Howdy, guys 'n' gals!

Please have a listen to the track below.

God Is Here In You And Me

These are the initial track settings for the song, but David might have substituted some tracks on later production.

****** Song Summary *************
Title: God Is Here In You And Me
File:God Is Here In You And Me.SGU
Key=C , Tempo 140, Length (m:s)=3:27
8 bar intro, 109 bar chorus, from bar 9 to bar 117. Repeat x1 chorus
No Melody
No Soloist track.
Song is saved with Volume, Pan, Reverb, Chorus, Bank0,
Style is _THRAAMP.STY (Amplitube Thrash Electric Bass)
BassCustom Synth is SuperFuzzBass CompODEQStomp,SldStBsAmp,EQRack.tgs

RealTracks in style: ~~686:Organ, B3, Background Pop Ev 120
RealTracks in style: 639:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm HardRockThrash Ev 085
RealTracks in style: 642:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm HardRockThrashHollow Ev 085

These were replaced later, but originally helped make the song:
RealTracks in style: 1009:Bass, Electric, HardRockThrash Ev 085
RealDrums in style: RockThrashHalfTimeEv16^1-a:Snare, Bell Ride , b:Snare, Crash Ride
*******************

Hoping to get this radio-ready, so welcoming all critiques and compliments. :-)

Thank you!

P.S. Another @dcuny collab mix in the house! :-D

Nice work!! Cool song, and the production and mix sound great to me. Vocals are killer. Enjoyed much!! Take care. Greg

Hi ck,

can't find any critiques. I enjoyed
this production a lot.

Guenter

Very energetic music well played. Great voice and instrumentals mixing.

Sergio

Since I've put this mix together, I'd like as much feedback - negative as well as positive - as people are willing to give so I can get this right. I've got some specific questions about this mix, but if I've missed anything else, I want to hear about that, too!

• I've tried to get the vocal out front without it being overbearing. I think it's there... but it's a fine line, and I might have crossed over it.
• Where should the bass be in a mix like this? I've dialed it forward, back, and everywhere in between. I suspect that it's a bit too quiet in this mix.
• The cymbals. I thought I brought them back enough, but I've been hearing that they're still a bit too forward.
• Anything else you might be hearing, good or bad.

In case anyone is wondering, The drums are EZDrummer 2, and most of the bass is from Bass on Demand loops. All the rest is BiaB, with a bit of extra distortion added.

And yes... it probably does need cowbell.

Thanks!

c.k. (and David)...

A good write - though pretty far outside my areas... I'm not that familiar with heavy metal Christian rock... but interesting...

An absolutely top-notch vocal! Start to finish. And especially when you "really go for it".

The mix during the rockin' metal part is solid. The cymbals ARE too out front - too "present" - I think they need to be dropped and have some reverb added to set them back.

As you said, the bass is FAR too quiet. I can barely hear it. For a metal song it should be a huge part of the sound - this is all just my opinion, of course... as you know... and, as you know, I do not do metal... But, I think bringing the bass up enough to really be noticed would really add the icing the your mix...

In the "softer parts" the guitars drop away too much - so that there is a sense of "a different mix idea". I think if you brought the arp guitar up (significantly, and give it some "beef") it would avoid that feeling. Again..an opinion..

Same thing in the bridge (I think it's a bridge - hard to know without a lyric)... the guitar gets set way back - so it's like another mix change. The "chunk guitar" (not sure what that is since there is no RT list) has super drive and is the perfect sound there, but its low level losses some of what it should be adding to the song...

Not trying to be negative - because this is a very cool project - quite ambitious, actually - and pulled off well. Just a bit "uneven" between the different parts. Tame the cymbals, give the bass some meat (it should really be pumping!), make the transitions flow better... little things in each case...

Have to say again... Wow!! What a vocal!

A HUGE song.

floyd

Thanks! Nothing negative here at all - this is exactly what I needed to know!

Hello CK and David,

In addition to Floyd's comment:
We think it's a very good song, very well sung.
The mix: the vocal is slightly too loud and could use a little more reverb/delay.
The music itself could use a little bit more punch (mastering like Ozone or any other mastering suite).
Apart from all that: great work!

Rob and Anne-Marie

David, although I do not have golden ears here is what I heard:

The vocals are perfect. Great job on them plus the lyrics are fantastic.

I think the bass should come up some.

I also think the cymbals should be brought back but I'm not sure about adding reverb to them as Floyd has mentioned. But Floyd has much better ears than I do.

I also think the guitars should come up some.

This is a great song that only needs a few minor tweaks to take it over the top IMHO.

PS - you may have to decide it this should be a metal song (big drums and bass and heavily compressed) or a rock song (more balanced with less compression), again just my opinion, YMMV.

I've got a limiter on the mix buss, but I've dialed it back a bit so there's a bit of headroom.

I might push the threshold a bit a bit more and see what happens.

Thanks for the feedback!

Thanks, everybody, for the great input. I appreciate the compliments and the critiques! We all want to make music that other people can appreciate, right? And you guys have the experience and skills to help in that cause. Again, I'm very thankful for everybody's comments.

MarioD, I'm wanting to stay in the "rock song" genre instead of "metal."

I will update the original post with more details about the BIAB/RB tracks I used.

Yeah, right now it's more the "rock" song instead of metal.

I'd actually taken all the cymbals out of the mix (editing MIDI is a lot simpler than audio!), but it was a bit too barren. I'd hoped that dialing them back would be enough, but reverb might be the trick to take some punch out of them. I'll try it both ways.

Hopefully this can be pushed over the top, thanks!

RUSH!!! The band, not the radio personality.

Switching to the laptop to listen....

Guitars need to come up through out and especially in the chorus. Way up.

Same thing with the bass.

This is essentially a guitar song.... bass and guitar should be carrying this. Currently both are way too low and subdued in the mix.

OK, I looked back at the tracks listing.... I was listening to the guitars and thought to myself they sounded like they were not cranked..... but instead were distorted from pedals and recorded at lower volume/gain levels. They lack the crunch of cranked tubes and it's evident in the sustained power chords. They don't last.

Having at least one live cranked guitar would fill this out wonderfully and mix well with the BB tracks.

As far as the song itself, man, I really like this. Nice job.

dcuny: please no cowbell. However, listen to some RUSH tunes and then remix this with THAT style in mind. All 3 of the instruments..... BASS, DRUMS, and GUITAR are critical and need to be proportionally loud enough and have the proper EQ to make them stand out yet blend. Consider getting a live chorded track and get it recorded 2 times so you can also double it into a wide stereo field. I see where there's a B3 in there..... keep that low like you have it. Don't really need to hear it and if you layer the guitars, it's not really needed at all. 3 instruments can carry this nicely.

Use some compression to get the kick and bass really working together. Multi-band lets you kick the bottom and keep the top open. Getting a good EQ on the drums is critical and the cymbals absolutely need to be there in this genre. Drums should be fat, full, crisp and HUGE. The kick should work with the bass and should give the listener the sensation of having CPR performed on them..... (well...kind of.... I think you get the idea) We need to feel the drums.

This is a good 89% of the way to being ready to go.

I'm looking forward to hearing this finished properly.

Once again I like the lyrics! Excellent vocals and Floyd and other comments should help you to get it where I think you would like it to be. Great song!
Sonny

Thanks, I've been using the wrong reference tracks, apparently.


Yep.


I thought the point of having BiaB was not having to do live tracks.

Seriously, though, I'll give it a try and see what happens. I've got enough guitar skills to crank out some rhythm parts.

Thanks for all the tips! I'll can split the kick out pretty easily, and the right reference tracks will help.

Ha! :-D

Thanks for the great feedback! We should be making a few adjustments over the next couple of days.

Great song! Well written and performed vocally. Mix is superb; but the message is what is important and so true. Christ message to us

Matthew 5:16
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

Thanks for sharing!

Excellent vocal. I do see the reference to Geddy Lee. Good job

Using straight up BB/RB tracks can sound good,no doubt, but adding live tracks to it, if they are well performed, and well recorded, can take the project over the top in a good way. That's how you make a good project, great.

Excellent vocal! I like the lyrics and the song itself. The Bass and Drums need to come way up. The guitar also. The overall volume is really very low. The bass should match the kick in volume. A little work on the mix and it will be a great one. Nice job both of you. Tom

I'm not schooled in this genre but I do listen to a fair amount of rock.
I think Tom and others hit all the mix points. I struggle to match
the kick and bass but it really opens things when they are up and
each is present. And, if my worn out ears actually hear the cymbals
they are probably a bit loud

The vocals, the lyric and the arrangement are very strong and
deserving of the effort y'all have put into this.

Enjoyed it!

J&B

This is great!! Beautiful instrumentation, production and song. Great job!!