I made this yesterday to test the new Acustica Audio Black Gain Staging plugin. I remixed today. It is on every track along with SSL Channel Strip 2. I used nothing else on the individual tracks. I used Softube Tsar-1 reverb on one Aux. Let me know what you think. This is a new mix.



New mix with all suggestions taken into account

 

Last edited by a moderator: Aug 1, 2021

good track, bass too boomy and too mono for my taste

 

really nice, this is in my opinion is the best one you've done to date.

 

Nice song title, nice song with a lot of depth and space, perfect tempo, finally the bass comes into its own and carries
the song - the cymbals on the drums are a bit too light for my ears. I like it - a very harmonious song. Suspect a hit ...!

 

The first thing that comes to notice is that the guitar playing the riff overpowers vocals in the first verse.
In the second verse, the balance is a bit better.
Drums (snare, toms, kick) sound a bit weak, to far back in the mix.

Not my type of music but I think you did a great job if it's original material.

 

I'd like to listen to this track, Lenny.

 

This sounds really good to me. Only thing I'd say is the drums do sound a bit lack luster. The need some more weight in the low end. The vocals sound brilliant.

 

No. It's there with it's overpowering guitar riffs and weak drums, light cymbals and "too mono" bass. I don't even know what too mono bass is. Remember I did this in a day with headphones to test the Gain Staging plugin. It is not perfect. I can't be bothered chasing perfection because everybody's idea of perfection is different. Personally I find the Gain Staging plugin adds cohesion without the need for a lot of compression. It's a free plugin and worth everybody's time to try it.

 

Yes, drums could be more present, but I made a choice for the vocals to occupy that space in the top end. Airy vocals aren't going to have the same focus if the drums are also occupying a space in the 10K range.

 

Nice song and for 1 day's work it's a pretty good job. But I don't know how to make a judgement about AA Black based on it.

 

It's a difficult thing to listen to everyones comments and try and include changing the mix. But usually it pays to take everyones criticism seriously. Don't assume you know best. I have applied alterations as suggested by you all - even less mono bass! - and I am quite happy that I have created a better mix. Thanks for listening.

 

Really nice composition and atmosphere. I agree with @BEAT16 - you nailed the tempo/feel. Also like the arrangement.

Care to share a bit of how you approach this? Is it sort of harmonies and instrumentation around an acapella? Do you change the vocal line to fit..? What instruments do you sketch first?

 

I'm listening on headphones and the drums do sound a bit weird, kind of as if they were playing behind me. Looking the phase correlation meter it seems you're quite a bit on the "bad" side, which is weird considering what you're using.

Are you using Sienna? Any chance you left it on while exporting?

 

It's a base built from a 150bpm dance vocal sample with a 75bpm rock track used as a bed. I pitch shifted and added harmonies to the vocals. Some time stretching fro some parts. Played some extra guitar and added a midi Mellotron part. Around 24 tracks total. I can't really call it an original composition. But in the sense of how I put it together it took as much work as my own material. Plus she sings better than I do.
One of my fave genres is dreampop and I've never succeeded in making a song that fits that style. I think this is my first!

 

Thanks. As I say I appreciate feedback. I enjoy people listening to my music. But judging the value of a song by how it looks on a correlation meter that tells you my drums are "bad" is not something I am going to bother addressing.

 

Last edited by a moderator: Jul 31, 2021

I'd like your feedback on the plugin. It seems like quite a good concept worth looking into.

 

Aside from the drums thing, i think it's pretty solid, love the atmosphere particularly. Plus, it's 4:20 minutes long

 

Thanks very much. That's what counts to me. And length can not be underestimated.

 

MORE WIDER BASS!!! 2 CHORUS'S AND A FLANGER SO IT SPREADS TO THE EDGES OF THE GALAXY. only joking.

eventide use to make a box that spread stuff. the ozzy osbourne vocal effect box. maybe you could put that on the bass to satisfy your detractors. you would have had trouble cutting it to vinyl though -- in the past. i think the lathes or transfer consoles had filters on stereo records to mono under a certain frequency. people claimed you could do wide bass to vinyl, but i never heard it. maybe on a 12" single or something where you had plenty of space. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

the optimism in the lyric are a bit off brand for you Lenny. very disturbing. have you been taking happy pills or something? there is still a foreboding intensity to the sound. very upfront. maybe it is the *#*magic*#* plugin. i take it that this is a characteristic to this type of genre. everything upfront and smashed seems to be a THE style these days anyway. there is still plenty of new stuff that sits back in the speakers so maybe we have already reached peak 'upfrontedness'. some people still feel the need sexually assault your ears in order to make their point -- more power to them, i guess. nothing exceeds like excess.

sounds fine to me anyway, but i am not that fussy. years of listening to the most lo-fi, low budget music off tape and vinyl lowered my expectations permanently it seems. even the well budgeted years ago sound pretty basic compared to the space age productions these days. music is music; it does not have to be shoved into my face in a pretty package for it to speak to me and get its intent. [as long as there is due care is taken and there are no obvious production flaws that could have been avoided. that sometimes bothers me.]

i guess what i am meaning to say is: i hope you are doing well and have a good day. i always use to many words to say it.

 

I'm happy to the extent that it's been 7 months and I'm still working at the kitchen table. I am writing this with the television on and the kettle boiling as the dogs bark for their dinner. See? Still depressed! My studio is still the subject of an insurance claim. I used to know my monitors in that great space inside out, now I sit here guessing and dealing with minute criticisms. But like I say, I allow this because I don't have a familiar environment. If my drums or my bass displease some individuals, I simply ask that I seek merit or not based on the song. The Song has always been the thing that is most important to me. In this case, the song was a vehicle to explore the AA Gain Staging plugin and I think it is a most valuable addition to anybody working with audio. I am happy with the free version but at the introductory price plus my 50% discount I will buy the extra preamp modules.