Glen McPhee - A Sailor Once More

[mikej]

Hi,
Gave it a go.
Cheers!

Update: Added revision 1.0.

[SonicTramp]

Sounds good. A couple things I notice: I think the guitar (strumming) is a bit loud (making your mix bright and somewhat brittle) when there is no vocal. I hear it ducks when the vocal comes in (easiest to hear is in the beginning when the vocal comes in. Listen to the guitar when the vocal comes in around 0:10, if that is the case, then the side chain (or automation) is a bit much (it shouldn't be that noticeable, right?). but I like the level after it ducked much better balance-wise. I like the vocal and the piano, very nice. The mix is nice but instruments in it are not clean and clear and well defined. I enjoy a mix a lot better if I can hear not just the instruments, but also the chords, notes, melodies contained within clearly as well, the holy grail to all of us. My listening skill is still somewhat sucky, so it's harder for me to hear them and make sensible assessment when the guitar gets in the way like that. After a couple passes, I also think the mix can be a bit wider too. Cheers!

[401kBC]

I think this mix sounds fantastic! everything is eq'd pretty much perfect. I love the lush midrange of the whole thing. The acoustic guitars are much nicer and controlled than in my mix! The electric guitar also fits really well bouncing around everything. so nice. The only thing that feels short to me is the vocals. Everything sounds so good it kinda fights with the high end energy of the vocals too much. There isn't much depth to them. A nice 40ms delay on a very short bright plate would give it the space it needs, also because the vocals are so flat, they feel too dark with the music to me. They sit perfect but that reverb would make up for that dark feeling. Also, when the chorus comes in to change that reverb slightly longer and further so it gives that distance to stand out from the music. Just my opinions. Great mix!

[letifer85]

That a good listen.
I feel like the vocal is a bit mid(boxy) heavy in comparison to the mix vibe. I like the widnes of the mix, but it also feels like its a bit "to much", idk how to word it, thats just a feeling.
Great listen overall.
Cheers!

[crownoise]

Really good mix Mike not much to add, mostly impressed by the mastering, well done.

[mikej]

Many thanks for all the comments, much appreciated.

I've added a small revision, mix 1.0.

-I like the acoustic guitars and feel they are really the backbone of this track. The rhythm and dynamics of them really drives the song along, which is why I maybe had them perhaps a little too upfront in the mix. I also used them to build the long term dynamic of the track too, hence the automation. I don't feel the automation at the start being noticeable is a problem as such, bit of impact for the intro, then thin things out a bit for the verse so I can build things up as the song progresses. I have dropped them back a bit in the revision.

-I agree the vocals need more work. I've brightened up the vocals a touch, and made them less wide. It was a bit of a mistake to have wide vocals along with a wide track for this. Hopefully that helps a little with the 'mix could to be wider' and 'the mix is too wide' comments.

-Yeah the electric guitar is really nice. It reminded me a little of the way Paul Frankin expertly weaves his steel guitar throughout a song, so I tried to give it that kind of a feel.

-Thanks for the comment regarding the mastering. I don't master as such, but I have been spending a lot more time working at the mix bus processing for a while now, so maybe it's starting to pay off a a little bit.

Cheers!