Hi guys! Uploading my mix to @Cristina - Wasteland
I have added a bit of my influence as a classical orchestral score writer to the mix. Don’t worry nothing too drastic!
I wrote Violin and Cello harmonies that I felt work with @Cristina 's voice very well.
My approach to the mix was to enhance the inherent elegance and simplicity of the track
I kept her beautiful vocals “up-close and personal” , minimal processing, no auto tuning. I felt, that way her feelings come through in a very emotional way. Added some other subtle nuances such as gusts of wind and distant echoes.
Mix and production additions are referenced and lightly modeled on the discography of Dixie Chicks albums
PLEASE Vote and let me know what you all think!
Thank you again for this opportunity, it is a very beautiful song.
-Michelle (FluteCafe)
320kbps mp3 first mix (unmastered)
320kbps mp3 (mastered -13LUFS)
(see listed below in comments)
THE best ending yet. I would have liked it even better if you had’t repeated the final vocal. Your strings were glorious. Really very very tastefully done. The only thing I didn’t care for in your mix is the boomy kick. It seemed too loud and took away from the other truly beautiful things you have going on. A little more “air” to her vocal would have been nice, although that is just a preference thing. Really nice job on this!
@miked thank you for your honest feedback, I do agree with the final vocal repeat, it gets a bit cliche’ I was debating, I did rush the kick a bit, was too excited and didnt want to sit on the song too long but I will definitely work on scaling some changes and tweaking it as I get feedback. I care about the song, will make changes over time even if they dont get judged.
The low end is clogging up the sound, particularly on the main guitar. I don’t think the vocals are solid enough, they need some more automation or compression to keep them at a consistent volume, because at times they’re being buried by the instruments. I’m not sure about the dry approach, but you do whatever you want. Sounds like the mids are a little scooped out as well, pump 'em up. This mix makes me feel like I’ve swallowed a tub of BBQ beans and they’ve transcended my stomach to blow directly out of my colon, very empowering! Good job!
Hi Michelle,
Very nice mix.
I can hear everything clear and at the right balance. Maybe the kick could be a little more tamed as was suggested before.
I also thought the final vocal repeat was very clever but the repeat of the repeat was unnecessary.
I would also prefer to hear some more ambience in the mix and especially the vox.
About the strings:
Their sound is amazing and they give the song a more classical vibe.
What I don’t like about them is that they play random themes across the song with no repeated melody. I mean I’ve heard your mix 4 times and I can’t remember a pattern of the strings, because they always play something different. An exception to that, is the part leading to the solo guitar and throughout the solo. I believe that’s the best and most memorable part of the strings.
Maybe if you played on certain parts instead of all of the song, it would create more interest.
However, these are just details.
Your mix is different and fun to listen to
@ManAbyss thank you very much for the feedback. As a classical score writer, sometimes I do tend to write a bit too much lol, the harmonies were different throughout the song, I just plugged the track in my ear and played along what I felt really, no pattern.
I do plan to scale back some of it and create some memorable patterns for the revised version.
@Moa22 that you for the feedback! I was thinking about adding the contrabass as well, I actually had a version with it. sounded great but I felt it changed the feel of the song to more theatrical instead of personal.
I did not ride the vocals, Ideally I should have agreed. I did light compression and automation on parts at the drop chorus but that was about it.
Very good job! Remember that music should be dynamic. What I mean by this is the sound of each element can change as the song progresses in order to tell a story. Keeping the verses mostly linear and narrow in the stereo field and the choruses as wide as possible creates excitement and adds a little more impact for the chorus. The guitars can be a bit more bass heavy during light parts of the song where there are no drums or bass to keep a good balance, but when the kick and bass come in, the guitars should have less bass or low frequencies to make room for the instruments that need it. Create a sense of space. The vocals where beautiful, but needed to have more space I felt (reverb). The kick was a bit boomy (maybe High Pass it at 30-40Hz). Also, music is art, and you are the artist. No one can tell you what your art should look or sound like but you. All of the suggestions here are mostly opinion based. Really, if you like it, that’s what matters. Overall, it was beautiful!
