It Isn't Easy - New Version

[JD01]

Morning dudes,

Had a lot of help with this one off Tad in the past so was really looking forward to sorting this out properly when I got Hughes & Kettner.
Finally got the vocals done yesterday but anything you can help me with to get this one to all hang together properly would be great!

Cheers,

It Isnt Easy New Mix 1.mp3

[einstein magoo]

Vocals sound really good on this! Got yourself a song here man!

[JD01]

Cool. Cheers Einstein.

[rayc]

James,
it's a happening thing.
That amp has added tone & confidence that bleeds through to a stronger voice.

[Armistice]

I'm only listening via phone and headphones... so take this with a grain of salt.

Instruments all sound good - finding the quieter verse vocals a bit lost and lonely and not quite in the same "space"- much better when you double and then in the chorus. I don't think you can "fix" them.

If it was me I'd shorten the long vowel sounds and do a subtler double behind to beef it up a bit.

Phased guitar before the solo sounds a tad fizzy for my liking.

Also the additional voices at the end could come up a bit - I can't really hear what they're singing - distorting them a bit could sound cool and give you some more cut through - just a suggestion.

[JD01]

Cheers, I know what you mean with the quiet verses. I was stumped with them for a while. I might try some subtle doubling like you say, that verse melody is petty tricky for me though and I was really struggling to nail a take.

[JD01]

James,
it's a happening thing.
That amp has added tone & confidence that bleeds through to a stronger voice.

Thanks Ray - I think this one is just about there.

[vomitHatSteve]

Sounds pretty good.

To nitpick, I might bring down the bass a little. It feels like it's taking up most of the space in the middle for most of the song.

[JD01]

Sounds pretty good.

To nitpick, I might bring down the bass a little. It feels like it's taking up most of the space in the middle for most of the song.

Thanks Steve, I'll check that out.
You could well be right 'cos I really like the bassline to this one! Typical making my favourite bit the loudest!

[WhiskeyJack]

JD, i am on my earbuds at work and it sounds really full smooth but lots of texture and shit. good job man. I'll give it a better going over on the monitors later this week sometime.

[musicturtle]

James I agree with the others, this is one the best vocals I have heard from you. I love the guitar work in the second verse too.

Would like to hear the backing vocals in the end come up more.

In the pre-chorus parts you're doing a little question/answer thing with the lead gtr and the vox. I would like the guitar to have a little more presence there, it takes a back seat to me, I don't know if it's eq or gain, but I think if the gtr stood out a bit more there it would build up to the rockin' chorus better.

Nice work

[Tadpui]

Fine mix, JD! I do have a soft spot for this song, and I think you did great on this. Love the drums, the panning, and just the overall balance. Well done, man.

Is there a hi-pass on all of the vocals? If there is, I think it might be set a bit high (frequency-wise). There's a bit of a telephone/megaphone kind of effect on the vocals and I think just a bit more of the low end left intact might benefit sections of the vocals. I actually like the effect, but maybe just for parts of the song.

Steve said that there's too much bass on his listen, and I thought there wasn't enough bass in my listen. That might be a sign to leave the bass guitar alone

And that damned solo guitar in the intro. What is a guy supposed to do to let that thing stand out? I just made it sound like crap in my attempt. And it really blends into the rhythm guitars here. Dearest Rebels, what is the answer to the riddle of the intro solo?

[JD01]

Thanks guys, I reckon I'm close to the end on this one. This is all handy for me to make a few tweaks here and there to finish it off.

[Bubba]

Good guitar sounds, mate. Mix is good but I'd call the vocal a bit quiet for me.

[JD01]

Good guitar sounds, mate. Mix is good but I'd call the vocal a bit quiet for me.

Cheers, Bob.

Loads of little suggestions here... I'll look at them all and maybe do a couple of little tweaks on the weekend and see if they improve things... or ruin everything. Then I'll call this one done.

[JD01]

OK, re-mixed this a lot and completely re-tracked all of the vocal, more harmonies extra bits hear and there etc.
Also, no more screamed vocals - my larynx can't take it anymore! (and its too hard to mix without it sounding scratchy)

It Isnt Easy New Vox 1.mp3

[vomitHatSteve]

The lead vocals are a bit more mid-rangey on this one, especially during the minimal reggae-ish verse parts.

I vaguely remember this one. Are you sure you can't get the screamed vocals to work? It seems less energetic without it.

Your instrument bed is sounding good tho.

Bgvox are sounding good.

I like the breakdown. The affected, panning guitar is cool.

[JD01]

The lead vocals are a bit more mid-rangey on this one, especially during the minimal reggae-ish verse parts.

I vaguely remember this one. Are you sure you can't get the screamed vocals to work? It seems less energetic without it.

Your instrument bed is sounding good tho.

Bgvox are sounding good.

I like the breakdown. The affected, panning guitar is cool.

Cheers Steve, Maybe I'll look at just having the lead vocals screamed in the PreChorus and the Chorus when I'm not so terminally tired and constantly feeling like I'm about to get a horrendous cold.
Looked at those verse vocals again - might try scooping them a touch to try and make them sit in a little better.
The breakdown is just me messing with my cheapo phaser pedal, automating the panning back and forth but also automating the amount of reverb up and down as it goes back and forth. I'd not really used automation before so wanted to have a real good mess with it.

[TripleM]

I like the song a lot. Cool vibe.

Bass sounds cool. I like the main crunch guitars. They might sound cool if they were just a bit brighter.

Some of the guitar riffs/fills are a little far back in the mix. The clean-ish lead sounded nice, and perfect level.

LIke that little guitar line that moves across the stereo spread.

The vocal has good sections and some sections were it kind of lags in energy. A pitchy note here and there.

[JD01]

OK, i know this was mostly done before... but I was never happy with the sound of the vocal and the way the vocal was sitting in the mix. I wasn't overly enamored with my performance either. So... I've re-recorded the entire vocal yet again with my new mic.

Works much better - I think I'm finally happy with it!

What do you think? There's only tiny changes to the music mix, but the whole vocal is re-tracked through a new mic with an entirely new (and way simpler) vocal chain. Its just AKG D5> ReaEQ> Red3 compressor>Camel Crusher.

It Isnt Easy.mp3

To me the change in the vocal is a massive improvement... it might not work for everyone, but if you're a particularly loud singer and have a small room singing into a dynamic instead of a condenser may help.