"HEY NOW" - Rock

[Vulconizer]

Wanted to post a mix I did for one of my good friends, Ray Fox.

He wrote the words and music. He recorded and sang all of the lead and most of the backing parts. He recorded and played the rhythm guitars and bass. Programmed the EZDrummer parts.
My cousin sang a bit of the backing stuff and the "Hey now's" at the end.
I played the lead guitar parts but I'm not a "lead guitarist" in the true sense.

Bash it and let me know what needs work still. Thanks.

[brianinogang]

Hey dude!!! whats up? long time no see. sounds great dude. reminds me of nirvana. i like the guitar tone and the mix itself is well balanced. as for bashing, i think the only thing that i could comment on is the mix of the lead guitars. maybe you could use some stereo separation to it. and maybe a reverb to make it sound wider and bigger. i guess thats about it. and stop being modest coz that guitar solo part really ripped!!! rock on Tom!!!

Brian

[connelly73]

Great song and mix. Really like your style and song. Would say sounded like some effects on the vocal and personally I would soften that a bit but that’s only my preference. Look forward to other songs from you. Keep on rocking

[fHumble fHingaz]

I really dig the drum track on this... If you told me Dave Grohl (or his cousin) played this live for you, I would probably believe you! Definitely doesn't sound like your typical ezy-drummer track. Mix in general sounds good. Sometimes the timing of the lead vocals doesn't quite groove as well as it could, especially during the fast syllable stuff. Lead breaks sounds great - well played... & hey, if you play a good lead, that makes you a lead guitar player in my book! Probably a personal taste thing, but the lead tone is a tad thin & buzzy for my liking... Overall a pretty solid mix... now where's that bottle!

[Vulconizer]

Hey Brian. Thanks for the support, bud! I only made one track of the lead guitar. I did use a couple of delays on it and have them panned out a bit, but I wanted them to be a bit subtle. I might play around some and see if widening it makes a difference.

Hey Connelly. Thanks for listening. When I got the tracks, Ray had bounced the vocals down with the reverb, chorus, etc. I wished a few times during the mixing process that I had a chance to use clean tracks, but I went with what he committed to.

Hey fHumble. I was talking to Ray about the drum tracks the other night and telling him how much I liked the character he got with them. Glad you liked them as well. I chose to use a Strat and go for a more buzzy-string-amp type of tone with it. I think I could have chosen to go a bit more "heavy" with it, but it was what I was feeling at the time.

Thanks for the input you guys. Ray is relatively new at the whole writing, playing, and recording thing, so you're definitely pointing him in the right direction. I think he has maybe a year and a half or two years of this under his belt. Seems to be making excellent progress and growing as an artist.

[paul999]

This reminds me a bit of the neil young mixing style from "Rockin in the free world" It is not in your face. The drums feel a little "squishy". You can hear everything and the elements are not fighting each other. It suits the raw edge of the tune. I can't decide if I really like that but it worked for Neil. I did feel like the song came through and the mix did not get in the way of it. It also doesn't feel like the mix accentuates the song either. The word that comes to mind is safe. Keep in mind I am on the extreme end of often getting in the way of songs I produce.(still working on that.)

[Vulconizer]

Originally Posted by paul999

It also doesn't feel like the mix accentuates the song either. The word that comes to mind is safe.

You know, I keep trying to figure out just how to accentuate elements in a mix to bring out the best in a song. I used some volume automation on the rhythm guitars to bring them up and down during the choruses and verses, but I still think I could do more.

Safe, while passable and acceptable, is still only safe and that's not good enough for where I want to go.

You have given me a confirmation that I have yet to fully realize my inner mad scientist. Thanks, Paul.

[burnyourflags]

Originally Posted by paul999

This reminds me a bit of the neil young mixing style from "Rockin in the free world" It is not in your face. The drums feel a little "squishy". You can hear everything and the elements are not fighting each other. It suits the raw edge of the tune. I can't decide if I really like that but it worked for Neil. I did feel like the song came through and the mix did not get in the way of it. It also doesn't feel like the mix accentuates the song either. The word that comes to mind is safe. Keep in mind I am on the extreme end of often getting in the way of songs I produce.(still working on that.)

eep in mind I am on the extreme end of often getting in the way of songs I produce.(still working on that.)[/QUOTE]this parts great im still working on this too.i feel ya man