First Mix Attempts

[nathanhall]

The mp3s at http://nextcat.com/nathan represent my first real attempts to seriously mix my own stuff using (mostly) quality gear.

I feel very confident in the mixes and music I've created. Specifically, I feel confident that most professionals here will find ample opportunities to rip my mixes a new cornhole. However, I really need a professional outsider's viewpoint as I am really getting serious about my music, I don't know nearly enough about mixing, and I don't believe I'm getting unbiased or particularly informed critiques from my friends and family (shocking, I know).

I would really appreciate it if people could listen to and comment on any of the following tracks:

"All the Best Intentions"
"Wasted Days"
"Nobody Wants to Be My Friend"

I'd appreciate any comment, from the actual song or performance to mix decisions I made to comments about my mother's chosen profession, etc.

Thanks,

Nathan

[nathanhall]

Got word from some of my friends that the nextcat player isn't always working particularly well, so I'm attaching the files as MP3 to this post for download.

These MP3s are also available at http://idisk.mac.com/nathanhall-Public

-Nathan

[ckerian]

it sounds OK, not exactly my cup of tea, too 80's new wave to me. For some reason it's everything i hated about 80's new wave too like making me want to put on combat boots, kick your ass, and date your girlfriend kinda hate that brings back memories of van nuys high school in 1987. OK listening to a third now... yeah, definately need your ass kicked for doing this record.

your engineering skills arent bad neither is your voice. the music is just horribly gay. I cant get passed it.

[nathanhall]

I'm sorry the songs I posted were too gay for you. You might enjoy listening to "Wasted Days" more - it has a real bass guitar, and it's a little less homosexual, as I was only getting blown by some dude from the gym for the final chorus/outro, while on the other songs he was blowing me pretty much the whole time. Wait...we may have taken a break halfway through to have a fruit smoothie and listen to some ABBA tracks...I'd have to look at my session notes.

I'll keep you posted about some of my more heterosexual projects. One includes waves of Dimebag-inspired guitar riffs and a guy repetitively screaming about how he overpaid a stripper for a BJ and how it makes him so angry that he's going home to get drunk and beat his wife. To keep up with the masculine, completely not gay "beat the wife" theme, I'm thinking of replacing the original drum track with a loop of Ike Turner beating up Tina in between vocal takes.

In all seriousness, I do appreciate that you took the time to listen to my stuff. Anyone else care to comment? I could really use some critiquing of and advice for my mixing decisions in particular.

-Nathan

[archtop]

O.K. I'll bite, I mean take a poke at it, whoa that don't feel right either, shit I suck at this, WRITING!, I suck at WRITING!

In fact, I better pull out now,
and go iron some doillies.

[DaveC]

I agree that I find it difficult to get past the 80s style of music. One part of me thinks that this is a justified professional response - to be successful, music must at least relate to the contemporary mores and trends of the day. Another part realises that - hey - David Gray is making a healthy career by making 80s sounding songs..

[ckerian]

I was sorta kidding with ya but in all honesty I dont think what ya have going on is a bad thing, it's got taste to a degree, just not my taste.

I like harder edged rock and even country to an extent and thats my preferences. Ask people about country music and either they love it or they hate it. Your music as much as I hate it, elicited a response from me which is good thing, even if it generated bad feelings. I'd rather have music thats hated then something no one cares about.

good luck to ya. For someone that doesnt have a lot of engineering experience I think you did a wonderful job. You just need to work on your songs, the most important (i hope) to ya.

[nathanhall]

Thanks for the compliments. I tend to take other people's humorous comments about me and extend them out to an obscene degree. It may be a defensive mechanism, probably tied to the numerous beatings I received in my formative years from people in combat boots who then proceeded to date my girlfriends.


I know what you mean about loving or hating country music. I used to firmly be in the "hate it" camp, but for part of the time I lived in North Carolina I had a particularly determined girlfriend who set up a...um..."reward system" for getting me to listen to some of her favorite country artists. Now they're some of my favorite country artists, although really what she did is get me to appreciate a lot of classic country on my own where before it made me want to projectile vomit. However, my wife, who is from New England, doesn't ever seem to appreciate my choices in music now when I'm trying to "set the mood"...

-Nathan

[red tape]

Wasted days.

Not much wrong with it.
Not a huge fan of the reverb on the vocal, not that I have any particularly concrete suggestions on what to do different there.. just try some other verbs I guess.
Guitars could be louder, I think.
It's pretty much just drums and vox.
It'd be nice if the drums had a bit more life/room to them.
Get a band! :D

[bunnerabb]

The whole thing sounds like scratch tracks for Serious Moonlight / Let's Dance era, Duke.

Great ideas.. yeah, they have an '80s DNA and I like the tunes but to some degree, the barebones mix is working against it.

Fatten up those synth horns. Layers, pan and filter, verb?

The Culture Clubby vocal is bit too high in the mix and some smooth as silk BGV's a' la "Karma Chameleon" would bring some come hither to it.

My 2¢

[timothyclee]

I really dig the growl of the bass on these tracks...not real sure about the effect on the lead vocal?

Tim