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Old 11-01-2019, 08:01 PM   #25
PVinKC
Human being with feelings
 
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Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Kansas City, MO USA
Posts: 190
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October Reaper Contest Submissions notes –
Track 1 –
Good bass tone/sound and mix, good guitar sound and balance. Vocals sound nice but could use some space. Backing vocals could use some space as well and balance sounds off. The verb sounds too short on the tail to me. Kick and drums sound good, cymbals sound hi-passed but can be heard fine. Toms sound unusually wide, not sure if it’s excessive or not but I like it! The siren sounding guitar could barely be heard during the break.

Track 2 –
Everything sounds distant and buried from the start. Guitar sound is good, just too much verb, sounds like everything is in a cave. Vocals have no edge or cut to them. There’s a weird phasing issue on the vocals and cymbals…maybe just the highs. Cymbals are all top end and no body. Siren sounding guitar comes through and actually benefits from the verb.

Track 3 –
Good balance and overall sound. Vocals cut nicely but lack space (verb). Backing vocals seem gone…I can’t hear any of them. Guitars sound decent but balance is off a bit. Backing vocals DO show up in the break but get mostly lost when the music comes back in. What you can hear of them is distant and much lower in volume. Drums are kind of generic sounding…could benefit from a little space as well.

Track 4 – ME obviously my#1
Drums sound huge. Nice delay on the guitars in the intro/fills. Guitars overall sound nice and wide. Vocals cut nicely and have decent space. Nice vocal delay. Vocal balance is spot-on. Cymbals sound nice…maybe a bit piercing in a few spots could use a bit of HP at 8-10K maybe, or some well-placed de-essing? Siren sounding guitar is nice.

Track 5 –
Drums and bass sound nice. Overall mix is good. Vocals cut nice and have nice space. In fact, everything has a nice space. Background vocals could be bigger sounding (some more creative verb use perhaps). Vocal balance is a bit off…the backups don’t show up as well as they could. Kick is slamming and has a nice (not overbearing) click but plenty of low-end. Guitar balance and tone is great.

Track 6 – My #2
Drums sound good. Really great snare sound and space on the drums and vocals. Guitars are great, full and wide and have a great tone. Vocals cut nice and have great space. Backing vocals are great as well. LOVE the delay on the guitar lead in the break! The siren sounding guitar made a STELLAR appearance…the best I’ve heard, well done!

Track 7 –
There’s a strange click/pop in conjunction with the kick drum with an odd distortion. Drums in general sound distorted. The whole mix feels over-compressed. Vocals have nice space but don’t cut or have any edge to them. The backing vocals need a lot more space and probably a bump in volume. I also notice the click/pop/distortion in conjunction with the snare at times. Nice use of verb on the siren sounding guitar in the break. Actually, I think maybe the whole mix may sound a bit distorted? Almost sounds like overuse (or misuse) of samples. Although I know it can’t be that because we can’t use them. It’s strange. Sorry I can’t be more specific. Maybe someone else will be able to help better with the issue?

Track 8 –
Drums sound flat and over-compressed. Vocals also sound flat and over-compressed but they lack space and cut. Guitars sound good but the fills could be boosted and brought forward in the mix quite a bit. The Rhodes, Hammond and Clavinet barely show up in the mix at all. The whole mix feels rushed and stale.

Track 9 –
Drums and bass sound nice…maybe a bit more bass guitar in the overall mix though. Guitars sound nice and have great space. Vocals cut nice and have decent space as well. The fill guitar in the second verse could use a bit of a bump in volume. Lead guitar in the break could also use a bit of a bump in volume. The siren sounding guitar is gone!? Also where’s the jangly (r&b style) guitar in the break? Cymbals seem a bit overbearing…is there a phasing issue or just too loud? Not sure.



Track 10 –
Drums sound flat and over-compressed and lack space. The whole mix sound over-compressed. Vocals don’t have any cut. There is a low end build up in the whole mix…maybe too much low on the kick drum…it is almost distorting, but maybe a bit much on the whole mix. I didn’t do any spectrum analyzing however so I could be wrong. It just sounds like the whole mix lacks high-end and can’t breathe (dynamic range is gone).

Track 11 –
Good guitar sound. Delay on the lead guitar on the intro and solo is a bit much. Backing vocals are almost non-existent. Drums sound nice and seem to have decent space. The bass is a bit low and has no attack/edge (mids and highs). Repeat on the vocals following the break is very well placed. You did it better than I did anyway.

Track 12 – My #3
Mix sounds small and over-compressed, and the bass is very far sounding…needs more attack and presence and probably a bump. Vocals cut nicely and have good space around them. Guitars sound good. Loving the drum sound, cymbals are a bit dark but mixed nicely otherwise. Good mix on the backing vocals. This mix grew on me as I listened to it. The intro definitely sounded small but the song seemed to progress and change along the way and at the end it was one of my favorite mixes. So I guess I’d say it started off slow and came on strong toward the end…if that makes sense. I do think that the bass needed to come up several dB overall. But the kick was right in my face, right where I like it!

Track 13 –
Snare sounds nice…the kick sounds a bit round for my liking but oddly still has a ‘click or snap’? Vocals cut nicely but lack a bit of space (verb and delay). Backing vocals are mixed nicely. Guitars sound nice but again lack a bit of space. Bass guitar similarly to the kick sounds a bit ‘round’ to me.

Track 14 –
Drums sound nice with decent space around them. Guitars sound good as well and are mixed nicely. Vocals cut nicely and have a good space with them but could use a bit of delay. Siren sounding guitar was mixed perfectly, well done! Delay on the vocal after the break is a bit much at the end, probably just needed a bit of automation to clean it up after the initial repeat.

Track 15 –
Drums sound great, snare and kick are mixed perfectly with a nice space around them. Guitars sound great with excellent space and the rhythm guitar is nice and wide. Vocals cut nicely but could use a bit of space and a little delay. Backup vocals are a bit low and could use some space as well. Siren sounding guitar was mixed nicely. There’s an odd low tom ring at the end that could’ve been shortened a bit.

Track 16 –
Drums sound nice. Toms are a bit low for my liking and could use a bit more attack. But the verb on the toms is very nice sounding. Vocals cut fine but could use a bit more space and a little delay. The keys are a bit low, could use a boost of at least 3dB. The siren sounding guitar in the break and the jangly guitar are far too low. If I didn’t know they were there I wouldn’t be able to pick them out easily.
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