Bit of a newbie at recording & mixing(have been recording with Sonar for about 5 months)  have written a bunch of songs just finished mixing the first one....all different styles...all feedback welcome...thanx gary
 
https://soundcloud.com/ga...u-dance-disco-vibe-mix
have remixed this one
 
https://soundcloud.com/gary-walsh-15/free-to-go-2btch-mix-1
 
 

Fun to listen to.  Does make my feet move.  Something in the mix is a bit strange but I can't tell what it is.  It could just be me but there are plenty of mixwise people up here.  I like it and will listen on monitors tomorrow.

thanx warren.....just listened to your stuff...The Pugtones...im loving it

Hi Gary?
 
This is pretty cool. My feet were moving right out of the gate! Plenty of funk, especially the clav/guitar stuff . . . and your vocals, too!
 
I'd focus on the bass - I was listening through some smallish computer speakers, so I probably really couldn't hear what was going on below 100 hz - but what I did hear was the bass playing some unexpected notes. If you are going for something moodier and off-kilter, then what you have is fine - but in your verses, I was almost thinking your bass was out of tune. Or, you are just landing a lot on non-roots, which might be your choice. ?
 
If it were my vote, I'd stick to the roots a little more often, which I'm guessing in those verses might be a "G"? Whatever it is, you have (I think) the same essential chords in the verse and the chorus, but only the chorus gets the "G" root happening in the bass.
 
Overall, for a tune like this, the bass is pretty much the most important thing, and if anything, I think you could make it "busier" with a few runs now and again.
 
I'm going to listen to your song on some better deeper speakers to see if I am missing the real bass, and just judging you on the overtones! :)
 
MEanwhile, a really cohesive effort, got me thinking Jamiroquoi which is fantastic territory in my opinion.
 
thanks for the share, a good one!
-Tom
 
 

Hi Gary welcome to the songs forum.
 
Interesting couple of tunes the first with a definite disco vibe sounds OK here, like Warren there is something in the mix I could not quite put a furry claw on.
 
Thanks for sharing.

cheers Tom.....i think i see what u mean about the bass....do u think it needs to be funkier & drive the song...the bottom end is very bare
cheers gary

Welcome. The song is cool. The performances are solid. The mix sounds like it could be warmer. I like how dynamic this is, but I'd pull the overall level up. Good work though. Not a bad debut at all.

How do I get it to sound warmer gtrpastor? 

garygml
How do I get it to sound warmer gtrpastor? 

First, let me say that I'm still learning myself. I have a few ideas, though, that I hope will be helpful. Maybe others have ideas as well. Here's some thoughts:
1. A good sounding mix starts with the individual tracks themselves. If they are boomy or thin, it may affect the whole mix. It's a lot easier to start with a warm sounding track than it is to add warmth IMO. For instance, I recently purchased a tube preamp, instead of the mixer I was using. I think it helped the sound of my recordings. 
2. You can add small embellishments that have a cumulative effect. For example, I use the console emulator (part of Pro Channel) on every track and bus. I turn the trim and drive up 2 db. I learned this from a Craig Anderton video that you can view here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZtJ9sLnwK8
3. Try using the tape simulator in Pro Channel as well. I lightly turn up the noise and recording level. This emulates the saturation from analog tape. 
4. Try using tube saturation to warm up the sound. 
 
My projects used to wind up sounding thin because I would try to fix "boominess" by carving the heck out it with the EQ. A better method was to apply a High Pass Filter (a setting in the EQ) to most tracks, and then rolling off the lower frequencies at around 40 Hz. That took out a lot of the boominess without sacrificing the warmth. 
 
Finally, try getting together a list of reference material. Find recordings that you think sound great, and listen to them, back-to-back, with your own recording. By comparison, you may hear if your mixes are too boomy or sparkly by comparison. (I learned that from Mike Senior's book, Mixing Secrets--a fantastic book by the way). 
 
To pull up the overall level of your mix I would try a limiter--Sonar comes with Boost11 and BT Brick Wall. Out of the two, I prefer Brick Wall. But if you can afford it, I've heard great things about the Concrete Limiter. 
 
I hope these ideas are helpful. I'd be happy to offer more clarification if you need. 

Very helpful gtrpastor always willing to take new ideas on board (I'm like a child in a sweet shop)