Well I'm starting to figure out BIAB.
Used:
1717: Bass, Electric, TexasBlues & Real Drums=BluesRocks
EQ'd & Panned the drums for some separation and depth.

I added three guitar tracks and vocals.


I had a difficult time mixing this,. not sure where I messed up.
I think It needs a remix and some additional guitar fills.

In any case, any feedback you can provide would be appreciated.

Here's "Look'n For Light"

https://soundcloud.com/captainmoto/lookn-for-light-1

How did you "pan" the drums from a stereo file?
The bass, voice, rhythm guitar, kick and snare are fighting each other up the middle.
Trad would have the kick n snare + bass up the middle. OH's would throw the cymbals L & R.
Voice up the middle - replaced by lead solo when appropriate.
Rhythm gtr panned one side & another rhythm instruments or double take of RGtr on the other side.
The struggle in this mix is that competition up the middle. bass and kick fill in the centre bottom snare upper mids and voice in between.
IF you start your mix in mono (not the mono button but everything up the middle) and EQ things until tyhey don't overlap too much and sound good then simple panning, as mentioned, will work a treat. IF it sounds muddy and messy in mono then you need to relisten & rethink.
GOOD song by the way.

Hello Captain,

I totally agree with what Ray wrote. Including the last line.
But I have to add one or two things (however, I think Ray covered that as well), you sing too close to the mike so it did some clipping or at least gives the impression it was doing that.
The other thing is you are singing a bit different than I know of you. Nearly more 'civilized'. And in this song I wouldn't choose for that kind of singing, but more the 'raw' you (if you know what I mean). and with a little more reverb...

Hans

Morning Captain,

I won't comment on your mix, you have some good advice from Ray already about that.

Good song! I like the swampy groove, and I like your lyrics.

I disagree with Hans on your vocal, I liked it and thought it fit the laid back mood of the song.

Arrangement wise I wasn't crazy about the intro, a little too abrupt.

But, overall I thought it was a very good song, a few minor tweaks and it will be a great song, enjoyed the listen.

Captain,

Nice!

I'll go along with the advice to pan the rhythm guitars out more...

I really like the vocal! And your soloing.

Cool song. I enjoyed the listen.

fj

Nicely done - I thought your vocals sounded fantastic on this, and you can't tell you had a difficult time with the mix, for me at least. I really liked the groove and thought it was decently catchy as well.

Thanks for sharing

Thanks everyone for listening and providing some feedback.

Some very good observations, and good critical listening skills.

About the mix:
- Panning Drums
I made several duplicate tracks of the BIAB drums.
I treated each of those as if it was a separate element of the kit.
I applied aggressive EQ to each resulting in a simulation of Kick, Toms/Snare, High-hats and an overhead mic.
It may not be that apparent in the mix but, compared to the original drum track I believe It has more energy, which is what I was trying to achieve.
The last step was to do some very subtle panning of the High-hats and toms, the hick and overhead remain down the middle.
To my ear the drums got bigger doing this.

-Guitars
The BIAB bass is up the middle.
Driving rhythm is doubled and panned L/R but not all the way out.
There's a second rhythm guitar with intermittent hits playing against the main guitar. That guitar is EQd with more emphasis on the mid/highs and is panned slightly left.

-Lead Guitar
Lots of overdrive on the tone with focus on Low mids EQ.
That track is doubled and spread wide, L/R.

-Vocals
I used a brighter mic then I normally do.
I've got a lot of sibilance going on and I had a difficult time trying tame that.
Although it's all one track, the bridge that comes late in the song is much more aggressive with the mic pushed back further then on the verses. Its straight up the middle.


-Reverb/Delay
My guitars are always recorded with a tad of both.
Some additional delay was applied to the final tracks.
Some gentle reverb on the vocals with various levels of delay on different parts of the track.

Overall,
This ended up with a very heavily compressed sound which was not my original plan.

I'm going back to the drawing board.

Thanks again for your feedback.

I can't comment on your mix...
When I listen...
I just pretend I'm in a bar or lounge somewhere
Listening to the pickers do their thing
Well...
I just walked into your bar
And I'm ready to order a beer
And hear some more gooood music!

+1 to what Dave said. Loved the groove and really good vocal. Well done

Jim,
Pull up a seat, first one's on me.
Thanks

Thanks Scott,
I'm waiting for the operating room to become available for a bit of surgery.

Hello Captain,

This is a very orthodox Rhythm & Blues.
Your vocals fit this song very much.
Very nice groove.
Your guitar is also very cool.
Enjoyed my listen a lot.

Best regards.

Shigeki Adachi

Shigeki,
Thank you for your comments.

About the groove.
When i built this song I laid down the driving guitar first and then found drums to support it.
I think that's a key feature in the groove.

Moto

A good groove and an excellent vocal- I like the way you bring it down for the last verse.
Minor surgery will crank the light levels on this- its worth tweaking!

Robert

This is the kind of blues I like.
I agree with the comments on the panning.
While writing I'm listening to you got your way.
Leonard Cohen would be proud! Like it a lot!

F

CaptainMoto, I love this blues number! Kind of puts me in mind of a couple of early CCR tunes (mainly "Feelin' Blue" off the Willie and the Poor Boys album). Love that hanging note to start the solo off! Great tone on the guitars! Thanks, Torrey

Captain Moto,

You’ve gotten some great advice already, by those far more savvy mix-wise than I. My only preference would be to bring the rhythm guitars up just a little bit and/or maybe sitting the vocal back just a bit. The lead guitar is sweet, as is the vocal—nice!

Kind regards,

Deej

Robert,
Thanks for listening and providing your comments.

Fred,
Leonard Cohen...oh my.
That's quite a compliment.......I can only dream.

Torrey,
Thanks you've put me in a class of greats...I'm humbled.

Deej,
I'm working on it.
Thanks

Like Dave we like the swampy groove...a lot!

Love what Jim said also:
"I just walked into your bar
And I'm ready to order a beer
And hear some more gooood music!"

Yeah, we'd go in too!

We love the blues and loved this...

Cool vocal and guitar...kudos

J&B

PS: Something you may or may not want to experiment with some time. Locate the actual audio file for the RD you are using. They are all located within your BiaB file structure. At the end of the file are samples of each sound in the kit for that RT. You can cut out the snare sound and place it in a new track in your DAW and then copy it it to appear under each snare hit in your RD track. Now you can put effects on just the snare track. Unless you have a "groove track" feature you will have to align the hits since the full kit is played by a human Meaning that even if you copy and paste them to the right part of each bar they will not be perfect. My DAW, Logic Pro X, has a groove track function and it automatically and immediately aligns all the hits. I often do this with the snare and sometimes the kick. FWIW!

J&B,
Thanks for that.
I didn't know that was possible.
More to learn.

I've done your trick with the drums (or something like that), and it seemed to work a treat for me in comparison to the drum mix delivered. I'm not at all put off by the mix. It's powerful at high volume, and seems to be a hybrid of period mono and modern stereo, whether that was intended or not.

It's the power of the song that matters to these ears, though, and you've delivered. Your voice is full to overflowing with that gritty character. It's very good to meet you. I'm looking forward to hearing more from you.

Hi Cap,

'If you ain't thinikin' you're all to blame' - I'm not quite sure wether I understood that line corecctly, but I think that's at least the meaning and YES, IT'S SO TRUE.

Think that the lyrics are great, and I really think that your vocals fit the song like a glove. I know that you've never bneen so happy with your singing or at least with your voice: Man, there is no reason for that !!!!

I'm not the sound guy, so I leave comments on the mix to those who know far more about that issue than I do, but I'd like to echo Dave and also Jim (whom I'd be glad to join sittin' and sippin' in that bar enjoying your performance).

Lkie I said before, 'You play the blues and I'm your man.'. And I really, really like that song A LOT !!!!

Keep 'em coming, Cap !!!

Take care,

Stefan

Thanks Stefan,
I try to make my lyrics get a message across, I appreciate your taking the time to listen and comment.

The specific line you reference is actually "If you ain't think'n you own the blame", I believe you got the message.

Enjoy the sip.