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<< Freshly Updated >> - Blues Bastards - Sugar
#1
Since the lyrics are completely unintelligible it shaped the treatment of the voice and the mix greatly. No amount of clarification of the vocals would make the lyric any more discernable so it was used purely in a melodic and rhythmic context. 
With all of the guitars and synths I was led to a wall of sound conclusion. I think I was able to give everything a good place in this while grabbing some emotional content too. The drums, bass and low end are de-emphasized in order to give space for all of the textures from the many voices in this composition.
There is a good amount of automation happening on effects and on some guitars. The acoustics where copied to a new track and doubled in the choruses with a reamping to give support to the rhythmic and melodic content of the song during the choruses.
Comments are always welcome.


Blues Bastards - Sugar - Master 4
This is a re-master of the original mix to bring up to bottom and bring down the top. Mid-side EQ was used extensively to broaden the image and bring out some of the arrangement highlights I chose in the mix.

Blues Bastards - Sugar - Master 5
I really had to rethink the presence of and in the low end. This results in much more kick and bass guitar while not impinging on the rest of the mix.
Made some minor tweaks of several guitar phrases and rebalanced the outro plus a slightly modified and improved fade.

Thanks for your comments.
mITc


.mp3    Blues Bastards - Sugar.mp3 --  (Download: 9.7 MB)


.mp3    Blues Bastards - Sugar - Master 4.mp3 --  (Download: 9.7 MB)


.mp3    Blues Bastards - Sugar - Master 5.mp3 --  (Download: 9.7 MB)


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#2
Hi! it sounds good tonally.
In my opinion some balances are a bit off: the acoustic guitar is a bit loud. I would elevate the drums and vocal to create more definition and dynamic punch.

Cheers!
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#3
(15-07-2020, 07:41 PM)ERJEE Wrote: Hi! it sounds good tonally.
In my opinion some balances are a bit off: the acoustic guitar is a bit loud. I would elevate the drums and vocal to create more definition and dynamic punch.

Cheers!
All very accurate. Thank you for your good ears.
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#4
I listend to the second mix.
It has something for sure. The vibe reminds somehow to the older stuff from David Bowie. I think it's because of how the acoustic guitars are presented, nice!
I'd probably would try a version with the vocals a notch up and maybe also the bass guitar.

Cheers!
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#5
(17-07-2020, 09:31 PM)AndyGallas Wrote: I listend to the second mix.
It has something for sure. The vibe reminds somehow to the older stuff from David Bowie. I think it's because of how the acoustic guitars are presented, nice!
I'd probably would try a version with the vocals a notch up and maybe also the bass guitar.

Cheers!
Perfect advice and I did just that. Please have a listen to Master 5.
Thanks for your good ears.
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#6
General balance is better in master 5 (drums are sitting nicer) but it just sounds anemic to me.  I really like the tonal balance and space of the first mix.  It sounds full and rich and translates to my small speakers wholly.
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#7
(19-07-2020, 12:26 AM)Dangerous Wrote: General balance is better in master 5 (drums are sitting nicer) but it just sounds anemic to me.  I really like the tonal balance and space of the first mix.  It sounds full and rich and translates to my small speakers wholly.
That anemia would be from the giant smile I carved in the mids of the side EQ while the mids in the mid have a boost to support the voice. I like how it smoothed out the timbre overall. Master 5 does have a lower LUFS level by about 2db so don't forget to turn it up.

Good ears, Dave. Thanks.
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#8
Hey mITc,

with this song, a lot of directions are possible so although we chose completly different directions, I dont think that trying to "fix" the differences is wise. Therefore my only critque would be that the punch of the snare is masked by the other instruments, especially the bass I think. Because the kick drum is so punchy, this throws the balance of the drum mix off a bit.
Otherwise, very cool mix!

Cheers,
Lukas Angel
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