I'm happy where it landed.
M1 Pro MBP: is my Hattori Hanzo.
Reply
#4
Hi Digitaldruglord - thanks for mixing our track! I just had a listen through - really nice job - it's really one of my favourite mixes so far. I have a few comments as I listened through - most are minor in nature and likely subjective too.

- intro is really nice both in terms of atmosphere and the balance between the verse guitar and vocal. Really loving the vocal effects - I'll ask you a cheeky question about the approach you took between reverb and delay - whatever it is, I like the recipe a lot
- drums sounds really great. It would be nice to have a little more space or room added to them, but a subjective comment, as it may be part of your mix vision. A little more blend of some kind might tuck them in a tad more.
- chorus impact was great. In my own mix, I did have a multiband compressor to reduce the 3-5kHz region, namely in the chorus, as otherwise it was hard to balance. The vocal really opens up effects wise in the chorus and it made me pay attention.
- middle lead guitar part. The lead part felt a little darker eq-wise to me which pushed it back a little in the soundscape. Perhaps a little more volume on it and/or high-end would remedy. Subjective comment again.
- Loved the middle section - prominent whisper part and the time you took to automate the panning of the slide guitar (ghostly part through effects). Really effective ear candy.
- Background vocal treatment was great - enjoyed the slight flange on it.
- I was noticing in the chorus' that the lead vocal could use a touch more high end - or a touch less de-ess or something of that nature. Minor point.
- Outro was great for me - lots of energy to conclude.

Thanks again for mixing our song - thought your mix was great - an enjoyable listen, so thanks for sharing. I hope some of these observations are helpful to you.

Best regards,

Thomas
Reply
#5
(24-05-2020, 08:48 PM)ThomasStevenson Wrote: Hi Digitaldruglord - thanks for mixing our track!  I just had a listen through - really nice job - it's really one of my favourite mixes so far.  I have a few comments as I listened through - most are minor in nature and likely subjective too.

- intro is really nice both in terms of atmosphere and the balance between the verse guitar and vocal.  Really loving the vocal effects - I'll ask you a cheeky question about the approach you took between reverb and delay - whatever it is, I like the recipe a lot
- drums sounds really great.  It would be nice to have a little more space or room added to them, but a subjective comment, as it may be part of your mix vision.  A little more blend of some kind might tuck them in a tad more.
- chorus impact was great.  In my own mix, I did have a multiband compressor to reduce the 3-5kHz region, namely in the chorus, as otherwise it was hard to balance.  The vocal really opens up effects wise in the chorus and it made me pay attention.
- middle lead guitar part.  The lead part felt a little darker eq-wise to me which pushed it back a little in the soundscape.  Perhaps a little more volume on it and/or high-end would remedy.  Subjective comment again.
- Loved the middle section - prominent whisper part and the time you took to automate the panning of the slide guitar (ghostly part through effects).  Really effective ear candy.
- Background vocal treatment was great - enjoyed the slight flange on it.
- I was noticing in the chorus' that the lead vocal could use a touch more high end - or a touch less de-ess or something of that nature.  Minor point.
- Outro was great for me - lots of energy to conclude.

Thanks again for mixing our song - thought your mix was great - an enjoyable listen, so thanks for sharing.  I hope some of these observations are helpful to you.

Best regards,

Thomas
Hi Thomas, thanks for your listen and review, and even more, offering your beautiful songs to the CMT community. The client/artist/producer ear is the ultimate boss and the things you mention are all great moves which can be easily applied in keeping with the foundation of this mix direction.

The reverb and delay on the vocal were adjusted 100% based on feel.. Lexicon PCM Hall and SoundToys EchoBoy.. the delay is tied to the tempo of the song to keep it neat.. I did use a gate after the reverb to keep the reverb tail tapered and to give the vocal a more dynamic feel throughout the song.
M1 Pro MBP: is my Hattori Hanzo.
Reply
#6
Thanks for the note - appreciated ! I learn a lot from the posts of others as well - I can ask why aspects are more challenging to mix and learn from there. The reference mix is mine, and it took me a long time to achieve what I wanted to hear.

Lexicon PCM - Mike Senior used one from that bundle on our other track here - I think it was the price of it that dissuaded me at the time, but I am also sure it is a large part your ear in the selection of it.

Anyhow, thanks again

Thomas
Reply