The Narcissist's Wife with vomitHatSteve

[rayc]

Hello Folks,
being a fast acting bludger I wasted no time in asking Steve to have a crack at another song. This time it needed a melody as well as a voice.
The song was constructed in BIAB then I replaced most instruments with my own playing.
BIAB drums, organ & cello remain - as well as some ohhs & ahhs.
Otherwise it's 12 string acoustic, some electric guitars, bass &, after the cello solo, underplay/noodling by an old friend named Eric.
The writing was inspired, yet again, by my cheapie fake spring reverb pedal - chords that rang cleanly were the ones that I used in the verse.
There's some flanging and overdrive blended into the vocals in the chorus but, generally the vocals are clean.

Late October14combosolo.mp3

I'd appreciate your thoughts and suggestions on the mix.

Here's a remix based on the suggestions received by early arvo today.

Late October16.mp3

Here's a remix based on James' observations.

Late October17b.mp3

Here we go again - less 100Hz bass, (much in fact), a lift in the cello and sorted the organ out.
Please note this has nothing on the stereo bus other than a little subtractive EQ.

Late October18.mp3

Here's the same as above but with some "faux mastering" in case folk feel the raw mix is to quiet and thin

Late October18gd.mp3

Hmm, lessened the manual de-essing a tad. This is a painful process for me as any sibilance seems to go straight to my pain centre.
I'm going to leave this alone for a couple of days.
Have a listen & let me know if this is OK , perfect or too essy. PLEASE...
One is the mix with nothing on the stereo bus and the other has been rendered and then "faux mastered".
raw

Late October19.mp3

Faux

LateOctober19gd.mp3

Added and subtracted some things after a few days of NOT listening to it...

Late October20all.mp3

Here's a mix that is, mainly, 12 string electric...

Late October21trimmed.mp3

New mix - tidied the popping of the 12 string runs, addressed a few aggressive vocal bits, reduced the bottom end of the bass even more as it stuck out a bit after I brought the guitars down a little.

LateOctober23bc.mp3

THE MASTERS

HERE YA GO FOLKS. A GREG mastered definitive version...THANKS Greg. It's a cracker.

LateOctober23bcmaster.mp3

AND here is the Fran Ashcroft master for comparison.

MST the narcissists wife _r8b (2).mp3

I think, & you'll hear, that Greg's mastering is easily as good as the prof one. It is, after all, about the ears - & Greg's a excellent.

[mention]Greg_L[/mention] [mention]JD01[/mention] [mention]vomitHatSteve[/mention] [mention]TripleM[/mention] [mention]CeeBee[/mention]
Lyrics...
The Narcissist's Wife
The man who keeps his powder dry
And neither smokes nor drinks
Will have you plead for hard relief
With just the way he thinks.

The narcissist’s wife.
She
She lives alone
Despite his presence in the house
His word
Cuts like a knife
Despite his calm
She
Knows he isn’t
Cut close to the life
Of the narcissist’s wife

His foreplay has been perfected
Scripted blow by blow
Each moan or cry in place
The wife tells friends it’s so.
Each moan or cry
The wife tells friends it’s so

The narcissist’s wife.
She
She lives alone
Despite his presence in the house
Always
Plays the jack-knife
Despite his charm
She
Knows he hasn’t
Cut close to the life
Of the narcissist’s wife

solo

The narcissist’s wife.
She
She lives alone
Despite his presence in the house
His word
Cuts like a knife
Offhanded harm
She
Knows he means it
Cut close to the life
Of the narcissist’s wife

The calm impassive voice
Of a man who wields power
Who knows he can make you
Never to have existed
Within the subsequent hour.
Never to have existed

Cut so keenly close to life
With just the way he thinks.

[vomitHatSteve]

Noice!

That BIaB cello never fails to thrown me. It's got a really dirty saxaphone-type tone to it. I like it.

[TripleM]

I like the jangle guitar. That sounded real good.

The vocal is a bit buried. I don't know if VHS would want to do this, but it'd sound good double tracked.

The bass has a ton of low end. It's pretty muddy.

[WhiskeyJack]

Jesus you guys don't screw around. Good job.

Pretty decent mix going on with all the little bits in and around everywhere. The Cello sounds like it is got a b it of grit or distortion on it. It's kind of cool if that is what i am hearing. Might be nice to hear it with out any distortion and possibly a bit more fuller and with a bit more atmospheric presence around it. But that is a just a personal thing. Not a crit or nit.

Hmmm. I don't know that i love the sound of the vocals. I am not going to use the word muddy. But it does sound blanketed. So whatever mixing you have to do get it unblanketed that might be a great corrective action to take. You mentioned something about having some flange and overdrive on the vocals maybe is something odd there. I don't know that i have ever heard any vocal performances in any of your songs have this blanket over them [mention]rayc[/mention] so i am sure it is something silly somewhere.

Good tune. Interesting subject matter too.

[rayc]

[mention]TripleM[/mention] & [mention]WhiskeyJack[/mention],
I've read your comments and applied the ideas suggested...
I took some bass away around 200 or so.
I've added one of the the double tracked vocals VHS sent with the original package,
I've reduced the distortion added to the vocal in the chorus,
Took a little drive away from the cello, (it does need some to sit up)
and
I've removed the delay based vocal thickener as well.
Thoughts?

[JD01]

Late getting to this, Ray.

Think the bass is too quiet.
Steve, sounds good - bit sibilant in places.
The guitars (two hard panned) sound a bit muddy, non-descript - like they're just blending in with the Hammond - Its like the rhythm section of the mix is blending into a bit of a soup.

[rayc]

@[mention]JD01[/mention] ,
Thanks for the detailed observation.
The bass level dropped when I thinned the bottom end as suggested by MMM.
I've added a little more grit and level to bring it back.
The hard panned guitars versus organ in the choruses - there's only a touch of 12 acoustic over with the organ and two guitars on the other side but I took a shallow, wide dip into the mid mud region on both sides and lifted the 12 string a little.
There's some organ in the final verses so I pulled it down a little & boosted the jangly bits a tad.
The sibilance is due to the MASSIVE number of sib sounds I seem to have inserted into the lyric. Most are addressed as far as they can be through manual pre FX volume automation. I tried a little more today but the lisping effect comes in if I take it any further.

[TripleM]

I thought #2 was an improvement over #1 and #3 was an improvement over #2.

The only thing I'd think about addressing is (still) the low end of the bass. To me there is too much low end. There is some frequency down there around 100hz that is too strong IMO. I'd find that, notch it out 5-6dbs and then raise the level of the whole bass track a db or two. Just to clear out some of that low end.

I forgot to mention the first time around... On mix #1 there was some sort of delay on the vocal that was kind smearing it up. That's been cleared up in the other mixes.

[rayc]

a)I thought #2 was an improvement over #1 and #3 was an improvement over #2.
b)The only thing I'd think about addressing is (still) the low end of the bass.
c)I forgot to mention the first time around... On mix #1 there was some sort of delay on the vocal that was kind smearing it up. That's been cleared up in the other mixes.

Triple M,
Thanks...
a) Baby steps I know.
b) I had done but it seems more is required
&
c) Good ears - there was a "vocal thickener" on the vocals as well as some reverb. Adding the double track made the former redundant & I reduced the latter to almost inaudible.

[rayc]

[mention]TripleM[/mention] ,
new mix based on your observations is in the OP.

[CeeBee]

This mix sounds really good to me, more cohesive and almost melodic if you know what i mean.

[vomitHatSteve]

Listening to the latest mix.

the "s" on "thinks" at the end of verse 1 seems to have dropped. Is that from my tracking or too much de-essing? (or both?)

[rayc]

This mix sounds really good to me, more cohesive and almost melodic if you know what i mean.

Thanks CeeBee.

[rayc]

Listening to the latest mix.

the "s" on "thinks" at the end of verse 1 seems to have dropped. Is that from my tracking or too much de-essing? (or both?)

vomitHatSteve,
you are correct - over de-essed. There're a few more where you sound as though you've a lisp so I will have to go back and adjust those individual spots.
That's what I get for writing a lyric with five ess sounds in ten words.

[vomitHatSteve]

That's what I get for writing a lyric with five ess sounds in ten words.

[rayc]

[mention]vomitHatSteve[/mention] ,
I've had another crack at it.
I'll leave the new mix up for a couple of days so I can desensitise and, hopefully, get some sibilant specific feedback.

[vomitHatSteve]

Yeah, those sibilants are sounding good.

[TripleM]

I think the bass level is much better.

This might just be me, but it seems the faux mastered versions are a little narrower. They also lack a little punch. The non-faux versions have a little more umph and pulse. And they sound just a bit wider. The loudness between the two was the same to my ear.

[rayc]

I think the bass level is much better.
This might just be me, but it seems the faux mastered versions are a little narrower. They also lack a little punch. The non-faux versions have a little more umph and pulse. And they sound just a bit wider. The loudness between the two was the same to my ear.

Thanks [mention]TripleM[/mention] ,
the faux jobs are just there to add some sense of difference.
Interesting that they sound narrower - I suppose a comp might do that - could be the suppression of certain freqs out wide.
Nothing to fear - when I do go to the mastering stage it won't be me & that chain of FX.

[rayc]

Sunday, 8th December mix as noted in OP.

Late October20all.mp3

Additional guitar stuff.