Myriad Rocker

On 6/5/2019 at 9:27 AM, rasure said:

I have a spare Melodyne Essential unused serial in my PreSonus account, if you want it, no cost.

DANG!  Can I have it?  😀

On 6/5/2019 at 11:18 AM, Light Grenade said:

Slate Verbsuite are pretty good too. 

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?

5 hours ago, Grem said:

Myriad, I finally got to listen to this on my studio monitors (KRK V6) and I can hear lots more detail. In fact I can hear the bass in my monitors much better. And he is playing note for note!! He's really good and tight! But what I am hearing in the bass player on my monitors is not being transferred to those other systems I was listening on. And therein lies the problem. Transfering what we hear in our studio to the outside world. It's an art, keep working at it. Just wanted to give you a heads up on it.

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.

8 minutes ago, Grem said:

I would call that a wrap! Let others hear it and see what they think. I listened to it over the work speakers (JVC) and my Bose headphones, both loud and at low volumes with rests in between. This one has the dynamic sound that the first one did, with more punch and low end, but I can also hear all the little details. I think I can even make out the bass player. (Is he a former guitar player?)

The little part I was talking about was I think you took the very first part of the first word of the second verse and gave it a little Ba, Ba, Ba, Ba in time with the beat. Sounds good. I like that part.

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.

4 minutes ago, Grem said:

For me I love mixing. I mean I could do this everyday all day long, into the night, never go to bed..... but that ain't real!! I gotta make a living, SO I have to work. : (

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.

8 hours ago, Chuck E Baby said:

I listened to all 3 mixes. I would feed that 3rd mix to the birds, its toast. im hearing heavy digital overload and drop out @ 1:31.

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.

7 hours ago, Grem said:

And to further add to my comments to my last post above, The first mix does lack some low end punch. However, it is the most dynamic sounding of the three. IWO, there is less compression and it plays more pleasing (if that description helps at all!! LOL)

I am fixing to listen again on my headphones.

Myriad, to be totally honest here, if I was your manager or someone in the band with some pull/influence, I'd be telling ya'll to seek some professional mix/mastering services for this. I believe that song is that good. I wanted to send this to you in a PM but you don't have that option available.

 

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.

7 hours ago, Grem said:

Mix 1: It does have low end punch when I listened on my Bose headphones. If fact, I would say that's the best 'overall mix' of the three. If this one was mastered better it may be the one.

Mix 2: Not a bad mix, but I can hear that there's more compression on this mix  (or in the mastering stage?). But if you could get the compression backed off a but, this one might be a winner too. I liked the lower level stuff I can hear in this mix that wasn't as obvious as the last mix. In this mix, the part that Chuck was saying was digital clipping I am clearly hearing it is intended fx. In fact, if you gonna put it in, make it stand out more. And there is a little part right after that (sounds like a record scratch?) that's in time with the beats and that sounds good, but it's not as obvious in the first mix.

Mix 3: This really wasn't as bad a mix as I thought. But I did drop the volume down a couple of notches in the beginning, towards the middle too. That tells me the EQ ain't right. Which is a mastering thing.

I would say that your first mix may be the best shot to give to someone to master.  Also what I noticed yesterday and today (on two different listening eviroments) I can't make out what the bass player is doing. And I listened for it too. He must be following the guitars lick for lick. But I still should be able to hear the bass.

 

Can I ask if you remixed these three trks? Or did you just give different masters?

 

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.

1 hour ago, Grem said:

Playing that style of music, I don't think 'giving up' is in your vocabulary! : ) LOL

What you saying, bro?  🤔 😊

8 hours ago, emeraldsoul said:

Half a day? Damn. Were you on Mercury? This would have taken me a year. Loved your tune, the mix, and the awesome guitar tones. Great vocals too!

 

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?  😁

1 hour ago, Grem said:

Alright Myriad, The first thing I was listening for here was the bass player. I did here it in this song, but not like I should. The bass is getting buried in the mix. I can hear it in spots, but the bass gets buried a lot. Even in the spot where the bass is the highlight, it's not as up-front as it should be. Can I ask if your a guitar player> ( I am)

What a f'n scream man!! At 3:19 that was really good! Lot of feelings there.

Mix aside, another great song. Well done, thought out, and executed. Another winner.

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.

On 6/7/2019 at 3:23 AM, Bob Oister said:

 

On 6/7/2019 at 6:49 AM, Wookiee said:

 

On 6/7/2019 at 10:52 AM, Lynn said:

 

8 hours ago, Grem said:

 

2 hours ago, emeraldsoul said:

 

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.  👍

15 hours ago, amiller said:

First, awesome song.  You nailed the genre.  If I were mixing for this style of music I’d bring those kicking guitars up a bit and give them just a tad more cut.  

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?

4 hours ago, Grem said:

Killer song man!! Was that you? Your band? If not pass, on to them Rock on MoFo's!!

If your just mixing, you have done an excellent job with guitars and vocals. Clear and driving crunch. I don't think the compression is too much. Just right I'd say.

But the low end as you and others have said is lacking. I would like to hear the next version to see if you can keep the driving crunch of the guitars and up the low end.

 

Good luck. Keep us up to date!! I am on my third listen!

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.

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.