Cover Song (To Love Sombody)

Tell me what you are hearing with this mix.
I know the voice is not so good, (working on it), but anything else that springs to mind.
Giving 3 shots for a quarter this week.
http://www.box.net/shared/q7ee1a6b32

RobertB


That doesn't sound like a Strat.
Your voice isn't really bad, and rather fits this tune. I would be inclined to dry it out some. Are you  using busses? I'd run the vox dry, with a send to a bus with the reverb, and use that to dial in the ambience.
That guitar is way out left. It's kind of primary here, and I think it would be better somewhat more centered. Not dead center, but closer.
My biggest nit is the snare. It seems to be coming in too hot( compressor?). I'd  dial that down a few notches.
Your performance is true to the feel of the song. Just polish the production.

Thanks for the review Robert.
I will  look into the snare and the left channel guitar.
The verb is on a buss and sends are being used so that can be delt with with another go.
Thanks for the use of some extra ears.

The Bee Gee's set the bar pretty high on this one... The low (octave low) vocals are making it hard for me to listen, it's hurting my brain :-( 

The snare I think should be much more laid back sounding. It's good for most of your other rock stuff. But it doesn't seem to fit this vibe. There are some other things about the mix that are bothering me, but I can't put my finger on them. (in the phones)

I would have to agree with Robert....

i am listening on cheap PC speakers and the snare is just popping thru....

Maybe mix your backing vox a little wider ....out left and right instead of down the center....it seems they are getting lost.....

but I like the tune!

Clifford...

Thatsastrat


Janet,
Thank you for the thoughtfull comments.
 
Robby,
Sorry I hurt you brain. Good sign though, it's still there.
If you can tell me the other stuff that bothers you that could be
helpfull for the next try.

Well it definitely needs to be sung an octave higher. With that snare being so in my face, it's hard to really get to the rest of it. I feel like Abe Lincoln being shot in the head repeatedly, every down beat :-( Other than that Mrs Lincoln, how did you like the mix? 


There's something about the acoustic guitar, maybe it's compressed too much? I'm not sure, just would like to hear it differently, it feels a little full in the low mids, (you need a HPF on pretty much all acoustic guitars.) Again though, it's hard for me to get past that snare.

Not a bad voice.  I would reduce the echo/delay so that it will come up more cleanly.  Don't hide it and let it come out.  Great track and nice instrumentation.

Is that a Kramer?

Maybe bring the bass guitar more to the front as well and let it work more with the bass drum to bring more rhythm to the song.

It's all a bit spacy at the moment. :)

Interesting version. Certainly comes across much different than the original. I'm just rediscovering the Bee-Gee's now as well.  I couldn't stand them when I was subjected to them every waking hour as a kid, but I really like the production of much of their stuff. I've come to the conclusion that Barry had to sing in that range because if he had sung it lower it just wouldn't work. There's just too much going on in the mid's that it just wouldn't cut it. I think the reason that Minimalist guitar playing started with Disco because there were so many layers of stuff going on and the fact that the Drums and Bass dominated most of the beats that the guitar would have to get it's due by being much more percussive.

I think your version is well balanced and performed well for a ballad. I would tone down the snare a bit.

Tap,
Thank you for listening and taking the time to comment.
 
Batsbrew,
Thank you for your suggestions on fixing the mix.
 

bapu


My initial thoughts are "too much mid range". After a while it grew on me. Still, too mid range for my tastes. I'd twang the guitar and give the bass a bit more punch.

Ed,
Thanks for your thoughts on the mix.
It seems I fight the mid range build up quite a bit.
I will play with this some more. It just seems when I start to clear out the mids, it sucks all of the wood and air
that I like to hear out of the sound. Recording is easy, mixing not so much.

The snare sticks out like a sore thumb. The playing on the guitar in the left is a bit iffy in one or two places (fret buzz etc). The drum sound seems all wrong for the style. The reverb on the guitars needs work. It sounds like a series of overdubs not a 'song'. The mix needs some work. You need to create some space by changing the snare drum sound and not cluttering the vocal space with the guitars. Its kind of odd. The vocals sit in their space because there's next to nothing coming through in the centre aside from the vocal. Which kind of works but even though i can head the vocal i feel like i'm fighting a very agressive snare sound and agressive guitar sounds which need to be backed off a bit. I can't hear any real clarity in the bass. and I can't hear any bass drum. The hi hat sound is a little harsh for the style.

Basically, I'd be looking at softening the tone of the guitars and not placing them quite as wide because you're leaving the keys and vocal too exposed without creating the space for them, if that makes any sense at all. I know what I mean, but i'm unsure if that's coming across. I wouldn't worry about your vocal performance, its fine. Its a bit masked by the effect. It seems to come across that you're using most of the effects for effect and not for creating a coherent mix which is what I'd look towards.

Sorry if I was too harsh with this, I'm just saying it as I hear it, I do hope it helps though.

Chris.