Rough mix - Better in the rain

[dazzathedrummer]

Hi,

I just thought I'd share this track that I'm currently working on for a friend.

Its nowhere near finished yet, just thought I'd put it out here for some constructive criticism.

Basically, I was sent the vocal and guitar tracks that were recorded into Reaper using a cheap dynamic mic that was plugged into a PA board and then the line out was plugged straight into his laptop mic socket - no pop shield, no click and some of the leads he used were broken and twisted together!

I then put on a piano and a sampled orchestra and this is the mix so far: -

http://stash.reaper.fm/oldsb/282524/this-will-sound-better-in-the-rain.mp3

I need to re-record the vocal and guitar tracks - there are some clicks and pops towards the end, also there was a lot of noise and reducing it has taken too much out of the original recordings.

I'd love to hear your comments.

oh yeah, i'm mixing on headphones and a home stereo so dont be suprised if it sounds terrible!!

[Lawrence]

Very, very nice song and melody. ;) Sounds good. Maybe de-ess the vocal just a tiny bit.

Quick amateur desktop "mastering"... http://theaudiocave.com/Quick.mp3 ... it may suck diseased donkey rectum. :D

If it doesn't let me know I'll provide the details of the chain.

oh yeah, i'm mixing on headphones and a home stereo so dont be suprised if it sounds terrible!!

Same here, earbuds... same disclaimer.

[dazzathedrummer]

Very, very nice song and melody. ;) Sounds good. Maybe de-ess the vocal just a tiny bit.

Quick amateur desktop "mastering"... http://theaudiocave.com/Quick.mp3 ... it may suck diseased donkey rectum. :D

If it doesn't let me know I'll provide the details of the chain.



Same here, earbuds... same disclaimer.

definitely no donkeys arse!! thanks Lawrence sounds great, if you could let me know whats in the chain i'll incorporate it when its finished.

Had a listen in the car (to my un-mastered version) and I think the effect on the vocal is making the whole mix sound a bit 'boxey' so i'll try and brighten that up a bit.

[Lawrence]

definitely no donkeys arse!! thanks Lawrence sounds great, if you could let me know whats in the chain i'll incorporate it when its finished.

Had a listen in the car (to my un-mastered version) and I think the effect on the vocal is making the whole mix sound a bit 'boxey' so i'll try and brighten that up a bit.

The main mix track ...

1. About 3db of compression Attack:150 Release:45 Ratio: 1.5
2. Magneto plugin for "tape warmth". 30 ips mode.
3. EQ dips at 283hz, 1k and 8k. 2.4, 1.9, 4.1 Q settings.
4. A pre-fader pre-dsp send to a reverb bus.

The reverb FX bus...

1. Reverb. Pre-delay 6ms, Time 0.17, mid size room, diffusion 50, width 100, hi-passed at 7k, lo-pass 173
2. Stereo Imager after the verb widening the verb image by 1.5 ratio.
3. EQ dip around 1k, 1.2 Q. Some hi/lo eq filtering on the verb plugin at 100 / 7k or so.
4. This track was mixed in to taste with the original at the master of course.

Master channel had a limiter to get the overall average level up.

Note: Applying reverb to an entire mix is tricky, subtle and hard to get right at first. Not sure I got it right here. When it's right you shouldn't even notice it in isolation but it helps glue things and gives a more polished sound. Doing the A/B without it makes it clear how it can help.

When it's right anyway. :( I didn't use the one I normally use, TC Native (won't run on my Vista laptop) but it does that very well.

The boxy vocal sound may be the verb I used on the whole mix. Like I say, hard to get right for us home guys. ;)

"Mastering" in headphones is ill-advised... if there's ever a time when you absolutely need to hear the full range, that would be it.

[dazzathedrummer]

excellent - I'll give that a go!

[Lawrence]

I forgot to mention that I flipped / reversed the L-R of the reverb bus.

[dazzathedrummer]

woah!

The L-R flip makes it all come to life!!

[Sheppola]

I listened to both versions in my monitors and liked both in sound and content.What I can hear is background noise/hiss.This is stealing frequencies and making the recording sound less than professional.This is especially important on a minimal instrumental piece like this IMHO.


I regularly check my hearing range/deficiency so I can allow for it,

http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/jw/hearing.html

and use A pharmaceutical Earwax treatment because of prolonged hours in the,"Cans".This is in no way a criticism merely an often overlooked part of the recording process.

HTH :)

[dazzathedrummer]

I listened to both versions in my monitors and liked both in sound and content.What I can hear is background noise/hiss.This is stealing frequencies and making the recording sound less than professional.This is especially important on a minimal instrumental piece like this IMHO.


I regularly check my hearing range/deficiency so I can allow for it,

http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/jw/hearing.html

and use A pharmaceutical Earwax treatment because of prolonged hours in the,"Cans".This is in no way a criticism merely an often overlooked part of the recording process.

HTH :)

Yeah I know, I'm trying to pin that down - dont want to spend too much time on it though as its coming from the Vocal and guitar tracks - both of which are to be replaced as the recordings, in my opinion, aren't good enough.

I was kind of given the foundations and I've put the walls and the roof in place - now i'm going to replace the foundations!