Duck Tales - The Moon [production help]

[HSFlik]

Hi, I've never posted here before, and am a little bit nervous about doing so. I've got an arrangement from my band's EP that had a really rushed production job due to time constraints, and would like some advice on how to properly mix audio. I used to work with MIDI years ago, but never got a hold of how to properly handle live audio [via Sonar 8]. Everything I semi-figured out is due to Google.

Anyway, the track is my arrangement of The Moon, with the following tracks with how I recorded each one:

12 violins, each recorded independently, amp mic'd.

2 synth keyboards, via midi -> softsynth. (one piano, one synth)

1 bass, line out from amp.

1 synth drums, via midi -> softsynth.

1 acoustic guitar, 2 mics.

1 electric guitar, Line 6 plugin direct.

The Spoony Bards - The Moon

I would really appreciate any and all advice on making this sound the best it possibly can. In turn, I hope to produce music you enjoy. Thanks!

[halc]

i don't really have any experience with live audio, but here are some of my thoughts

the guitar is dry and doesn't really support the mix, and i think the hard panning is only making it worse. instead of panning i would try adding some stereo seperation to get a deeper sound on both sides, and some reverb to fill out the space. the same crit could probably be applied to the voilins as well, with a fuller reverb or maybe some delay. those instruments also seem a little high in the mids/highs, could be the dryness of the recording though - the guitar solo in particular is a bit piercing. drums could afford to be a little louder too.

overall i think the mix needs to be turned down a bit, and the individual elements need to be beefed up. it's got volume, but it's just dry.

hope this is of help

[AngelsDen]

Wow.. this one really got me! I really enjoyed it and wouldlike to hear the final product...

Halc already mentioned alot of things where i'm not able to add anymore.

Gogogo and make the best out of it.. it has pure potential!

[HSFlik]

Regarding the stereo separation, I'll definitely give that a shot. I had it originally, but then I added the piano part and then had no idea where it should sit in the mix.

Thanks for the advice about the EQ (and everything else), I'll definitely fix that!

[WillRock]

I'd agree about the dryness of what you have. What you have is good so far but everything sounds dry and this sounds slightly overcompressed as well... not sure if thats just me tho

Regarding the rhythm guitars, record them again, and hard pan them the other way so you have two recordings of the same part both playing hard panned each side at the same time, that will sort out your stereo spacing problem with the guitar and add some much needed depth.

Add some delay on that guitar solo as well

I think this needs a little work but it has the potential to be awesome with some care.

Keep at it man

[HSFlik]

Do you have any tips on bringing out the acoustic guitar during the solo?

[Aaronjin]

i like this...even though i could use more....i think i like the different instruments in it making it sound more upbeat than it is....though the moon i never really thought of as being upbeat...more inspirational i guess.

[HSFlik]

http://jer.spoonybards.com/stuff/%5bTSB%5d%20-%20The%20Moon%20OCR%20WIP%203.mp3

I've reset everything and started the mix up from scratch to go for a quieter mix, as the original was way too loud.

I've made the adjustments regarding the guitar's panning, delay and reverb.

I've also done a few EQ things to help the strings come out more, making some frequency cuts in the electric guitar.

I still have to bring out the melody for the electric piano - since it switches from a backing part to a lead part, I think I'll have a separate track for lead and mix it separate from when it plays backing... unless that isn't the way to go for this.

I'm also going to treat the beginning section differently than the rest of the song, since the strings play a different part in it.

[XiaoXiaoNeo]

Do you have any tips on bringing out the acoustic guitar during the solo?

Unfortunately no, but I think that's an excellent idea.

Yeah, the acoustic solo was the only part that kinda threw me off- it starts pretty good, then from like 1:25 to 1:31 the guitar disappears. I'm sure someone around here can help.

Great track you're working on here. Very upbeat, happy, and surprisingly clean!

Oh, one other thing: I noticed a little break in the music around 4:23-4:24 as you're finishing the song. Maybe try to close that gap up.

Best of luck with this! Hope to see it posted in the future!