So where a complicated plug‑in chain had failed to achieve a satisfactory fix before, simple 4kHz low‑pass filtering was all I needed!Īfter the troubleshooting, some tonal improvements were achieved through layering a number of fairly subtle processes. Frustrated at the lack of progress, I took a quick break before returning with a renewed sense of perspective - and quickly realised that I could simply tone down the guitar's high frequencies in this mix, as that gave the lead vocal more room to shine. SPL's Transient Designer helped the latter, but the former proved intractable, even when I isolated the high‑frequency region with multi‑band processing. On the right you can see the SPL Transient Designer settings for the upper frequency band. In this screenshot you can see the channel effects chain for the verse guitar part, including the DIY dual‑band transient‑processing setup between the Jesusonic 3BandSplitter & 3BandJoiner plug‑ins. The most pressing problem was the overbearing string rattle and pick noise. Given the changing nature of the part, I decided to 'mult' the verse and chorus sections to different tracks, and began by addressing the more challenging chorus sound. There was a good deal of pick noise and fret squeak during the verses, as well as prominent string rattles as the guitarist dug in more during the chorus sections. Blue moon atlas sound lyrics free#It sounded as though the mic had been positioned somewhere around the 12th fret, so the recording was mercifully free of sound‑hole boom, but the overall timbre felt rather too thin to carry a track like this. The acoustic guitar presented greater challenges. This created some problems with sibilance, but an instance of Digital Fishphones' freeware Spitfish solved those splendidly, albeit with a little automation assistance on my part. I wanted an obviously up-front, larger‑than‑life sound that would command the listener's attention, so I wasn't shy with the compression, chaining Universal Audio's LA2A emulation and Stillwell Audio's faster‑acting The Rocket to control the dynamic range and lend some obvious character. There was a little popping, and a slightly unpleasant low mid‑range resonance at moments, but a 90Hz high‑pass filter and a narrow 4dB peaking cut at 470Hz (both from Reaper's ReaEQ) swiftly cleared up those niggles. The good news was that the all‑important lead-vocal line had been picked up well. There's a limit to how hi‑fi you can make your drums when you want a single acoustic guitar and softly delivered lead vocal to take centre stage! I thought it made more sense to start work with the main guitar/vocal recording. What immediately struck me on looking at the track line‑up was that the most tracks had been given to the instrument that appeared, to me, to be the least important to the arrangement - and I suspect that Judd's 'drummer's-eye view' of the production meant that he'd mixed those tracks first as well. Listening to his original mix, I could tell that there was no 'silver bullet' solution, and that only a thorough overhaul of the mix could generate the kind of improvements that Judd was hoping for. The overall mix tone was also an issue, because Judd yearned for the warmth he could hear on his favourite Eddie Vedder, Muse, and Nirvana songs, but was unable to achieve that without losing sparkle and 'nearness'. He'd tried several miking techniques, but the snare wouldn't cut through properly and the toms lacked fullness. The drums had been a particular source of aggravation. Judd didn't want things over‑polished, and the mix had a rawness about it that was entirely in keeping with the intimate vocal, but he was also conscious that some intangible magic ingredient appeared to be missing! Blue moon atlas sound lyrics how to#Most Mix Rescue candidates seek a glossy sound from an involved arrangement, but Judd Meng was experiencing the opposite problem - how to achieve clarity and fullness within a simple arrangement. Applying Digital Fishphones' freeware Spitfish de‑esser helped, but the sensitivity had to be tweaked under automation control to achieve satisfactory results. If you're the musician and the engineer, it's easy to focus too closely on your own instrument, and not enough on the mix.īecause heavy compression was used as a vocal effect, sibilance proved a problem.
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