I really like the tune and the playing
I sometimes find using the drums to highlight some of the accents in the guitar playing really helps catch your ear.
Fantastic. Much better mix. Good tune and subject matter too.
Maybe unintentional but it reminds me of the unfortunately named theme from M*A*S*H which I won’t repeat here, maybe the echo on the guitar.
Fantastic. Much better mix. Good tune and subject matter too.
Maybe unintentional but it reminds me of the unfortunately named theme from M*A*S*H which I won’t repeat here, maybe the echo on the guitar.
That was a somber song too with an upbeat ending. If it reminds you of that and tugs on your emotions then I succeeded. Thank you!
Don't despair. Working on a hard rock mix now.
The rhythm section is much, much better in balance than previous mixes, both between the bass / drums and between them and the rest of the song. Great progress, man.
Are you still using a guitar pitched down an octave for your bass parts?
The only tweak I'm really hearing a need for is on the bass, and even then only in one section of the song. In the lower registers the bass sounds pretty authentic, kind of a no frills P bass tone. However, when the bass line moves to the upper registers it begins to disappear, blurring into the same frequency real estate as the guitar. It's only for those few notes (eighth notes on B / Db / Eb at the end of the section).
You might try putting a compressor on the bass track to help give it a little more focus. This would also let you dig in just a bit more on the attack to give it some definition without the transients that would take away from the legato feel of the part (if you're of a mind to re-track it). I'd start with a ratio of around 4:1, medium attack / release, and then dial in the threshold until it's just starting to bite into the compressor. At that point close your eyes and adjust to taste for the amount of punch / focus you want. A longer release time will also give you a more legato feel, and shorter can help move you towards a bit more focus.
On those upper register portions where the bass starts to get lost, take a look at the real time frequency display for the bass in that part of the song, then compare it to the guitar part. For the overlapping frequencies, see if you can cut the guitar and boost the bass a tiny bit each, enough for the bass to poke through but without stomping on the guitar. Set the width of your Q to be no wider than the range of the overlapping frequencies (use your ears to hear the portion of the bass that's being confused with the guitar) and use the same frequency / Q for both tracks. I'd then boost / cut by the same amount as a starting point, maybe 1 to 2 db.
Again, once you get in the ball park with the dials start using your ears to listen for when the bass starts poking through and to make sure the guitar doesn't get hidden by the bass. it's a bit of a balancing act since they're both in the same frequency range at that point, but you may find that the upper frequencies on the guitar are more what you care about and are thus able to let the bass have a little of the lower turf. It's also okay to automate the EQ so that you're only cutting the guitar in that one section if you find the EQ takes away from the guitar tone elsewhere.
Really cool to see your constant improvements.
"I also have EZbass plugin that I haven't even tried yet, but if I am going to buy a bass then I might as well learn how to play one properly"
BayouTexan I'd give EZbass a go first, it's much easier to use than you light think and if you use it with EZdrummer or Superior drummer it will follow your drums better than you ever would yourself it you were playing along. It's a very powerful tool and the key to getting huge sounding tracks
I agree with Joe wholeheartedly.
If you actually want to become a bassist, that is of course a different conversation.
However, if you just want to quickly get a good sounding bass part and then spend your time on guitar, give EZ Bass a try. It gives you a bass that's already been optimized for the mix so that you don't have to. Listen to Joe's mixes. As he pointed out, the combination of their drums and bass gives him a great sounding mix, and from previous conversations I know that he doesn't spend any time tweaking the rhythm section. It just works right out of the box.
Also, don't think you have to learn how to use all the articulations, bells and whistles before you can use it. If you just draw in the bass line you want and do no tweaking whatsoever I think you'll be surprised at how good your bass sounds. That gets your rhythm section sorted, allowing you to then spend your time focusing on other stuff.
I'm hoping to finish up a hard rock mix for this weekend so I might give the EZBass a try. I do like playing over clicking though -even if my playing is not so great. 
It's exciting times over here!
I do like playing over clicking though -even if my playing is not so great.
Another option might be to pick up a little two octave MIDI keyboard if you don't already have keys. You get all the benefits of MIDI editability and VST / EZ Bass sounds, but you can play the bass part and get the feel you want rather than clicking.
I have a $115 Akai https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IJ6QAO2 but I'm sure you can find cheaper varieties.
Another option might be to pick up a little two octave MIDI keyboard if you don't already have keys. You get all the benefits of MIDI editability and VST / EZ Bass sounds, but you can play the bass part and get the feel you want rather than clicking.
I have a $115 Akai https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IJ6QAO2 but I'm sure you can find cheaper varieties.
I didn't even think about that. I have a Akai midi that I use sometimes for drums and just completely forgot I could use it the same way for EZBass.
I've never used EZ Bass, but when I'm sketching out ideas I sometimes use Apple's little "music notes" app and that has key detection and an AI bassist and drummer which is great for when you just have that sudden idea in your head. I actually really enjoy playing the bass albeit poorly which is the only reason I use real bass. Don't underestimate the synth options.
Here's my quick tip of the day regarding tracking anything with MIDI - Do not worry about being a good keyboard player. I find often that it's good to have a controller to throw in the rhythm of a track but not worry too much about note accuracy. You can go in afterwards and shift the odd wrong note around, or even whole chords that are out, and even cooler you can find different voicings that way. Sometimes I will completely ignore all real notes and just slap in the pattern only if I know I'm going to go this route. It's much faster than you think.
