"Unchained" (Rock) Mix #3 - 9-28-15

Sounds pretty good Bob, no real crits on the mix here.  I could hear everything pretty clear on my system.  I like the trebled out drum intro and the spaced out picking work.  The tune builds nicely to the heavy kick in.  This is a good rocker for sure!  Tasty synth work too.  Great stuff!

 Awesome Bob, love those chords and alternative vibe of this one. Great choice for opening song on CD. 
Great tone and solo

Hiya Bob,
 
I really enjoyed listening to Unchained dood! Everything is hanging together pretty damn well in this one 
 
Great singing and guitar work...
 
Sounding good for a test mix Bob

synkrotron:
 
Hey, Andy, how are you, my friend?  Hope you're doing well!
 
Big thanks for checking out "Unchained" for me, LOL, especially after helping out so much with my last post's nightmare re-initiation into trying to get back to doing this stuff!
 
I truly appreciate your good input and kind words of encouragement, and your taking time to listen and comment means a great deal to me!
 
Thanks again, Andy, have a great day!
 
Bob
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jamesg1213:
 
 
Hi, James,
 
Thank you kindly, good sir!  I'm hoping that I'm finally starting to get my "groove" back.
 
Yep, I thought I'd go for the lo-fi intro for some contrast and then come in with a BANG to kick things off on this one.
 
I'm really happy that you like it and I always look forward to and greatly appreciate your input, observations and comments!  You've been putting out a huge selection of fantastic music here on the forum, always high quality productions, from back before I first joined, and you were one of the first to welcome me here back then, and I'm very grateful for your input, support and friendship!
 
Best Wishes, James!
 
Bob
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Big smiles here. I wasn't sure about the intro in the "old radio" eq, maybe if you cut it in half, then get to the goodies sooner, it might satisfy the delayed gratificationially challenged.
 
On yer vocals, in the chorus, your big "un-CHAINNED!" I think could be louder, it seems to dip a bit and I think that's the payoff lyric in this one.
 
Like your tunes, man.
 
 
cheers,
-Tom

emeraldsoul:
 
Hey, Tom,
 
Thanks, buddy, greatly appreciate your valuable input, observations and ideas!
 
LOL, you're 100% on the money about the "Unchained" chorus section, before I posted the mix I hemmed and hawed about that, and stupidly dropped it by 2db!   Your comment proves that I should have gone with my original gut instinct and left it the way it was.
 
Thanks again for listening and your good input and comments, it's what makes this forum such a great place!
 
Have a good one!
 
Bob
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Hey Bob,
 
At 1:40 and 2:48: your rhythm guitar riff cuts out, which is cool.  But it sounds like you've got the automatic short fade happening at the end of the clip.  I think you may have meant to have it do an immediate cut (i.e. no fade at all, or one that lasts less than 0.1sec).  Or maybe I'm wrong!
 
One other thing I'm hearing is the vocals seem a little "late" in various parts of the song.  Is it possible you might have dragged and dropped some of the vocal clips and maybe placed them a smidgen to the right of where they should have been?  I always try to line up my clips using snapping if possible, but when that doesn't work (as sometimes it doesn't), I use my eye to place the highest transient on the visible wave form right on the beat (which is usually the highest transient in the snare drum track).  Not sure if that helps at all or if it's just something you are already doing.
 
Great metal echoey solos, nice meaty rhythm guitar, awesome guitar tone, love the composition, strong voice.  It'll make a great lead track for the record!

Walt Collins:
 
 
 
Hi, Walt,
 
 
How are you, buddy?  Hope you're gearing up for a great holiday weekend!
 
Thank you so much for taking time to lend your excellent ears to this for me, and I truly appreciate your very specific, detailed input and suggestions because they always really help me out a great deal!
 
You were 100% correct about the long fades during the rhythm guitar stops, and I'm hoping to have the new mix up over the weekend.  Although I don't have any auto-fades set up in Sonar 8.5 PE, I have a habit of applying a short fade to the beginning and end of every clip whenever I split a track as a safety measure for unwanted pops and clicks.  Unfortunately, in my haste to get this posted, I never went back in and edited the splits correctly, and after your good advice, it already sounds much better.  Sometimes it seems I get too close to a song while working on a mix and some of the flaws become invisible to me until someone else picks up on them and points them out.  That's why I'm so grateful for your generous input and that of the rest of our helpful forum members.
 
I'm still trying to determine where the vocals might be coming in late so I can fix them, if you can point me in the right direction that would be great.
 
Thanks again, Walt, and have a great weekend!
 
Bob
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bapu:
 
 
Hi, Ed, thanks, buddy, I really appreciate you checking this out for me and also your good input, observations and advice!
 
You missed my last post for "Power Trip" which was my first attempt after more than seven months away from working on this stuff, but long story short, there were also lots of changes to my listening systems where I check my mixes, and also working with ARC 2 turned on inside Sonar, and off while listening to reference mixes on YouTube, Spotify, Vevo, etc., and even songs here on the forum.  I'm still struggling a bit with my "studio ears" and overall tonality on my mixes.
 
But, yes, this is "mastered" similarly to my past stuff, so I'm hoping you can clarify the dullness that you seem to be hearing.  Is it a lack of highs, or does it seem too muddy on your system, or lacking low end punch?  Any input or advice to what might be causing it to sound dull on your system would be very helpful and greatly appreciated to help me get this fixed up and trusting my ears again.
 
Thanks again, Ed, I always look forward to and truly appreciate your input, ideas, friendship and support here on the forum!
 
Have a good one, buddy!
Bob
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That sounded great, yet again Bob... Sounding a lot more polished to my ears
 
Punchy as hell if you ask me
 
 
 
cheers
 
andy

It sounds pretty big here...  'specially those guitars.     Good song too, I like it - catchy chorus.   And your voice sounds really good on this one. 
 
About the only thing I'd nit-pick are some timing issues between the vocals and instruments in the chorus.  I felt as though the vocal lines were dragging behind a little, particularly against the drums.    But song and mix-wise I think you have a winner!
 

Bob, this is huge sounding.  I love the song and your arrangement.  Your vocals and guitar work are awesome.  I, too, hear the timing issues in the chorus, though, I'm sure they can easily be fixed once you identify them.  Otherwise, this is a hit and album ready.

Very cool rocking tune there Bob....mix & performance were really good!! I do agree that the abrupt stops were distracting (I replayed that part a few times to see if it was working as intended) and didn't quite seem to fit with the rest of the song. 
 
Your solo's & rhythm guitar tones/playing are just top shelf stuff. I enjoyed this tune very much.....looks like I'll have to visit your site again and give another whirl at all your tunes.  

 The production is really sounding huge on this brother Bob, cool intro,  love that really catchy low opening riff. Expressive vocals, real cool idea adding a few low-fi/telephone verses. Great sounding mix.
 
 
 Glad you like the Tele, not half as lovely as that new PRS of yours I think I saw posted here.

NOTE: Sorry for the late replies, guys!
 
synkrotron:
 
Hey, Andy, thanks so much for coming back for a second listen, and for your encouraging comments, I truly appreciate your input and support!
 
Best wishes for a Rockin' week, my friend!
Bob
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wookiee:
 
Hey there, Wook!  Thanks so much, John, I always look forward to and greatly appreciate your very good input and comments!
 
Have a fantastic week, buddy!
Bob
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stevec:
 
Hi, Steve, how are you, buddy?  Doing great I hope!
 
Big thanks for checking this out for me and for the kind words and good observations!
 
Yes, Sir, you and our fellow forum friends are 100% correct about the timing issues with the choruses.  I did quite a bit of cutting, nudging, sliding and fine tuning for the new Mix #3, so I'm hoping things are falling into place now.
 
Thanks again, Steve and have a great week, buddy!
Bob
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mesayre:
 
Hi, Mike,
 
Thank you so much for taking time to give this a listen and for your encouraging comments and good input!
 
Yes, Sir, the timing of the vocals in the choruses was off quite a bit, but hopefully I've got it fixed up now on Mix #3.
 
Thanks again, Mike, I greatly appreciate your input!
 
Best wishes for a great week!
Bob
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Lynn:
 
Hi, Lynn,
 
Thanks very much, buddy!  I truly appreciate you checking this one out for me and also your encouraging words of support!
 
Greatly appreciated, Lynn, have a great week!
Bob
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markno999:
 
Hey, Mark, how are you, buddy?  Hope you're doing great!
 
Thanks so much for checking this one out for me and also for your valuable detailed input and observations!  I always look forward to and greatly appreciate your input, advice and support on my stuff.
 
For this new mix, I did quite a bit of nudging and sliding on the chorus vocals and outro echoes to fix the timing anomalies as per your suggestion, and I stretched the abrupt rhythm guitar stops back out to the finger slides to fill in the gaps, and used shorter fades as Walt suggested.  I'm crossing my fingers that things are starting to gel a little better.
 
Thanks again for your good ears, greatly appreciated, buddy!
Bob
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Mesh:
 
Hey, Mesh, It's really great to hear from you, hope you're doing great!
 
Thank you very much for stopping by on this one, and for your good input and kind words of encouragement!
 
I'm hoping I fixed up the stops on this new mix by stretching out the cuts further and adding a few short fades.
 
I really appreciate you checking this out for me, and your good observations and kind words!
 
Have a great week, my friend!
Bob
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batsbrew:
 
Hey, Rob, how's it going, buddy?  Hope you're doing well!
 
Thanks so much for popping in on this one and lending your great ears, good input and suggestions!
 
Believe it or not, I originally automated the lo-fi drums back in with a slow build in the intro just the way you suggested, but after a few listens, I decided to go with the BIG BANG!!! because I thought the contrast made a more dramatic impact. LOL!
 
Thanks for the advice on the bass because lately I've been struggling to try to get a "rounder" sounding bass that fits in with the thick wall of guitars without swamping the low end or getting too clicky.  On the new mix I dialed back in some of the low mids that I sculpted out of the bass for the original mix.  I'm hoping to hit a decent balance without overwhelming the mix.
 
Thanks again for giving this a listen and your great input!
 
Have a good one!
Bob
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ohgrant:
 
Hey, Grant,  Thanks so much, buddy!
 
I really appreciate you checking this out for me and also your good observations and encouraging words!
 
I hope you're loving that new Tele of yours, can't wait to hear it on one of your song posts soon!
 
Have a great week, Grant!
Bob
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daryl1968:
 
Hey, Daryl, how are you, my friend?  Hope you're doing well!
 
Thank you so much for taking time to give this a listen and for your input, observations and very kind words!
 
I'm crossing my fingers that I've got the chorus vocal timing issues ironed out on the new mix that I just uploaded.  I bumped up the drum bus conservatively by 1dB, but after re-eqing the bass, I'm wondering if I still might have to give the drums a bit more of a boost.
 
Thanks again, Daryl, I really appreciate your advice and suggestions, and your new song post "Something In My Drink" is dynamite!
 
Best Wishes!
Bob
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