modern rock (with mariachi band!)

[Brendo]

http://68.144.0.222/brendo/jmcfight.htm

This one is my band, "Stolen Identity". I have my own ideas about what is wrong, but I was wondering what you guys think... then I'll post my own impressions.

[Pancho Ballard]

My initial thoughts would be to thin the guitars out a touch and compensate for that with a small volume increase on the bass. The vocals could be a touch louder (but not much) or maybe doubled in the chorus. Don't like the piano sample at all but I like the idea of it, particularly when the guitars play a similar phrase. Maybe a different sound altogether?

I love the mariachi section and that's not just because I'm in a Mexican/Spaghetti Western band. It's a really dramatic addition and gives the song a hell of a lift.

Ay caramba!

[Brendo]

http://users.tpg.com.au/~brendo91/FIGHTJMCMIX.mp3

[waterboy]

Nice job on the tune, Brendo!
I dig it! I enjoy the change up with the mariachi band - nice touch!
Thank you for sharing with us!

Scott

Edit: were you able to use the plugins that you won with this tune?

[mousdrvr]

http://users.tpg.com.au/~brendo91/FIGHTJMCMIX.mp3

Ok I don't know about the first version but the in the 2nd the guitar tone is just killing me! I seriously love it. After many years I still have most all of my hearing and for the most part "modern" guitar heavy mixes are painfully bright to me, this guitar sound was not it was Just FAT! I'm listening on 8020's so if you had too much going on in the low end I really couldn't tell but. I loved this. You probably shouldn't listen to my mix opinions :D but I just had to tell ya :Thumbsup:


Actually, screw it! Brendo would you mind telling what you did with the guitars? If you wouldn't mind :lol:



-mous

[Brendo]

Actually, screw it! Brendo would you mind telling what you did with the guitars? If you wouldn't mind :lol:

Washburn BT2Q with a SD Custom 5 in the Bridge, run into my Marshall DSL401 1x12" combo, miced with a single 57 below the center of the cone sort of between the dustcap and the edge.

Homebrew fuzz pedal in front of the amp, set with the dirt turned to about half, which makes the guitar a bit fuzzier but also kills its sustain - for some reason killing the sustain before adding gobs of gain makes things really damn tight. Also set the EQ on this (big muff style EQ knob) all the way to treble, so there's not much bass going into the amp itself.

Crappy graphic EQ in front of the amp boosting 400 or 800 for the pinch harmonics - done on a separate track, and edited in.... would reach over and push up the appropriate slider for which harmonic I was going for, and then JUST play the harmonic.

One track each side for the rhythm part, one track each side for the "lead" part.

Actually...

Two tracks of noise and feedback
Two tracks of verse rhythm
Two tracks of verse octaves
Two tracks of chorus rhythm
Two tracks of chorus lick
Two tracks of pinch harmonics
Two tracks of lead guitar in the flamenco section
One track of classical guitar

Massey tape head on ALL distorted guitars.

Compressor on the guitar + bass group ducking the snare drum!

I experimented with running them through distressors as well - but Massey was colourful enough.

My frame of reference as far as guitar sounds is the Smashing Pumpkins - I love their guitar sounds and this sort of makes me think Mellon Collie or Pisces Iscariot. Another of the songs from this session has guitars that sound like Gish and Siamese Dream.

[Brendo]

Oh, did you guys notice the hidden cowbell?

[lebouche]

Sounds cool:Thumbsup: nice.



How do you host an MP3 like that:)

[Brendo]

link 2 is on my webspace, provided by my isp

link 1 is on a friends computer in canada.

[fizbin]

Great song - great (unexpected) blend of styles. The guitars are pretty huge and sound awesome (good kind of modern rock), however the vocals sound a little bit lo fi in comparison so, while they are very good, it doesn't feel quite like they are sitting where they should. If I could pick one thing to improve it would be that. I tend to want to hear fairly prominent (but not abrasive) vocals even in harder rock, which I know is not the case with everyone.

Jay

[Brendo]

how is the kick drum level? what about the bass? do the choruses punch enough? there's also meant to be a thickening vocal underneath, and a backing which isnt even recorded yet, but i need a mix done by friday the 29th.

[fizbin]

I can tell where the chorus is by the hook and melody change, but texturally it's not different enough from the verse. It does punch, but it punches in kind of the same way that the verse does. I think someone mentioned doubling the vocal which is one possibility. I suppose there are a lot of things you could do which would also differentiate the chorus from the verse. You could perhaps bring in another guitar in a higher register or do harmonies, backgrounds, whatever, pick one. Can't wait to hear it :-)

[Brendo]

There is a harmony vocal... but I haven't tuned it and dropped it in yet. I'll get around to that maybe tonight - I have two more mixes to do before I come back to this one.

[mousdrvr]

Washburn BT2Q with a SD Custom 5 in the Bridge, run into my Marshall DSL401 1x12" combo, miced with a single 57 below the center of the cone sort of between the dustcap and the edge.

Homebrew fuzz pedal in front of the amp, set with the dirt turned to about half, which makes the guitar a bit fuzzier but also kills its sustain - for some reason killing the sustain before adding gobs of gain makes things really damn tight. Also set the EQ on this (big muff style EQ knob) all the way to treble, so there's not much bass going into the amp itself.

Crappy graphic EQ in front of the amp boosting 400 or 800 for the pinch harmonics - done on a separate track, and edited in.... would reach over and push up the appropriate slider for which harmonic I was going for, and then JUST play the harmonic.

One track each side for the rhythm part, one track each side for the "lead" part.

Actually...

Two tracks of noise and feedback
Two tracks of verse rhythm
Two tracks of verse octaves
Two tracks of chorus rhythm
Two tracks of chorus lick
Two tracks of pinch harmonics
Two tracks of lead guitar in the flamenco section
One track of classical guitar

Massey tape head on ALL distorted guitars.

Compressor on the guitar + bass group ducking the snare drum!

I experimented with running them through distressors as well - but Massey was colourful enough.

My frame of reference as far as guitar sounds is the Smashing Pumpkins - I love their guitar sounds and this sort of makes me think Mellon Collie or Pisces Iscariot. Another of the songs from this session has guitars that sound like Gish and Siamese Dream.


Brendo,

Thank you!


-mous

[Brendo]

Holy thread resurrection, Batman!

http://www.mediafire.com/?0jlutbxqdmz

Most recent version. Too many changes to name.

Ignore the phasing on the snare - that's from me trying to increase the snare level by lining up the snare track with the 2-track mix... i can't open the session at home anymore! too many tracks.

[archtop]

That'll teach ya.

[Brendo]

indeed it will. i could submix stuff, but the stuff I want to submix is the stuff the rest of the band keep asking me to change.

[Aardvark]

indeed it will. i could submix stuff, but the stuff I want to submix is the stuff the rest of the band keep asking me to change.

Fuck the band.

Mix it like a man and tell them to live with it.

Start by sending the guitar to the middle of the "how important am I to the mix" pile in a hurry. After the piano intro the gtr comes in and by dint of fader, not imagination, attempts to take over every element that is important to a successful mix. As a result the piano and drums sound small and out of context.

Remember what Loudist always said about "The man in the red shirt".

Also, there is some pretty sketchy acc guitar at the top of the mariachi section and it is preceded by some useless amp noise that is superfluous at best.

Tear it apart and have another go at it from scratch. Replace the aforementioned ac gtr while you are at it. Let me know when you have and we can talk about all of the elements we could not hear because of the out of place el gtr.


Cheers,
Aardvark
:Wink:

[Brendo]

The guitar was edited together from one bar of a bad take once i lost some files... I do intend to replace it. Also, we want to record real piano... and proper backing vocals, since the singer doesn't like mine.

I'm not sure I hear the amp noise at the top of the mariachi section...

The way we wrote it, the guitars take the choruses, and the piano takes the verses - is this getting lost a bit?. When we record the new piano tracks, I think i will get Leightard to do the arpeggios in both hands. I have the verse guitars on their own tracks so I can turn them down.

I think the mix troubles I've had with this song revolve around my mixing it on speakers which make me want to jump out a fucking 70th storey window, because it's the only room i have access to that will open a session with so many freakin' tracks. All top and bottom, no mids... so it's hard to work out... well anything, really. With each iteration of the mix I make it sound more and more bizarre in that room, and it starts to sound more and more normal everywhere else.