Entourage Pete Widin
EntourageForum Replies Created
-
Hi Paul! Thanks for the positive feedback! I’m feeling so much better about the mix, and it’s really getting me into the groove of the song now, rather than being caught up in noticing little issues.
This song started as an off the cuff phrase about eating soup al fresco with the music duo Sleater-Kinney, and just morphed into a song about taking it easy, and enjoying life while being compassionate.
I totally agree about different sections of songs with dynamic differences, arrangement changes making things interesting, and I grew up on a lot of the Beatles’ stuff. I’m happy that my production is getting to a place where I can more effectively put songs together that sound somewhat cohesive with a lot of different musical ideas going on.
That new vocal line is actually one that somehow got muted during a mix cleanup I did, and so I brought it back in. I enjoy putting in quirky adlibs, things just come to me and I throw them in. In this case, I did think about whether I wanted to bring that back into the song, but decided it made things more interesting.
-
Hey y’all! Here’s the (possibly final) mix of the song. The De-essing tips from Dana and awesome insights from Paul were so helpful to give me a laundry list to run through as I cleaned things up.
One thing that’s been a huge upgrade is that I was putting my de-essers AFTER compression in the chain a lot of the time, and that was of course just making it harder for the de-esser to do its work. Also, keeping any given de-esser’s threshold on the lighter side and layering them rather than making one try to tame everything has been a great improvement too.
I’m looking forward to releasing this one soon.. any feedback is still much appreciated. It’s on to the next songs for me here – my next stretch is going to be an indie folk based album, since I’d like to finally have 8-10 songs in the same genre to be able to release and pitch for sync.
Have an awesome week!
Pete -
I really dig this, Jesse! Interesting warped notes with delay later on there too before the “lap steel” sound starts. Thanks for sharing
-
Hey y’all – love this topic, and appreciate the insights laid out thus far.
As a side note, I think I’ve noticed that different parametric EQs – for example in comparing the stock Logic ChannelEQ vs the InfinityEQ from Slate, seem to have varying ability to truly cut frequencies to the level I’m trying to eliminate them.
For example, when using the ChannelEQ and also InfinityEQ, if I slap a hi pass filter on there trying to cut like 80Hz and below out of an electric guitar, I notice when pulling up another parametric EQ later in the chain that some of these lower-end/cheaper EQ plugs may not catch everything.
That being said, it may not be necessary or even preferable to have a true void below 80Hz in this case, depending on what the mix calls for and whether that bit of low end leak off a guitar positively blends or muddies the overall sound. Just wanted to share that I wonder if higher end EQs like the FabFilter ProQ3 may be better at truly cutting things out than stock level plugins.
I think that, to some extent, this level of detail that I’m referring to is starting to get into the arena of mastering, and I’m aware to not let it slow me down too much with second-guessing during mixing.
-
Great insights, thanks @dana !
-
I’ve been using this on some synths lately – super fun plugin!
-
Glad to hear it feels more whole overall, and thank you for the compliment re: lyricism. I think the line you’re referring to is “salad mix and gorgeous garden gimmes” – kidney beans don’t agree with me, lol
-
Thanks for the encouragement and this extra credit, Dana! I agree with these pieces to tweak – I’m on it! Super helpful re: limiter/mastering Q too. I’ve watched that video you made before and will refer to it again now that I have a specific situation to apply to.
-
Gotcha, yeah I’ve been loving the UAD Pultec series since getting my Apollo last Fall.
Really interest about the Clarity M – something to put on my wish list. Thanks, Dana!
Also.. I’m listening to your interview on Ari’s Take right now, super excited to hear more of your story and experiences.
-
For sure! I like fx plugins where there’s an intense shift in sound, so I can dial it in from there rather than working across a very subtle spectrum of change in how the effect alters the source.
-
Great points, Dana! Yeah, I’m sure the EQ slope is part of the issue in some cases. I think the Slate plugins that I’ve been using are decent, but on some of the hardware EQ emulations the HP doesn’t cut everything out, so who knows. It’s not something I’m worried about tho, just something I’ve been surprised to see when I pull up a parametric and monitor after popping another EQ in the chain before it. Ultimately, I’ll probably switch to Plugin Alliance’s all access membership since I’ve heard such good things from friends.
-
I also LOVE the idea of bringing the choral synth element in later in the song.. very cool
-
Paul, these are all very on point remarks, thank you! I agree wholeheartedly, and your descriptions/recommendations help to clarify some things that I could intuitively sense but didn’t have the answers for. This will make a nice checklist to tweak some things. I agree, I waited way too long to post this, kept getting in my own way with thoughts like “it’s too pitchy still”, etc.
-
Hey Dana! These are awesome tips and so clearly described, thank you very much.
The ideas give me some new tools and really build on my current workflow. I do use Melodyne for tuning/timing so am excited about that idea. I’ve started running my vox through the Manley Vox Box which has helped with some light de-essing there.. haven’t used the Massey before tho.Much appreciated, and gives me major inspiration to try various techniques here!
The livestream was really fun and intriguing – gonna check out what I missed on the replay. -
Awesome, thanks Dana!