Mix Analysis 8

Song: Old Enough

Artist: The Raconteurs

Album: Consolers of the Lonely

Year: 2005

Mixing Engineer: Jack White and Joe Chiccarelli

Mastering Engineer: Vlado Meller

Awards: 2008 Best Engineered Album, Non-classical

                                    Level                        Pan

Vocals                             8                        -3,3

Backing Vox                   6                        -4,4                       

Organ                              5                        5

Acoustic Guitar               5                        -3,3                       

Shaker                             4                        -8

Electric Guitar                 6                        -3,3

Violin                              6                        -5

Drums                             6                        -2,2           

Bass                                5                        0

Timecode

0:00:Vocals, shaker, acoustic guitar

0:09: Second of organ

0:14-0:15: Shaker solo

0:16: violin, drums, electric guitar, organ, bass, acoustic guitar

0:28-0:40: Vocals join

0:46-0:58: Vocals join with backing vocals

1:04-1:38: Vocals join

1:26-1:38: Backing vocals come in

2:13-2:36: Vocals and Backing Vocals join, calling back at each other

2:48-3:22: Vocals join

3:16-3:22 Backing vocals join

3:47: Violin and organ fade out

            This album was awarded 2008’s Best Engineered Album, Non-classical and it deserves this award.  Each instrument blended in evenly, and even with every instrument playing at the same time, they came together musically that it made the song better.  Nothing was panned too widely or small and created just the right amount of space.  Jack White and Joe Chiccarelli mixed this song together and gave each respected instrument good levels.  The beginning of the song sounds like an old western song with the violin and it blends in with a modern sound, bringing together two genres from different eras.

Mix Analysis 7

Artist: Tiny Tim

Song: Down Virginia Way

Album: Tiny Tim’s Second Album

Genre: Acoustic Reggae, Rock

Year: 1969

Mixing Engineer: Lee Herschberg

Mixing Studio: United and Western Studio

Mastering Engineer: Not credited

Mastering Studio: Not credited

Other Artist Mixed by Lee Herschberg: Dean Martin and Randy Newman

                                    Level                        Pan

Piano                               6                        -10

Vocals                             8                        0

Electric Guitar                 6                        7

Drums                             6                        -10

Trumpet                          6                        0

Trombone                       6                        0

Tuba                               6                        0

Group Vocals                 6                        Pans back and forth

Claps                              5                        -5, 5

Flute                               6                        0

A lot of instruments in this song are panned dead center or panned all of the way to either the left or the right.  It is a little awkward, but so is Tiny Tim so it fits with his style.  Most of the instruments are at the same level during the song, with random solos.  This song could use a bigger band with more instruments so the song had a fuller sound than it did.  The panning made the drums and pianos mono, which isn’t a bad thing, but it made me want to turn my head while the song was playing.

            Lee Herschberg also mixed two of the songs that I have already analyzed including Randy Newman and Gordon Lightfoot.

Time Code:

0:00: Piano

0:02: Vocals, piano

0:09: Guitar, vocals, piano, drums

0:18-0:20: Horn section

0:32: Horns

0:56-1:12: Trumpet

1:12: Group Vocals and clapping come in

1:48: Group vocals and clapping ends

1:50: Just vocals

1:51: Flute solo

1:52: Vocals end

1:54: Horns, flute, drums play until end

1:59:Vocals come back

2:03: Song ends

Mix Analysis 8

Track: Great Expectations
Artist: The Gaslight Anthem
Mixed by: Ted Hutt (Dropkick Murphys, Fake Problems)
Mastered by: Tom Baker (Lostprophets, Marilyn Manson)

Instruments                     Pan             Level

Guitar 1                           -4                 6

Guitar 2                            4                  5

Bass                                 -5                 4

Drums                            -3, 3                6    

Vocals                               0                  7

Vocals 2                            -4               5


Timing:
00:00-00:10 Guitar 1
00:11-01:02 Guitar 1, Guitar 2, Bass, Drums, Vocals
01:03-01:06 Guitar 1, Guitar 2, Bass, Drums
01:07-01:43 Guitar 1, Guitar 2, Bass, Drums, Vocals
01:44-01:58 Guitar 1, Guitar 2, Bass, Drums, Vocals, Vocals 2
01:59-02:30 Guitar 1, Guitar 2, Bass, Drums, Vocals
02:30-03:02 Guitar 1, Guitar 2, Bass, Drums

This is a fairly polished punk song.  I think it has a very crisp sound to it.  Each instrument is well placed and can be heard, without being totally overwhelming.  Despite the punk sound, the music is still very melodic, and you can sense the importance that was placed on the instruments in the song. This is different from the pop songs that I have been reviewing, just from the difference in how forward the instruments are and also from how you can hear anything.  There's nothing in there that I needed to figure out where it was placed, or where it even came in.  The vocals are tucked into the instruments, and not placed so forward in the mix that the music doesn't matter.

Mix Analysis 7

Title: Take Your Time (acoustic)
Artist: Fun. 
Mastered By: Brad Vance at Red Mastering (Plain White T's, The Maine)
Mixed By: Steven McDonald (The Donnas, Be Your Own Pet)


                                           PAN                     LEVEL
Piano:                                   -3                            6

Acoustic Guitar:                -5, 5                           5

Taps:                                     6                            3

Lead vocals:                        -4                           6

Backing vocals:                   -4                           4

Timing:
00:00-00:39 Piano, Acoustic Guitar, Taps
00:40-01:00 Piano, Acoustic Guitar, Taps, Lead Vocals
01:01-01:19 Piano, Acoustic Guitar, Taps, Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals
01:20-02:19 Piano, Acoustic Guitar, Taps, Lead Vocals
02:20-03:54 Piano, Acoustic Guitar, Taps

This instruments in this recording sound fairly close miked, however the vocals sound more distant.  There is also not really any of the room in this mix.   It seems like the instrumentation was more of the focus in this acoustic bonus track, especially with the instrumental intro and outro not heard in the original version of the song.  The song is very raw and has a live sound to it. The levels of the piano and guitar seem to drop only slightly when the vocals come in after the intro. The piano is more obviously heard in the left ear and the guitar in the right, with the (I'm guessing) hand tapping way in the background of the song on the right. Lead vocals and harmonies compliment each other well with levels and their panning.  The harmonies aren't overpowering and the lead isn't drowning out the backing.

Mix Analysis 8

Dio- Stand Up and Shout
Time Signature: 4/4
Tempo: about 220


Producer- Ronnie James Dio

Mixing Engineer & Studio- Angelo Arcuri (Dokken & King Kobra) & Ray Leonard (Touch & Think Out Loud) @ Sound City, Los Angeles

Mastering Engineer & Studio- George Marino (Stevie Wonder & Gregg Allman)@ Sterling Sound, New York


Time Code
Intro:
00:00-00:05    Guitars (stereo)
00:06-00:19    Drums and bass enter

Verse 1:
00:20-00:37     Vocals Enter, same melody continues from intro

Chorus 1:
00:38-00:44     Chorus and new melody
00:45-00:53     Pinch harmonics on guitar and revert back to intro melody

Verse 2:
00:54-01:13    Continues melody from intro through verse

Chorus 2:
01:14-01:30    Same melody as first chorus

Solo (Guitar):
01:31-01:49    Just guitar, bass and drum. Guitar is very squeally and fast. Some what harsh

Breakdown:
01:50-01:57    Still guitar, bass, and drums however new guitar part enters over intro melody, quick fill at end

Verse 3:
01:58-02:16  Back to intro melody, second guitar part from breakdown is dropped

Chorus 3:
02:17-02:26  Chorus melody re-enters
02:27-02:28  Crowd chants
02:29-02:37  Return to chorus

Solo 2:
02:38-03:11  Second guitar solo until the end

End:
03:12-03:15  Quick fade out to silence


Levels:

Kick                  7
Snare                8
Hi-Hat              8
Toms                5
Cymbals           8
Bass                 5
Guitar 1            7
Guitar 2            7
Vocals              9
Crowd              5

Pan:


Kick                 C
Snare                C
Hi-Hat              4
Toms                3,5,6
Cymbals           -5.5
Bass                 -4
Guitar 1            -5,5 (except during solo -C)
Guitar 2            -5,5
Vocals              C
Crowd              C





This is my 3rd mix that was mastered by George Marino which is why I chose it. Given that this song is basically a standard rock (A-B-A-C-A-B-C) format there wasn't a whole lot going on and was really straight forward. This simplicity of instrumentation as well as overall mix could be due to the fact that this song is from the Holy Diver album from 1983. The panning isn't hard left and right but it might as well be. The guitars and overheads sound like they were done in stereo. The overall tone of this mix is very "trebley" (high mid range) and is kind of harsh. However this suits the genre very well and the cymbals seem to carry the high range while its mostly the bass that fills out the low as opposed to the kick which is more lower mid range. Overall I think it is a really good balance given that there wasn't a lot going on.

Mix Analysis 7

Goodfellas

Supervising Editor- Skip Lievsay (Big Lebowski & Fargo)
Re-Recording Mixer- Tom Fleischman (The Departed & Shutter Island)
Studio- Kaufman Astoria Studios

                                               SFX 1             SFX2                     BG                          Music

(Talking Throughout)


00:00-00:04                       Cash hitting table                       random table sounds        very feint music

00:05-00:10                                                Padded foot     more random card game sounds

00:11-00: 14                        Card shuffling      dish sounds

00:16- 00:21                          Setting glass down   Card noises      laughing

00:22:-00:34                     Shuffling paper (money) Card noises/Glasses

00:35-00:45                      Wooden Chair creak   paper hitting table

00:46-00:51                   Glass sounds        Ice inside cup

00:53-01:00                  Grabbing ice         dropping ice in cups

01:01-01:04                    Paper hits table         Gunshots (6)

01:05-01: 09                Glass breaking             Chair movement

01:10-01:14                  Grabs Gun                    Cards hit table/ chair move

01:15-01:27                    Chair creak

01:28-01:35                      Chair creak           paper hitting table

01:36-01:37                  Zipper sound

01:45-01:50                 Chair sliding across flood    footsteps                                music stops

01:51-01:56                Buzzer noises        Voice through small speaker         bird noises

01:57-02:01                   Phone hang up sound  buzzer noises con't

02:02-02:03                 Voice through small speaker




It seems for this mix there was slight layering but more importantly there is a focus on small details. Most of the sounds in this segment are very minute details. This helps to keep realism within the scene and allows the viewer to maintain within the story. It is also clear that these sounds were probably not the most difficult to obtain, many of them are just paper sounds. All in all even though I have seen this movie about 100 times, the sounds used and the way they are used never draw me out of the story.


Goodfellas

Mix Analysis 6: Captain America

Captain America: The First Avenger

Scene 1: 32:00-33:00
Steve walks into the secret testing lab to see the special enhancing pod for the first time.
Time                  SFX 1             SFX 2                 Ambiance                 Music              Dialogue
32:00                                          Foley (metal room, reverberant)     Light, quiet
32:01                                                     Scientists working; knobs/gears
32:05         interspersed footsteps                       
32:15                                                                                                                       Scientist greets
32:16    (old school) Camera flashes
32:18                                                                                                                     Scientist lines        
32:35  Foley for removing clothes
32:37     foley on footsteps                 Control room discussion (less reverb) General speaks to Senator
32:58 Foley of getting into pod

Scene 2 (1:35:17-1:36:17)
Commandos break into the villain's base to help Captain America, meanwhile the army outside approaches in full force.
Time                  SFX 1             SFX 2                 Ambiance                 Music              Dialogue
1:35:17        Zip lining down wires        Air sounds of inside a base    Strings-rising tension
1:35:20                                                                                                                         Cpt. America
1:35:22      Laser zap and boomy after effect
1:35:23      Breaking glass
1:35:26      Gunshots    screams of being shot
1:35:28      Screaming
1:35:29      Body hitting ground thud                                           Louder, horn heavy
1:35:31                                                   More gunshots and screaming
1:35:33                                                                                                        Commando to Cpt. America
1:35:34 Whoosh of shield thrown
1:35:35 Thud of catching shield                                                                 Cpt. America: "Thanks"
1:35:41  Foley of footsteps (boots on metal, one person)
1:35:42  Many feet on same surface
1:35:45 Explosion, rubble tossed about          Fire
1:35:47                                                      Gunshots                                              Commando yells
1:35:52                                                                                                                  Sergeant responds
1:35:53  Many soldiers going through woods (packs and equipment rustling)
1:35:57  Lasers going down hallway, gunshots coming up, ricocheting
1:35:58  Army advances and shoots                   Outside, in forest
1:36:00  Explosion            Lasers
1:36:11                                                                  Lasers, soldiers yelling


Supervising Sound Editor: Howell Gibbons
Also worked on: The Green Mile; Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

Sound Re-recording engineer: Evan Rautiainen
Also Worked on: The Bourne Ultimatum, Dream House

For such a big budget film, I'm a little disappointed by this movie's sound quality; a lot of the sound effects sound like stock recordings, and they seem like the most overused parts of a Hollywood sound effect library. There's no interesting use of stereo, and the only dynamics come into play with dialogue. Nothing is really given depth or place, just appearance in foreground or background. This drags an action movie down, since the big supposedly exciting parts just get dragged down by bad sound, and that's not counting the other faults of the movie. It's visually interesting sure, but it leaves a taste in my mouth that seems like Hollywood cares more about flashy effects than an overall impressive picture. I rag on it specifically because it was a big budget movie and wanted to be a memorable action movie, yes superhero movies aren't known for being the best ever, but with the dark knight trilogy, and even the other Marvel character movies doing well, the idea of superheroes is gaining some ground; this one however isn't putting in the effort to actually make a solid movie. With an action movie there is supposed to be a lot going on, and granted getting all of the sound effects and mixing them can be difficult and time taking, but when it's done hastily and sloppily it shows and brings down the whole movie.

Minor Project Proposal

    For my minor Project I want to finalize a mix of an original hip-hop song I created.
The instrumental was created in pro-tools via the software instrument plug ins and the vocals were recorded with a AKG-C414 microphone. This song will be the opening track to an EP I am currently working on.

My availability is very limited, I have time on Monday's, but plan to grab studio time whenever it is free as I have been a bit unsuccessful in booking Monday's. I might try and work Saturday Mornings if the lab is available.

This project is important to me because as the first track on my EP, it must set the tone and draw listeners in. I plan to bring elements of "chopped and screwed music" to the project in order to make it sound like a traditional southern style hip-hop trunk banger. I plan on using some creative vocal techniques that involve layering my vocals in harmony, then lowering the pitch on certain layers.

My first refrence track is "2 Trill (Chopped&Screwd) - by Bun B"
I am going to create similar vocal effects to this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0oKmR48jjU

The second track i am using for inspiration is "What You Taking Bout - by Young Jeezy"
The bass on this track is super clean and one of my all time favorites. I remember watching my mirrors shake the first time I played this song in my car in 2007. I want people to hear the bass in my song and remember it the same way.

The challenge i see in this is getting my bass to sound perfect. This is only a challenge because I do not know exactly what to do, but I will try many things and let my ears be the judge. I am also curious to see how my vocals will turn out as i am going to be trying some experimental things with them.

Mixing Analysis 6

St. Germain - Montego Bay Spleen
143.87 BPM

Intro                                 Pan                dB
Snare*Halftime Beat*       R5                  -31
Reverbed Congos              L10               -21
Kick                                     C                -19
Hi Hat Pattern                   L 11               -50
Electric Bass playing 1/4 notes                -25
Synth FX


0:14
Bass Kick                                                  -8
Delay Guitar Chord
Percussion Symbols                                 -36

0:43
Electric Piano Stabs                                 -21

Verse 0:59 
Electric clean rhythm guitar                     -16
Atmosphere synths
Dynamic Guitar Lead,                             -14
 fluctuates in velocity                    
-Really enjoy this technique of playing , goes into one minute solo

2:40
Everything drops, just guitar riff
Goes back to intro 8 bars with light kick

Verse 2 3:00 
Same elements as the first, still soloing.

3:50
Only hats, bass, and light kick

4:05
Snare back

Verse 3 4:14
Lead guitar bends
Rides out

I picked this track because it is of a very free form, and basically one long guitar solo. The genre is electronic jazz, acid jazz, or simply nu jazz. It has a very dubby feel to it and beside the multiple synth atmosphere noises theres not a whole lot going on. It's mostly bass and a lot of percussion which leaves tons of space for the guitar to shine throughout the track.

The track was written, produced, conducted and engineer by the original artist.

Additional info:
St Germain is among the leading French masters to have established the 'French Touch': the 'French Traxx EP' and 'Motherland EP', both released in 1993, introduced his style: a mix of deep house, jazz and lounge; sampling and real instruments playing side to side.

Personnel for Album Tourist 

• Pascal Ohse (Trumpet) 
• Edouard Labor (Saxophones, Flute)
• Alexandre Destrez (Keyboards)
• Idrissa Diop (Talking drum)
• Edmundo Carneiro (Percussion)
• Claudio De Qeiroz (Baritone saxophone)

• Ernest Ranglin (guitar for 'Montego Bay Spleen')

• Ludovic Navarre (Writer, producer, conductor and sound engineer) Pseudonym  "St. Germain"

Mixing Analysis 5

The Glitch Mob - Beyond Monday
95 BPM

Intro:
Loud Atmospheric wind noises                                 -14db
One sustained bass note
Two reverse whine ups, one reverse vocal gasp 

3 seconds of silence
0:15 Electric Piano with panning on loudest hits going from right to left
layered sustained paino with 16 note repeats

0:25 Verse:
Fat Saw Synth with wide stereo imaging.                    -25 db
Kick  on 1 and                                                                       -26
Snare layered w/ tambourine alternates with electronic snare     -32 db
Funky layered saw lead                                              -40 db

0:36 Saw Bass Fill
0:44 Distorted high riff comes in                                -45 db
0:50 Distorted  "Go" vocal sample with lots of delay
0:55 "uh uh" vocal sample  reverb

1:05 Chorus
Shaker
Distorted heavily phased lead comes in as
Real bass comes in playing 16th notes  
High delayed Chords fades up towards end

1:25 Breakdown
Real Bass riff contines
"I can't let you go" Vocal Sample chopped up
"Go" Delay blends to atmospheric synths
Same Electronic Piano w/ heavy reverb from intro.

2:00 Verse 2:
Makes dramatic shift in melody
Big Layered Saw lead
Lots of "glitchy" effects - Bitcrushers, phaser, filters, reverse used on the 2 and 4

Very electronic snappy snare 2 one has a pulse modulation
2:08 Big Electronic Kick Fill
2:29 High synth strings come in
2:36 Nice fill to bring in chorus  with various different synths

2nd Chorus:
Original Beat from intro
Huge Layered gliding saw bass                  -22 db
with organ on top                                        -24 db
Uses second saw with side chained compression and a long release to raise up to the snare

2:59
16th note saw synth with a swing playing the real bass pattern from earlier

3:19 Outro
Big Drum hits 4 on the floor
3:29 Heavily limited single drum hit with space echo on
3:40 Vocal hit stays in left a second longer
Ends with same atmospheric intro build

Gear: MPD, midi keyboards, guitar, bass, Lemur  http://www.jazzmutant.com/lemur_overview.php

Screenshots:

Production video:
http://www.uaudio.com/blog/glitch-mob-tips-and-tricks/

reddit page:
http://www.reddit.com/r/edmproduction/comments/z1nrp/we_are_the_glitch_mob_and_this_is_our/

"we don't use any outboard gear at all. we used to have a bunch of gear - synths, compressors, drum machines, eventide harmonizer, etc. but we got rid of it all. we wanted to go all "in the box" so that everything could be done faster. it speeds up the speed at which we finish music, and also it makes it easier for us to recreate it on stage when we don't have to lug any hardware with us. the UAD processors make this all possible, we have 4 Quad cards so that we can have enough processing power to get thru the huge sessions

on the master bus we use UAD fatso, URS channel strip pro, UAD SSL comp, Pultec. but it depends on the song. sometimes there's nothing on the master bus... or sometimes we will do the processing more internally during mix phase, in groups"

Produced by:

Glitch Mob

Mastered by:

http://www.exchangemastering.co.uk/
Simon Davey
Recent masterings: Sweedish House Mafia, David Guetta, Calvin Harris, Elton John vs Pnau

Mix Analysis 5: The Specials-Ghost Town (Presentation)

Artist: The Specials
Song: Ghost Town
Year Released: 1981

Producer: John Collins

Mixing Engineer: John Rivers
Mixing Studio: Woodbrine Street studio
Also worked with: The Selector and Horace Panter

Mastered at Chrysalis Records
also worked with: Blondie, Billy Idol, and Pat Benatar

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WhhSBgd3KI

Tempo 4/4, stays consistent
0:00-0:03 wind gusting through a city
0:04-0:05 Drum kit comes in
0:05-0:12 Guitar, Bass, Drums, Organ Wind gusts
0:13-0:32 Guitar, Bass, Drums, Organ, Horns
0:33-0:35 Guitar, Bass, Drums, Organ, Synth
0:36-0:37 Guitar, Bass, Drums, Organ, Horns
0:38-0:59 Guitar, Bass, Drums, Organ, Vocals, Backing vocals
1:00-1:04 Guitar, Bass, Drums, Organ, Vocals, Backing Vocals, Synth
1:05-1:33 Guitar, Bass, Drums, Organ, Backing vocals (shrieks)
1:34-1:36 Guitar, Bass, Drums, Organ
1:37-1:50 Guitar, Bass, Drums, Organ, Horns, Vocals
1:51-2:09 Guitar, Bass, Drums, Organ, Horns
2:10-2:15 Guitar, Bass, Drums, Organ, Horns, Synth
2:16-2:42 Guitar, Bass, Drums, Organ, Vocals, Backing vocals, Synth, horns
2:43-3:07 Guitar, Bass, Drums, Organ, Backing vocals (shrieks), synth
3:08-3:39 Drums, backing vocals, wind noises again

Instrument                 Level               Pan
Drums                        6                      0
Bass                           5                      0
Guitar                         5                     0
Organ                         5                      0
Horns                         7                      0
Synth                          7                     0
Vocals                         7                     0
Backing Vocals           5                     0
Shrieks                        5                     0
Wind (fades in and out to) 7              0

            This recording was done on an 8-track recorder, with plenty of overdubbed parts to fill in gaps. Guitar, Bass, Drums, and Organ were done first, since those are the backbone of reggae and were finished first. The drums had a track, the bass on another track, and the organ and guitar on another track. After that there was a horn track, then a vocal track, a backing vocal track, and finally an extra part track (used for the wind sounds). Everything was set in mono, and it was easier to balance things like that. The drums were simple, few mics, few drums, simple beat so the bass and organ can fill in the on beat melody, and the guitar on the off beat. The drums only had an AKG D12 on the kick, a Beyer M67 on the snare, and a Calrec 1051 on hi-hat For the brass, there was one mic in the middle of the room, and the two horns were put in diagonal corners, and it balanced itself out. The vocals used the Calrec 1051 with a pop filter. The backing vocals were also sung the whole time through, but muted for most of the time, used only when it sounded good. The wailing was done later on smaller recording equipment and added into the mix.
             The room was a cellar with a small 6 foot ceiling. It wasn't professional by today's standards, but it had it's own close reverb that compliments reggae and ska extremely well. There was reverb added to everything, as is common in reggae. It creates a haunting and otherworldly effect. Considering this song is called "ghost town" and is about social unrest in England, violence on the streets, and racial tensions rising at the time, it is meant to be a little scary and haunting. Even the band wasn't happy with each other, and tensions were rising between the band members on what they should spend their time in the studio working on.

Source: http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/nov11/articles/classic-tracks-1111.htm

The Specials
http://media.soundonsound.com/sos/nov11/images/ClassicTracks_01.jpg

Mix Analysis 6 (Presentation)

Artist: Jack Johnson

Song: If I Had Eyes

Album: Through the Static

Year: 2008

Genre: Alt./Soft Rock

Mix Engineer: Robert Carranza

Mixing Studio: Solar Powered Plastic Plant Studio, Los Angeles, California; The Mango Tree Studio, Hawaii

Mastered By: Bernie Grundman

Mastering Studio: Bernie Grundman Mastering, Hollywood California

                                    Level                        Pan

Vocals                           8                        -4, 4

Electric Guitar 1            7                        -10

Electric Guitar 2            7                        10

Acoustic Guitar             6                        0

Backing Vocals             5-7                    -5, 5

Drums                           7                         0

Tambourine                   6                         0

Bass                               5                        0

Piano                            6                        -4, 4

Time Code:

0:00: Both Electric Guitars

0:10: Acoustic Guitar comes in

0:20-0:30: Vocals

0:30: Drums, Bass start

0:41-0:51: Vocals, Backing Vocals join

0:52: Piano starts

1:02: Vocals and Backing Vocals

1:18 Backing Vocals get louder

1:44-2:04: Tambourine

1:52: Vocals without Backing Vocals

2:02 Vocals, Piano, Drums

2:24 Electric Guitars come back

2:40: Backing Vocals come back

3:07: Tambourine and loud backing vocals join

3:50: Everything fades but backing vocals and guitar

3:59: Song Ends

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/may08/articles/insidetrack_0508.htm

‘Through The Static’ was recorded in a building, which used to be a solar powered plastic plant.  Jack Johnson bought the building and made it into a studio with Robert Carranza.  The whole studio is powered by solar panels.  This album was recorded to analogue but the albums before were recorded to Pro Tools.  Johnson didn’t want to listen with eyes with looking at the computer-screen; he wanted to use his ears more with this record.  They used a 24-track analogue multi-track recorder.  On the album, the basic piano, guitar, bass and drum tracks were all recorded live.  They began with each using an Aviom headphone system but while recording the band decided they didn’t want to use them anymore.  They only used headphones when recording overdubs. 

              No compression was used on the bass or the guitar, just on the drums but by a dB.  Carranza said because of their great musicianship, they balanced themselves amazingly.  Carranza mixed the album at the Solar Powered Plastic Plant Studio using the Studer A827 tape recorder and the SSL AWS900 console.  They mixed off of tape.  When starting to mix, the vocal levels were decided first with the live guitar.  The vocals had some de-essing using the Drawmer MX50, then ran the vocals through a Tube-tech TCL2 limiter, which gave the vocals more body. 

            For ‘If I Had Eyes,’ each guitar was panned differently, one left, one centre and one all the way to the right.  Then the drums were panned centre making them a mono kit.  For this song, the mixing started with the mono drums.  It was the easiest song to mix on the album and has the most tracks.  They went with natural sounding recordings. 
I really liked the way the guitars are panned each to a different location, it made the song fun to listen to.  I also like how the vocals sound very natural and all of the instruments really work together, like Carranza said they all sound great together musically.

Mix Analysis 5

Artist: River City Extension

Song: Our New Intelligence

Album: And the Unmistakable Man

Year: 2010

Genre: Alternative

Mix Engineer/Mastered album: Pat Noon

Studio: Eight 16 Recording Studio Toms River, New Jersey

Other artist Pat Noon has worked with: Domenick Carino and Himself

Producers: Eric Sanderson, Joseph Michelini, Pat Noon

     Level                Pan

Clapping                       6                Stereo -2, 2
Acoustic Guitar             6                Stereo -3, 3
Drums                           6                 -2, 2
Trumpet                        7                 0
Male Vocals                  8                 0 and occasionally -5
Bass                             6                 0
Female Vocals              6                 0
Cello                             6                 0
Piano                           5-6                Stereo -2, 2
Group Vocals 1             7                -10
Group Vocals 2             7                 10

Vocals are panned to the hard left at :40 for 3 seconds and acoustic guitar is panned hard right for the same 3 seconds.  Clapping centered in the beginning then panned to the right.  Throughout the song the piano is quieter than most of the instruments until 2:09 where there is a piano solo at 2:09. Around 1:55 the violin is panned to the left around -5. At 2:23 the male vocals is panned to the left around -5, then comes back to center. Cymbals on the drums sound panned to the left compared to the rest of the drum set.  This is a very energetic song and all of the instruments work together.

Time Code

0:00-03: Handclaps

0:03 Acoustic Guitar

0:09: Drums, Trumpet

0:22: Vocals, Handclaps, Acoustic Guitar

0:25: Acoustic guitar, drums, cello, piano, bass, Trumpet

0:40: Vocals panned 100% left, Guitar panned 100% right

0:44: All Instruments

0:50: Female Vocals join

1:25: Piano

1:33-1:55: Group Vocals, guitar, drums

1:41: Female Vocals join, then Male vocals join

1:55: Cello becomes louder

2:09: Piano solo, new sound to the song

2:14: Drums join

2:23: Male Vocals start

2:56: Acoustic guitar come sin, everything else fades

3:03 Drums come in

3:18 Male and Female Vocals with rest of instruments

3:40: Vocals end

3:51: Everything fades out

Mix Analysis 6

Category: Alternative Rock, Alternative Metal

Song: Nowhere Fast 

Artist: Incubus 

Album: Make Yourself

Year: 1999

Title: Engineer

Mixer: Michael "Elvis" Baskette

Studio: I could not find it. 

Sound Source                                     Pan                  Level

Lead Vocals                                             0                       8

Backing Vocals                                  -10 to 10                  5

Intro Guitar                                         -10 to 10                   7

Guitar                                                -10 to 10                    8

Electric Bass Guitar                               -4 to 4                     7

Drum Set                                                -6 to 6                     7

This is the same engineer that also did the AlterBridge song and the Chevelle song that I had posted before. The intro for the song has the guitar with a flanger that is going back and forth (left right), it then jumps to a somewhat heavy guitar part until it drops back to soft for the verse. The choruses are vocal driven even with the guitar getting heavier. For verse 2 the bass takes the lead as opposed to most songs were guitar leads everyone else. Other then that the structure is pretty simple. 

Song Form

Intro  0:00-0:38

Verse 1 0:38-1:15

Chorus 1:15-1:44

Verse 2 1:44-2:32

Chorus 2:32-3:00

Bridge/Breakdown 3:00-3:51

Chorus 3:51-4:18

Outro 4:18-4:30

Mix Analysis 5 (Pres)

Category: Rock, Hard Rock, Progressive Rock

Song: Forfeit 

Artist: Chevelle 

Album: Wonder What's Next

Year: 2002

Mixer: Michael "Elvis" Baskette
Studio: The Wherehouse Studio

Sound Source                                     Pan                  Level

Vocals                                                      0                       7

Guitar                                                -10 to10                      9

Electric Bass Guitar                                    3                        7

Drum Set                                                -5 to 5                     8

This Song was really unique in the dual chorus, there is a soft part and a heavy part that seem unrelated but they keep repeating so I decided to list it as two separate Choruses. This has that very Chevelle sound from their 1st cd but even more so. The driving for this song is vocals for the verses but guitar for the choruses. A really fuzzy guitar for the softer parts that drops into a much heavier distortion for the song. The bass has a nice crunch but is defiantly pushed to the back by the guitar. 

Song Form

Intro  0:00-0:12

Verse 1 0:12-0:38

Soft Chorus 0:39-0:51

Heavy Chorus 0:51-1:18

Verse 2 1:18-1:43

Soft Chorus 1:43-1:55

Heavy Chorus 1:55-2:34

Soft Chorus Vocals Heavy Instruments 2:34-3:00 

Bridge 3:00-3:31

Chorus 3:31-3:59