Thread Rating:
  • 0 Vote(s) - 0 Average
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
You, Me and the Radio and mITc's Take
#1
If you take a taste of Queen, and jigger of The Who and a dash of E-Street and John Mellencamp you've got a great mix of qualities to shuffle into a good take on this fun song.

This assembled rather fluidly and organically for me starting with the room mics for the drums which set the stage for excitement in rhythm. Stomping on the room brought up a decent sound but it felt a bit close so I delayed the room a touch more and it gave me the depth I thought appropriate for the tempo and character of the song. The drum buss was then sent through parallel processing using The Glue.

Next, the bass had my typical treatment with an SSL E channel a Neutrino for detail and some saturation for grit and definition.

Once the guitars were properly grouped (4 stereo groups) and then bussed, an effective panning scheme put them in a good location in the stereo field. With some guitar specific reverb and API 550 B stereo EQ on each guitar group the guitar buss was put through an Aphex Exciter to bring detail and clarity to them. The solo guitar had it's own specific reverb to allow it to show a difference from the other guitars.

The keyboards were a bit of a challenge. Neither the Piano nor the Organ had any scintillating character of their own so some significant stock Presonus EQ and a specific reverb were added to carry on the Baba O'Reilly vibe. The piano was also sent through an SSL E channel with some added gain for saturation into the compressor and some sparkly bits added in the EQ section. I think these worked out OK. The dynamics they each had was able to shine through from that point which worked out well for my mixing purposes.

The vocals were fun and simple. The BGVs were panned and doubled using the Acorn Doubler with the doubler being sent to a room reverb for add space to the chorale.  I think that worked. The lead vocal (251 track) was also sent to the Acorn for some tight ambience with it's output also sent to a 480XL patch for reverb. Toward the end of the mix I added a second vocal track (a copy of the lead track) which went through a stock Presonus doubler with some minor modulation and only added in the choruses via automation. I liked how that boosted the chorus energy.

There you have it. My short dissertation on my mix for this fun song. I hope you like it.

Human Radio - You, Me and the Radio - Mix 2
After some very good input I have punched up the kick and snare, tamed the bass a touch and goosed both the Piano and Organ. I added a Leslie to the Organ as well. Thanks for the excellent input.

As always, comments and questions are appreciated.

Live long and Mix Well,
mITc


.mp3    Human Radio - You, Me and the Radio.mp3 --  (Download: 11.27 MB)


.mp3    Human Radio - You, Me and the Radio - Mix 2.mp3 --  (Download: 11.13 MB)


PreSonus Studio One DAW
[email protected]
Reply
#2
I've never seen the Human Radio album cover but that is exactly how I'd expect it to look.

It works. I think the kick and snare could be bigger. Maybe the kicks at the top trick the ear to thinking it's there more than it is but when the toms are playing the kick and snare seem in the back. Is the fundamental of the kick too low? I can't tell on the earbuds. Maybe I'm missing some energy that's happening in the mid 50 hz range that's adding something I'm not getting.The snare might be ok, level wise but maybe too tight, but I'm a rebel in this aspect. I just want a little more air and space for it. The cymbals are fine.
I don’t love the vocal effects but that’s a personal thing. Those exact vocal effects ran away with my girlfriend and I’m still bitter.
There might be some midrange conflict with the vocals and guitars. Not that I should say anything. The vocals had too much harshness in my mix. I still can't let it go. I have issues.
I love the BgVx sound. Nice and big.
The piano and organ might be fighting. Maybe if the organ had more stereo spin that would open up the center space for the piano.
The bass is good. Maybe some 200hz-300hz could come back? I'm just being greedy.
On a second listen, there are synths. They're ok.
I think that's it. It sounds good. I might just be nit picking.
Reply
#3
(16-03-2021, 11:25 PM)RoyM Wrote: I've never seen the Human Radio album cover but that is exactly how I'd expect it to look.

It works. I think the kick and snare could be bigger. Maybe the kicks at the top trick the ear to thinking it's there more than it is but when the toms are playing the kick and snare seem in the back. Is the fundamental of the kick too low? I can't tell on the earbuds. Maybe I'm missing some energy that's happening in the mid 50 hz range that's adding something I'm not getting.The snare might be ok, level wise but maybe too tight, but I'm a rebel in this aspect. I just want a little more air and space for it. The cymbals are fine.
I don’t love the vocal effects but that’s a personal thing. Those exact vocal effects ran away with my girlfriend and I’m still bitter.
There might be some midrange conflict with the vocals and guitars. Not that I should say anything. The vocals had too much harshness in my mix. I still can't let it go. I have issues.
I love the BgVx sound. Nice and big.
The piano and organ might be fighting. Maybe if the organ had more stereo spin that would open up the center space for the piano.
The bass is good. Maybe some 200hz-300hz could come back? I'm just being greedy.
On a second listen, there are synths. They're ok.
I think that's it. It sounds good. I might just be nit picking.
I am often flattered when I evoke an emotional response to my mixes. However, I did not think stirring up bad memories of your past relationships due to my use of echo on a vocal would do so.  Sorry about that. Confused
PreSonus Studio One DAW
[email protected]
Reply
#4
(17-03-2021, 12:16 AM)Mixinthecloud Wrote: [quote pid='107451' dateline='1615933521']
I am often flattered when I evoke an emotional response to my mixes. However, I did not think stirring up bad memories of your past relationships due to my use of echo on a vocal would do so.  Sorry about that. Confused

It's fine. She was an Ensoniq DP/4 and way to hard to program. I'm better off.
Reply
#5
(17-03-2021, 12:23 AM)RoyM Wrote:
(17-03-2021, 12:16 AM)Mixinthecloud Wrote: [quote pid='107451' dateline='1615933521']
I am often flattered when I evoke an emotional response to my mixes. However, I did not think stirring up bad memories of your past relationships due to my use of echo on a vocal would do so.  Sorry about that. Confused

It's fine. She was an Ensoniq DP/4 and way to hard to program. I'm better off.

[/quote]
Those Ensonique girls. You're better off without her.
PreSonus Studio One DAW
[email protected]
Reply
#6
For me here straight away when the vox come in they seem to dry and loud ,and a bit too much low mids but seems to sort itself out after the first verse The kick sounds really far back in the intro.Bass and snare sound great .Bit of fine tuning with the lead guitar volume to as they is a bit loud i think .What bothers me most is the lead vox seems a bit too loud overall and could sit in the mix a bit better ideally .l . .A little bit of fine tuning here and there and i think you will have a real good mix here .
Reply
#7
(17-03-2021, 02:09 AM)takka360 Wrote: For me here straight away when the vox come in they seem to dry and loud ,and a bit too much low mids but seems to sort itself out after the first verse  The kick sounds really far back in the intro.Bass and snare sound great .Bit of fine tuning with the lead guitar volume to as they is a bit loud i think .What bothers me most is the lead vox seems a bit too loud overall and could sit in the mix a bit better ideally  .l . .A little bit of fine tuning here and there and i think you will have a real good mix here .
Take a listen to the new Mix 2. I think you will find your suggestions, along with others have been incorporated into the latest mix. Thanks for the input. Smile
PreSonus Studio One DAW
[email protected]
Reply
#8
That's it .loads better .Sounds fantastic
Reply
#9
(17-03-2021, 02:22 AM)takka360 Wrote: That's it .loads better .Sounds fantastic
Thank you!
PreSonus Studio One DAW
[email protected]
Reply
#10
Nice mix overall. The vocal sounds a bit chorus-y for my taste, bur I think this was the effect you were going for. Plenty of punch on the drums. Like the bass sound. 
My mix: https://discussion.cambridge-mt.com/showthread.php?tid=38542
Reply