Myriad Rocker

8 hours ago, David Baay said:

That works, too, but not every track is going to have a dedicated bus where you can do that. And if the track has any post-fader sends, you're generally going to want the  level of the track to be right at the output. Offset mode is the quick, easy and recommended way. of doing this.

Incidentally, you can tell you're in offset mode because all the widgets will have a '+' in them. But it's easy to overlook in the heat of battle which is why users sometimes get in trouble by inadvertently enabling Offset mode (more so when 'O' was the default shortcut).

Yeah, I've used that.  I didn't know it was called offset, but I've moved the entire automation line up and down before.  But that function is more the bane of my existence than anything.  It does it when I'm just trying to move a single node around.  So you have to be really precise where you put your mouse cursor.  If I'm making small changes and cruising along and it grabs the entire line instead of just that node, it's a real buzz kill.  And frustrating.  Maybe I'm using it wrong.  But that is my experience.

I may be doing it the "wrong" way, but I have always just used track automation and then controlled my overall volume on the buss.

I went with Reaper after Sonar fizzled out.  Once BandLab acquired it and made it free, I was happy to come back to what is now "Cakewalk" because I was still more familiar with it.  I'm still kind of puzzled why more people don't use it.  But I guess at this point it's a bit late in the game.  Those that were PT users and moved off of that went off into Logic.  Others are still hanging onto PT because it's the "standard".  And then the Cubase crowd, which I really don't get.

But...to each their own!  Welcome back.

Digging this one.  I'm gonna be coming back to listen again.  This really reminds me of listening to a good live band just jamming out and having fun.  The bass seems solid in there on the headphones I'm listening on.

I was staring directly at that option yesterday wondering if that was it.  That being said, I have that checked on every export I do.  It was the clipper set at 32x that was causing the chirps/artifacts, though, for sure.  When I lowered it back down to 4x, it was fine.  StandardClip is a fairly well regarded clipper, though.  So it's not junk.  If I had Fast Bounce enabled and StandardClip set to 32x (although perhaps unnecessary), it should have taken all the time it needed to render without the artifacts.

I'll stick with the 4x oversampling since that works for now.  But I may do some testing with higher oversampling and some of the other settings with Fast Bounce enabled.

I'll admit that my CPU is somewhat of a dinosaur by technology standards.  11 years old now. 

I liked the groove and over-all feel of the song, but it did get too repetitive for me.  I also wanted to hear more vocal clarity and those horns needed the spotlight IMO.  I agree that they were very "midi" sounding, but I think that can be addressed.  With some work and "movement" in the piece, I think this one could be good.

I won't comment on the theme.  ?

Very country ballad-ish to me, but I think that was more the vocals.  Nice vocals, as others have said.  The instrumentation...I would have like to hear more elements that carried the melody along.  Perhaps some clearer definition of the song structure.  I felt unsure when this chorus was gonna come.  Is this the hook?  Maybe?  I dunno.  That's a bit how I felt listening.  It's a good one, I enjoyed listening!

I liked the track.  It's very dense.  I do agree with what others have said on the 'verb, particularly on the vocal.  I personally wanted more clarity there.  I think you could also automate some stuff in/out on some of the main sections to give the mix a bit more width.  But that's just an idea.  It sounds pretty good.  I liked it.

Oh, and it's loud as all get out.  Not sure if you wanted it that loud.  I haven't put it up against anything, but just going off relative volume, it's up there.

5 hours ago, bitflipper said:

Rendering is never real-time unless you expressly tell it to be by selecting the real-time bounce option. So normally, the CPU should have all the time in the world. I can't think of an explanation for your dropouts off the top of my head, but I can say that unless the clipper is extraordinarily poorly designed, 32x oversampling is overkill and unnecessary. Under most circumstances, 2x should be adequate. If it isn't, and you're hearing aliasing at 2x, try a different plugin.

Thanks for the info.  Where is the option to toggle on and off the real time bounce?  I've searched and I may just be missing it.

Searched around but didn't really find anything.  But I could be searching for the wrong terms.

I like to use a clipper on some songs (StandardClip to be specific).  When I'm exporting/bouncing, I'm getting some artifacts/pops when I increase the oversampling to 32x, which I believe is generally recommended when using a clipper.  Is there a way to force the host to take as much time as it needs to properly render the audio or is the bounce always real-time where CPU could get slammed by the oversampling?

21 hours ago, KurtS said:

Great song and vocals! On my monitors the midrange is pretty irritating making me want to turn down the volume (opposite of what to do with good song) Try listening through as many different speakers/headphones as you can it might help the mixing. Keep at it, it's good stuff.

I agree.  Over correction on my part to get more clarity I think.  I actually posted an updated mix before I read your comment, so check it out and see what you think.  I automate some EQ on the chorus sections and it has a high shelf in there.  But it's less than 1db at around 2k and only on the sides.

19 hours ago, Old Joad said:

I like it, it's nice the hear a song that's loose once in a while?

Yikes!  I'm not real sure what to think of that comment!  It's rock n roll, I'll say that.  It's not locked to a grid or time aligned or anything like that.

17 hours ago, Bapu said:

The bass is lacking on my Sennheiser HD600s

11 hours ago, Bajan Blue said:

Good track - I personally would want the vocals a little further up in the mix  - also I am missing the Bass!!

Cool

Nigel

 

Two comments about the bass.  I did my first car mix eval last night and came back with quite a bit of notes.  I would probably agree here.  There's a punch missing and I found the mix quite fatiguing to listen to.  I have a lot of notes.  Unfortunately I left that listening session feeling pretty defeated and angry.

For some reason this track reminded me a bit of Paul Thorn.  I dig Paul Thorn a lot.  For me, it sounds a bit woofy.  The low end almost consumes everything.  It's a nice song, I like it.

11 minutes ago, jack c. said:

alright i'm banging me head as i write this.great.what vst plugin used for guitar sounds and amp?jack c.

Thanks, Jack!  Unfortunately those aren't plugins for the guitars.  I wish I would have kept some notes but the cab was a Mesa Standard Recto cab w/V30's with an Audix i5 and an SM7b just off center of the dust cap right up on the grill.  Those went into a Great River MP2NV then into a Fireface 800.  The amps are one of or a blend of a Mesa Dual Rec, Peavey JSX, Soldano Hot Rod, JCM800, or a custom built tube amp from a local builder.  We had some Fenders kicking around as well, but I doubt those were used on this song.

I know that doesn't help much, unfortunately.  But it's all real amps minus the bass.  That was direct into a Great River MP2NV (I think) and has a Sansamp plugin on it to give it some dirt in parallel.

The guitars have also had their dose of EQ and what not.

Alright, another mix for you guys to tell me everything I'm doing wrong.  LOL  I won't post any more than two mixes close to the top at a time, I think.  I don't want to be "that guy".

I hope you enjoy this one.  It's not for everyone and it's quite a bit different style wise than the other one I have up.  I'm open to any comments you have about how I could improve the mix.  Appreciate you all!

UPDATED MIX:

Just posted the latest mix with some of the things discussed having been addressed.  Plus a few other things.

Slate support said it was because I had a license of RC Tube specifically and also VCC from the All Access both activated on my iLok.  So the direction was to deactivate RC Tube on my iLok and that should fix it.

I also found that if I created a preset and specifically used that, it seemed to stick.  But that's a terrible work around IMO.  But a workaround nonetheless.

Hopefully this helps someone with this issue, should it come up again.

I have already reached out to the Slate support and am waiting on someone to get back to me.  In the meantime, I figured I would reach out here.

I'm currently having an issue where I have VCC inserted into VMR and select Brit 4K G (or any of them other than RC Tube).  I have this done on multiple tracks.  After saving and going and changing a few other things and save again, I go back to the other tracks that I changed and they have reverted back to RC Tube.  This eventually happens to ALL of the tracks.  Everything switches to RC Tube.  I tested this on multiple songs and, while seemingly random at times, it is consistent.

I may be able to screen cap it and show it.  But I'm curious if someone else can replicate this.  Since it's happening in multiple songs, I don't feel it's a temp issue that can be resolved by simply re-instantiating the plugin.  I've tried that anyway and it didn't fix it.

I feel like what I'm saying above is kind of confusing so I'll see if I can do a screen capture as well.

Many thanks all! I wouldn't have guessed "Recycle Plugin Windows" meant that.

Forgive me if this answer is obvious. I've searched the online manual and the forum. Is there a setting I'm missing on how I can have multiple plugin windows open at once?  If I open one and then open another on the same track, the first one goes away. I feel like I should know this but I've just dealt with it and moved on. Workflow thing at this point. 

Other than what bitflipper suggested, I'd recommend that you download Reaper and check if the buzzing is there as well. That is, if you're adamant that it's a Cakewalk issue. Process of elimination.

I also believe it's something in your signal chain or buzz from a power source. Potentially something on the same circuit you're on or your laptop psu, as already suggested. 

2 hours ago, Dave Oliffe said:

Since we're thinking of who the vocalist sounds like, I'll add: Eddie Vedder ? or the guy from Nickleback.

I like the song and how the mix allows the vocals to shine. Nice delay on them. They could perhaps be backed off in volume/more verb during chorus for dramatic effect. I think the strings at the start could also come down even 3 or 4 db and still be present.

The scream at 2.22 needs tuning as it's completely out and takes away from the strength of the song. Also, the very very last vocals are a little out too. 

Apart from that, I really like it - nice power in the distorted guitars, they really slam home. The drums are almost there - the cymbals perhaps have a frequency that needs cutting in the mid/high region.

Nice work!

 

 

Thanks, Dave.  I'll take a look at the stuff in your comments.  Appreciate the listen.

Thanks so much, Paul.

I may be on the hunt for some pads to push on with my fingers at some point soon, but I prefer to just do this the old fashioned way (is it really that old?)  I program all my drums by hand.  Once you get used to it, it's not hard.  I get things down the way I want them and then I begin to move things around.  I think about how many limbs I have as well and what is possible/impossible to do.  And sometimes I violate that rule for the sake of doing what I feel is right for that moment of the song.  When I'm moving things around, I'm thinking about the song and if I want to push or pull. 

Once I have that stuff done, I then begin to apply a tempo map of sorts.  If there's an interesting part of the verse, I may push the tempo a bit.  I may lay back.  I may speed up the chorus even though the song is at the same relative tempo.  

Once you get the hang of things, it becomes a lot easier.  And with more and more practice, you can program drums to sound about as realistic as programmed drums can sound.  Especially these days.

My two cents.

3 hours ago, John Hazel said:

intro - Strings are overpowering the guitar, maybe carve out some space and set them further back in the mix ( less top - more verb )..let the guitar shine as it's the main part there

Talking of the guitar the timing is very loose and sloppy , I would go through and tighten it up - maybe use the metronome to figure out where it's going out, tighten up the piano and guitar together

There's some intonation issues in the vocals which need some help with tuning , they also sound like they are sat on top of the music instead of "in" the track . This could be because in the mix/arrangement you've got other instruments in the space where the vocal should sit which makes them inaudible and people naturally turn up the vocals.  The trick is to make space so the vocals can sit lower but still be heard by reducing parts that mask them.  

Drums are a bit boxy sounding when they come in around 1:20 and it sounds like there is too much of the close mic signal and not enough of the rooms & overheads

Your voice sounds a bit like Chris Cornell or Chad Krueger and I think the vocals improve once you get going but there's lots of things you can do to improve the mix and production starting with fundamental timing / tuning / arrangement before you even get to mixing as fixing these will improve it 100% 

Thanks for the tips.  I'll do what I can.

The strings are supposed to be the feature up until the second verse.  There's very little guitar at all until that time minus bits here and there low in the mix that jump in and out at times.  

As for the timing of the guitars, I listened back on isolated tracks.  Where are you talking about exactly?  Maybe point me to an example and I can have the ah ha moment.

I went back and tuned up the vox a bit with Melodyne.  I'm not getting the same "on top of the mix" that you are, but I'll listen back more critically tomorrow after resting the ears.  Does it always have that "on top of" feeling or is there a time where it sits back in better in your opinion?

I took out some 300 or so on the drums.  I started to add just a touch of high shelf boost on the side eq, but didn't care for it.  I also adjusted some toms and the room and overs a tad.  I need to listen again after a rest and see if I'm ok with it.  I know that I don't like a ton of room on drums.  That kind of sound is really not my thing.

Not my voice, but I'll take the compliment and pass it along.  You mention arrangement, though.  Not really following there.  The arrangement is good to me.  Also not really picking up any bad timing issues.  At least right now.