Dreaming of Heaven - final mix - please give one last listen

[Kewlpack]

Okay - I studied up on mixing (I had no idea there was so much to it).

Please have another listen - this is the last one on this song. I think it finally has balance and instrumental distinction - at least on my PC 4.1 system and fairly good headphones.

Thanks for being my guinea pigs ;)
http://www.kewlpack.com/misc_files/m...HeavenMix3.mp3

Comments are appreciated (mostly looking for comments on overall sound quality).

Blessings.
~A~
P.S. Ya, the lead tone kinda got squashed, see the other post for why that happened. I didn't feel like redoing it just now.

[DADGAD]

Originally Posted by Kewlpack

Comments are appreciated (mostly looking for comments on overall sound quality).

Blessings.
~A~

Good song and playing. Now, my opinion may not be worth the electrons to light up your monitor so, take this with a grain of salt.

1. Level is too low. Needs an overall ~5dB boost.

2. There is an overall presence peak in the 3.7KHz band that needs to be lowered.

3. There is nothing above 15KHz. Was that intentional?

4. THe frequency spectrum rises above 8.6KHz to a peak at 14.3k. It should roll off slightly.

5. Drums and acoustic guitar are too soft. I did not know there was an acoustic until the end of the song.

6. Guitar is buzzy. (3KHz band too hot?) It lacked character.

After mixing your song to your liking, listen to a professional recording. Compare your mix and sound to it. Make adjustments as necessary. Well, that's how I try to do it.

What software are you recording with? Adobe Audition, formerly Cool Edit, has a free 30 day trial version. You can download it here. http://www.adobe.com/products/tryadobe/main.jsp

Best regards,

Gary

[Kewlpack]

Thanks Gary. How did you get that analysis?

I am just learning how to mix this stuff so I'm positive there are "problem areas".

There are two primary issues I am dealing with on this particular song.

1) The Keyboards and Drums are a simple backing track (which sounds fine on its own - but it is all smack dab in the middle of the "stage"). I can't do much with it without causing a lot of problems...

2) This is probably an even bigger issue - I don't know how to "analyze" my mix properly to make sure the frequencies are all "appropriate" for the particular song.

I'm using a package called ProTracks Plus (by CakeWalk I think - stripped down a bit). I don't know if it has a spectrum analyzer in it (where would it be in one of these packages?).

I will redo the guitar lead at some point. I have been pushing myself to about 2:30am for the last three or four days and I am completely wiped out (not good to play that way).

Sigh... I hate being a n00b. I don't know anyone around here I could give the project to and see how they would mix it... blah! Learn learn learn...


Thanks a lot though - at least I know what the issues are.
~A~

[DADGAD]

Originally Posted by Kewlpack

Thanks Gary. How did you get that analysis?

Using Adobe Audition. After test driving the demo version, I pulled the trigger on the full retail version. The analysis I did was using said AA.

Originally Posted by Kewlpack

I am just learning how to mix this stuff so I'm positive there are "problem areas".

There are two primary issues I am dealing with on this particular song.

{snip}
Sigh... I hate being a n00b. I don't know anyone around here I could give the project to and see how they would mix it... blah! Learn learn learn...

Thanks a lot though - at least I know what the issues are.
~A~

I'll remix & master it for 'ya. PM me.

Gary

[Kewlpack]

Eeek! I'm way off on something.

How do they get the volume and distinctive separation without clipping??? I start to clip if I bump much at all! :x
Ugh - If I were bald, this would be easier - no hair to rip out!

LOL
~A~

[DADGAD]

The mix secret I learned is proper EQ of each track/instrument. That has been a big help in my own recordings. I learned a lot here.
Check out the post dated - Fri 07 May 2004, 18:48 - by "Graeme." It's excellent. I printed it out and keep it in my studio.

Gary

[Tremo]

The guitar tone still sounds thin, fizzy and buzzy. Too much high end, and maybe too much amp gain.

Again, not slagging your playing, but the tone still needs work.

[Kewlpack]

The guitar tone still sounds thin, fizzy and buzzy. Too much high end, and maybe too much amp gain.

Ya, I know it's squished because of the effects chain I had. Several folks have told me they kinda like it because it is different - DOH!

I'll redo it sometime once I understand the mixing better.
~A~

[CountryShawn]

Originally Posted by Kewlpack

Eeek! I'm way off on something.

How do they get the volume and distinctive separation without clipping??? I start to clip if I bump much at all! :x
Ugh - If I were bald, this would be easier - no hair to rip out!

LOL
~A~

Well.. special mastering tools are used for that.
I'm not sure what mixing tools you used.

To get the volume (beyond good eq and mixing) that you hear on most commercial recordings these days, they use Limiters and Maximizers.

I would HIGHLY recommend that you use the Waves (www.waves.com) L1 Ultramaximizer to get your mix volumes up. Be careful with this tool though. You can get a loud mix, but it makes it less dynamic if overdone, which gets tiring on the ears.

You have to have a good solid mix before applying these mastering tools though.
A bad mix sounds even worse when using Limiters, etc.

Cheers,

Shawn