tjtull

I'd really like to find out just where you can't hear Neil in this mix. I've listened over and over and can hear everything.

I'm truly interested in finding out where people think some of the instrumentation is indiscernible. I honestly hear them all.

Well, where to start.

First, is it possible I have a bad cd? Is that even possible? I did entertain the possibility that my ears are not the same after 30 years of drumming, but as I mentioned above I have checked them. Other albums remain crystal clear.

So are your ears so shot that this sounds normal and good to you? I don't know. If your ears are good, and you don't hear very poor sound quality in every song, throughout the entire song, except for some quieter parts then I have a bad cd.

I could list everything. I've named some things in other threads. But I don't think listing everything will help. If you can't hear the glaring sound quality issues, my pointing them out won't help. I'm baffled honestly. Add clipping and make it freakishly loud and this would be VT quality.

I'm baffled you guys don't hear this. Is my cd bad?

Guess I'm happy for you. When I listen I get mad because the sound detracts so much from what is there best since MP.

Live should be great.

Can you point out an instance or two? Surely if there are so many one or two examples will be easy to find. Give me the song and the minute:second mark (or span of time). I'm not trying to be a smartass, I truly can hear everything pretty clearly...and no, my hearing isn't 100% either.

I'll try to do that this evening when I get some time to pick out some parts.

Thanks! Just a couple, I'm not looking to make this a huge project for you

Lets see.

The things I'll point out here are just bigger examples of the problem. I think the entire song sounds like these points but to a lesser degree. These are just a couple to try to point out the sound issue I mean.

Clockwork at 2:17. Just goes fuzzy and dull compared to previous few seconds. Neil's toms in this section just run together. Just a rumble. No way to tell what he is playing. Everything just runs together. The rest of the song has a similar sound quality, just not near as bad.

Carnies. The whole song really.

1:00 No high end. Ride cymbal/hi-hat. Where is it? You can hear him go to the cymbals at the end of the measures, but just barely. He is crashing the cymbals and they are hardly audible.

1:25 same thing. Hi-hat/cymbals lost in the wash. Snare sounds like he has a slit in the head.

2:58-3:03, just pure noise.

Wreckers at 0:58, Neil just disappears. I know its not a rocker but...

Caravan. Neils tom run. When moving back up the toms the last two toms disappear in the new version. Wasn't like that in the single.

Maybe my issue is how far back Neil is in the mix. With a few exceptions, the only thing that consistantly is heard is his kick. Snare is weak and distant sounding most of the time. Cymbals are often inaudible.

Alex gets lost too much too with the bass so dominant in the mix.

It is possible I guess that my ears have declined enough that a mix that isn't really good causes me more problems than others. But that doesn't change the fact that this engineering job could have and arguably should have been much better.

That said, the songs are freakin great. I want to play these so bad. Just have to guess at all the stuff I can't hear. Guessing doesn't suit my psyche very well. I'm like Spock that way.

I took a critical listen to the CD on the drive home yesterday and put it in my good system when I got home. I think I get what your issues are (especially after reading your post above).

While I still don't think it's a "bad/awful/unlistenable" mix, overall, I did notice that a lot of the drum work (I'm not a drummer so I can't get as specific as you did) seems to blend together. I especially noticed it when there is interplay between bass guitar and drums or when there is heavy instrumentation in the song. Some places are crystal clear and some just merge together.

I'll concede that the mix could be better (Neil could be higher in the mix or the lower end could be more defined). I'm sure that to a drummer, such as yourself, it's a huge issue. I can imagine trying to pick those individual drum parts out and replicate them yourself would be nearly impossible.

So, I relent to some degree. However, I still hope that this flaw doesn't detract enough from the end product as to ruin the experience for you...and others. I can see a drummer being hypercritical of this.