Question:
I just had a pretty good recording session Saturday with some folks, and this thread is to share some of that stuff for advice on mix, adding stuff/taking away, etc.
So let's get right to it. Here's the first song I'll share. Two acoustics, panned a bit, but not very hard. At 2:17, a bowed electric comes in, and then, of course, we have some fourth of july samples, I took "on location" (meaning out on the street ) in the intro and end.
And tell me if you can tell where I might've stiched some parts together, because of some mistakes made. Hopefully, you won't be able to tell, but if you can, tell me so I can fix that.
And anyone got any advice for de-essing vocal tracks? I ran Spitfish on this, but I'm having issues balancing killing the S and killing my top end.
Maybe I just need some fresh ears to listen to this.
Answer:
It sounded really nice.
The only thing is that the bowed guitar sounds way too thin and distant to my ears.
Answer:
I think the issue with that is that the song is overally thin, not much real deep bottom end. I could add a bass track... maybe a cello.
Answer:
Yeah, a bass track (especially a cello!) would add a nice depth to the song. The vocals sound a bit too loud for my tastes. It's hard to hear the guitars and they just don't blend. I'd also try a bit more seperation on the acoustics. I know you don't like hard panning, but right now, it feels like everything's right in front, and not really emersing me. I like the bowed electric. It's distant, but I think it's perfect. Especially since the songs talks about being distant. A bass track would help it become more full. If it doesn't, a bit more EQ work couldn't hurt.
I really like the song overall! The vocals are amazing.
Answer:
I just expected the bowed guitar to have a lush gooey sound instead of a dry powdery tone.
Answer:
Yeah, I have 7 more songs where this one came from...
Lush, gooey? Maybe on low notes, but when you play up on the high register, you get something like a thin ribbon flowing in the wind, not emmersive like a huge low note would be, at least that's what I think. I like the quality of the bowed guitar as it is, personally.
And today, I asked my cello-playing friend when he'd be available to record a track to this song, so a cello should be coming in the next week, hopefully.
I don't like hard panning... I'll mess with it though. I'm stuck in the camp that doesn't think hard panning sounds very natural but I'll see what I can do.
I'll definitely turn down the vocals. I was thinking about it, but I played the tune on some different speakers yesterday, and realized that they were rather loud.
And the young woman I was working with is definitely a talented singer. I'm glad my buddy hooked me up with them.
Answer:
Haha. I understand what you mean about hard panning, but in certain songs it can be just the right touch. I love songs that make you feel like you're in the room being immersed in the music. That can be achieved by panning different elements. If you have several similar instruments (in your case the two acoustics, in others things like two female background singers) panning them pretty hard (not totally though... that sounds totally fake) will help separate the two tracks from each other. EQing them differently will help a lot too.
You should post some more of the stuff that was recorded, I really like it.
Answer:
One at a time, my friend.
Answer:
Haha. Are you planning on submitting one or two of these for the Comp Cd?
Answer:
Probably not.
Answer:
Man, if you got a really good cello line under there, that would soooo make the track.
The bowed guitar is beautiful. That's amazing.
Answer:
Ok, version 2.0 of the song. Better mix, no cello yet (coming this week sometime..).
I'll put up another song today, too.
Answer:
I had a whole thing written out, but I lost it. Grr.
I like this mix a lot better. The vocals sit perfectly.
The acoustics are panned a bit too hard (try bleeding some from both sides). Think of it like sitting in between the two guitars. Just because one is on the left side, doesn't mean you don't hear it on the right side. You just hear a lot less. I think a bit of bleed on each side would make it perfect.
It sounds like you EQ'd the acoustics a bit more too. Adding a bit more bass. I like it.
I like this mix a lot.
I keep getting the song stuck in my head. Haha. It's great.
Answer:
They're not completely hard panned now. Just need to find that stinking middle ground.
Oh and I said I would post another song... apparently I didn't get to that yet.
Answer:
Alright, so on this one I got a little creative with BGVs. I basically took the main vocal take and sliced it up to make the BGVs, ran them thru iZotope Vinyl.
I'm thinking of adding a flute in this one. Sometime soon...