I’m having a dilemma with this song. I feel like me trying to mix it good sounds too sterile, while when I try to make it sound like a rough unpolished demo I’m liking the vibe much more. Tell me what you think. Mix A is my attempt at polishing it, Mix B is my attempt at making it sound “contemporary”. Mix C is my attempt at making it sound a little raw, and Mix D is full on sloppy demo mode. I had no hand in tracking this one, just mixing. So far, Mix B is my favorite, but it doesn’t have the energy of the later two. These are all the same tracks, only difference is mixing except the alternate solo in Mix C.
Edit: How do you guys like the massive background vocals on the first two mixes? It’s over 50 tracks by themselves and the performer isn’t sure how he feels about them. I think they’re awesome, I tried to Mutt Lange them.
Mix A - Sounds a little uneven, like the pieces don’t quite fit, but good overall. Not unpleasant. I think the lead vocal is a little too wet. I can see why you did make it wet though, he’s not the greatest singer in the world. I know what you mean about sterile, it’s not a bad mix, but it does sound a little boring. One-dimensional.
Mix B - I like this one quite a lot. Sounds much more together than Mix A, while retaining all of Mix A’s positive qualities. Particularly the drums sound much smoother on this one. The mix is overall much drier, I assume because you wanted it to sound “contemporary”. You don’t go too far though, I think it still sounds like it has space without sounding garagey. Lead vocal sounds better on this one. I think it’s a compromise between Mix A and what is to follow. Lots of bass guitar, maybe a hair too much.
Mix C - Sounds kinda cool. Reminds me of an indie recording from the '80s I can’t think of. I like the drums on this one, sounds like you ran them through some analog emulation gear (or real analog gear)? They’re REALLY punchy. I like the one guitar idea too, just sounds like they’ve found their way into a studio and are doing the thing in one take. I get the vibe.
Mix D - Sounds like a mess, which was your intention, but your EQ choices keep it from becoming too unpleasant. My least favorite out of the four, but it’s not like you were trying to make it sound good. You were going for a vibe. It’s achieved here, sounds like they found their way into a studio and let monkeys run the gear, or they’re in a bedroom using a four-track. Definitely different, kinda cool. Like the guitar saturation, not that it sounds superb, it just really helps nail what you were trying to get across. It has a real “fuck you, we’re street punks, we can’t sing very well, but fuck you” type of vibe. If I had to rank them.
Mix B
Mix C
Mix A
Mix D
Oh, and those background vox are pretty cool. Also, is that timpani before the chorus in Mix A & B? That’s odd. Also, what’s his thing with Santa Claus? He says something about him in Mix A after the second chorus and something about him in Mix C before the solo.
@CPF
This was a fun listen…
Just made some notes while I was listening…
A: This mix felt quite politely wild, overall a bit dull and polished… the drums sounded a little too ‘regular’ rather than thrashing… I was wanting a bit more edge and bite.
B: I like the vocal sound and grittier vibe but the vox feels just a little bit dry, not quite fitting the singer in with the band for me… chorus is cool in this one, nice and rich and dark. Guitar has more ‘presence’ hmmm, just not quite getting enough vocal but I think it just needs to smudge in some more with reverb. There’s a cool BIG drum sound tucked away in there.
C: I’m liking the grunge in this a cool sense of hiss and spit but there’s a disconnect again for me with the vox and the band… with this one the singer is cool and mean but the drums seem ‘polite’ and not mad punk smash drums that would match the singer. That middle bridge bit felt quite dull and I didn’t notice that at all with the other mixes. Would love some more hiss and spit from the drums.
D: Plenty of loud harsh spitting sounds here but a slushy mix that I didn’t listen to it all, my ears went erk fizz…
Dunno if those random thoughts were any help but there ya go…
Which version do you think we should use? The recording is three and a half years old, and it’s not going to fit with the rest of the album anyways. It’s gonna be more of a bonus track type of thing, so we can do what we want with it. What do you think @holster? I’m liking the bar vibe I posted lower, but I think Mix B is pretty good. I want a good take with a lot of energy, Mix A definitely doesn’t have it.
I would have to say mix B. I think the sterile sound is more of the drum machine sound. The drums need something just not sure what tho. Maybe also bring the guitars up a db.
Nice mix good playing and singing he kind of reminds me of Alice Cooper a little.