Christian pop/rock song - new mix May 26th!

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mgh
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2011/05/21 15:05:03 (permalink)

Christian pop/rock song - new mix May 26th!

ok as i mentioned got this pop/rock song. yes it's a Christian one. anyhow, mixing metal stuff is easy...compared to this style! need some help! the mix is too mid-dense, but can't hear where to start tweaking!

cheers guys and gals!

http://soundcloud.com/markhaigh/child-and-man


OK second mix up, same URL!
post edited by mgh - 2011/05/26 09:10:22

Memorare debut album 'Philistine' available now http://blackwoodproductio...philistine-digipack-cd
#1

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    rockinrobby
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    Re:Christian pop/rock song - need help with mix! 2011/05/21 15:43:31 (permalink)
    This is a nice side of your music :-) 

    One thing that James (Yoyo) has helped me with is the use of channel tools. That, panning, and EQ all very important.

    So to start with, what do you want in the middle? Obviously the vocals (which do get lost when those guitars come in after 1:50. So, what do you want in the middle?

    1. Vocals

    2. Typically the kick and bass (or close) so they need to be looked at sonically to see where they can be cut EQ wise to accommodate the other.

    3. Some people like pianos or acoustic guitars in the middle? If you do this, you need to use EQ as well as some channel tools, i.e., widen it to push it more to the sides? Less in the middle. A couple of ideas for things in the middle with the vox;

    3.a, cut the low end. 

    3.b, instead of having the instrument in the middle once? take two mono copies, 1 hard left, one hard right, send them to a bus, and use the channel tools to widen it.

    3.c, even if something is panned left, say 25%? it's still in the middle and right more so than you may want, so channel tools again, and send it left/left center as opposed to just panning it left. 

    4. Compress your vox. And if you have multiple vox? as you do here, bring your lead down the pipe, and pan the others. Using a spectrum viewer, you can see if you're sending a voc track a bit left, what it's competing with, i.e., one of those electrics? So analyze the spectrum on the vox, see what it really needs, then cut those on the guitar that's on the same side? 

    It's a real PITA... You can also do all of that, and then send all the instruments (maybe less bass and drums?) to an instrument track? and use a MB compressor that compresses the instruments (slightly) and find out the freqs that your vox need? Put a send from the voc track to that compressor for ducking? 

    I mean you could go on and on and on... It's a deep rabbit hole :-( And you can spend hours and hours. And the incremental benefit may not be noticed by most? 

    The easiest way to get bang for the buck is put your vox in the middle, w/Bass and kick, pan everything else, if you want other things in the middle or close, cut lows, and widen. And compress your vox. Good luck! The more we do this, the more we learn, and the better we get :-)

    And again, you don't have to "hear" where to tweak? You can see it... Use a spectrum analyzer. 

    **Disclaimer, anything I say could be flawed or completely wrong! I say lather? Rinse? REPEAT! Try different things, mix it down, and listen to it. See what works best for you.

    http://www.reverbnation.com/rockinrobby

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    #2
    mgh
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    Re:Christian pop/rock song - need help with mix! 2011/05/21 16:00:40 (permalink)
    Cheers Robby

    but i already only have main vocal, bass, lead and kick in the middle. here's the story:

    acoustic 1 95% L, acoustic 2 95% R, lead acoustic (only at start) in middle
    electric guitar 1 75% L, electric guitar 2 75% R, lead guitar in middle
    bass in middle
    lead vox in middle, BV 1 100% L BV 2 100% R

    stereo piano and organ tracks

    drums - kick and snare centre, the toms and cymbals panned.

    so my thoughts are, the electric guitars, piano and organ need eqing to get the vocals upfront - thinking to cut a lot of the middle out of these - maybe automated when the vocals are going - also i could use channel tools on the piano/organ to pan those away from the middle...
    also have a couple of reverbs, CSR hall on the vox and drums and a short plate on the guitars...could those be adding to the general murkiness?

    Memorare debut album 'Philistine' available now http://blackwoodproductio...philistine-digipack-cd
    #3
    rockinrobby
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    Re:Christian pop/rock song - need help with mix! 2011/05/21 17:35:38 (permalink)
    "so my thoughts are, the electric guitars, piano and organ need eqing to get the vocals upfront" if not the whole middle (maybe too extreme) at least tinker with it.


    Yes


    "going - also i could use channel tools on the piano/organ to pan those away from the middle... "


    Yes


    "also have a couple of reverbs, CSR hall on the vox and drums and a short plate on the guitars...could those be adding to the general murkiness?"


    Yes


    Also, you could try a High Pass on your reverbs. I actually use multiple verbs... and for things panned to the left? I use a verb send where that verb is panned hard left, likewise for things panned right, and for things down the middle? I use a 3rd verb w/no panning. That's just something I do, no one told me, I don't know, it may be stupid, but it does seem to help for me? I've just recently discovered this technique... Trial and error, mostly error...


    post edited by rockinrobby - 2011/05/21 17:36:53

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    #4
    mgh
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    Re:Christian pop/rock song - need help with mix! 2011/05/21 17:50:05 (permalink)
    interesting idea re multiple reverb. not sure if it'll help, but worth a try.

    just need to give it a couple of days and then listen with fresh ears i think.

    Memorare debut album 'Philistine' available now http://blackwoodproductio...philistine-digipack-cd
    #5
    Janet
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    Re:Christian pop/rock song - need help with mix! 2011/05/21 22:16:41 (permalink)
    I really like the song--I thought you always said you did metal cause you can't sing?  If you did, well, I beg to differ. :)  Wish I had some words of wisdom on the mix, but that's beyond me.  Nothing stands out as obviously bad though.  :)
    #6
    Taylor_514C
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    Re:Christian pop/rock song - need help with mix! 2011/05/22 20:40:33 (permalink)
    Really enjoyed it Mark - impressive production.  More clarity for the bass, my only crit - could be my headphones.  Liked the vox and the song as well.

    -Doug

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    dlogan
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    Re:Christian pop/rock song - need help with mix! 2011/05/23 10:18:56 (permalink)
    Hey Mark! To me the parts where it seems noticeable "mid dense" is when the electric rhythm guitar is prominent. I think it's the guitar tone. If it were me, instead of trying to fix things iwith EQ, panning, etc, I'd work on finding a tone that is more friendly to this type of mix.

    Absolutely love the lead guitar tone!!
    #8
    No How
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    Re:Christian pop/rock song - need help with mix! 2011/05/24 12:34:08 (permalink)
    Hi Mark,

    No doubt your best vocal track.  i really liked it.  harmonies drift a tad but not bad.
      2nd listen and i don't hear your eq issues.

    s o n g s

      – Beauty lodged in a bad hotel has no value.  Raymond Lull
    #9
    GuitarBob
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    Re:Christian pop/rock song - need help with mix! 2011/05/24 14:35:11 (permalink)

     This was not what I was expecting to hear at all. This sounds great!! Heck, everything you do sounds awesome!!!!

    Excellent!!!

    GuitarBob

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    philz
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    Re:Christian pop/rock song - need help with mix! 2011/05/24 15:16:46 (permalink)
    Well, it's a new, mellower and more melodic Mark Haigh that greets us today... but still with an edge, and that's good.  I really liked the song, and your vocals and harmonies were quite good.  The guitar playing was up to your usual standard of excellence, and so was the arrangement.

    My mixing techniques are far more primitive than the advice Robby is providing, and I'll give you my take with the caveat that I only had time for one listen on my pc speakers.  The only thing I noticed worthy of comment was that the chorus vocals got a bit lost.  At those points I would think some eq'ing (pushing the upper range a smidge) and compression  might help.  Another possibility would be a gain envelope on the vocals in the chorus sections.

    Very well done though, Mark. 
    #11
    Beagle
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    Re:Christian pop/rock song - need help with mix! 2011/05/24 16:00:00 (permalink)
    hey, mark!  good to hear another of your non-metal tunes!  the hard electric guitars need a little taming, IMO, for this song, they're stomping all over the vox and that might be OK for death metal, but not for this type of music.  I'd pull them back and even notch them some for the vox.

    great job!

    http://soundcloud.com/beaglesound/sets/featured-songs-1
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    #12
    mgh
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    Re:Christian pop/rock song - need help with mix! 2011/05/24 19:44:48 (permalink)
    Thanks to everyone. i guess i will try a slightly different guitar sound and try to sort out the chorus BV - i think what i will do is v-vocal the main vox, then use Harmony Engine to create the harmonies, pan them and mix them in low.

    glad this is more to your taste though! wonder what will happen next....
     
    PS - am on nights this week, will be listening to your new stuff when i finish!
    post edited by mgh - 2011/05/24 19:46:40

    Memorare debut album 'Philistine' available now http://blackwoodproductio...philistine-digipack-cd
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    twisted6s
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    Re:Christian pop/rock song - need help with mix! 2011/05/24 20:38:00 (permalink)
    Lovely brother


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    #14
    Philip
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    Re:Christian pop/rock song - need help with mix! 2011/05/24 22:33:36 (permalink)
    On 2nd listen this is FANTASTIC:
    Of course I'm exceedingly biased toward the message, so my thoughts may be skew'd ... haha!

    This is totally awesome!
    This is a perfect sketch to me ... doomed for glorious excellence ... and you/I may never be satisfied ... its so wonderful!
     
    Some ponderings on my Bose Noise Cancellers:
     
    The instruments are scratchy (your MGH signature) (overly saturated during the guitar solos and also when they compete with the vox) ... as the lead proclaims the power-gospel of our Lord.
     
    The lead vocs are most excellent already!  But, I'd retake the section around "blasphemy they cried" where he shifts (head-chest) registers (easily fixable).
     
    I'd envelope the saturation signatures (thicken it as the song progresses and the chorus words need to be initially legible ... any repetitions don't need to be legible --haha!)
     
    ... and widen the instruments (all) ... and give them sonic space with EQ ... to incrementally allow your cacaphony to become extremely glorious pomp!
    On 3rd listen:
     
    -- OK, lyrics are perfect (but, I re-validate about what I stated on 2nd listen ... except where unintelligible during the 1st chorus pomp or 2 ... I think everyone would agree with me ...)
     
    -- IOWs, Your seasoned 'metal' at 1:00, 1:48, 2:20, etc. needs to go down 5-10 dcbls --haha! 
     
    -- And I'd widen the acoustic-pad and other competing elements 80-100% delayed LT-RT ... get it out of way out of center ... as Bob Oister keeps his lead vox centered and tight while his rhythm guitars are outside the speakers.
     
    -- The majic outro cascading at 5:00, is extremely powerful ... don't know what you did but its certainly takes me up UP and AWAY!
     
    -- This addictive excellence needs a bit of basic tweaking and polishing ... it is right up there with Bob Oister's wonder-piece ... since all the performances are already perfect.
     
    Joy is distracting me ... later!
    post edited by Philip - 2011/05/24 22:35:52

    Philip  
    (Isa 5:12 And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of the LORD)

    Raised-Again 3http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=12307501
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    Scottytunes
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    Re:Christian pop/rock song - need help with mix! 2011/05/25 06:31:29 (permalink)
    Nice piece, you have here. To me the lows and low mids sound overcompressed, but it could just be my speakers or deaf ears.

    String Jammer
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    Slugbaby
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    Re:Christian pop/rock song - need help with mix! 2011/05/25 08:49:54 (permalink)
    Nice track Mark.
    I agree with Dave that it's a bit too midrangey.  Maybe lower the volume on some of the backing guitars, or carve out EQ?  I like the distorted guitar in the choruses.
    Both your voice and the song style reminds me of late 80s/early '90s Manchester (stone roses, etc).  And since I love that stuff, and going in line with it i'd recommend "crisping" your clean guitars. 

    http://www.MattSwiftMusic.com
     
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    vechung
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    Re:Christian pop/rock song - need help with mix! 2011/05/25 15:45:13 (permalink)
    I really like this song.  Quite a change from the "normal"

    To me there is a lot in the middle.  Try widen the electric and use EQ to add more on the high end to give it a more metallic sound.  Let the guitar solo alone.

    How about putting piano in a higher octave.

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    ohgrant
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    Re:Christian pop/rock song - need help with mix! 2011/05/25 20:06:14 (permalink)
     Really impressed Mark, nothing more to add on production that hasn't been covered. Great job on the performances. Tones on this one were very nice, possibly a bit cooked in post production but the timbre was real nice.

    Me
     
    #19
    mgh
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    Re:Christian pop/rock song - need help with mix! 2011/05/26 09:18:46 (permalink)
    thanks a lot everyone, well i had a go today to make it a little better; so changed opening lead to electric, switched the electric rhythm from amplitude 3 to guitar rig, added more lead guitar in the bridge and outro, added choir synth to bridge, cloned and parallel EQ'd the chorus lead line, switched around some automation, added a couple of new FX...then in mastering i tried to be a little less hot and more eq reductive...to me sounds much better. same URL...

    lyrics are:

    A child born in Bethlehem in a stable
    A man in an upper room, around a table
    The baby smiles at the shepherds, he laughs at the sheep
    The man talks with his friends and washes their feet.

    The baby, fed by his mother, worshipped by kings,
    The man, feeding his brothers, saving their sins
    An innocent child, an innocent man
    Destined to die for us, to seal for us God's plan.

    Broken, poured out, mocked and in pain
    saving all nations, the Lamb who was slain

    Teaching at the temple, hungry souls he fed
    Healing the sick in spirit, raising the dead
    Taken by his own people, "Blasphemy", they cried,
    Humbler yet, he gave no struggle, for them and all he died.

    Broken, poured out, mocked and in pain
    saving all nations, the Lamb who was slain
    Risen, glorious! Angels, men sing!
    Resurrection, death where is your sting?

    Come Lord and feed us, Come Lord and heal us,
    Come Lord and pray with us.
    Come Lord and feed us, Come Lord and heal us,
    Come Lord and open my eyes.

    Risen, glorious! Angels, men sing!
    Resurrection, death where is your sting?

    Memorare debut album 'Philistine' available now http://blackwoodproductio...philistine-digipack-cd
    #20
    Philip
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    Re:Christian pop/rock song - need help with mix! 2011/05/26 17:32:01 (permalink)
    Listening on the Adams (much different than the Bose cans):

    Sounds like this is fixed through and through!  WOW!

    Outro organ and guitar is a perfect touch!

    Philip  
    (Isa 5:12 And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of the LORD)

    Raised-Again 3http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=12307501
    #21
    rockinrobby
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    Re:Christian pop/rock song - need help with mix! 2011/05/26 21:24:37 (permalink)
    Yeah this is much better, good job.

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    Evil lurks here among us again... "Beware."
    #22
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