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cosmicdolphin wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 29, 2022 1:07 am

Hey Brent

The mix / production sounds more like a demo at the moment, I think there's a few things you could do to fix what is otherwise a good track.

The arrangemnt sounds a bit empty , the trick is to make it sound fuller without to much clutter so you can try doubling your parts in diferent octaves etc and blending those in or having a heavily compressed rhythm guitar just kinda sitting in filling in the spaces. If you do this twice and then hard pan them opposite each other it suddenly starts to sound wider , more pro and fuller.

For me the mix needs more attitude & vibe, if you compare it to the ref track the things it lacks are :

A sense of space - you can achieve this with reverbs & delays, set up a couple of sends - 8th note delays tend to work and some sort of vibely reverb, then try sending everything to them, you might need to try different commbos and balance levels until it all gels and make sure to roll off the low end on the reverb return or the kick & bass with sound muddy.

Attitude / in your face type sound - Listen to ref track, there is a ton of saturation / distortion in it. Try sticking something on your master buss to give it that sound, I use Decapitator , but anything similar should do the trick. A little can go a long way so be careful.

The other thing that adds attitude is compression so try adding a character compressor to your mix buss and give it a bit more squish, I use Elysia Alpha but there are many many other processors for the task. I also put a little Xfer OTT on the master buss for these types of things, only set at 20% but it pulls the track forward and brings out the room.

Also compare your EQ against the refs, you're a bit light in the low end. If you're not sure , then many EQs have a match feature so it will show yours Vs the Ref and an EQ curve to get them closer. Again be careful and use it sparingingly.

Here's your track with the above thrown on just for demonstration purposes. I think that gets you closer.

https://soundcloud.com/cosmicdolphin/ga ... al_sharing

Hope that helps

Mark

Telefunkin wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 29, 2022 3:21 am

Its a good track Brent and I think you did well capturing the style, but you could make more of that good work with a bit of TLC. Mark's given some good advice, and the main thing I agree with is setting the reverb around your main instruments to get that sense of open space. I can imagine more of that on your electric guitar and also lots of it on your acoustic slide. Be careful not to sound too mechanical and false on the intro and on the banjo picking (Realibanjo?), but with the space and character I think the track will deliver, and the reverb will help it sound more polished. Good luck with it!

BrentI wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 29, 2022 9:11 am

Thanks for taking the time to listen and reply Graham! Just to make sure I understand, are you recommending RealiBanjo for a more authentic sound?

Telefunkin wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 29, 2022 10:45 am

BrentI wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 29, 2022 9:11 am

Thanks for taking the time to listen and reply Graham! Just to make sure I understand, are you recommending RealiBanjo for a more authentic sound?

I was just guessing that's what you'd used for the banjo part, rather than a recommendation.

DouglasKnight wrote: ↑

Fri Jul 01, 2022 5:55 am

Hey Brent! I really like this track and think you're definitely on the right track. Keep working on it and you'll be ready the next time a listing like this pops up. Just curious, what are you using for the banjo?

Thanks!
Doug

BrentI wrote: ↑

Sat Jul 02, 2022 7:47 am

DouglasKnight wrote: ↑

Fri Jul 01, 2022 5:55 am

Hey Brent! I really like this track and think you're definitely on the right track. Keep working on it and you'll be ready the next time a listing like this pops up. Just curious, what are you using for the banjo?

Thanks!
Doug

Thanks for the encouragement Doug!

I saw that your swamp rock cue got forwarded. Congratulations; it's a great track! I enjoyed hearing it on TAXI TV too!

I'm actually just using the stock banjo sample in Logic. You think it sounds alright?