Hey guys,

I wrote this song for my girlfriend a while back and I'm finally getting around to re-recording it.  I got the music pretty much down - vocals to come soon.  

So I was wondering how the mix is coming along so far.  When I listen to it, I believe it sounds good but not near perfect.  Here are a few concerns:  Does the bass sound muddy?  Does the clean rhythm guitar sound dull?  Is the snare too low/too wet?  I've mixed and remixed this so many times in the past week I just can't decide what I like best.

Any and all suggestions/critiques are greatly appreciated.  Thanks!

**SONG CAN BE HEARD ON GEARSLUTZ.COM**

http://www.gearslutz.com/board/work-progress-advice-requested-show-tell-artist-showcase-mix-offs/760596-rock-ballad-hows-mix-so-far.html


***EDIT*** - SCROLL DOWN FOR THE NEW LINK THAT CONTAINS THE SONG WITH THE VOCALS.

I'm listening on cheap computer speakers..... sounds pretty decent so far. 

On these speakers it sounds like a slight mid bump in the mix... I'd need to hear it on something better to really determine that for sure. Not a major issue.

When you mix something and start to question your decisions.... it's best to walk away from it for several days. If you persist in working on something when you are burnt out or have ear fatigue, you can easily make decisions that will ruin the project. 

I can understand the desire to "get it right" as soon as possible..... but sometimes it's better to let it rest a bit, then have a fresh look at it again after a few days have elapsed and it's fresh again. 

Looking forward to the vox. 

Guitarhacker


I'm listening on cheap computer speakers..... sounds pretty decent so far. 

On these speakers it sounds like a slight mid bump in the mix... I'd need to hear it on something better to really determine that for sure. Not a major issue.

When you mix something and start to question your decisions.... it's best to walk away from it for several days. If you persist in working on something when you are burnt out or have ear fatigue, you can easily make decisions that will ruin the project. 

I can understand the desire to "get it right" as soon as possible..... but sometimes it's better to let it rest a bit, then have a fresh look at it again after a few days have elapsed and it's fresh again. 

Looking forward to the vox. 

Hey thanks for the feedback.  Yeah I think walking away from it is needed.  I'm gonna record the vox tomorrow and then maybe start mixing over the weekend just to gain some perspective back.  If you listen to it on a better set of monitors and have any more input, feel free to let me know!  Thanks again man.


-Jonathan

I listened on some Yamaha headphones....  

This is my personal opinion and take on what I hear. 

I can hear a compressor slowing down the attack and pumping. (yes?)  You gotta be careful with those things. 

The music has a very full sound. I might try to thin it a bit perhaps with EQ being cut a few db in the mids.... it's not too bad so big cuts would not be needed. 

My player doesn't show me the time.... so where it breaks down and starts to build again about 2/3 in..... I thought one of the guitars(?) was slightly off time, or not with the groove exactly. 
 
A bit further than that... where the big sweet power chords come in... you can hear that compressor ... it's like there's a volume envelope on the guitars turning them up after the initial attack. 

I often use the wave to see how seriously compressed my projects are....and even in the tracks. They have to be exported to see how a compressor is affecting them. Project waves can often tell the story because they show the dynamics or lack thereof quite clearly. 

In the headphones it sounds pretty nice so far with a few minor crits. 

Jonathan, I'm listening on my monitors, and I don't hear the pumping that Herb hears.  In fact, it sounds pretty clean and full.  The instrumental tracks remind me of the Goo Goo Dolls just a bit, and are ready for vocals.  I have a feeling once the vocals are there, it will all come together and sound terrific.  Others may hear it differently, but that's just my two cents worth.

Guitarhacker


I listened on some Yamaha headphones....  

This is my personal opinion and take on what I hear. 

I can hear a compressor slowing down the attack and pumping. (yes?)  You gotta be careful with those things. 

The music has a very full sound. I might try to thin it a bit perhaps with EQ being cut a few db in the mids.... it's not too bad so big cuts would not be needed. 

My player doesn't show me the time.... so where it breaks down and starts to build again about 2/3 in..... I thought one of the guitars(?) was slightly off time, or not with the groove exactly. 

A bit further than that... where the big sweet power chords come in... you can hear that compressor ... it's like there's a volume envelope on the guitars turning them up after the initial attack. 

I often use the wave to see how seriously compressed my projects are....and even in the tracks. They have to be exported to see how a compressor is affecting them. Project waves can often tell the story because they show the dynamics or lack thereof quite clearly. 

In the headphones it sounds pretty nice so far with a few minor crits. 

I appreciate your feedback, Herb!  I'm gonna take a look at the master bus compressor and see if it's giving me problems.  I'll also take a look at the bridge and try to figure out what is sounding off time to you.  It may be some clunking from the bass track that is throwing you off a bit.  I gotta work on that section a bit more.  Thanks again!


-Jonathan

Lynn


Jonathan, I'm listening on my monitors, and I don't hear the pumping that Herb hears.  In fact, it sounds pretty clean and full.  The instrumental tracks remind me of the Goo Goo Dolls just a bit, and are ready for vocals.  I have a feeling once the vocals are there, it will all come together and sound terrific.  Others may hear it differently, but that's just my two cents worth.

Hey Lynn, thanks for your two cents!  I'm glad it's coming across clean and full.  Question: does the clean rhythm guitar sound dull at all?  Do you think it needs either a low cut or a boost in the highs?


-Jonathan

 
Hi Jonathan,
 
It's funny, I'm currently working on a song that uses the exact same chords in the exact same chord progression as yours. I actually came accross the chords while watching a YouTube video of an acoustic arrangement of "I Can Only Imagine".
 
I took the liberty of downloading your mp3 file and played with it for about 15 minutes. I imported the file into Sonar and then cloned the track. I used a split stereo setup using Vintage Channel VC64 on each one of the tracks, which allows you to EQ and compress both left and right channels separately. This gives a more spacious sound in the stereo field.
 
I EQed the left and right channels of both tracks to separate the the lows and highs, cutting frequencies in the left while boosting the same frequencies in the right.
 
I also cut frequencies at around 100 and 800 in both tracks to get rid of some of the mud. I also boosted some high frequencies (8,000 and about 15,000) to make the cymbals and snare hits stand out more and to brighten the mix while also cutting some low mids.
 
I think one thing that may be making this difficult is the strings you're strumming on the clean guitar. If I were you I wouldn't strum the low E string while playing those chords. Instead use a bass guitar to fill in those low frequencies. I think it would make the mix sound much more crisp.
 
I took the liberty of posting your song on my page so you can download it but I'll delete it once you've done that.
 
You probably won't hear much of a difference unless you import the mp3 I worked on and import it into Sonar allowing you to make a side by side comparrison.
 
Of course I'm limited to what I can do because I was only working with the final mixed file and I didn't spend too much time. You could probably do a much better job by working with each track independantly. I was just playing with it a bit.
 
This is going to be an awesome song and I can't wait to hear it after you've added the vocals. Of course you already know it's best to work with the mix after the vocals are added because it changes everything. I would add the vocals first before you try to perfect this mix.
 
Great job on this!
 
Oh, here's the link for the song titled "Johathan's Rock Ballad". I haven't posted a song in so many years that I forgot how to do it. Took me longer to post it than it did to work on it. LOL  
  
(Deleted Link)
 
Oh yea, I also used a volume envelope and increased the clean guitar "pling" thing near the start of the song by about 6db. (That part where it goes abrubtly silent except of the quick strum on the high strings of the guitar.)
 
Pete

Hey Peter, thanks for the feedback.  Yeah what you did doesn't sound bad at all.  When the vocals are in I'm definitely gonna do some mastering EQ to sweeten things up.  The one thing I'm not to fond of was the volume raise for the "pling" in the beginning of the song.  Probably a preference thing though.  I like how it dips down in volume so the start of the verse is more dynamic.  Thanks for taking the time though, much appreciated!

-Jonathan