Myriad Rocker

DANG! Can I have it? 😀

Another vote for the Slate verbs. Very nice, I like!

sibilance, sibilance...

I don't think the bass is too hot at all. I think it's almost a feature instrument in this piece. I really like what the bass line starts doing at 0:58. Really adds movement to the arrangement. I like how it then pulls back just a tad later on. I might pull the vocals back a few db, but I'm being picky there. The ending "heart", in my opinion, needs to be pulled back. I think it would be nice to end the song a little more "delicately" if that makes sense. An almost whisper-like vocal on that last word might even be cool there. I enjoyed the song. Nice writing/arrangement.

Nice mix and writing. I like how everything sits. Agree with your self-assessment, but it's sure close. The song has a vintagey but not in the EQ. EQ is bright and clear. I would say thicken up the low-mids a bit, as I agree with SPAK just a bit.

Nice work! I really like the delayed guitar that comes in and how the song evolves instrumentally as it goes. Really like the change at 2:10. For me, the vocals are a bit to forward at the beginning of the song, but not by much. That's me being picky, though. I think it all sounds really good. Nice and clear. Listening on headphones here at work, it has a good stereo image.

Good work. Is the sax sampled or do you play? Is this destined for any vocals?

Maybe I need to do some more EQ sculpting to get the bass to pop out more. Not necessarily louder, but just carve out a spot for it to be heard.

Finally!! LOL Yes, the bass player is a former guitar player. That obvious? 😁 Oh yeah, I know what part you're talking about now. That reminds me, I completely forgot that I went back (in this most recent one you listened to) and added more emphasis to that with an additional drum part that accents that Ba, Ba, Ba, Ba part. Was hoping to get that to poke out a bit more. I'll update the original post with this as the new master.

Right there with you, man. Now that I'm thinking and thinking on it, I don't know that I posted my most recent master. Hell, I'm starting to get confused. @Grem, check this one out.

Your comment about the third version being toast is concerning a bit. It's the one I put the most work into at the mastering stage. That "heavy digital overload" you're referring to at 1:31 is intentional. It's a stutter in the guitars followed by a volume swell going back into the verse. I cut it up manually on (I think) 1/16 note intervals and then 1/8 intervals followed by the volume swell at the end. I certainly don't want it to sound like it's digital overload, because that's not what I intended. As Grem said, that same effect is on all three. To my recollection, I didn't really do much to it from a mixing standpoint after the 1st version. I think I bumped some low-mids on the guitars, bumped the bass a bit, and then most of the other work was on the mastering side. Oh, and I removed my compressor on the master buss prior to Ozone. In fact, I had two compressors (Slate FG Grey & Slate Stress) on the master buss prior to it hitting Ozone. I removed those after the 1st version. As for your comment about the mix/mastering services, I'm really trying to get good at this myself. We have no aspirations to be "famous" or tour or land a record deal, etc. I'm much much more interested in getting better at at writing and engineering/mixing. I'll check on the PM thing. Didn't know I had to enable that. Mix 1: I'll try to see what I did to get back to there. I should have saved that state of the mix, but I didn't. This one has differences in mixing (guitar EQ and bass EQ/level) from the other two. Mix 2: It would definitely be on the mastering stage. I actually removed compression on the mix like I described above. Not sure what you mean on the record scratch. Maybe that's the volume swell you're hearing? Mix 3: This is the exact same mix as the one just above. Only difference is the mastering. Mix 2 (and Mix 1, for that matter) was a "quick" mastering job. I spent more time on this one. Yesterday I actually went back and lowered the level a bit on the 3rd one but I haven't re-posted it. No change to anything but the level, though, that I recall.

What you saying, bro? 🤔 😊

LOL! Well, to your credit, my tracks were already edited and such a long while back. So the "dirty" work was mostly out of the way. Does that make it better? 😁 You're onto me...I'm a guitar player. 😆 This whole bass and low end thing is really becoming a bad habit for me. I'll go back and work on the bass more. How's the kick? Is it coming through enough? Thanks for the compliments and getting after me on the low end issues. One day I'll learn and get it right.

You all are going to get really tired of me posting stuff to pick your brain. 😀 I'm taking a break from the previous mix I posted today and working on another track. This one came together in half a day, surprisingly. Hopefully this one is balanced well. It sounds pretty decent in my room. From a mastering standpoint, I'm using Ozone. Not too heavy on the EQ, some light multi-band compression that's barely kissing and a few other things. Let me know what you guys think. I value your opinions more than you know. EDIT 7/18: Second mix below is what I think is the final. The first one just below is kind of where I started with it. I didn't level match them, so that's something to be aware of. This one is where I started: Latest mix below.

Posted a new master of the same mix. Might be a touch too loud. In order on original post: Mix that seemed to lack a bit of low end punch. Mastered with Ozone but didn't spend too much time working on it. Mix with work done to low end to get more oompf. Brought kick up and tried a bit of multi-band compression on the mix. Same mix as the one above (second in this list) but just more attention given to the mastering.

Hey guys, posted a new mix in the original post. Let me know if this is better or too much. This whole quoting posts thing isn't my bag. lol! I wanted to let you guys know I posted a new mix with a notification but I didn't want to quote all your text. This is the only way I figured it'd work. My bad if it's annoying.

_

Nice song. It needs vocals, so you might take Jesse up on the offer! I was expecting Huey Lewis to break in at any moment!

I really dig this song. It's laid back and clear. Love the groove when it starts. Guitars have plenty of punch in there. I'd be curious to know how many tracks you have going because everything seems to have good placement and is clear. Are you doing strictly LCR or are you the type to use the entire space? This reminds me of someone or a band....it's almost like a Tom Petty type of vocal. I love Tom Petty. I agree with Grem that the other voices at the end get a bit lost. I think you were going for the crowd vibe on that, but it's a bit hard to hear what they're saying. Could you bring up the lead vocal there a bit just to give it some clarity? I think it would still have the same vibe. Great song, I dig it. Listened several times. 👍

Completely forgot to use the multi-quote on this but meant to in my reply. I was gonna ask you which guitar part or is it just as a whole?

Thanks so much for the compliments. 🙏 Yes, it is my band. I'm gonna work on the mix a bit more today or tomorrow and try to get more punch out of the lows. I'll update the mix if I think I made progress. Fingers crossed!

Thanks for the compliments guys, I really appreciate it. Sounds like my suspicions are confirmed on the low end. I'm gonna take a day or two off from the song and then go back with fresh ears and your advice. I'll check out the multi-band, Lynn. I haven't used those much so it may take some playing around. Thanks again!

Here's another one I'm working on. Let me know your thoughts. Thanks all! EDIT 7/1 - Added the vocals into my latest mix. Did some more automation and such as well. As always, really appreciate the feedback you all give. It's pushing me to learn more and more. This is an older one from some previous feedback to show the comparison to the new mix. And here's the latest mix (called the V3) I've got. The goal here is to get more clarity, punch, and definition. But I want to maintain the good aspects of the one above, of course. Can you guys let me know how I'm doing? There is probably be a volume difference. I didn't level match them.

For some reason, this song really reminds me of Marcy's Playground and Violent Femmes. I think it's the vocal. It sounds like there's a lot going on in the mix, but everything is clear as a bell at the same time. Everything sits pretty well. Not my cup of tea style wise, but I really dig the mix.

This is pretty unconventional and I like that a lot about it. Agree with some of the things others have said with the kick being a bit boomy. It gets lost in the mix a bit at times and smears the low-end. I think the kick and bass are fighting a lot as well. I think the vocals are at the right level, but there are some things that are fighting the vocal for space at a few points (between 0:46 and 0:53, for example). The vocals are just a tad lo-fi sounding, but I think that really fits the song itself. I like the song. It's a fun one.