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Hello Everyone--

I've always appreciated the feedback I get here and I have a mix that I was hoping you could listen to the balance for me before I master it.

I need to get a fresh ear from someone before I take the time to start mastering.

This mix is an export straight out of my host sequencing program, so please keep that in mind. If I need to remix--that's cool--that's what I'm looking for.

Oh, and if you have any input on what genre(s) I should list this as, that would be great.

https://soundcloud.com/stephen-davis-27 ... p-my-heart

Thanks so much!

(PS) Let me know if you need the lyrics.

The mix sounds fine to me. The vocals sound a little bit like they were recorded just a bit far from the mic. They could possibly benefit from something in the mix like, some eq up a few db around 9/11khz just so they cut through a bit more, and maybe even put something on it to warm it up (maybe a tiny tad of the right reverb, but could mess it up, too). The instrumental mix sounds awesome - so regardless, just the way it is, you have a great instrumental track for film/tv to pich, in addition to having the full song.

I like the warm guitars. You must have used a tube amp and maybe a pedal in front? sounds nice. Not as much bite as I would have done but sounds good.

Only thing that stands out are the drums which sound a little hidden in the mix. I would raise the volume on them a bit but not to a point where they effect the vocal. or what I like to do is lower all the other volumes which then you will hear the drums pop out of the mix. Leave the volume for the mastering engineer to deal with. Give him plenty room to work with. I normally like to give them around -10db headroom. then they can send the signal to outboard gear and really crank it.

I would say genre is punk rock.

Kinda with Gavin

I like the guitars too, but think they need more sheen. A bit more high OR a bit less low mid/low.
I'd compress the vocals more and make sure they run evenly through out.

I like the style of this! It sounds 80's to me. Kinda Joe Jackson. Know him??

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TzKSFbsh2Y

take care

G

Great input guys, thanks.

I agree with the vocals needing some EQ tweaks. I'll try the frequencies you suggested because I was messing with the low end and couldn't find anything that made them sound better.

I only put reverb on the backing vocals to put them back in the mix a little, but I'll try a slight amount on one of the lead passes and see if that improves things.

It never ceases to amaze me how people peg exactly what I did in the studio from a listen to the mix. I ran the guitars dry through a tube pre and over drove the tube for the distortion--nothing else, real traditional. I'm glad you liked it because it's a brand new pre.
(edit: I'm referring to rhythm guitars. I have some delay on the intro and solo guitars).

I'm going to have to listen again to the mix for the drums because the only thing I can think of that may need to come up are all but the snare. If you could see the transients on the wave form you'd see what I mean.

I'll mess around more and see if I can improve before the mastering.

Thank you so much for taking your time to listen to my track. I'll go with Punk Rock

Stephen,

I really dig the tune. Graham is right, this really sounds like Joe Jackson, specifically the Joe Jackson of his first three albums, which I really like.

Having said that, if that's what you're going for, the drums work well as that's the sound he perfected so you don't need to change them. It's a very dry, up front sound that works for this particular style.

The lead vocal is slightly buried. For the verse, bring it up 1 db and I think you'll be good. The chorus vocal needs more volume or maybe double it, as it seems too buried.

Also, I want to hear the bkgd vocals just a tad more than where they are at now.

Great song.

John

Yeah, and it would help if I spelled, 'Appreciate' correctly

Cool, thanks. I hear Joe Jackson now that you mention it. I can't say he was a big influence on my music growing up, but I dig "I'm a Man".

I'm in-studio right now and am copying down the suggestions you all made and am going to try them out one at a time as soon as I post this.

What a great resource you guys are--thank you!

heya Stephen,

cool tune. graham nailed the guitar issue - a couple db's too much low mid. And the vibe it kinda reminds of Joe jackson, but his ref has got less 200-400hz than your mix (again the guitars).

There are a few things which gave me pause - the short guitar intro sort of seems like a one off - don't really hear it coming back (or did I miss it?) If it were me I would likely chop that.

also, at 3:04 there is a marked shift in guitar volume, panning and sound. Up until the last part of the song I could accept the loud guitars on the sides. But where you change back to the hard panned guitars it makes the guitars sound unbalanced section to section.

In general, the whole drum kit sounds quiet to me. Raising it would mean then raising the vocal as well, and then you'll probably find a quicker way to balance things is just to drop the hard panned guitar volume a couple db's after taking out a little low mid (feels like 300hz). They would also be close to the guitar volume in the 3:00 area as well and the transition back to hard panned guitars at 3:04 or so might be more seamless.

its sort of punky - but its punk that falls in the gaps. Not enough guitar dirt for modern punk rock (i dunno greenday, ataris....??) not sloppy enough for Ramones, kinda 80's influenced almost like rock of the time.

my 2 cents.

Hey Andy--

I always appreciate the time you take to give me the details I need to improve the mix. Thank you! I'm just reading your tips now.

I actually went step-by-step with the previous critics and A/B with and without the changes. I know different people have different tastes and preferences, different speakers, rooms, etc. so I wanted to make sure I thought the changes improved the mix.

Actually, each and every one of the tips I got made the mix sound better to me and I implemented them on the 2nd mix found here:
https://soundcloud.com/stephen-davis-27 ... my-heart-1

Please take a listen and see (hear) what you think.

We all know that a change in one area can have a direct impact on another in the mix, so I'll wait to hear what you guys think before I make any other changes.

Cheers

Personally speaking, I would give it a more Weezer type vibe.
Dirty up the guitars, more Marshall tones and add some grit to the vocals.
The mix should feel like it's pumping through an old tube compressor to smooth it out and give it that grainy tone.
That would give it a more contemporary punk vibe.
Hope that helps.
Rich.