James Gillice - Never And Forever

[James Gillice]

This track has been worked and mixed over and over again. It's very close to what I am calling "good enough". I know it's not perfect (is there such a things as perfection in audio recording?). Anyway, I just wanted to get any last minute ideas on EQ changes or mixing choices before I commit to a final mix. Anything too loud? Grating? Anything you wish you could hear more of? I'm not at a point where I am willing to re-record anything, but comments on the mix are much appreciated. Also, any comments on the song itself are greatly appreciated as well.

Bash Away!


James

[fHumble fHingaz]

Very catchy pop tune! The vocalist has a very pleasing tone.

The mix does have some major issues though.

Performance-wise, the groove is not as cohesive as it needs to be. The acoustic guitars seem to be fighting the rhythm of the drums, making the overall rhythm seem to drag somewhat. I think it is being emphasized by the domination volume-wise, of the acoustic guitars over the drums.

The top end of the mix seems to be over-hyped... are you using some type of "exciter" plugin on the mix? That tends to make it fatiguing to listen to. Additionally, the vocals have a lot of sibilants & really need some attention via a de-esser. The acoustic guitars have that same sound in the high end too - a kind of digital fizzy-ness.

The bass is overpowering the mix somewhat, not just because it is too loud, but more to do with it's prominence in the low mid range around the 200hz mark - rather than sounding fat & full, it tends to muddy up the mix. This is probably why you've added high end to combat it. Try a different approach - cut the problem frequencies & you'll find that suddenly your naturally existing high end comes through clearer, without having to boost it.

The drums sound thin & over compressed - try a slower attack on your drum compression, to let the transients come through. At present they are being flattened, so the drums have no "punch" to speak of - so they are failing to provide the "drive" that the song sorely needs. You might also want to try parallel compression on the drums - to give them more fullness & presence without destroying dynamics completely.

Overall, I think the mix may be being over-compressed, because the snare drum is completely disappearing in some spots.

Arrangement-wise - I particularly like the slide guitar solo, but the song overall does drag on a bit with some "samey-ness" over 5 minutes. Some kind of musical breakdown - perhaps stripping back to only guitar & vocal before the last choruses - would give more variation & punctuate the songs narrative to tell the story in a more compelling way.

[kakeux]

Hi,

Fhumble sums it all!

[James Gillice]

Thanks so much for the feedback. That actually gives me a lot to work with. I appreciate the time you took to listen and respond. Now I'll see if I can make the most of those suggestions.

Thanks again,
James