New Monitor Day ... can I get a bit of feedback on a mix. (a THIRD version added)

**Jim Soloway** · 12-24-2020, 04:10 PM

As cute as the iLoud Micro Monitors were, everything I mixed seemed to come out with too much bass and a lot of woof. Last night I traded them for a pair of Yorkville YSM 5's. They fill a big percentage of my desk but I feel like I was able to hear things in a much more useful way. This is my first attempt at mixing with them and it sounds nothing at all like the attempts at mixing this recording with the Micro Monitors.

EDIT: Here's a second version. All I did was change the IR but I think it warmed it up a touch in a way that I like. I'm starting to understand why IR's can be so seductive but they are also a very deep rabbit hole.

And a THIRD version ... This one uses very different VST plugins with separate plug ins for the power amp and IR loader. The IR loader in particular makes life a lot easier with this technology. It's the Pulse from Ignite Audio. It has a very simple and fast interactive file loader for the IR's that allows the IR to be changed very quickly and easily so it's possible to A/B the files with no difficulty in real time. And all of these VST's a free.

My objective with this version was to keep the low end tight but warm up the highs a bit so they were a little more relaxed. (And in case anyone misunderstands what's happening here, these are all a single take. I'm just remixing them using different tools).

**citizenk74** · 12-24-2020, 07:42 PM

Sounds clear, present, and natural. Also very lovely!

**Jim Soloway** · 12-24-2020, 10:41 PM

Originally Posted by citizenk74

Sounds clear, present, and natural. Also very lovely!

Thanks. Full sized monitors made a huge difference. I was amazed when I AB'ed the two mixes. They were incredibly different. Listening to this again I think it can afford to be fattened up a bit but I thiink I've gotten past the boomy low end and woofiness that I was starting with.

**Jim Soloway** · 12-25-2020, 10:46 AM

I've added a second version with a slightly different mix. Thanks for listening and I certainly welcome any opinions on the two mixes.

**marcwhy** · 12-25-2020, 02:27 PM

Cool as always, Jim! The second one sounds slightly "fuller" to me, and both sound excellent!

[Do you keep your right nails longer, like in classical guitar?]

Marc

**Jim Soloway** · 12-25-2020, 03:05 PM

New Monitor Day ... can I get a bit of feedback on a mix. (a THIRD version added)-nailsformarc-jpg

**citizenk74** · 12-25-2020, 03:14 PM

I concur with marcwhy, there is an added fullness and warmth. Both versions are nice; I prefer the second by a nose. The decider for me would be which sounded better in diverse environments.

**rpjazzguitar** · 12-26-2020, 05:08 PM

The playing is beautiful and both mixes sound great.

Now, for the nitpicking.

I think I'm hearing fingernail on the high strings. There is sharp sound which I think might be good to subdue.

A little EQ to reduce the sharpness and maybe a softer attack (either electronically or with the hands). Maybe add some spring reverb which reduces highs a bit, at least in the reverberation?

Disclosure: I'm listening on Sennheiser HD280 Pro phones. But, my hearing sucks. And, I don't really know what I'm talking about regarding the spring reverb. I just know that my vintage Reverberocket sounds mellower with the reverb engaged.

**Jim Soloway** · 12-26-2020, 07:24 PM

Originally Posted by rpjazzguitar

The playing is beautiful and both mixes sound great.

Now, for the nitpicking.

I think I'm hearing fingernail on the high strings. There is sharp sound which I think might be good to subdue.

A little EQ to reduce the sharpness and maybe a softer attack (either electronically or with the hands). Maybe add some spring reverb which reduces highs a bit, at least in the reverberation?

Disclosure: I'm listening on Sennheiser HD280 Pro phones. But, my hearing sucks. And, I don't really know what I'm talking about regarding the spring reverb. I just know that my vintage Reverberocket sounds mellower with the reverb engaged.

Not nit picking. I hear it too. It was getting hidden in the woofiness of the mixes I was getting with my old monitors. Part of it is that I had to make some technique changes to accommodate my worst nail break in about 25 years but part of it I think is also a brittleness in the high end on the mix. Now that i can actually here it, fixing that brittleness is next on the agenda.

**Max405** · 12-26-2020, 07:51 PM

Jim, listening to these with VModa Crossfade wireless headphones which have SLIGHT uptick in the bottom end, I find the 2nd video to be much nicer. It’s has more bottom, yet it doesn’t pull away any of the stringy sound that makes this new guitar really nice. There is still an airyness in the recording that makes your guitar sound like it has a deeper body. I much prefer the 2nd recording. I think the 1st sounded very delicate and not as sharp.
Joe D

**joebloggs13** · 12-27-2020, 12:15 PM

Originally Posted by Jim Soloway

I've added a second version with a slightly different mix. Thanks for listening and I certainly welcome any opinions on the two mixes.

Very nice playing. I agree that the second version sounds a bit smoother. You play with a very light touch, but in the first one you can hear your nails plucking, and there is less of that sound in the second. Curious as to what guitar you are playing. It sounds beautiful.

**Jim Soloway** · 12-27-2020, 12:27 PM

Originally Posted by joebloggs13

Very nice playing. I agree that the second version sounds a bit smoother. You play with a very light touch, but in the first one you can hear your nails plucking, and there is less of that sound in the second. Curious as to what guitar you are playing. It sounds beautiful.

Thanks. The guitar was built by a luthier from Istanbul by the name of Ekram Ozkarpat. I bought it used about a month ago and it's a real joy.

**Alter** · 12-28-2020, 03:00 PM

Enjoyed the playing! I prefer the second version. But i still think a lot of your other videos sound even warmer, might be the eq or the gain structure. The bass part of the sound sounds really nice on my monitors and headphones, no boomy part or woofiness at all.

I agree on the rabbit hole of the plugins. I asked on a forum for reverb plugin suggestions, and someone was kind enough to send me a file with a couple of hundred IRs!

Panic mode..!

**Jim Soloway** · 12-28-2020, 06:15 PM

Originally Posted by Alter

Enjoyed the playing! I prefer the second version. But i still think a lot of your other videos sound even warmer, might be the eq or the gain structure. The bass part of the sound sounds really nice on my monitors and headphones, no boomy part or woofiness at all.

I agree on the rabbit hole of the plugins. I asked on a forum for reverb plugin suggestions, and someone was kind enough to send me a file with a couple of hundred IRs!

Panic mode..!

No question, its brighter and more brittle in the high end. As a non-engineer it's always a bit like turning an ocean liner for me. I've started with getting the lows under control and now I'll move on to trying to warm up the upper mids and highs. So at this point, just getting the boominess and woofiness is a big win. Both the blessing and curse of home recording and self-engineering is that you unlimited time to get where you're going and I seem to be taking all of that time. But I do feel like I'm getting a little further down the road.