daryl1968

kevinwal

daryl1968
Hi Kevin
Really like the song/instrumentation/performances.
I would agree with what Dan says above re the mix

I appreciate it, Daryl. I'm trying now to figure out how much compression is too much. My ears aren't as well educated as many here and I am particularly compression-detection challenged. It may take a few iterations.

There's an ointment for CDS (Compression-detection-syndrome) these days Kevin - you can buy it over the counter.... 

If there really were such a thing I'd have cases of it already. lol.

Cool tune. Like the instrumentation, the little bass solo line, guitars are really nice (good parts - tastefully played) . Love the harmonies - there's a CSN vibe in there (which is good as far as I am concerned - I can almost picture Graham Nash at the mic).
 
A fun song - has a good vibe and positive energy. 

Sounds good here, I agree with the observation made by Dan and seconded by Daryl,  Thanks for sharing.  I am sure a last couple of tweaks will get you there, but I would suggest giving your ears a rest for at least 72 hours before you attack it again.

Kevin,
 
One thing I should have mentioned is, depending on whether you are using any limiters or not, you may have to push some instruments back to raise the vocals enough to unmask them. Compression will help them from getting lost, but the vocals definitely need to come up as well. It's almost as if you mixed this with the vocals as an afterthought, or, you don't like the sound of your own voice.
 
If you have limiter(s) on the master, you may have enough headroom to raise the vocals alone, but based on what I'm hearing, I doubt there will be enough.
 
You can solve this in one of two ways: 1) use offset mode to lower everything, then raise the vocals, or 2) route all vocals and all instruments to two separate submix buses so you can control them separately. Your levels are pretty good on the instruments so I don't want you to have to remix them, lol.
 
Regards,
Dan
 

dcumpian
Kevin,
 
One thing I should have mentioned is, depending on whether you are using any limiters or not, you may have to push some instruments back to raise the vocals enough to unmask them. Compression will help them from getting lost, but the vocals definitely need to come up as well. It's almost as if you mixed this with the vocals as an afterthought, or, you don't like the sound of your own voice.
 
If you have limiter(s) on the master, you may have enough headroom to raise the vocals alone, but based on what I'm hearing, I doubt there will be enough.
 
You can solve this in one of two ways: 1) use offset mode to lower everything, then raise the vocals, or 2) route all vocals and all instruments to two separate submix buses so you can control them separately. Your levels are pretty good on the instruments so I don't want you to have to remix them, lol.
 
Regards,
Dan

Dan, thanks for the pointers. I've already got submix buses so lowering everything is a piece of cake. I'll give that a try. You nailed one point, I'm not the biggest fan of my own voice, so I should probably have someone else mix my stuff. :)
 
Kevin

Wookiee
Sounds good here, I agree with the observation made by Dan and seconded by Daryl,  Thanks for sharing.  I am sure a last couple of tweaks will get you there, but I would suggest giving your ears a rest for at least 72 hours before you attack it again.

And that, I'll bet, is why you get paid the big bucks! Thanks!

Mannynyagain
Cool tune. Like the instrumentation, the little bass solo line, guitars are really nice (good parts - tastefully played) . Love the harmonies - there's a CSN vibe in there (which is good as far as I am concerned - I can almost picture Graham Nash at the mic).
 
A fun song - has a good vibe and positive energy. 

Thank you, sir!

Overall, sounds pretty good here!   The mix is dense but still fairly clear and open.   I think you did a good job finding a place for all the layers.  And those layers, BTW, are very nice.  Catchy and well played all around.   I do agree though with the vocal compression comments just to bring them forward a bit. 
 
One thing I didn't see mentioned was the click on the kick drum - on the cheap headphones I'm listening on the click is pretty noticeable.   But it's a nit.  

stevec
Overall, sounds pretty good here!   The mix is dense but still fairly clear and open.   I think you did a good job finding a place for all the layers.  And those layers, BTW, are very nice.  Catchy and well played all around.   I do agree though with the vocal compression comments just to bring them forward a bit. 
 
One thing I didn't see mentioned was the click on the kick drum - on the cheap headphones I'm listening on the click is pretty noticeable.   But it's a nit.  

Wow, I never noticed that. In addition to being compression-detection challenged, my high frequency hearing is pretty ragged. I'm going to take a listen for it. How does one go about dealing with kick click? Gate? EQ? Thanks for the good words, steve!

You're welcome!
 
I typically isolate the kick and then try editing the source first; e.g., if it's a drum synth I'll try adjusting the kick parameters to round out the tone.  If that's not an option, my second choice would be a dynamic EQ to help tame those peaks when they happen (usually by sweeping with a boost and/or analyzer).  Last, I'd go with a straight parametric EQ, again sweeping with a significant boost to help find specific offending frequency(s), and also using an analyzer if needed.     But that's all just me.