Blowup Doll - mix check

[Greg_L]

This is an older one with a new mix. Gonna be on an album. I did a lot of things different from my usual process with the mix and I think it's okay but yall have a listen and tell me what you think.

Blowup Doll1.mp3

I'm bored with all the girls that pass me by
It really bothers me
But then there was the one that caught my eye
She was a sight to see
Fishnets running up and down her thighs
A dream in PVC
5 foot tall 100 psi
She is just right for me
Oh yeah

You really blow my mind my little blowup doll

My heart was racing I broke out in a sweat
I had to get her alone
She didn't even play too hard to get
And so I took her home
she doesn't yell at me she don't complain
She is a dream come true
If I get fat or old she'll stay the same
My lonely nights are through oh yeah....

You really blow my mind my little blowup doll


She's a librarian, nurse, and a cop
She's never tired she never stops
I am gonna lover her until she pops

Mix2 -
Fatter bass and kick
More room on castanets
More overheads
New guitar solo

Blowup Doll2.mp3

[Lt. Bob]

lol ..... you're so good ..... great as usual.

The only thing I'm noticing is the bass guitar doesn't seem as well-defined as you usually have it ....... I mean it's there and fine.
But I'm used to the bass on your recordings being extremely well defined and present and it's more just a presence on this one.

Once again, not bad ... just different.

[JD01]

Nice one, Greg. Generally really good and you could leave it as is and no one would complain.
Being picky.
The octave chord riff might be up a bit loud or could do with a tiny bit more verb - doesn't feel in with the rhythms.
Agree with Bob about your Bass tone, it cuts through in its usual middy/trebly way - but doesn't have the bottom in it (that being said I'm on my headphones which do lack a bit of bottom).

Rhythm guitars sound fucking great - particularly the muted picking and when they fully come in at the end of the quiet verse.
Is that a ride bell in the intro? Sounds great.
Vocal sounds great - particularly in the verse. In contrast, sounds a bit quiet on "Fishnets..." Louder backings maybe? Feels like the vocal drops back here.
All the backings and stuff when you go 50s style on "blow my mind" etc sound great.

Think the tremolo guitar solos are a touch quiet and you could go more bananas with the effects.
Love the floor toms!
Check if you think the snare is a tiny bit quiet throughout - sounds fine in the verses, maybe a bit quiet in the loud bits.

[WhiskeyJack]

Man i think it all sounds really good really as to be expected.

Only thing that lept out at me as bothersome is that castanet clickity crab shell thing. It's a bit loud. I'd bring that down a bit. maybe send it a bit to the back too. It's really in your face. without looking at an EQ meter i also want to say it's a bit louder than your vocals. Great mix otherwise. really like those solo-y accent notes at the end and how you kept them from being swallowed up by the rhythm guits. good job.

[rayc]

Nope,
I wouldn't change a thing.

[Alison]

I am blown away by all you here at recording rebels do! What can I say but, this is awesome. . . musically, I come from a different place but, I know good things when I hear them, well done!

[Lt. Bob]

I am blown away by all you here at recording rebels do! What can I say but, this is awesome. . . musically, I come from a different place but, I know good things when I hear them, well done!

well, we're so glad you're here .... ya' know, I played bassoon in symphony if that helps. Majored in composition with a saxophone minor.
I love the stuff you do ........ someday we need to do a sax/cello collab

[Alison]

I am blown away by all you here at recording rebels do! What can I say but, this is awesome. . . musically, I come from a different place but, I know good things when I hear them, well done!

well, we're so glad you're here .... ya' know, I played bassoon in symphony if that helps. Majored in composition with a saxophone minor.
I love the stuff you do ........ someday we need to do a sax/cello collab

Oh, you don't know how I'd love that!! Classical background can be a boon as well as a hindrance. You can get stuck on scales. . . improve can set you free!

[Greg_L]

lol ..... you're so good ..... great as usual.

The only thing I'm noticing is the bass guitar doesn't seem as well-defined as you usually have it ....... I mean it's there and fine.
But I'm used to the bass on your recordings being extremely well defined and present and it's more just a presence on this one.

Once again, not bad ... just different.

Thanks Boob. The bass has nothing on it so there is wiggle room for it in the mix.

Nice one, Greg. Generally really good and you could leave it as is and no one would complain.
Being picky.
The octave chord riff might be up a bit loud or could do with a tiny bit more verb - doesn't feel in with the rhythms.
Agree with Bob about your Bass tone, it cuts through in its usual middy/trebly way - but doesn't have the bottom in it (that being said I'm on my headphones which do lack a bit of bottom).

Rhythm guitars sound fucking great - particularly the muted picking and when they fully come in at the end of the quiet verse.
Is that a ride bell in the intro? Sounds great.
Vocal sounds great - particularly in the verse. In contrast, sounds a bit quiet on "Fishnets..." Louder backings maybe? Feels like the vocal drops back here.
All the backings and stuff when you go 50s style on "blow my mind" etc sound great.

Think the tremolo guitar solos are a touch quiet and you could go more bananas with the effects.
Love the floor toms!
Check if you think the snare is a tiny bit quiet throughout - sounds fine in the verses, maybe a bit quiet in the loud bits.

Thanks for the details JD. I'll take a closer look at all that stuff and see what I come up with. I am leaning strongly towards re-doing the tremolo "solo" part with a more surfabilly kind of guitar tone. I never really liked the current solo anyway. It was a place holder that was okay enough to just leave there...and the trem is too fast. I just taked myself into it. It's going away.

Man i think it all sounds really good really as to be expected.

Only thing that lept out at me as bothersome is that castanet clickity crab shell thing. It's a bit loud. I'd bring that down a bit. maybe send it a bit to the back too. It's really in your face. without looking at an EQ meter i also want to say it's a bit louder than your vocals. Great mix otherwise. really like those solo-y accent notes at the end and how you kept them from being swallowed up by the rhythm guits. good job.

Thanks bud. The castanets are tricky. I do kind of want them to jump out a bit like that. I'll try a bigger verb on them though. I'm good with that. That's my little way paying respects to the late great 60s producer and total dick woman murderer Phil Spector. Before he was a murderer he was a great producer of great songs and little castanets and stuff like that were part of his mixes. Castanets followed by a quick tambo hit.

And those are real castanets. Well, they're castanets on a stick. I can't play them on my fingers like a sexy salsa dancer so I got the stick version where you just shake them and slap them against your hand.

Nope,
I wouldn't change a thing.

Haha thanks Ray.

I am blown away by all you here at recording rebels do! What can I say but, this is awesome. . . musically, I come from a different place but, I know good things when I hear them, well done!

Thanks for checking it out Alison.

[JD01]

Thanks for the details JD. I'll take a closer look at all that stuff and see what I come up with. I am leaning strongly towards re-doing the tremolo "solo" part with a more surfabilly kind of guitar tone. I never really liked the current solo anyway. It was a place holder that was okay enough to just leave there...and the trem is too fast. I just taked myself into it. It's going away.

What's your vocal chain on this? mic, EQ, comp, reverb etc. There's a delay in there too isn't there? Sounds great.

[Greg_L]

What's your vocal chain on this? mic, EQ, comp, reverb etc. There's a delay in there too isn't there? Sounds great.

Thanks. I don't remember which mic I used. Probably a basic cheap AT2020. But it might have been a MXL V67g. Until very recently I've always used cheapo budget LDCs for vocals. There is no magic microphone that can help this voice so I just use whatever LDC I have laying around.

Lemme open the project here....


Okay there's an AdHd Leveling tool on the raw vocal track. Quick attack, medium release, low ratio. I'm assuming I did this to even out the vocal track before it goes to the main vocal bus.

And then the vocal bus has an Antress Modern compressor set really heavy, then a de-esser for my hissy spitties, then a mono delay set for 1/4 note single repeat...like a slap-back, then a "voc ambient" reverb impulse that's fairly subtle, and last an EQ that's just a high-pass at 100hz. The backups have their own bus. This main vocal bus is just the main vocal and the main vocal harmony.

[musicturtle]

Fun song Greg.

Love the arpeggio muted guitar parts.

Great sound as always, you have it down man.

[Greg_L]

Fun song Greg.

Love the arpeggio muted guitar parts.

Great sound as always, you have it down man.

Thanks buddy.

[TripleM]

It sounds really good. Fun to listen to.

I can't hear anything I'd change.

[Tadpui]

I remember this one from way back. This may have been the first song of yours I remember hearing. It's a solid song.

Overall I want more low end. Bass and kick. I think the guitars cut off right at the right frequency point, I think the bass could pick up right there and fill out the low end. Then the low end of the kick could slide in under that. I don't think that the mix is screaming for hip-hop levels of low end, but just a little something to fill in down there would give a great foundation.

Drums sound great overall to me. Maybe a smidge more overheads? Guitars, as always are great. I love the bass tone too. Vocals sound great as well. And that's some world-class castanet playing too

[Greg_L]

It sounds really good. Fun to listen to.

I can't hear anything I'd change.

Thanks for checking it out man.

I remember this one from way back. This may have been the first song of yours I remember hearing. It's a solid song.

Overall I want more low end. Bass and kick. I think the guitars cut off right at the right frequency point, I think the bass could pick up right there and fill out the low end. Then the low end of the kick could slide in under that. I don't think that the mix is screaming for hip-hop levels of low end, but just a little something to fill in down there would give a great foundation.

Drums sound great overall to me. Maybe a smidge more overheads? Guitars, as always are great. I love the bass tone too. Vocals sound great as well. And that's some world-class castanet playing too

Thanks Tad. I listened in the car last night for the first time and I think I agree with the low end. I agree with the overheads too. I like the punch of the kick so I'm gonna try fudging with the bass first. Actually before I even do that I'm just gonna global EQ the whole thing and see what that does. If that works then I'll go in and fix the bass and castanets and overheads and re-track the solo and stuff like that.

One of the main things I did different with this mix is I mixed it way quieter than my usual volume levels. I don't ever crank my monitors but I like them moving some air around. This was done barely at TV volume just to try it out. I don't think I'll be doing that again.

[vomitHatSteve]

5 foot tall 100 psi

How much technical research did you do on this one?

The mix sounds pretty on par with your usual standards. I'm with WJ on the castanets being kind of loud. Even if you like them loud, I'd take them down in the bridge; they're stepping on the vocals a little.

I like the guitar work on this one.

[Greg_L]

5 foot tall 100 psi

How much technical research did you do on this one?

Lol I don't know. A bit? 5 feet seems reasonable for the height of a sex doll. Tall enough to be real, small enough for easy transport. 100 psi might be a bit high for inflation. My thought process was a 5 foot tall woman would probably be around 100 pounds, so 100 pounds per square inch.

The mix sounds pretty on par with your usual standards. I'm with WJ on the castanets being kind of loud. Even if you like them loud, I'd take them down in the bridge; they're stepping on the vocals a little.

I like the guitar work on this one.

Thanks, I'll be remixing this week and addressing these things.

[vomitHatSteve]

How much technical research did you do on this one?

Lol I don't know. A bit? 5 feet seems reasonable for the height of a sex doll. Tall enough to be real, small enough for easy transport. 100 psi might be a bit high for inflation. My thought process was a 5 foot tall woman would probably be around 100 pounds, so 100 pounds per square inch.

Curiosity got the better of me.
It's probably in the single digits. Our lungs only work at 14 PSI, and our max capacity is probably around 20.

[JD01]

Lol I don't know. A bit? 5 feet seems reasonable for the height of a sex doll. Tall enough to be real, small enough for easy transport. 100 psi might be a bit high for inflation. My thought process was a 5 foot tall woman would probably be around 100 pounds, so 100 pounds per square inch.

Curiosity got the better of me.
It's probably in the single digits. Our lungs only work at 14 PSI, and our max capacity is probably around 20.

I'm assuming you'd have to use a electric pump... a car tyre is about 30psi... at 100psi she'd be as firm as a 14 year old boy!