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Brand New Day - Updated, garybrun mix!


Kevin Walsh

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Update:  Fellow forumite @garybrun reached out to me and asked me for the stems to this song so that he could take a crack at producing a mix and master. I was both flattered and very interested in what another pair of ears and set of skills could do with this song and I'm not disappointed, to say the least. I think he's done a great job and it's very cool to hear the choices he made compared to those in my mix. Here's a link to a share with his mix. I'd love to hear compare/contrast commentary on his work.  My final mix is still accessible below. Thanks!

https://1drv.ms/u/s!AguGELRT6OXyhdgsAOrpn-3rNMuD0A?e=oeGBbL

 

Well, I got this one together in time for Christmas. My ear finds lots of problems here, hoping for some good feedback on mix, instruments, playing, arrangements, etc. I appreciate your time!

 

 

Update 1: Updated the mix with the suggestions below and monkeyed with speed and drums to snap things up a bit.

Update 2: Next mix, reigned in some out of control background vocals.  Overall, much nicer sound, you guys' feedback has been spot on! There are still some vocal issues I think here and there but it's come pretty darned far, thanks. 

Update 3: Re-mixed and re-mastered

Update 4: Posting garybrun mix

Edited by Kevin Walsh
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Typical you, I was looking forward to this when I saw your post ... didn't disappoint, one thing would be to take the chorus down a tad or maybe widen it as I feel it's to much in your face .. v. small crit .. I love you stuff and the smokey Dillon like vocal .. so well done👍

Steve

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2 hours ago, SupaReels said:

Typical you, I was looking forward to this when I saw your post ... didn't disappoint, one thing would be to take the chorus down a tad or maybe widen it as I feel it's to much in your face .. v. small crit .. I love you stuff and the smokey Dillon like vocal .. so well done👍

Steve

Thanks for your ear, Steve! I appreciate your kind words and I'll give the thing another listen and do another mix after work. You're the man! (presumably. :) )

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You are a very talented singer/ guitarist. The arrangement seems just fine to me. Any comments I have about the song itself are only opinions on what I might experiment with if it were me. I would probably try pulling up the harmony in the choruses some. If I could pull the midi up for the drums I would maybe try adding some extra drum hits in key places especially highlighted toward the end. At about the 5:00 time mark I would try delay automation on the guitar to give the ending a more spacey take away. I would not leave it in all the way but add it in that one part. The key idea would be  variation here and there is more exciting and sounds more spontaneous if done well.

I'm on earbuds here at my job so I can't really comment on the mix critically. Comes across on these buds well.

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I like it - you asked for suggestions so I have some.  You may hate it, but they're my comments anyway 🙂

I think it would benefit from being shorter.  Get the vocal in there quicker.  Maybe excite the snare a little.

Pull up the under 50hz a little and the over 10K a little.

Maximize a little higher, perhaps -7.8db

Widen the mids.

I did some edits which you can toss if you don't agree, but here's my idea.

https://www.baselines.com/brand_new_day.wav

Steve

 

Edited by steve@baselines.com
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21 hours ago, Tim Smith said:

You are a very talented singer/ guitarist. The arrangement seems just fine to me. Any comments I have about the song itself are only opinions on what I might experiment with if it were me. I would probably try pulling up the harmony in the choruses some. If I could pull the midi up for the drums I would maybe try adding some extra drum hits in key places especially highlighted toward the end. At about the 5:00 time mark I would try delay automation on the guitar to give the ending a more spacey take away. I would not leave it in all the way but add it in that one part. The key idea would be  variation here and there is more exciting and sounds more spontaneous if done well.

I'm on earbuds here at my job so I can't really comment on the mix critically. Comes across on these buds well.

Tim, thanks for listening and for providing the feedback. I will certainly give your suggestions a try.

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18 hours ago, steve@baselines.com said:

I like it - you asked for suggestions so I have some.  You may hate it, but they're my comments anyway 🙂

I think it would benefit from being shorter.  Get the vocal in there quicker.  Maybe excite the snare a little.

Pull up the under 50hz a little and the over 10K a little.

Maximize a little higher, perhaps -7.8db

Widen the mids.

I did some edits which you can toss if you don't agree, but here's my idea.

https://www.baselines.com/brand_new_day.wav

Steve

 

Steve, thanks for listening and thanks for taking the time to demonstrate your ideas, it's above and beyond the call of duty and I appreciate it. I personally like the intro the way it is. I more of an ease into the business at hand kind of guy so your edit sounds kind of abrupt to me. On the other hand, the EQ changes you made do sound better, and I will give the other ideas a go here when my wife lets me work on this stuff again. :)

 

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18 hours ago, KurtS said:

Nice song. I do think the recording sounds a little flat. Maybe the guitars need some sparkle, top end.  Really there's nothing wrong with it the way it is too.

Thanks for giving it a listen, I agree with you, it does sound a little flat and a little dull. To be honest, it's pretty hard for me to tell because of hearing loss in the upper frequencies, but your suggestion is in-line with the ideas from steve@baselines.com so we seem to be developing a consensus here. 

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Thanks jack, I was doing just that as you posted. I've used the suggestions above and also adjusted the drum track to be a little more ahead, sounded like it was dragging or got micro-shifted when I was doing stuff. I also took a page out of George Martin's playbook and sped the thing up by a few bpm. 

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4 hours ago, Kevin Walsh said:

Steve, thanks for listening and thanks for taking the time to demonstrate your ideas, it's above and beyond the call of duty and I appreciate it. I personally like the intro the way it is. I more of an ease into the business at hand kind of guy so your edit sounds kind of abrupt to me. On the other hand, the EQ changes you made do sound better, and I will give the other ideas a go here when my wife lets me work on this stuff again. :)

 

That's fine, Kevin.  My length comment was more oriented towards a single.  People (younger) tend to get bored REALLY quickly these days and will switch away after less than a minute.  For an album cut, it's different.  Good luck on the final product, I'll be listening for it.

Steve

 

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Yes, I figured that was the objective of your mix, and if I was catering to a youth market or if indeed I had any prayer whatsoever of selling any music at all :) I'd probably  follow your advice. Your advice is always spot-on and your production sensibilities remain an influence for me. In the end I think one of the (very) few advantages of playing, writing and recording music in your 60's after all the dreams of hitting the road in a van with your band are long over is the absolute freedom to be self-indulgent.  🤓

 

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11 minutes ago, Kevin Walsh said:

Yes, I figured that was the objective of your mix, and if I was catering to a youth market or if indeed I had any prayer whatsoever of selling any music at all :) I'd probably  follow your advice. Your advice is always spot-on and your production sensibilities remain an influence for me. In the end I think one of the (very) few advantages of playing, writing and recording music in your 60's after all the dreams of hitting the road in a van with your band are long over is the absolute freedom to be self-indulgent.  🤓

 

Absolutely!!  And no more carrying that Ampeg up two flights of stairs and back down at 3AM LOL!!

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