blinder's Journal: [SFB] More re-works

well, i've been toying around with this song for a long time, mostly because i like it, and because it has all of the elements that i want to get better at, with respect to composing/arranging and producing/mastering.

so i re-did the guitars (yet again) and scrapped the entire mix, zapped all of the outboard settings (in fact, i nuked all of the compression/limiting settings and started from scratch).

anyway, what i got this morning was something without so much artificial coloring and fake "air" that was driving me nuts with this piece.

its funny, the idea i was trying to go for earlier was to get a "big" round sound out of this, so i was relying on multi-band compression to tighten everything up, which is often the approach to use... but as i constantly learn is that an approach or even tools in the audio world don't always translate into what you really need because every piece of music is different, every track is different, every tone is completely autonomous, and what you "know" doesn't always mean its the right thing. i suppose the moral of the story (as it always is) that preconceived notions of what is correct can and often is thrown right out the window when the rubber meets the road.

what is different with this mix is that there's no over-all multi-band compression... and instead some very mild compression is used on each track individually... and the EQ on the guitar tracks are much gentler.

i think another major lesson i learned is that while keeping track of the low-end of the sound spectrum is fine and dandy to control mud and rumble, neglecting the higher end (those frequencies above say 5khz) is important as well and is something i've often find myself shying away from, because doing to much up there can introduce a harshness to the mix, and that to me is about the worst thing you can do. but what i found with this particular mix was that giving each track a bit more "air" up there actually added detail and punch, and because i was being gentle, i didn't add too much in terms of a harsh coldness.

i hope so anyway.

so, take a listen, or not. and as customary, have a good afternoon.

newest version the best

[subgeek]

i listened to the three versions i had. it's confirmed that the tweaks you did in the higher frequencies added some nice detail. it didn't get too harsh at all.

it sounds really good to me, but what do i know?