There's a bit more to "mastering" than to slap a few new FX on the mix and EQ it a tad and throw a compressor on for good measure..... but you probably know that already.

I listened to a few short segments in each....same approximate area A/B between them.

The first "demo" version has a much better overall sound quality to it. It has an open sound and is a few db louder. Hopefully you saved that version and the new one is a copy.

Personally I would go back to the older demo and do just a few things with it.

First, Reduce the overall reverb level. The reverb is really apparent when the vocals come in. If you have a verb on the mix and another one on the vocals, first try turning the vox verb down. Turn it off completely and listen on cans. turn it on and adjust the levels.... experiment to where it sounds good and a natural fit to the song.

Second thing is to find that magic sample or patch that makes that kick drum sound right in the mix. Since it is a steady simple quarter note hit, you could easily use any drum synth to do that. Think back to the period of time that this song represents. What kind of a drum would they have used? Most likely a large tom laid on it's side or an old worn out marching bass drum. You should be able to hear the ringing of the head, the slap of the beater, and yet none of this is captured in the sound I hear in either of the versions. What I hear is more of a muffled thud in both. Keep in mind that if you don't have a good drum synth and what you have is all you have to work with.... try layering a few tracks together.... use the existing thud kick, then layer a large tom on top, then slap a cardboard box and layer that in as well. I can't vouch for what might turn up out of such an experiment but you never know. Sometimes you have to think out side the box to get something right.

Then of course, button the ending on the demo. On the updated "finished" version, I guess you could call that an ending.... however, the editing is sloppy. It doesn't have a "natural" ending feel. Kinda like the volume faders were simply pulled down rather than the musicians ending it. It might take going back to BB and rendering a new version..... but if that's what it takes.... you should take the time to do it. I like what you did there at the end.... let the instruments stop and let the kick continue for 4 more beats.....and don't fade the volume on the kick.


The song is good, now, it's a matter of getting the engineering and the production up to the same level as the writing and vocal performance.

EDIT: tip on endings. Don't always use the 2 bar or 4 bar default BB default endings. This song is a good example of WHY NOT TO USE THE BB DEFAULT ENDING. Instead.... simply either remove the BB default ending or use a simple work around. The workaround is to add 8 or so MORE measures to the song immediately before the default kicks in. Then simply use the "chord hold" for the appropriate instruments at YOUR ending point..... let the kick play on for one more measure and then stop..... and let the natural decay/reverb tails fade..... edit this in the DAW and you have YOUR natural ending and not something that BB thinks it should do to end the song. I have started using this on a number of my songs and it works really nice. You can even use this method on future songs to retard the ending.

Last edited by Guitarhacker; 09/11/14 04:09 AM.
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