Live Recording from Venue Mixed in DP

[csiaudio]

Hey,

Here's a track freshly mixed in DP. Recorded at our church off a Venue board during a Sunday service. Lemme know if you have any critiques.

Thanks

http://www.creativesoundimages.com/mp3/YoullCome.mp3

[jbyerly1]

I am an amateur at best on mixing in DP but have done my fair share of live mixing. The only comment I have is the distortion on the guitars is muddying up the mix especially towards the end.

[cornerstone]

Really nice job overall! Good level and tonal balances. You have the right concept to keep the vocals above the instruments so the words (of life!) can always be understood. Good musicianship, timing & intonation from your team. A couple of missed chords in the guitars here & there...

1)I would suggest a bit more compressing or limiting of the vocals; to keep the quiet spots from disappearing. Maybe they could learn to work their mics more.

2) Don't let the kick & snare get louder or more out in front of the vocals. The kick seems a bit strong in the choruses to me.

3) For a stereo CD mix, don't be afraid to pan the instruments further out to the extremes. Was this a live mix, or post from a multitrack?

4) Sounds like 3 or 4 guitars going on in the band, which can get a bit muddy sounding, arrangement-wise. Of course, that is out of your control, other than mentioning it in a diplomatically kind way, ahead of time. My wife just walked in and listened; said "something sounds distorted". I explained that was the guitarist's choice, and you as engineer are stuck with it unless you can politely convince him/her beforehand to try something else. Sometimes the two electric guitars are trying to play lead at the same time...bad idea.

5) No matter what anyone tells you, you have an obligation to protect the hearing of the audience. If the FOH has to be loud to overcome stage monitoring volumes, it is time for a talk with the band to get everyone cooperating together to lower the levels. I don't know about you, but I don't go to church to get a headache!

[csiaudio]

Thanks for the input both of you. I will take a listen for the distortion later in the mix. It's always good to get other ears listening on different systems giving input so i really appreciate you taking your time. Tis was a post record mix. Live there were only two guitarists - I took the effected gtr part along with a direct signal from the main gtr player and tossed another sound on it to build up the track in the studio. There are zero stacks on stage - the main gtr processor is an Eleven along with a POD HD for the other gtr. The only thing making stage noise is the kit, which is behind prexy, and the singers and they all use in ears. Which is nice for me to be able to really control the mix.

Thanks again, I'll take a listen to what you guys are offering.