Mixoff - pop/rock tune needs some talent!

[dkeatscary]

Howdy everyone - I'm Dave Keats. I've been on this board for just a little while, and just finished a track that could use a set of deft mixing ears and talent. Mixing has always been my weak spot. I've got a decent project studio here at home but haven't been able to make my mixes sound the way I want.

Anyway, the track is called "Lifeline". It's a pop/rock/AC ballad that builds into a pretty decent payoff.

Here's a quick listen to my original mix:
Lifeline - David Keats.mp3

And here's where the stems are (.zip): NOTE on Jan 30: doubled the electric guitar tracks that start at 1:54, added a shaker, as well as two acoustic tracks.
Dropbox - Lifeline - David Keats - BPM83 .zip

For the drums, I included audio as well as MIDI.

Anyone care to take a crack at my track?!

Dave

[Domorec]

Hey Man.. Lovin the track, I'm fairly new to this whole thing but I'd love to take a shot at it if you don't mind?

[dkeatscary]

Originally Posted by Domorec

Hey Man.. Lovin the track, I'm fairly new to this whole thing but I'd love to take a shot at it if you don't mind?

Yes, absolutely! Thanks and I can't wait to hear it

[RARStudios]

What mic did you track the vocals with?

[krheatman]

Nice track.

[dkeatscary]

Originally Posted by RARStudios

What mic did you track the vocals with?

A Rode NT1000. You like /no like?

[dkeatscary]

Originally Posted by krheatman

Nice track.

Sounds great! Wish I had included a better pitched version of my vocal track. What vocal chain did you use? I like!

[krheatman]

Originally Posted by dkeatscary

Sounds great! Wish I had included a better pitched version of my vocal track. What vocal chain did you use? I like!

UAD La2a/UAD 1176/eff send to UAD Dreamverb

I did no eq to anything which means you did a great job tracking.I didn't tune anything,just a quick mix in my mastering room.
What pre on the vocal?
Sent from my PC36100 using Gearslutz.com

[dkeatscary]

Originally Posted by krheatman

UAD La2a/UAD 1176/eff send to UAD Dreamverb

I did no eq to anything which means you did a great job tracking.I didn't tune anything,just a quick mix in my mastering room.
What pre on the vocal?
Sent from my PC36100 using Gearslutz.com

It's a Focusrite Saffire PRO 40. Love it.

[dkeatscary]

Originally Posted by krheatman

UAD La2a/UAD 1176/eff send to UAD Dreamverb

I did no eq to anything which means you did a great job tracking.I didn't tune anything,just a quick mix in my mastering room.
What pre on the vocal?
Sent from my PC36100 using Gearslutz.com

Damn, I certainly can't get that kind of presence from my stuff. I mean, I can, but just don't know how!

[krheatman]

Originally Posted by dkeatscary

Damn, I certainly can't get that kind of presence from my stuff. I mean, I can, but just don't know how!

Because the eq on everything was pretty good it may just be you were not keeping the center only for vocals,bass,snare,kick?
I just doubled the guitar and split it out of the center,threw an eq on the bass and did a quick ride on the lead vocal.Balanced levels on eveything else and that was it.
I could have done a lot more.
Sent from my PC36100 using Gearslutz.com

[Andreas Leonhard]

Great song.....you'll get my mix very soon.

[RARStudios]

http://soundcloud.com/mygenuine/mix2/
I had a really really hard time with the vocals I loved the vocal melody and the lyrics are fairly catchy. I would suggest you go back and re-record the vocal track though with some more room treatment and better mic placement.

I am still working on some production on the track, but here is what I have so far. I changed the arrangement slightly to taste.

Enyoy,
E

[sdsi]

This track has lots of potential. Quick mix between sessions.

[Sim]

Originally Posted by RARStudios

http://soundcloud.com/mygenuine/mix

I had a really really hard time with the vocals I loved the vocal melody and the lyrics are fairly catchy. I would suggest you go back and re-record the vocal track though with some more room treatment and better mic placement.

I am still working on some production on the track, but here is what I have so far. I changed the arrangement slightly to taste.

Enyoy,
E

Really liked the intro on that

[dkeatscary]

Originally Posted by sdsi

This track has lots of potential. Quick mix between sessions.

Liked this mix a lot! Thank you!!

[dkeatscary]

Originally Posted by RARStudios

I had a really really hard time with the vocals I loved the vocal melody and the lyrics are fairly catchy. I would suggest you go back and re-record the vocal track though with some more room treatment and better mic placement.

I am still working on some production on the track, but here is what I have so far. I changed the arrangement slightly to taste.

Enyoy,
E

This is a beautiful version of the song, and as Sim mentioned, the intro is really nice...different and sombre, which captures the mood well.

I really hate the vocal track the longer I listen to it. I am recording in a carpeted residential room, about 11' X 14', with 10' ceilings, and no acoustic treatment. That's on my near term to-do list.

[RARStudios]

Originally Posted by dkeatscary

This is a beautiful version of the song, and as Sim mentioned, the intro is really nice...different and sombre, which captures the mood well.

I really hate the vocal track the longer I listen to it. I am recording in a carpeted residential room, about 11' X 14', with 10' ceilings, and no acoustic treatment. That's on my near term to-do list.

Good music spurs creativity. So thank you for providing an interesting track.

Do you happen to have a dynamic mic? You could try using a dynamic mic, putting a bunch of blankets or a mattress up, and use that as pseudo acoustic treatment. That might help you out with a less roomy sound, which is one of the reasons the vocals can't be mixed as well as they could.

Thanks again for the track.

Evan

[Sim]

Great arrangement and performance. The strings sound a little bit to synthy for me and i could probably put some toontrack superior drums in at the end that may sound a little more human. Just a rough one on headphones

[dkeatscary]

Originally Posted by Sim

Great arrangement and performance. The strings sound a little bit to synthy for me and i could probably put some toontrack superior drums in at the end that may sound a little more human. Just a rough one on headphones

Thanks, Sim! I like it a lot!! This is the first mixoff I've done, and it's wonderful -- really, really fantastic -- to hear different interpretations and ideas. Awesome!

As far as drums, I mixed a kit in Battery that combined analog and electronic drums. I was going, to be honest, for a David Gray feel. Stiff and somewhat mechanical, contrasted against something raw and emotional.

[Sim]

It's my first mix off to. I don't think there's anything wrong with the vocs it's a great performance and it's in tune the sound and tone is nice the room sound is not very desirable but I've had far worse and made it work. The guitar recording tone is great but try putting the delay after recording as it has made the string scratching more prominent and difficult to remove. How did you record the piano? the bass notes seem a little cloudy. I think the stings could benefit from changing the waveform to something smoother.
Anyhow your arranging and songwriting skills far outshine any technical impurities. This is well recorded either way and therefore is a delight to mix. If there's any bits you like and want to now how I did it let me know so I can help you with your mixing I'd be happy to.
From you first mix it seems your compression techniques needs to gain some confidence if you know what i mean, also your mixing/ eqing the piano a little muddy. Do be afraid to whack and comp eq or fx on any channel just to see how it sounds, also give parallel compression a try.

[dkeatscary]

Originally Posted by Sim

It's my first mix off to. I don't think there's anything wrong with the vocs it's a great performance and it's in tune the sound and tone is nice the room sound is not very desirable but I've had far worse and made it work. The guitar recording tone is great but try putting the delay after recording as it has made the string scratching more prominent and difficult to remove. How did you record the piano? the bass notes seem a little cloudy. I think the stings could benefit from changing the waveform to something smoother.
Anyhow your arranging and songwriting skills far outshine any technical impurities. This is well recorded either way and therefore is a delight to mix. If there's any bits you like and want to now how I did it let me know so I can help you with your mixing I'd be happy to.
From you first mix it seems your compression techniques needs to gain some confidence if you know what i mean, also your mixing/ eqing the piano a little muddy. Do be afraid to whack and comp eq or fx on any channel just to see how it sounds, also give parallel compression a try.

So...bad news all around! ;-)

The piano is Pianoteq, a VST. For the bass, I used Chris Lord-Alge's waves bass plug-in. I don't know how to get a crisp sounding bass with proper EQ and comp on my own. Overall, comp and EQ are my biggest weak points (that plus my personality, according to my wife).

dk

[elliottteachey]

Had some spare time, just my opinion I think the track rocks as just a vocal/piano ballad. The drum loop to me makes the song sound a little overproduced. http://dl.dropbox.com/u/11767503/PRINT%20TRACK_01.wav

[sdsi]

Originally Posted by dkeatscary

Liked this mix a lot! Thank you!!

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed.

Sent from my LG-P509 using Gearslutz.com

[Andreas Leonhard]

Hi David,
it´s a wonderful song and I loved to mix it.....

[Andreas G]

Beautiful vocals Dave, I love it!


.

[Sim]

Originally Posted by dkeatscary

So...bad news all around! ;-)

The piano is Pianoteq, a VST. For the bass, I used Chris Lord-Alge's waves bass plug-in. I don't know how to get a crisp sounding bass with proper EQ and comp on my own. Overall, comp and EQ are my biggest weak points (that plus my personality, according to my wife).

dk

The bass sounded really food. I meant the bass notes on the piano but seeings as it's vst it's pretty good. Seeing as you have the flexibility in sounds with your vst's you could improve you sound design. It maybe easier for you to mix at the sound design stage of recording using your arranging mind thought than trying to just think of mixing as a separate thing. It would be good to see what you did to get where you did to see whether what I just said is bs. what chains and fx etc did you use?

[dkeatscary]

Originally Posted by Sim

The bass sounded really food. I meant the bass notes on the piano but seeings as it's vst it's pretty good. Seeing as you have the flexibility in sounds with your vst's you could improve you sound design. It maybe easier for you to mix at the sound design stage of recording using your arranging mind thought than trying to just think of mixing as a separate thing. It would be good to see what you did to get where you did to see whether what I just said is bs. what chains and fx etc did you use?

Here are the FX chains. Not sure what you'll be able to make of 'em!

[twarrenl]

I didnt get to pull this up at any of the studios I work at & only spent a few hours on it so I really don't know how it's gonna translate...

[krheatman]

Originally Posted by twarrenl

I didnt get to pull this up at any of the studios I work at & only spent a few hours on it so I really don't know how it's gonna translate...

Very good!Just the opposite of what I did which was pretty dry.Nice textures with the harmonies and little delays here and there.
I think some on here I have listened to have overdone the reverb IMO.Checking the other mixes on good headphones they get to cavernous.I liked how yours was mainly the BV not the whole mix.