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Nature Is A Teacher – Mix Feedback
Hi @dana & MP friends – I wanted to share this song, I would really appreciate any feedback on the mix or production.
I played all the instruments including bass & drums, which is not my forte, but good fun – one thing I’m finding to be tricky is getting the bass / low end to sit just right. I’m playing a Hofner with flatwounds, it’s quite hefty sounding and tends to disappear on smaller speakers, so I used some Sans Amp on it.
Thanks so much and cheers!
Joe Robinson -
15 Replies
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Hey Joe!
What a BEAUTIFUL song, man! SO Gorgeous — and so awesome to hear you sing, too! I think you got another hit on your hands!
I’ve listened a few times and wanted to offer a few thoughts in case they are helpful. Obviously, just some opinions and ideas – but maybe they’ll be helpful in someway…
The first thing that hit me was the guitar – such extraordinary playing as always and I love the warm, thick tone you got there as well. That kind of instantly pulled me in to the song and then when you came in singing, I was like, “hell yeah!! awesome!!!” you have a wonderful voice, and I really liked the way you recorded it too, a lot of personality came through in the vocal.
One thing that I do think needs to be addressed is the level of the vocal overall — just in relation to itself. I don’t know if it’s just needing some more compression or possibly automating word by word, but there are some words that really jump out and others that I find difficult to hear. Usually, it’s the words at the end of a phrase that go down and pitch and wanted to understand those easier. I think either compressing the vocal or just bringing up certain words would be helpful so the listener can follow along.
I have a couple of thoughts about the pad/ keyboard sound that you have going on throughout. One thing I noticed is that they’re all kind of in the same frequency range as the guitar, which made it a little hard to distinguish and maybe as a result, they are masked a little bit… maybe it’s something to explore, but it’s also kind of cool how they just blend in as well. So something to consider!
My last comment is also related to the keyboards — and this is really just my opinion because there’s nothing wrong with how you have the production right now, but if I was producing the song I feel like I might want something more organic, and natural sounding in the production, than the two sounds you have panned left/right. Both sounds kind of feel like they are some kind of midi software instrument and the vibe you have going with the lyrics and your voice and the beautiful acoustic guitar and the bass and drums and percussion all feels so natural – I was wondering what the track might sound like with like an old upright piano and a violin or a mandolin or something like that instead of those keyboards. Again, totally just an idea and maybe your way past that in terms of your time frame and what you have access to in your studio, but I just thought I’d mention it as an idea!
Man! I’m such a fan and totally humbled by your playing and singing and composing! So wonderful! I can’t wait to hear where this one ends up!
Best Wishes,
JLew
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Those are such good suggestions @JLew !! Thank you!! I really appreciate it. It’s a great point with the keys competing for frequency space, I hadn’t really spent much time thinking of the right keyboard sound but I think a more organic patch would be much better. Listening back with fresh ears I am hearing certain words disappear at the end of phrases. I’ll be working on this one some more and wanted really thank you for the feedback – it’s so easy to get a lost in the song and lose the big picture sometimes. Cheers and hope all’s well! Joe
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Hey Joe!
Lovely track, across the board, especially that sweet guitar licks.
I think Jesse covered a lot of tweaks and experiments worth trying.
I didn’t mind the soft organ-y patches, but a new sound or at least some tape/saturation to dirty them up just a bit could help; and perhaps higher parts near the end of some climactic energy.
The only other note I would try if in the studio with you is making the drop out bridge feel in a different space, like maybe put your voice in reverb, or one of those guitar parts in a spacious background. And I felt those claps were a bit of a tease, so gentle when I wanted them to be a bit more rapturous and or live group feeling. Knee slapping time! ha.
That’s all. Beautiful stuff, man!
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Thanks for the suggestions @shimmerisland !! Really appreciate it and agreed, I think the bridge could use a scene change of some kind!
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So freaking gorgeous, Joe!!! Man. Great to hear this again — in STEREO no less, lol, after our mono Zoom meetup last week.
I love all these excellent observations and suggestions by @JLew and @shimmerisland – what an awesome, talented, creative, supportive bunch of badass musicians you all are here in this community. It is I who am humbled!
I have a bunch of thoughts and techniques/ideas that come to mind but all of them would be much easier to demonstrate rather than write about. Not much different from what Jesse commented on, but thought it’d be helpful to show HOW I tackle those things.
Is your mix session in Pro Tools? Feel free to DM me and maybe we can schedule a livestream event here on MP if you’re up for something like that.
👏 Regardless, your song is beautiful as-is – i love it! 👏
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Thank you so much Dana!! That would be amazing!! I’ll send you a DM now!
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Hi all! I wanted to share the finished version of this song! It’s on streaming platforms and I also recorded a video for it: https://youtu.be/l39W-4OfZLo?si=S7b8SgYRnHAwpUR0
Hope you all are well and cheers!!
Joe Robinson-
Absolutely beautiful, brother!!!!! Wow. Stunning playing and camerawork, not to mention writing, recording, mixing, too. 🏆⚡️🙌 You BEAST! Plus, that backdrop you’ve got is pretty spectacular, wowzers!
Really, man, such a treat to get to see this – and honored we all got an early preview here at MP as you finessed your final mix. Sounds awesome, Joe! And I noticed Richard Dodd mastered – sweet!
Keep ’em comin’ homey! 🚀
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Thanks so much, Dana!! I really appreciate it – i’ve learned so much from your courses and livestreams!! This was a fun video and track to make! Cheers and thanks again for all,
Joe
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Yooooo!!! So great man! I love it! Beautiful song, I love the mix, and the video is so great!
now get that Tele out of that snow storm man! haha
Great work, Joe
❤️
Jesse
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😂 I had the same thought seeing snowy wetness on that sick Tele!
But I bet @joerobinson‘s got like 5 of ’em and that one’s his outdoor/all-weather Montana snow Tele, lol.
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haha you’re right, this one is my ‘tough tele’ with a very beefy neck! 😅
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Thanks Jesse!! Really appreciate it! haha I definitely wasn’t taking an acoustic out into that snow. This Tele is pretty bulletproof, thankfully 😅. Hope all is well!!
Joe
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Joe,
This is a gorgeous gem of oh-so-tasty pickin’. I can’t believe I didn’t comment/praise it earlier.
Your song was stuck in my head yesterday as I took a Memorial Day ride on my scooter. It’s a good toe-tapping riding companion!
-@PT
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Thanks, Paul!! I really appreciate it!
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