Augustus

[rayc]

Fairly simple song - mainly chorus.
I need to deal with the cracking sound on the repeated "it's" amongst other things.
Verses and "solo" section in A the choruses in Fminor.
No solo at present.
BIAB drums as usual as well as one synth.

augustusJcd-revgd.mp3

Suggestions most welcome.
This one is tweaked as per [mention]JD01[/mention] James' comments.
I removed the reverb completely ,(it was on vocals and guitars as per the template),
I removed the low shelf from the guitars, (not something I usually employ),
Removed the low shelf from the bass and added a some low mids,
Boosted some of the lacking freqs in the vocal as well as reducing the previous boost set a 3k.
[mention]vomitHatSteve[/mention] ,
Yes, bass mixed forward - it is because I was striving for a little order.

augustusK.mp3

I READ & Obeye - sort of. I tried the bass lower but it lost a lot. I tried doing an octave down clone but it became muddy.
I boosted the bottom end of the bass track and then recorded a low synth type track with the Mel9.
I've retracked the choruses based on Shan's comments and added the Motown Exciter to the verses.
In the end I just stacked the new choruses on what was there.
Again NO Reverb.

augustusLbc.mp3

[JD01]

Ray, this mix generally sounds very bright and thin.
The bassline is played so high up and has so little bottom in it that the whole mix seems to lack bottom.
The guitars sound really thin too. Its still quite verby, but the whole thing is really bright which is unusual for you.

You've made a tidy job of the vocal on this though.

[rayc]

Ray, this mix generally sounds very bright and thin.
The bassline is played so high up and has so little bottom in it that the whole mix seems to lack bottom.
The guitars sound really thin too. Its still quite verby, but the whole thing is really bright which is unusual for you.
You've made a tidy job of the vocal on this though.

Thanks James.
I'll work on those aspects tomorrow...not my preferred reverb use particularly levels or guitar EQ sculpting but trying out settings other folk've used/recommended.

[vomitHatSteve]

First thing that leaps out at me is that the bass is mixed really loud. (And it's high on the neck)

[rayc]

Mix updated

[vomitHatSteve]

New mix is pleasantly brighter, and the vocals are cutting through well.

[WhiskeyJack]

Chiming in on AugustusK.

First off [mention]rayc[/mention] That chorus or whatever it is @ around 0:45 is awesome. Really stoked to hear you givn'r a good gutteral giv'r. You sound confident and i'm digging how it translates over the lyrics dude. Hats off to that. keep it up and more of it please. That said i kind of lose you right afterward when you head back into the verse. It needs something to bring you back to the front can't quite make out that first and second line after the first chorus bit.

I love that left guitar dude. That is awesome.

Hmmm. The chorus around 1:40 isn't being delivered with the same level of conviction and attitude as the first one that got me stoked for you Ray.

Personal Prefrence nit pick: I'd have mixed that bass solo on top of the synths @ 2:02. I like it more.

Very cool to hear your vocals coming along like dude.

[JD01]

Mix two sounds better, Ray.
Just an idea, why not try playing that bassline further down the neck - sounds like you've got a whole octave to spare beneath where you're playing it for the most part. Replace some of the bits with lead guitar when you're not singing.

The organ solo is quite cool - is that your Mel9 pedal?

[rayc]

Mix three up top based on suggestions from [mention]JD01[/mention] and [mention]WhiskeyJack[/mention] .
I've not put the bass on top for the "solo" section but have recorded a sort of solo to hold the space for the moment. I can't play "lead" that doesn't sound like a bass line.

[TripleM]

I played mixes #1 and #3. I usually like dryer stuff, so I I liked that in #3 better.

I agree with the commenters on the bass part. It's played way up on the neck and doesn't a bunch of low end. the low end is dominated by the kick.

Guitars have a real nice crunch. I think your stuff would sound better with a different strumming approach. I'd like to hear these parts with a more decisive strum. You kind of do a bit of a rake across the strings. If you did these parts with more of stabbing approach, I think it might sound cooler.

I'd love to hear what it would sound like.

[rayc]

[mention]TripleM[/mention] ,
Am I correct in assuming you're referring to the accent chords?
The majority of strumming is downstroke power chords a la Johnny Ramone, without the technique or lower notes, while the accent chords are big old open chords played with a Ka-ching strum and held.
Please explain if I've misinterpreted.

[TripleM]

My observation was more general - not on particular chords. Take the first 4-5 strums of the song as an example. They aren't what I'd call a hard stabs at a chord. They're not getting the "chug" on the attack that I think would sound good on your stuff.

[vomitHatSteve]

I think I like mix 2(K) better than 3(Lbc). It sounds like you turned down the more ambient guitars, but I think those functioned well as a glue to hold everything together.

I wasn't able to hear what you did to the bass in mix 3. It seems like you said you added a synth below it. Was it mirroring it? 'cause I was going to suggest that a simple wave synth one octave below the bass line might bolster its low end without too much mud.

[rayc]

Thanks [mention]vomitHatSteve[/mention],
Yeah low in the mix and an octave below the verse...not exactly the bass line but following the root - it's hard to hear it there but it's obvious when it's not.