suggestions on this master - shoegaze/neo-psychedelia

[alex_melodymaker]

hey there,

i've been working on this song for the past month, tweaking it here and there...

the initial mix/master i did of this with logic pro/ozone came out a bit harsh, you can here it here:

http://www.gearslutz.com/board/attac...-sample-03.mp3

after taking initial suggestions, i reopened both my mix and master sessions and tweaked the song some more... i've attached what i came up with along with this post... the mix still sounds a bit shrill in the upper registers... i incorporated both a high pass and low pass EQ, rolling off at 40hz and 17khz respectively... there was mention of transients peaking at around 2.5khz - 5khz, and i used a narrowband compressor at those frequencies to help suppress it, as suggested by fellow gearslutz poster/ME, edward vinatea...

any additional suggestions you may want to give me before i finalize this song? i know, take it to a real mastering engineer... but for now, what do you think of the sound i've sculpted so far? is the bass/low end coming through? if there's any main dynamic out of the lower freqs that i'm trying to bring out, it's the punchiness of the bass guitar... can you hear it?

thanks!

[UnderTow]

This is a 160 kbps MP3. There is no one to tell how it really sounds like. Try posting a wave file or at the very very least a 320 Kbps MP3.

Alistair

[Clive Banks]

i don't think the sound is harsh .
it's just too busy which makes it sound untight.


break it down to the basics even less.
then build it up again.


take out the tambourine. it doesn't need to be there.

[alex_melodymaker]

ok, so i addressed some issues that were brought up about the mix (many thanks to everyone) and i'm uploading a new sample for you to listen to... the new mix cleans up some of the high end from the vocals that was creating a bit too much sibilance, and i also pushed back the tambourines slightly... however, i think the vocals may be a bit too low now... what do you think?

keep in mind that this new sample is the final mix without mastering applied... i thought i'd do this so you can get a better sense of the actual mix and perhaps be able to comment on what type of mastering solution you would give it... be sure to raise your volume to compensate...

and i uploaded the new sample @ 320 mp3... as requested...

[audiovisceral]

i like the tamb, but on my laptop, it seems too centered L-R. i'd pan it pretty hard one way or the other. it was also too loud and had too much beef in the original mix. sorry if i'm just hearing it wrong.

[alex_melodymaker]

did the tambourine still sound loud in the version of the mix i uploaded?

[Edward_Vinatea]

Hi Alex,

I've listened to your latest mix at 320kbps and is a huge improvement over the first one I heard more than a month ago. The tambs are fine IMO.

Two things that I would do if I were you: 1- I would raise your vocal track just a bit and 2 - I would try the main electric guitars {playing those high notes} with less reverb or even dry if needed. The logic is to try to dry up some of that mid range and give the guitars more presence and separation from the other instruments.

Is the snare dead center? if it's not - I would place it center.

Otherwise I really like your song.

Take care,

[alex_melodymaker]

Originally Posted by Edward_Vinatea

Hi Alex,

I've listened to your latest mix at 320kbps and is a huge improvement over the first one I heard more than a month ago. The tambs are fine IMO.

Two things that I would do if I were you: 1- I would raise your vocal track just a bit and 2 - I would try the main electric guitars {playing those high notes} with less reverb or even dry if needed. The logic is to try to dry up some of that mid range and give the guitars more presence and separation from the other instruments.

Is the snare dead center? if it's not - I would place it center.

Otherwise I really like your song.

Take care,

thanks edward...

i agree, i think the vocals are just slightly pushed back than they were before i took off some of its high end... the snare is panned center... there are two mics for it, snare and snare bottom, the bottom's fader's a bit lower than the other... as far as the guitars, i'll play them back dry or drier and hear how they sound...

many thanks,

alex