"If I Walked with the Dead" by The Stan Laurels

[Bosko Schwartz]

 

Wow, I am amazed at the amount of responses I have gotten in just a couple of days!  It would have taken 19 years to get this much love in the old Yahoo Group!

Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who has taken the time to listen, and especially Kody, Satchwood, Blooby, Bluesberry, Geir, oldrottenhead, admin, 0jimihendrix0, and Flash Harry, who have all taken the time to comment.

Looks like the consensus is that the vox need to be higher in the mix, especially in certain parts.  Correct me if I am wrong, but I am thinking MAINLY we are talking about the 2nd chorus, and most particularly, the 2nd half of the 2nd chorus.  Do we agree that the vox volume is OK during the verses, or no?  Also, the little "lead" guitar line in the 2nd build-up and 2nd chorus could be higher in volume as well.  It's funny, because these were exactly my concerns when I asked the old group for suggestions.  As for the effects on the vox, I accidentally erased the "dry" track, so unfortunately we are stuck with these effects, because I am NOT re-recording the vocals!  As oldrottenhead said, I do drown my vox in effects because I am not happy with my voice.  But I am learning to live with the way it sounds, and I have gotten a lot more compliments on it than I ever felt I have earned or deserved, so maybe it's not as bad as I think.  I know Lennon hated his voice too, and he's practically my favorite vocalist of all time.  Ed. Note: In no way am I comparing myself to John Lennon (a.k.a. God).  One last thing on vocal effects: part of the sound I am going for is a kind of 60s/70s pop/rock/psychedelic feel, so that's the other reason I use a ton of effects.  I am hoping that when I raise the overall volume of the vox, the fact that they are effects-heavy will not be a concern.

You're all right, I am guilty of being nearly obsessed with The Beatles, and they are, without question, my biggest influence.  The fact that you can hear that is a major compliment!  Bluesberry, there actually IS harmony on the vocals in the choruses, but since they are too low in volume, you probably can't hear them.  Hopefully, if I bring them up a bit you will be able to hear the harmony line, because I think I erased the harmony track as well, and I am left with just the mixed down vox track as is!  Blooby, you made my day when you said the bass sits well in the mix.  Getting a good, clear bass sound is extremely important to me, and one of my biggest challenges, something I struggle with in every single song.  To hear that I finally got it right this time puts a big smile on my face!

Thanks again to everyone!  I'll post more soon!!

[Oldrottenhead]

Wow, I am amazed at the amount of responses I have gotten in just a couple of days!  It would have taken 19 years to get this much love in the old Yahoo Group!

welcome to the hippy trippy love world of microrecorders.org you can thank pedro (admin) for that.

[Bosko Schwartz]

OK, all, I tried to take all of your suggestions into consideration. I raised the vox a hair, as well as the "lead" guitar at the end.  Let me know if this is going to cut it or not.  I really need to get this one right.  I am tired of messing with this one, as I have spent countless hours tweaking the living $#*% out of it. 

[Bluesberry]

Damn I love that bridge with the pounding keys.  It sounds pretty darn good to my ears.  Nice when the guitar comes in, perfect volume on the guitar now.  Its perfect, its a wrap.  I really love this song Bosko.  Don't touch another thing as far as I am concerned.

[launched]

You are at the professional level, where for me it would be tough to tell which version favors the other, but I like the second one better - the vox do seem more powerful and opened up.

I like the song a lot, too - It's very good.

Great work!

Mark

[Bosko Schwartz]

Thanks for the very kind words, Bluesberry and Mark!

Blues, I know you said it's a wrap, but I cannot lie to myself -- I really don't like this mix.  I actually did it with headphones (I usually use monitors, but I needed a quiet house and figured it only needed a few tweaks), and I didn't even test it on a stereo before posting.  Yes, the vox are nice and clear now, as is the guitar at the end, but the downside is everything else now seems too low, especially the bass.  I think that now they are TOO loud in comparison to the rest of the mix.  I am banging my head against a wall trying to get this one right.

Mark, that is one of the funniest things I have heard in a while -- ME, at a professional level?  Thank you so much for saying that, but I consider myself to be a rank amateur.  However, maybe the mix is not as bad as I think, if you two agree ... let me listen a few billion more times and think about it.

Thanks for the feedback, it's greatly appreciated.  Anyone else want to chime in?

[Bosko Schwartz]

I guess everyone's sick of messing with this tune, so I'm on my own trying to get this mix right.  Fair enough, I understand.  I am my own worst critic, and I am well aware of this affliction.

[Bluesberry]

You know, maybe thats all it needs, bring the bass up.  I definitely like this one, the voice is perfect in comparison to the keys and drums.  And to my ears that guitar line at the end is just right on.  The drums are also good.  Bring up the bass or double track it or something.  The rest sounds good proportion to each else to me.  The voice is the most important part of the mix and you have it good in relation to the drums and rhythm keys parts.  The guitar is good and clear now.  You are almost there IMHO, just bring up the bass a tad.  That middle section (bridge?) with the pounding keys gets me everytime, I LOVE that part.  You are a very good songwriter for sure.

[SdC]

The song is fantastic. Seriously.
The balance of the sound is also very good in this mix. If anything,i'm not too fond of the wet drum sound; but you can't mix out the chamber echo from the miked sound... but hey I won't complain; don't get too many live drum track in this forum and the drumming is great!

[Geir]

I've listend to this four times now and there's not much to put a finger on in this mix, if you absolutely have to do something it would be to lower the guitar that comes in at 2:30. For me, since it somewhat panned to the right, it puts off the balance. Mind you, this is only a "problem" if you're listening in headphones. You could instead center it more if you wanna preserve the energy in that ascending guitarline.

See I had to listen 4 times to find anything at all!!! And it's not even noticeable if your not listening in headphones. This is a near-Beatles-experience to me !!!!! And I don't say that lightly!!!!