Yes, the vocals sit in the mix now. My only thought was the verb stands out a bit on the first verse vocal. It could be great and I am just comparing it to the other mix.
Hi Taylor, somehow I missed your second mix. Nice improvement! I’m only listening on cruddy speakers, but I can already hear that the vocals are much more in the same space as the drums now…
I think James is on to something here…
I think you could draw back some of the original intimacy you had on vocal and still keep the sense of space by eq’ing some of the midrange “honk” out of just the reverb on the vocal. That would bring the vocal forward because the reverb wouldn’t be competing with it in that crucial midrange area, and it make the effect of the reverb more subtle, drawing less attention to itself.
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Wow thanks, I ended up automating the reverb down in that first verse. How often do you eq reverb?
I also did a couple more passes, with a new crappy little controller but it has 8 faders (tiny). I was able to automate vcas of all the main groups in a single pass for the first time, that was really something. Kind of an aha moment.
What’s the controller? I have had my eye on a Faderport for a long time, as well as some multi-fader alternatives. And which DAW do you use? I learned the simultaneous automation tracking stuff in Pro Tools some years ago but haven’t tried it in Reaper.
Pretty regularly…come to think of it, I’d say almost always! I’m generally HP filtering reverb; More often than not I’ll LPF it too.
Vocal reverbs sometimes also get a cut somewhere in the mids. I sometimes find plates in particular have a very “honky” midrangey thing going on that tends to stack up on the vocal and cause it to be distanced and/or take some of the “expensive sound” we’re often trying to get on a lead vocal.
Its a nanoKONTROL… did not expect it to be as seamless as it is. For the price and for me a person with very limited real estate on my desk, its perfect for now.
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Huh,… it never ends. What about something like a Lexicon where you kind of dial in the reverb times based on frequency? Thats almost like eqing already right?
So true! I’ve always been intrigued by reverb/delay/ambiance, so when Bob Clearmountain recently released his plugin, I learned so many cool things about his process from watching this video. Bob goes really deep with spacial processing… The great thing is, you don’t necessarily need to buy his plugin to do these things - it’s all about putting FX chains together.
I haven’t had any experience with a hardware Lexicon unit, or even a plugin version IIRC… But since sustained sounds have a higher average RMS and thus are generally more apparent than shorter sounds, I assume that shortening the reverb time of a frequency might diminish its apparent volume… hard to say…I suspect the effect might be more subtle than eq. Worth experimenting with!
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Oh yeah, I looked at that too. Do you have the nanoKONTROL2 (the little one) or the nanoKONTROL Studio (the bigger one)?
Its the studio one. And I use protools!
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Thanks!
Great work on this song! I mixed it as well, and I can see at least one major mistake I made when I listen to your mix (namely: leaving the steel guitar behind).
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Nice mix, Taylor. Where your first mix, to my ears, was too dry on the vocals, the second is too wet. Personal taste, but I think the vox are too heavy with verb.
Andrew had an awesome post somewhere where he explained what he meant above when he commented about more space behind the vox. Check out his comments on the @miked’s Backroom in Tulsa mix. Post #12 and following. He talks about using pre-delay and eq on the verb in more detail. I won’t elaborate here, cuz ya just need to read his post. 
I agree the drums also have a bit too much verb. Outside of the reverb stuff, this is a great mix. Pleasant to listen to. Well-balanced. Nice job, man.
I will check that out. I have done a couple new passes and I think I addressed the space issue. Just havent posted because I dont know what the etiquette is on oversaturing the site with my “new” mixes. Love all the resources here from everyone!
No comments yet. I’m trying not to get sick of the song before I finish mixing it. I’ll hop in and give a listen as soon as mine is “done”.
Don’t worry about “over-saturating”. Sometimes it’s best to get your revisions up quickly before the thread gets buried… 
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Looking forward to your next revision.
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Hey Taylor, have you got a revision coming? Maybe I’ll wait to comment on that?
Yeah im out of town until Tuesday so Ill throw it up then.
In Michigan for my buddys wedding!
Alright heres my revision 2
Kinda over it now after taking a break.
I actually automated 5 or 6 vcas simaltaneously for the first time. was fun!
I can’t really hear too much of a difference, except maybe it feels a little more like a band playing…
Also I bypassed the 2bus comp this pass, it seemed a littler more open.
can’t wait to check your guys out!
Here we go Taylor. I think it helps me to wait until after I’ve mixed a song so I’m more familiar with the parts. Although, admittedly, you DO get a subjective critique. But I guess all of them are to some extent, right? Anyway… listening now.
- Interesting choice to pan the initial lead to the right. I’m not sure that would be my preference… The tones all sound really good though!
- Then the vocal starts a little too quietly I think - but it sounds really good! Really good which is THE main thing for this song.
- But yeah, I think it’s a little quiet… – OR – I don’t know how you have your bussing set up, but you might try side-chaining the “music buss” (if you’ve got one) - or the guitars and other mid-rangey stuff that fights for the same frequencies the vocals live in - to your lead vocal. That is, carve out some space in there to help the vocal stand out more. That will usually bring the vocal out without really turning it up…
- I keep saying this on these mixes too, but I think the organ part may be a little loud - at least for me.
- Verse 2 - I like the piano and steel guitar in the opposite channels. That works nicely. Good idea.
- Interesting panning for the solo section too. I’m thinking it “should” be center stage because otherwise there’s nothing in the middle for focus other than the rhythm section. Then there’s that 2nd solo guitar part which I had a problem trying to figure out what to do with. With your panning choice however it sounds great when both are playing…
You did a really nice job on the vocals, but I do think they need to come forward a bit, especially for this genre and song. And I think your balances and tones sound pretty good too.
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