My first song made/mixed outside of Sonar

Author
Blades
Max Output Level: -43 dBFS
  • Total Posts : 3246
  • Joined: 2003/11/06 08:22:52
  • Location: Georgia
  • Status: offline
2018/12/08 02:57:03 (permalink)

My first song made/mixed outside of Sonar

As many know, I have been a long time loyalist to Cakewalk and Sonar.  When the Gibson deal ended, I looked around at other DAW options and found Studio One.  I am still here and try to keep up and have Cakewalk by BandLab installed on my system and updated with the latest version, but I have shifted my focus on Studio One.
 
That said...
 
I'd love to hear what you think of this tune.  I spent a TON of time getting all of the parts right.  I am not a Guitarist, vocalist, bassist or keyboardist, but one of my favorite "hobby" things to do is to try to hear all of the parts and play the instruments and record them, mix them, and hopefully come up with something that is either like the original or at leat a respectable rendition of it.   
Please check out the blog post on my website here and let me know what you think: https://www.blades.technology/music/songs/anything
​​​​​​​

Blades
www.blades.technology  - Technology Info and Tutorials for Music and Web
#1

9 Replies Related Threads

    Larry Jones
    Max Output Level: -74 dBFS
    • Total Posts : 834
    • Joined: 2007/10/11 02:45:33
    • Location: Southern California
    • Status: offline
    Re: My first song made/mixed outside of Sonar 2018/12/08 05:06:18 (permalink)
    Pretty darned musical, for someone who claims not to be a musician. Good job! But there's a ringing boom, caused, I think, by the toms. You need to find that low-mid frequency and reduce it. Super annoying, but overall very nice recording.

    SONAR Platinum 2017.10 • CbB  Win10 • i7/2600 • 16GB RAM • Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 • NVIDIA GeForce 8400GS
    #2
    Blades
    Max Output Level: -43 dBFS
    • Total Posts : 3246
    • Joined: 2003/11/06 08:22:52
    • Location: Georgia
    • Status: offline
    Re: My first song made/mixed outside of Sonar 2018/12/08 05:13:08 (permalink)
    Nope... Not a Musician, just a drummer ;)

    There IS an intentional low riding Tom, along with the pedal tone of the bass guitar during the verse I didn't hear it as annoying. Hmm. Wil have to listen back specifically for that.
    post edited by Blades - 2018/12/09 13:58:58

    Blades
    www.blades.technology  - Technology Info and Tutorials for Music and Web
    #3
    Larry Jones
    Max Output Level: -74 dBFS
    • Total Posts : 834
    • Joined: 2007/10/11 02:45:33
    • Location: Southern California
    • Status: offline
    Re: My first song made/mixed outside of Sonar 2018/12/08 06:11:56 (permalink)
     Yes, it's the tom ride. I would put it on an analyzer (don't know if one comes with S1, but there a nice one in the SONAR Pro Channel) and see where it is. I'd guess around 500Hz. But still, overall good work!

    SONAR Platinum 2017.10 • CbB  Win10 • i7/2600 • 16GB RAM • Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 • NVIDIA GeForce 8400GS
    #4
    thegaltieribrothers
    Max Output Level: -84 dBFS
    • Total Posts : 319
    • Joined: 2011/07/28 14:18:38
    • Location: birmingham, united kingdom
    • Status: offline
    Re: My first song made/mixed outside of Sonar 2018/12/14 11:16:24 (permalink)
    Hi Blades,
     
    Drums sound excellent + nice song and arrangement too.
     
    Thanks for sharing.
     
    Good Job!
     
    paul
    #5
    Blades
    Max Output Level: -43 dBFS
    • Total Posts : 3246
    • Joined: 2003/11/06 08:22:52
    • Location: Georgia
    • Status: offline
    Re: My first song made/mixed outside of Sonar 2018/12/14 11:52:58 (permalink)
    Thanks Paul.

    I just remixed this last night to put a little bass back in with a little less compression. A little evening out of the lead and backing vocals, more bottom/less boxiness in the kick, and more leveling and less else on The master.

    I will be reposting later today if it sounds good elsewhere (I. E. Car).

    Blades
    www.blades.technology  - Technology Info and Tutorials for Music and Web
    #6
    Blades
    Max Output Level: -43 dBFS
    • Total Posts : 3246
    • Joined: 2003/11/06 08:22:52
    • Location: Georgia
    • Status: offline
    Re: My first song made/mixed outside of Sonar 2018/12/15 00:45:49 (permalink)
    After input from people on other forums, my wife, and my own listening on other systems, I have tightened up the mix and master on this some.  A few notable changes are the addition of some low end back in the kick and bass (EQ), reduction in compression on the Bass guitar,some EQ tweaks on the lead vocal and some leveling of it as well, adjustments to the levels where the guitar solos are, a change to the way it was mastered, using more leveling for volume and less additional overall EQ or compression.  I think that all of these together have made the sound better and I'll likely be stopping additional changes to this tune at this point.

    Sure would like some additional feedback - here's the link: https://www.blades.technology/music/songs/anything

    Blades
    www.blades.technology  - Technology Info and Tutorials for Music and Web
    #7
    biodiode
    Max Output Level: -66 dBFS
    • Total Posts : 1202
    • Joined: 2006/04/13 13:48:09
    • Location: Blackpool, UK
    • Status: offline
    Re: My first song made/mixed outside of Sonar 2018/12/15 08:49:18 (permalink)
    Only listened to the link in your last post and sounds good this end. The Queen influence certainly comes through, nice one.

    www.biodiode.com  
    https://soundcloud.com/biodiode
    PC Specs :-Sonar Platinum,
    Fractal Design Define R4 Case, Asus X-99 Deluxe motherboard, Intel Core i7 5960X Processor, Bequiet BK010 Dark Rock Cooler, 32GB - 2400mhz Corsair memory, 650W Bequiet Dark Pro PSU, 1GB XFX Radeon R5 Passive GFX, 2 x 256GB Samsung 850 Pro SSD, 1 x 3TB WesterDigital Black HDD, LG - BluRay Combo Drive, Windows 10, Kensington SlimBlade Trackball, LG34UM88C 34-Inch 3440 x 1440 UltraWide IPS Monitor
    #8
    Blades
    Max Output Level: -43 dBFS
    • Total Posts : 3246
    • Joined: 2003/11/06 08:22:52
    • Location: Georgia
    • Status: offline
    Re: My first song made/mixed outside of Sonar 2018/12/15 12:51:47 (permalink)
    Thanks Biodiode!

    Blades
    www.blades.technology  - Technology Info and Tutorials for Music and Web
    #9
    Blades
    Max Output Level: -43 dBFS
    • Total Posts : 3246
    • Joined: 2003/11/06 08:22:52
    • Location: Georgia
    • Status: offline
    Re: My first song made/mixed outside of Sonar 2018/12/21 00:34:09 (permalink)
    Anyone else? My wife says that there are a still a few things that could be improved on the vocal parts of the mix. What she described is the ever elusive sound that seems to come from a combination of better-than-I-have mics and more-than-I-have talent, but I'd like some other recordists/mixers around here for what else might need to be done before I clamp down on a final mix.

    My initial thoughts are that I'm going to re-record the first part of the first verse, as it seems a little unsteady and I this is partly what is making it stand out negatively - my first recording of the morning and all that...

    As mentioned in the blog post, this is my first recording with this soundcard (Presonus Studio 1824) and with my Pearl Mimic Pro drum kit.

    I look forward to any opinions you might have.
    https://www.blades.technology/music/songs/anything

    Blades
    www.blades.technology  - Technology Info and Tutorials for Music and Web
    #10
    Jump to:
    © 2024 APG vNext Commercial Version 5.1