Hi guys,
The link below is fro 3 tunes I'm working on with one of my projects - all done in Sonar X2c (I've since upgraded).  The only products I used outside of Sonar were my UAD-1 for Reverb, BFD2 & Ozone 5 for a mastering algorithm.  The first one (Get) is just a rough live take, so ignore that one for now) but I'd be interested in feedback on New Day Sun and Still I'm Coming Home.
 
I've particularly be interested in some feedback on the mix and compression, as I'm trying to attain a 70s vibe, retaining dynamics and not overly compressing things, but still have some power and volume in the mix.  I think some of the lower mids are lacking in the bass, but would be interested in thoughts.
Thanks
Russ
www.soundcloud.com/hanzandruss
 

Sounds good on this end for New Day Sun and Still I'm Coming Home. You may want to bring the snare down just a tap. Also in Ozone there is an EQ band preset. Bring the entire mix into that and you will see a blue grey and pink color boxes. Click on the pink and you will see a little white mark on the right of the red color. Click about a 1/4 inch to the left of that and then click save and it will go away. Then click on apply to the two OO next to the pink box. On top, choose digital or analog (test the song in both settings before saving). Adjust the single marker line to somewhere between 679 and 769 (you have to play with this back and forth to see what sounds best for the mix). You can also readjust the pink setting by clicking on the pink box again. You can also used the blue grey box in the same way as the pink, but you have to save the pink first. Each color will apply to different stereo tracks. You might want to make a copy of your original saved song and play around with the copied song, so you don't loose the original. It is amazing what a difference it can make. You can also add exciter, dynamics, reverb or what ever on each stereo track, making them brighter or darker. Nice songs you did there, just think some tweaking could make them even better.
 
Peace and Blessings, John

John,
Thanks for taking the time to listen and for providing feedback - very insightful / helpful.  I wasn't aware of the Ozone technique you mentioned - I'll definitely look into that!
 
Thanks again - much appreciated. 
Russ
 

Both New Day Sun and Still I'm Coming Home come across here quite well I agree with John re the snare, for me the Vox could do with being brought slightly more forward in Still I'm Coming Home.
 
Thanks for sharing.

Hey!  Great tune!  Just enjoying the mix now.  Very retro sound/mix.  I can still hear your lyrics clearly though.  I (personally) would still bring up your lead vox just a hair.  Retro tone is in now, but it's still good to hear those vocals up a little higher.  The harmonies - would you not like to give them air by R & L'ing them?  If you have more than one track, play with some panning tools and doubling. 
 
Nice guitar solo. Holy Moe, that's great! 

Tamb is at the right level - that's always hard to do.
 
Good break with the crushed/distorted voice.  Awesome sneak-in-there.  :-)
 
She's a long song, but it's interesting enough for you not to notice IF you dig retro rock music (as I do!) 

Well done!  Enjoyed it thoroughly!

Thanks for the comments and kind words guys!  I'll take another run through and adjust the snare and vocals - these aren't finalized yet, as I still have to do proper guitar solos on these tunes - the existing solos are just things I did off the top of my head while warming up. 
 
Flagrant Regard - Yes, I typically pan backgrounds (as I did with Still I'm Coming Home), but for New Day Sun, I tried something different - I cloned the lead vocal track and panned it just slightly, so the lead vocal would take up a bit more of the stereo spectrum, making it sound a bit wider / fatter during the pre chorus and chorus sections - so I then kept the backgrounds panned direct in the center - so a bit different from what I would typically do - but was experimenting a bit.  Maybe I'll change that around and go the more traditional route of having the lead vocal dead center through the pre chorus and chorus part and pan the harmonies a bit.
 
Thanks again!
Russ
 

First listen, tried to find something I could contribute, but I couldn't. Second listen, .....nope. I think out of all the mixes I've listened to on these pages, these are the closest to what I would consider to be a release. I don't believe there is anything wrong with your mixes, if you change anything it will be for personal taste only. Nice vocal quality too (I think the vocals are the thing I like most in the songs), and even though I am one for always telling people to turn up the vocals cause' I like to here 'em, I think that would be a personal preference as well.

Thanks all - much appreciate the feedback.  These were the first 2 mixes I'd ever really done for big songs (each song was ~ 40 tracks - mostly vocal tracks for comping), so it's comforting to know I'm somewhat on the right track with them.  I'm still not totally happy with them, but appreciate the feedback.
Best,
Russ
 

Thanks all - much appreciate the feedback.  These were the first 2 mixes I'd ever really done for big songs (each song was ~ 40 tracks - mostly vocal tracks for comping), so it's comforting to know I'm somewhat on the right track with them.  I'm still not totally happy with them, but appreciate the feedback.
Best,
Russ
 

karma1959
I've particularly be interested in some feedback on the mix and compression, as I'm trying to attain a 70s vibe, retaining dynamics and not overly compressing things, but still have some power and volume in the mix.  I think some of the lower mids are lacking in the bass, but would be interested in thoughts.

I think you've definitely come at least close to that 1970s feel/vibe. This track (New Day Sun) reminds me very much of Paul Dean's pre-Loverboy, Streetheart days. It bears quite a respectable resemblance to "Move on Over" and their cover of "Under My Thumb" by the Stones, both of which were later redone after Dean and Frenette dropped out of the band and Streetheart never (IMHO) hit that same level of excellence again. But that's beside the point...
 
Nothing jumped out at me about the lower-mids (I didn't read the text of your post until after, so didn't know I should be concentrating on them; perhaps that's a good thing?) and the bass sounded totally acceptable played on my near-fields.
 
One place where you might consider a short revisit:
- the lead vocal, right around the 3:30 mark (where most everything else disappears from the mix for a moment). It sounds to me like you left the same treatment on the vocal there that's running throughout the rest of the song, but since it doesn't actually have to fit in with any other instruments during that lull, fattening it up wouldn't hurt, IMO. You might also consider giving it a bit more freedom to take over the entire range such as it can cover, kind of mirroring what you did with the guitars elsewhere. And speaking of that...
 
Some other points:
- loved the fat leads/rhythms; yummy, delicious and couldn't get enough; my main strength in playing has always been acoustic instruments, so I'm envious of the amazing sounds you coaxed out of your electrics.
- I've always wished I had a high tenor voice like the one on this track (Yours?). Unfortunately, I've never been able to get within half an octave of some of those notes. So again, I'm envious.
 
Overall, I'd say your about 98% of the way there. But since it's been years and years and years since I've done any serious listening, recording, etc. etc. please take everything I've written here with a pound or two of salt (as opposed to a pinch, in case I'm being ambiguous, which I can never be sure of).