It is rare if ever that I post any of my work in forums (usually keep work stuff separate), but here we go!
And here is the link:
I really like this song. Everything was done on the fly. Drums, bass and guitars that you hear are in the moment and in the real world captured with mics with little to no editing. Vox were overdubbed and some embellishing guitar overdubs were done after the meat and potatoes were laid down. I spent a little time editing the vox overdubs to sync the 2 singers and to hone the vocal pitch/harmony/rhythm in the hook regions of the song. The guitar embellish parts are faint in the mix and only at certain points to reinforce the overall groove. I also shot the video with my 4K rig with the help of another cameraman for some of the alt angles. I used Adobe Premiere to edit and color the flick.
Hope you enjoy!
Oh, you may want to crank your speakers to 11 before the song starts
Yes, definitely crank it up! Love this cut. I really like the way you handled the guitar… maybe you can drop a few hints? You split the guitar across left and right, and a lot more I guess. Has a great sound. Nice to hear some pro output here once in a while. Oh, and the guitar and bass forgot to plug in on the video…(!)
The guitar amp was recorded with 2 microphones. It’s interesting you ask, because how I recorded it is differently than I usually do.
I had a 1980s PL9 on the grill and a LeWilson 247 slightly above the amp and had the mic pointing to the floor in front of the amp. Typically I record with a second mic in front of the amp a few feet. When I chose the overall recording technique for the songs, I decided for a near-in-your-face approach for the guitar and a more open type of technique for the drums. (The drums would be a little back in the mix, thinking 3d dimension, behind the guitar) I also wanted the amp’s spring verb to be collected without much of the room for an iconic song signature element. In fact the amp was surrounded by gobos to focus it’s sound. It is in the box in this picture on the left.
So that was the capture of the guitar was like, and also my consideration of the big picture of what it would be in the final mix.
In the mix, I used delays to spread the guitar out across the stereo field. The PL9 was left pretty much untouched but the LeWilson was the source where I derived the stereo image. The delays were tuned under 100ms and equalized (band passed) to generate the stereo content. The delays were not echo type of delays. Basically something like a 34ms delay set to full wet and no repeat. Some of the delays were phase inverted as well to be subtractive. When you do this, the combined PL9, and 247 and delays created the magic in the stereo field. Delays are such a powerful tool for imaging.
Thanks for the clues! I like what you’re doing. If I got it correctly, on the guitar, you have the EV PL9 in dead center, and you’re taking the LeWilson mic (which in other setups would have been a couple of feet out), and feeding only a short delay version to left and right, which have been split along frequency lines (lows to left, highs to right), and no direct un-delayed LeWilson at all? I really like the result, and thank you for the clues. You give this band a great sound. I’m going to be trying this. I want to say as well that the drums sound great. If my band sang, I’d ask about that! Well done, again!
Raw tracks:
The PL9 and 247 are both in the mix dead center. A little more PL9. The phase is inverted on the 247. It sounded better that way.
The 2 raw channels had sends:
Aux Sends: #1:
247 sent to group channel A
Delayed 3.6ms (no direct)
High passed at 502hz
Right side of that stereo channel is phase inverted
#2
247 sent right Group Channel B
pl9 sent left Group Channel B
Widened
Cloner (tiny bit)
Left side of channel delayed 9.4 ms (no direct)
Eqed to taste
#3 Secret
#4 Secret
Don’t use my delay numbers when you try this. You have to listen and set them by ear because low-ms-delays create a combing effect and the sound of the effect is dependent on the sound you are delaying. This is especially true if a delay is phase inverted. Moving on… a track that you only delay one side of the stereo channel 100% wet, it will open the center and create a hole in the stereo field. You don’t have to go much over 10-15ms, usually 9 and under. Now is the time where the raw direct channels come into play if you keep them center. If you get creative with grouping, you can create a fader for the guitar center and guitar stereo wings. Then mix like this to open and close the stereo field:
You can also automate delay changes during the mix to create memorable experiences at key turning points of the song, like the hook, chorus, solo, etc…
Route your raw guitars and all group/effect channels to one master guitar group. Once you ride your channels it is helpful to have a master for all the content to set them perfectly in the mix.
Always have a core sound. It can be derived from the raws and one effect group for instance. Then, the other effect groups you use to embellish and create experiences in the mix. Or have 2 core sounds that you shift back and forth to.
This song has both techniques deployed. Core+embellish/center+wings on the guitar and the snare/drums has 2 cores. Listen to the snare where he goes to the toms after “and if you think she’s going anywhere”. That is a hard shift, but the overheads and room are somewhat static in the mix holding it together.
Bravo! The song is incredibly catchy, and the mix is great! After having read this thread, it sounds to me like you didn’t double or triple track the guitar and the stereo spread is simply from the technique you described here. Good stuff, and I will be keeping that arrow in my quiver.
Thanks, Mr. Woodcrest, for so much detail on how this was mixed. I’m not going to ask for the secrets; there’s enough here that I should make it that far before I consider the secrets! The results speak for themselves, congratulations.
