X-53mph Posted December 17, 2021 Share Posted December 17, 2021 (edited) Guys, I would really appreciate your input with this track. It's a tune that has gone through a million edits, retakes, redoes over the years and I finally think it's getting over the line. I won't say what it is that's still bothering me about this mix (let's see if anyone picks up on it) but I would really appreciate any input you may have. I've been getting some invaluable help from a music engineer in NY who has got me to this stage, and his input has really helped. Some technical info - I'm playing all the instruments (no loops or samples). The only synths are the bass (Trilian), Piano (Westwood Felt) with some additional live piano, Strings (Spitfire). Everything else is live. It was recorded in CbB and Mastered in Ozone 9. Unfortunately, Soundcloud's compression doesn't do the mastering any favours Hope you enjoy. Edit: I've removed the link to the first mix because I'm taking down from SoundCloud. Final mix is further down this thread. Edited January 22, 2022 by Philip G Hunt Link removed 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark skinner Posted December 17, 2021 Share Posted December 17, 2021 Phillip , Nice song and structure. I am listening on a laptop with Cheap headphones , but what is getting my attention is the volume of the bass guitar and the boom in some of the notes , masking the mix. The vocals sound "muffled" like predominant low mids and not enough highs. (especially the highs). For reference , flip your master bus to mono and the bass problem should really stick out. Good luck I'm sure you will get it right .. mark 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jack c. Posted December 17, 2021 Share Posted December 17, 2021 i like it.jack c. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Sprouse Posted December 18, 2021 Share Posted December 18, 2021 Sounds like a heartfelt song. Good men come and go, but family will always be there. Could be a great movie song. I think you could go further with this and make something bigger at the end. You have the beginning, middle but it's dying for a climax. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antler Posted December 18, 2021 Share Posted December 18, 2021 Sounds good to me. If I were to be picky, I might suggest panning the piano slightly more away from the centre to keep the vocal a bit cleaner. As David mentioned, I was partially expecting a bigger ending - maybe drums coming in with some electric guitar power chords - though maybe that's just a reflection of the type of music I might listen to. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noynekker Posted December 19, 2021 Share Posted December 19, 2021 Philip . . . really love the song man, that acoustic guitar riff that recurs, like after "disappearing man" is so excellent, it's the main driving factor, and the lyrics and vocal are right there as well. The drama in the lyrics and vocal that you open with is bang on, and sets the tone for the rest of the song. My mix suggestion, since you mentioned Trilian Bass, would be to use a more percussive picked bass sound to cut the bass part through to be more obvious. What might sound great to your ear in Cakewalk 32 bit floating . . . well, by the time you upload to Soundcloud, it gets mudded, unless it's more percussive in the original mix, at least that's what I've found for projects like this one. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
X-53mph Posted January 15, 2022 Author Share Posted January 15, 2022 (edited) I've listened to all your feedback (thank you all, I really appreciate it). I went back to the premaster mix to tweak some sounds before remastering and this is the result: Edited January 15, 2022 by Philip G Hunt 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhonoBrainer Posted January 15, 2022 Share Posted January 15, 2022 The second version addresses what I heard in the first version, pulling some low mid out of the vocal. This version is much cleaner down low! I'd also be tempted to add a bit of tight delay to the vocal, or maybe a reverb with a lot of the low end return cut away. Dig the structure of that riff after "Disappearing Man". Version #2 is soooo much better! Cool tune! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhonoBrainer Posted January 15, 2022 Share Posted January 15, 2022 Also, generally of course you want the vocal up front, but maybe it's just a bit too forward here? IDK, tough call. Great tune, though. Guitars and piano have great clarity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
X-53mph Posted January 16, 2022 Author Share Posted January 16, 2022 17 hours ago, PhonoBrainer said: The second version addresses what I heard in the first version, pulling some low mid out of the vocal. This version is much cleaner down low! I'd also be tempted to add a bit of tight delay to the vocal, or maybe a reverb with a lot of the low end return cut away. Dig the structure of that riff after "Disappearing Man". Version #2 is soooo much better! Cool tune! I did add some reverb to the vocal in this version. Maybe not enough. 🤷♂️ I know what you mean about the vox being upfront. It's so hard getting the exact balance. I decided to go more Pop on this version. 😁 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noynekker Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 Philip . . . a great song just got greater with this mix ! This song has something very special about it, I hope you know that. The vocal up front totally works for me, especially in the intro section, you dial in the first time listeners attention right away, they can't wait to see how it goes . . . I'll have to be careful not to use that cool acoustic guitar riff in my next song, Lol, it's just so catchy. It's perfect you get it 3 times in a 3.5 minute tune. Don't see it available on your bandcamp yet, but I look forward to buying this one . . . 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
X-53mph Posted January 17, 2022 Author Share Posted January 17, 2022 11 hours ago, noynekker said: Philip . . . a great song just got greater with this mix ! This song has something very special about it, I hope you know that. The vocal up front totally works for me, especially in the intro section, you dial in the first time listeners attention right away, they can't wait to see how it goes . . . I'll have to be careful not to use that cool acoustic guitar riff in my next song, Lol, it's just so catchy. It's perfect you get it 3 times in a 3.5 minute tune. Don't see it available on your bandcamp yet, but I look forward to buying this one . . . Wow! Thanks 🙏 that really means a lot to me. This song is very special to me. I'm just putting together the artwork and I hope to have it up soon on all platforms. Thanks again. I really appreciate all the input people have given me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeeringAmps Posted January 18, 2022 Share Posted January 18, 2022 I'll echo the praise above. This is a fine tune. How did I miss it? t one little crit and suggestion. My acoustic "chops" are not what they should be and "squeaks" drive me nuts. I've gone to using D'Addario Flat Tops, they've really helped me. Buy an extra G, they wear out pretty fast. They're not as "bright", kind of a "played in" tonality, but your guitar is not sounding "muddy" to me so I think you'd get satisfactory results... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bajan Blue Posted January 19, 2022 Share Posted January 19, 2022 Hi Philip i can only echo what others have already said - this mix is much better than the first Also love that Guitar riff Cool stuuf Nigel 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjornpdx Posted January 21, 2022 Share Posted January 21, 2022 Thoroughly enjoyed it! Couple of people mentioned the guitar riff and I totally agree. Just four notes (maybe five) and varied a little bit but they added so much to the overall mood. -Bjorn 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
X-53mph Posted February 18, 2022 Author Share Posted February 18, 2022 Hi guys, I just want to let everyone know that this track had been playing on various online radio stations. One in particular let's me know when it will be played. For anyone interested in hearing new music, and supporting new acts, here is the message I got from them with dates, times and links: Radio Wigwam https://www.radiowigwam.co.uk/ We will be featuring you on the Indie Jukebox show (Monday 21st February and Thursday/Friday 24/25 February)! The Indie Jukebox show will be aired this coming Monday 21st February at 6 - 7pm GMT (i.e. 1pm EST, 10am PST) & Thursday 24th February 8pm EST/5pm PT (i.e. 1am Friday GMT). Be sure to spread the word and join in the fun! The full line-up includes: LUNA SCOTT RUSSELL, Matt Saxton, Those Men, Eric Linden, Steven Garcia, Ultravice, Birrell or Biscuit, mp clarke, The Mease, Grassy Knowles, Crosstalk Club, 53mph, Paul Jack, Karen Harding & The Spase. Remember you can catch the show at radiowigwam.co.uk SmartSpeaker, TuneIn and much more and watch out for the tweets! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wookiee Posted February 23, 2022 Share Posted February 23, 2022 Did not hear the initial mix, to me the vocals a tad forward but that cna be a personal choice. Mix generally sounds OK here, you did not let Sound-clod (I know) master it after you had put it through Ozone-9 did you? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
X-53mph Posted February 23, 2022 Author Share Posted February 23, 2022 (edited) 9 hours ago, Wookiee said: Did not hear the initial mix, to me the vocals a tad forward but that cna be a personal choice. Mix generally sounds OK here, you did not let Sound-clod (I know) master it after you had put it through Ozone-9 did you? Hi Wookie, No I didn't let SoundCloud master it..as far as I know. 🤷 To be honest, I've kind of abandoned SoundCloud. I only put it up there for the peeps on here. I prefer to listen on Bandcamp. Here's the link if you like: https://53mph.bandcamp.com/album/disappearing-man Edited February 23, 2022 by Philip G Hunt 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wookiee Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 On 2/23/2022 at 8:32 PM, Philip G Hunt said: Here's the link if you like: Thank you I finally got a chance to have a listen to the Bandcamp version. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve@baselines.com Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 Nice song. I listened to the remix from Jan 15. Sounded really good to me. Steve 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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