Kevin Walsh

I never really stopped using Sonar. I was going to keep using it till it wouldn't go no more and then deal with the problem when that happened. I did poke around with other DAWs though.

I have MixBus and Reaper in addition to Cakewalk. In both of those DAW's I keep reaching for stuff that isn't there. Well, I know that the stuff is there, I just kept not finding it. I found MixBus charming and I like it but I don't really use it.  I'm just not smart enough to figure out how to make mixes that sound good there.

To me Reaper's UI is like watching a 1970's cheap action movie. In particular I dislike how automation lanes are laid out. It's nice to see and have at everything at once but all that information on the screen confuses and angers my amygdala. I must have gone through about a gazillion themes trying to find one that worked for me. 

I know the BT plugins get slammed by some, but I've always liked them and the special little sugar they sprinkle everything with. 

Guess that was a little off topic. My bad.

I really enjoyed this take on that song. Completely different but honoring what the song is. Very imaginative and inspiring.

This is a great song. I really love  your voice and the whole vibe of the piece. Really enjoyed it and the lovely guitar work.

Thank you, Paul! Yeah, if you throw the Beatles into that list you've listed my most impactful influences.  I appreciate you listening!

Sounds like a great, old-school mix of kick-ass rock to me, awesome tune!

I think there's the makings of a quite nice song here, and there's a nice clean sound in the mix that I like.

I agree with the comment about the drums, they need to be more up there and to my ear,  your vocals are too forward.  I also hear a lot of proximity effect in your vocals where you are perhaps a bit too close to the mic. You can eq that out to a great degree rather than re-record it, but it's best not to have it there in the first place.  It doesn't sound like there's any compression going on with the vocal track, just some limiting on the overall mix (or my ear doesn't have the experience to hear what  you've done here.) Some compression will help the track settle into the mix better. 

Finally, while everything's subjective when it comes to stuff like this, if it were my track I'd pan the vocals more toward the center.

Sounds fantastic to me and my fat, clumsy, arthritic fingers. Great job!

Great song, killer lyrics and as always your vocals are a standout. You really know what you're doing with those great pipes of yours. Guitars are great, and that's a flat-out amazing solo. I totally hate you right now.

I agree that the bottom is a bit heavy through my headphones, a pair of AKG271II's corrected with Sonarworks. 

Fantastic arrangement!

Thanks for listening, Paul, I appreciate your time. 

By the way, everyone, I posted a new mix at the same link. Not sure about it so if you get a chance, give it a whirl.

An imaginative and catchy work, I like it. After the intro the song took a direction I hadn't anticipated and that first guitar break made me smile. Great acoustic work, simple and effective and perfect for the song. Video is pretty cool too!

I do have some feedback though. IMHO the reverb obscures and muds up pretty good mix. I also think  you vocals could be a wee bit more forward, but if you do choose to dial back the reverb it may just be fine.

On 1/7/2019 at 12:11 PM, SPAK said:

This is the kind of music that makes you wanna join a band and smash it !!  (Nearly blew the cones out on my monitors !)

lol, glad you liked it! I am not responsible for equipment damage. Oh, wait, did you sign the release form?

This was my favorite song on my favorite album in high school and you've absolutely nailed the spirit of the thing. Ian Gillian has nothing on you, dude. And that solo, totally on the money. Brings a tear to me old eye. *sniff*

5 hours ago, emeraldsoul said:

Nice one here! Guitars are clean and crisp. Well played, too! I like the rhythm/chugged thing panned wide? Great.

 

Play a verse. Listen at the same time for the snare and your vocal. Which is louder? 
For me, the snare. So as to experiment, bring the vocal up half a db, the snare down half a db.

Might be interesting.

 

Might also control the wacky bright hi hat, left side, 2:21 ish.

 

That's a catchy number!

 

cheers,

-Tom

Thanks for the feedback and the tip on the snare/vocal relationship, I'd never heard that technique before. I'll give that a try!

5 hours ago, daryl1968 said:

Just had another quick listen. Yes, the low voice and maybe dial back on the vocal reverb. The vocal is getting lost and you have a good voice



I'll give that a whirl, thanks!

Thanks for listening, I appreciate it!

A little flange or chorus on a bus, then send the DI bass signal in and mix to taste can save your bacon when nothing else works.

Your voice sounds great here, Will. Works well with the really sweet arrangement you've got here.  I kind of agree about the solo, cool as it is. I'd really love to hear the guitar through  your mics but this sounds nice too.

Thanks, Daryl! Do you mean the low voice in the verses? I just can't imagine my air-raid siren voice being too low in the mix.

Pretty good ideas here.

Nice song with some really nice vocal performances going on. You gotta sound, for sure.

The mix sounds a smidge bright to me, but I don't trust my ears very much these days. That said, generally I'm less sensitive to high frequencies, so I'd be interested in hearing other folks' opinions on that as a reference check.

Not crazy about the distorted guitars at the intro and in the solo, love to hear that as a nylon stringed acoustic or some such thing.  Artist's choice, though so it gets a pass.

Great stuff!

Really nice playing and sound. Can  you describe how you recorded this? Mic, placement, signal chain? Inquiring minds want to know!

It's creative and melodic with some nice ideas. I think the arrangement just needs to catch up to the lyrics. The mix sounds pretty good on my tinny little phone speaker too!

Thanks, David. Yeah, you don't really want to hear the real story behind "Angry Girl."

Thanks for listening, Will!