There’s a part about 3/4 the way through the song where you took out the bass and the drums. That was a good choice as it gives the listener a little change from the repetition of the song. I don’t remember if you had that in your first version.
The vocals aren’t sitting in the mix as well as I think you could have them sit. There’s some pitchy spots and the dynamics are a bit too wide in the vocals, as well as there being some sibilance. The vocals seem to be laying on top of the music during the first few verses but they’re buried in the last verse. Your best bet at getting a good vocal track would be to redo them piece by piece (comped), paying close attention to pitch, dynamics and timing. I wouldn’t skimp on the vocals if you want a really good recording. You got a really cool vibe happening here!
Thank you Wicked! I agree, I like how that “breakdown” gives a little breather before the guitar solo hits. And yes, the vocals… I’ve been trying to get the “right” take down so they add rather than detract from the song.
Thanks again for the listen and comments! Much appreciated!
Really dig how this is developing, Mike! My wife was in the other room and she came in and said “What are you listening to?”… I said “Why?”… she said “I like it”. That rarely happens - so kudos!
The vocals are getting a bit buried… I’m sure you’ll sort it out in the final mix…
Here’s an idea to add sinister intensity to vocals in a non-obvious way: Add a stereo double-tracked, stereo “whisper” track behind them.
Yes! I’ve been thinking along exactly the same lines. i.e. Lullaby by The Cure (of course!) Oh! I think you did that in Progress too, right?? I’m stuck right now trying to get a good vocal down. I may take a couple of shots of whiskey or something before my next try…
I’m also thinking I will run some “newsreel” type audio clips either in the beginning or in certain quiet parts. So I’ve even been listening to speeches and digging through videos on the various mass shootings in the U.S. - there’s a LOT of them. And it’s got me in not such a great place. It will be good to be done with this one.
Anyway, thank you for all of the thoughtful input and suggestions and knowledgeable mixing advice across all of our forums Andrew. You’re second to none, my friend!
Listening to the 5/4 version on my laptop (MacBook Air 2020, which has pretty decent speakers for a laptop).
I"m liking this a lot. Nice arrangement. Adding the guitar solo really works. I agree that the drums cd b pushed back a bit to fit in with the band.
Vocals are nice, man. Make 'em louder and play around with some verb and some fx. I like Andrew’s whisper idea. Not thinking anything in particular, but do you have ovox? Mt be cool to mess around with some voice fx. Whatever you do, make 'em louder. I have to strain to hear 'em, which is tough cuz there’s so much cool stuff going on in the background.
LOVE the arrangement and instrumentation. And at least on my laptop this is a honkin’ nice-sounding mix. Cd u talk about the synth a little bit? It’s nice. Gives a beautiful ethereal quality to it. What did you use for the synth? What am I listening to there? So smooth.
Honestly, this is just an interesting song to listen to. It flows very nicely. The bass is great. Yeah, neat textures and “stuff” going on and it all fits together. This is great, Mike!
Thank you Tez! I believe the “synth” you’re talking about is the “Bass Chords” track. I played them on the high strings up around the second octave. On the way in, I ran through Kush’s REDDI, IK’s Black76, then PSP’s Twin-L.
On the track itself, I’ve got Kuassa’s Vermillion guitar amp on clean with some tremolo and verb, then Kazrog True Iron, then Decapitator, then Kuassa’s Delay on Lo-Fi, then IK’s Tape Echo. Then I’ve got it going to my “big” reverb Send with Hyperspace and Valhalla Room.
It was really just trial and error. I kind of had a sound in my head and kept throwing plugins at it until it was close enough.
Sorry to have been so MIA lately. “Life” stuff and all that…
I wanted to post the “mostly done” version of this one while I was thinking of it and had a chance to do it. Thanks everyone for all the input!
Side note: The “drum machine” sounds (kick, snare, hh) in the Prologue/Epilogue sections were created from the audio of gunshots from the 2017 Las Vegas shooting…
PS. I can’t seem to edit the post up top anymore??
Hey Mike, I managed to edit the OP for you so that it has the new updated mix in it…
Wow!.. This is coming along really nicely! I love all the new touches you have made - excellent production!
Mixwise, I think would like to hear less brightness in the top end of the drums/cymbals. Because your vocal is spoken and quite delicate, the louder cymbals are really competing with it now, and you’ve lost some of the intimate vibe that you had going with the softer top end.
I also feel like the midrange of the mix has lost some of it’s “guts”. The snare sounds a little too…“polished?” maybe?.
The kick drum is getting a little lost to me. It feels like the low end needs to “connect” together better.
Just a few little points. Sometimes it’s hard when you go into “mix” mode, it’s hard not to lose the charm of the “rawness” of the early versions… It’s a gritty, ugly subject, so I think a touch of “non-prettiness” in the mix is very appropriate from an artistic perspective.
Mike,
I’m coming in late on this one, but you have done a great job getting the groove and the vibe going. If you are looking for suggestions, you might try taking the verse that starts with “It’s My Liberation” and sing it an octave up along with the original voice and use it as a chorus that you can repeat throughout the track. I also like the guitar solo, but I think you could give it more bite to let it stand out.
I think you have a big fish on the line; reel it in.
Thank you Andrew! And thanks for the mix tips as always. Great points all…
What sort of things would you suggest to get the “guts” back into the mid-range? What comes to mind for me is distortion - on the guitars, drums, etc. Is that what you mean? Maybe more density? (i.e. parallel tracks)
Thanks Bob! Interesting idea for the chorus too. I got a few initial comment about it needing a “chorus”, but I always kind of saw the “lyrics” as more of a conversation or inner dialog and didn’t really try for that.
Just what I’d expect a guitar player to say… I do have Nembrini Lofi automated on there to add some grit and give a little “something” to the different sections of the solo. Maybe it needs more?
It just sounds to me like a little too much of the traditionally “muddy” and “boxy” frequencies in the low mids have been taken out of the central elements, and everything sounds slightly overly “clinical”.
I usually think of low mids (when referring to their positive aspects) as the “meat” or “thickness” of the sound.
As to my comments to a chorus, the sole purpose of it would be to give the listener something to latch onto, although it would also give you an opportunity to up the dynamics a couple of times.
If your vision is a spoken message, by all means don’t think of choruses. It floats along and grooves the way you have it. A few more flourishes here and there could serve the same purpose.
Yes, I listened to Leonard Cohen’s “You Want It Darker” over the last few months (a lot) and I get what you’re saying. I just took a different approach.
BTW, if I hadn’t started this with my guitar playing buddy on my other forum, you can bet I would have pestered you to play on this. I’m still so impressed with the parts you added to “Listen To The Rain”. You brought a whole different perspective and dimension to that song, and it was better because of your contribution. Thanks again Bob!
Far too few are writing things that matter. It is a necessity at this time. Well written, well done.
Great use of the Obama clips. The guitar solo may be a bit too long.
It will be good to be done with this one.
I do have Nembrini Lofi automated on there to add some grit and give a little “something” to the different sections of the solo. Maybe it needs more?