Mix help for bossa return

[Paulie]

Got a forward for my bossa but a return for the swing piece.

Screener 399 - "Rhythm section and syncopation not as tight and consistent as other and does not really blend as well. Drums sound a bit synthetic sounding and not blending with authentic sounding sax."

https://soundcloud.com/paulcroteau/sunshine

The sax and drums are live, vibes and bass are vst's. So I guess I need to work on my mixing. Looking for feedback on the mix and suggestions on levels: I recorded the snare w/brushes and hi-hat first, then added ride cymbal afterward, then bongos. I kept the bass drum out of the way on purpose.

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[kova]

I'm using cheap headphones at work right now so it's not my usual listening environment but here's what I can tell:

- the ride cymbal is really loud and bright to the point where it buries the rest of the drums. The three things that stand out the most are (in order): the bass, the ride cymbal, and then the sax.

- I couldn't hear the bongos at all. Again, that might be due to the cheap headphones that I'm using, though

- I know you said you wanted the kick out of the way but just as my personal preference, I think it's too low; if I hadn't been listening for it, then I wouldn't even have noticed it was there.

I think just overall, it's a balance problem with the drums with the ride too loud and everything else too soft. Considering that you recorded parts of the drums separately, I'm actually very impressed that the parts are in sync with one another. Along those lines, though, one of the guys who used to critique my mixes told me that a little bit of bleeding between the mics on drums is actually desirable as it creates coherence and warm that tends to be lacking otherwise, so maybe recording everything at once instead of separately might help with the "synthetic" nature.

[jamesnorth]

Mostly agree with Kova on mix stuff I think. The vibe is pretty right.

I think the ride is definitely too loud and the bongos could come up a little to make that percussion all feel like it's coming from the same space - at the moment they all do sound like you've recorded them separately (and we need to fool the listener!). If you can at least record ride and snare together for those time-keeping parts after the brushes, it'd make a pretty big difference to how it's perceived. Some bleed is generally great for this kind of music.

I'd also say that upright is probably a bit on the loud side too.

[Paulie]

Thanks guys! I'll incorporate this and try to remix so I have a usable track in the future.

[becw75]

Hi Paulie,

I wouldn't agree with screener. Rhythm section sounds fine to me re tightness. I don't hear synthetic drums. I believe bongos could be louder... Or even remove.

It's sounds kitsch/ comical - I could hear it in a tv show with an amateur detective/ people on the snoop.

Regards
Rebecca