Voda La Void
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'The Darkening' by Voda La Void - *Mix Updated*
This is my first all pure audio song and performance. No MIDI or synths of any kind. Finally. The lyrics are more of an abstract fantasy theme. The vocals are a bit more buried in the mix on purpose, since I think the music needs to stand out more to get all the parts. Definitely turn it up if at all possible. I welcome all criticisms. Thanks for listening! Update: In response to the mix critiques I lowered the drums to take some bite out of the hot snare, raised the vocals a tad, brought the bass a *little* more upfront, and raised the electric guitars a little in the second verse. I really think the vocals are right where they need to be. The Darkening - Mix Updated 3/1/2016
post edited by Voda La Void - 2016/03/01 08:54:30
Voda La Void...experiments in disturbing frequencies...
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Guitarhacker
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Re: The Darkening (No Offense) by Voda La Void
2016/02/19 10:18:32
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That hits you like a ton of bricks right out off the starting line.
Not my cuppa genre tea.... but well done and nicely recorded.
Tons of energy in there.
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twisted6s
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Re: The Darkening (No Offense) by Voda La Void
2016/02/19 18:56:46
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Serious Rock Opera!!! And, damn, that drummer's a BEAST!
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Jesse Screed
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Re: The Darkening (No Offense) by Voda La Void
2016/02/19 19:31:03
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VLV, nice effort.
I like the song, and the guitars, and the change at 2:00. Very interesting piece, I would elaborate on that thing at 2:55 and at 3:06, because it is the song, a nice chorus thing, and then you could float it over the other parts towards the end.
I'm nit sure if there were a few timing issues right at the beginning.
Cool
Jess Q. Screed
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jamesyoyo
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Re: The Darkening (No Offense) by Voda La Void
2016/02/19 19:32:23
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Drums sound awesome but they overpowered everything else. Drop the snare by 2 DB and trim the high end eq on it. And dip out the entire drum mix around 1400hz to give the vocals some more room,
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Voda La Void
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Re: The Darkening (No Offense) by Voda La Void
2016/02/20 13:38:38
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jamesyoyo
Drums sound awesome but they overpowered everything else. Drop the snare by 2 DB and trim the high end eq on it. And dip out the entire drum mix around 1400hz to give the vocals some more room,
I'm actually having a bit of a time with this drum sound, overall. I can't trim the snare only. And I can't pick on the hats and cymbals and trim them down a bit like I would like to. I only have a left and right record input on my sound card so I'm going left and right out of the mixer into a compressor to give it a generalized squeeze and limit before it hits the hard drive. Even when I turn my overheads off, just for testing, the hi-hats are too strong. Still tinkering...but I'm at a loss at the moment... twisted6's
Serious Rock Opera!!! And, damn, that drummer's a BEAST!
Thanks for that. I'm very out of practice but it's coming back. Jesse Screed
I'm nit sure if there were a few timing issues right at the beginning.
The opening fill is off a bit but lands right on time so I left it because I liked how disorienting it felt. A studio mistake that I have grown to like. Other than that, yeah I'm a little rusty still and trying to get it back. Guitarhacker
That hits you like a ton of bricks right out off the starting line.
Not my cuppa genre tea.... but well done and nicely recorded.
Tons of energy in there.
Exactly what I was looking for. Energy. That was precisely the end game on this one. I miss playing real drums and the energy transfer they can provide.
Voda La Void...experiments in disturbing frequencies...
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markno999
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Re: The Darkening (No Offense) by Voda La Void
2016/02/20 15:40:25
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Voda,
Cool song throughout. My kind of harder rock with the interesting harmony choices:) Love the guitars and drums. Just bought the Chris Lord Alge video and project mix tutorial offered by Slate Digital and the drums remind me a bit of the CLA style. Drums may be a hair hot but they sound great..
Regards
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rgalbraith
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Re: The Darkening (No Offense) by Voda La Void
2016/02/20 15:59:32
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Is that you on the guitar and the drums? Overall I'd say it's pretty tight! That kind of versatility impresses me.
I know you pushed the vocals back purposely, but I personally would prefer them more up front and less processed (so that they more or less inhabit the same space as the rest of the band), but that's just my opinion.
And hey what's wrong with synths? 😄 They make audio too! 😎
Great job voda. Do you have more?
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daryl1968
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Re: The Darkening (No Offense) by Voda La Void
2016/02/21 14:46:56
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wow Voda - you know I'm a fan of your style - great job on this one - it must have been a b1tch to mix but you did a great job on it. I agree with jamesyoyo - the snare could just be trimmed back a hair
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Voda La Void
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Re: The Darkening (No Offense) by Voda La Void
2016/02/23 07:49:31
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markno999
Voda,
Cool song throughout. My kind of harder rock with the interesting harmony choices:) Love the guitars and drums. Just bought the Chris Lord Alge video and project mix tutorial offered by Slate Digital and the drums remind me a bit of the CLA style. Drums may be a hair hot but they sound great..
Glad you liked. I'm definitely a hard rock, metal kind of fella. rgalbraith
Is that you on the guitar and the drums? Overall I'd say it's pretty tight! That kind of versatility impresses me.
I know you pushed the vocals back purposely, but I personally would prefer them more up front and less processed (so that they more or less inhabit the same space as the rest of the band), but that's just my opinion.
And hey what's wrong with synths? 😄 They make audio too! 😎
Great job voda. Do you have more?
Yes sir, I have to play all the instruments in this twisted atmosphere that is my recording studio. Thanks for the comments. Nothing wrong with synths, my friend. Nothing at all. I'm just more of an instrumentalist type and I like the feel and sound of human performance and nuance. Plus...oh my god..I'm so done with the aggravation and pain of trying to make synths sound like humans are playing. It's been burning me out... I have no more like this song, really, because this whole thing just hit me a week or so ago. I had an epiphany, after almost 30 years of writing and recording....I know what I want and need to do now and I now have the experience to do it, I think.... daryl1968
wow Voda - you know I'm a fan of your style - great job on this one - it must have been a b1tch to mix but you did a great job on it. I agree with jamesyoyo - the snare could just be trimmed back a hair
Thank you too, man. So glad you liked it. I usually can tell if I've got some decent performance going on, but I can't always tell if I've come up with a good overall thing to listen to, ha ha. That's kinda important with what we do, huh? Thanks for listening.
Voda La Void...experiments in disturbing frequencies...
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Wookiee
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Re: The Darkening (No Offense) by Voda La Void
2016/02/23 13:35:58
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All good comment above on the mix, nothing I could add, did enjoy the playing, thanks for sharing
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rgalbraith
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Re: The Darkening (No Offense) by Voda La Void
2016/02/23 17:29:04
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Voda La Void
rgalbraith
Is that you on the guitar and the drums? Overall I'd say it's pretty tight! That kind of versatility impresses me.
I know you pushed the vocals back purposely, but I personally would prefer them more up front and less processed (so that they more or less inhabit the same space as the rest of the band), but that's just my opinion.
And hey what's wrong with synths? 😄 They make audio too! 😎
Great job voda. Do you have more?
Yes sir, I have to play all the instruments in this twisted atmosphere that is my recording studio. Thanks for the comments. Nothing wrong with synths, my friend. Nothing at all. I'm just more of an instrumentalist type and I like the feel and sound of human performance and nuance. Plus...oh my god..I'm so done with the aggravation and pain of trying to make synths sound like humans are playing. It's been burning me out...
I have no more like this song, really, because this whole thing just hit me a week or so ago. I had an epiphany, after almost 30 years of writing and recording....I know what I want and need to do now and I now have the experience to do it, I think....
Ah...I think you're using the word "synth" perhaps to mean this:  And when I think of "synth" I think of this, haha:  I'd rather use hardware over software any day for electronic sounds... but I generally agree with you as far as drums go (using someone playing a kit), particularly in the style of music you're laying down.
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batsbrew
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Re: The Darkening (No Offense) by Voda La Void
2016/02/24 13:45:15
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well, i like the arrangment,
and the performances...
the drums just sound crushed tho, not in a good way....
they are pumping throughout the entire song.
it's distracting to me.
i like this, it has a sort of mastodon feel to it...
keep tweaking the mix,
get it where nothing is pumping....
and i think you gotta push the vox right up to the front,
there is enough area throughout the song where it's JUST music
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Mesh
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Re: The Darkening (No Offense) by Voda La Void
2016/02/25 09:41:35
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Tim, I also agree with Bat's comment (listening on H-phones here)......you have a really good voice for this genre and it could be up front a lot more (IMO).....the music on it's own is very good, but the your singing fits and the performance is well done.
Good stuff here Tim.....composition and all.
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stevec
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Re: The Darkening (No Offense) by Voda La Void
2016/02/25 14:24:35
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Musically I really like this - right up my alley. And your performances across-the-board are really well done. The mix though, I have to agree with the above - there seems to be a bit too much compression, leaving the mix a little flat. And this is not a flat tune! It's got some kahunas.  I get the stereo drum thing though... have you tried EQ-ing out some of the more prominent frequencies before compressing?
SteveC https://soundcloud.com/steve-cocchi http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=39163 SONAR Platinum x64, Intel Q9300 (2.5Ghz), Asus P5N-D, Win7 x64 SP1, 8GB RAM, 1TB internal + ESATA + USB Backup HDDs, ATI Radeon HD5450 1GB RAM + dual ViewSonic VA2431wm Monitors; Focusrite 18i6 (ASIO); Komplete 9, Melodyne Studio 4, Ozone 7 Advanced, Rapture Pro, GPO5, Valhalla Plate, MJUC comp, MDynamic EQ, lots of other freebie VST plugins, synths and Kontakt libraries
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Mannynyagain
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Re: The Darkening (No Offense) by Voda La Void
2016/02/25 18:05:57
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I am surprised at how much I enjoyed this. It's not a genre I listen to - I checked it out earlier, then again just now (twice) - and suddenly it appeals to me. It's odd, dark, hyper and very atmospheric. I wish the vocals were more up front but even that "background" approach adds a little mystery. Playing is also excellent. Love the little timing thingy (skipping a beat here and there). All very cool.
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Voda La Void
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Re: The Darkening (No Offense) by Voda La Void
2016/02/26 11:06:53
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batsbrew
...the drums just sound crushed tho, not in a good way....
they are pumping throughout the entire song.
it's distracting to me.
i like this, it has a sort of mastodon feel to it...
keep tweaking the mix,
get it where nothing is pumping....
Batsbrew, I think it's the way I recorded the drum track. I run left and right stereo out from the mixer into the compressor and then out left and right to the sound card. I did *not* stereo link both sides through the compressor, and I think it's creating that pumping sound as each side squeezes out of sync with the other. At the time I was so impressed by hearing real acoustic drums that I actually liked the effect. I've never really used stereo linking before and now that I'm tweaking this drum sound there is a noticeable difference. Stereo linking seems to create a tighter compressed sound without that swooshing left and right going on, but then it also seems to lose a little of its dynamics. I'm trying to figure out how to do this and get that Danny Carey wide drum sound. Mesh
Tim, I also agree with Bat's comment (listening on H-phones here)......you have a really good voice for this genre and it could be up front a lot more (IMO).....the music on it's own is very good, but the your singing fits and the performance is well done.
Good stuff here Tim.....composition and all.
Thanks, I have taken the hint and I think I will raise the vox just a bit. stevec
Musically I really like this - right up my alley. And your performances across-the-board are really well done.
The mix though, I have to agree with the above - there seems to be a bit too much compression, leaving the mix a little flat. And this is not a flat tune! It's got some kahunas. I get the stereo drum thing though... have you tried EQ-ing out some of the more prominent frequencies before compressing?
I think the compression is more related to the original drum track. I try not to apply much final mix compression so the only compression I really use is typically in the recording chain. And I did squeeze it too much and failed to stereo link the two sides and I'm afraid that has flattened their sound too much. I'm re-working my drum sound now. I've got it tweaked a lot better, new Evans heads all around, tuned up, changed the angle on the tom mics, and fixed the EQ'ing on the bass drum - and lowered the level on the snare so every drum is roughly the same volume level. And, last but not least, I've lowered the compression in the recording chain considerably and stereo linked the left and right channels Mannynyagain
I am surprised at how much I enjoyed this. It's not a genre I listen to - I checked it out earlier, then again just now (twice) - and suddenly it appeals to me. It's odd, dark, hyper and very atmospheric. I wish the vocals were more up front but even that "background" approach adds a little mystery. Playing is also excellent. Love the little timing thingy (skipping a beat here and there). All very cool.
I wasn't sure if anyone would notice the little timing games, but I guess so! This song was a lot of fun to record and play. Thanks for listening.
Voda La Void...experiments in disturbing frequencies...
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jamesg1213
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Re: The Darkening (No Offense) by Voda La Void
2016/02/29 12:41:24
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Really like this song, it rocks! Great little touches and fills, very tightly played. Vocals are excellent, would have liked to hear them a little clearer. Quite fatiguing to listen to through headphones, but I'm sure you've heard enough about compression 
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Voda La Void
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Re: The Darkening (No Offense) by Voda La Void
2016/03/01 08:43:05
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jamesg1213
Really like this song, it rocks! Great little touches and fills, very tightly played. Vocals are excellent, would have liked to hear them a little clearer. Quite fatiguing to listen to through headphones, but I'm sure you've heard enough about compression
Thanks for listening. I just updated the mix and I'm curious if it's still fatiguing now.
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stevec
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Re: The Darkening (No Offense) by Voda La Void
2016/03/01 14:59:13
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I still hear some over-compression at a mix level, but I do think this is much better. The vocals are still a bit lost here and there but definitely more where they should be. And yes, the drums seem more even which allows other elements to breathe more. I'm noticing more details than the first time through!
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Mannynyagain
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Re: The Darkening (No Offense) by Voda La Void
2016/03/01 19:10:25
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I'm kind of laughing at myself here - I really like this and I did not expect to. It's a very cool song - all aspects. I do think this is a better mix for sure - but I could still use a bit more of the vocals. Great job - it's such a fun song to listen to - you spent a lot of time on this and it has paid off. Very impressive.
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eph221
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Re: The Darkening (No Offense) by Voda La Void
2016/03/01 19:29:35
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I'm with manny, I had to listen to it twice. Good songs are meant to be heard more than once anyways. The only thing I noticed was that the toms lacked depth. It could be my speakers.
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Mesh
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Re: The Darkening (No Offense) by Voda La Void
2016/03/02 12:12:45
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Gave it a few listens and do agree with Steve's comments on over-compression......possibly less squashing might give everything else to breathe easier in the mix?
Also check around the 36 second mark on those couple of notes being much louder than the rest of the song......not sure if it's the conversion to youtube's audio or not.....
Overall, the mix is getting better on a really good song/performance.
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