I have a very interesting and perplexing mix issue that I'm hoping one the seen-it-all engineers here can offer a little insight towards. We recorded and mixed under normal circumstances in Cakewalk Sonar (16-bit, 44.1khz, .wav export) and mastered with T-Racks24 software using the limiter/compressor to boost signal a touch, adjusted EQ to give it a little lift and slight stereo expansion for depth (pretty normal stuff...).
The song sounded great (our own opinion, of course) and plays normally in most CD players. However, there are two circumstances where the vocals are completely gone except for effects & harmonies during playback. The first is when the song is played over a P.A. system with separate amplification. The second is when converting to RealMedia or any other streaming media format.
If you have any ideas on how to fix it, please let me know! If you want to experiment, the song can be found online at http://www.elimidealer.com/fritz/nobody.mp3 or just download it from the page http://www.elimidealer.com/fritz by right clicking on "Nobody's Listening" in the middle of the group of songs.
Comments
Nice song! I listened to the mp3 on headphones (my son is aslee
Nice song!
I listened to the mp3 on headphones (my son is asleep) And heard immediately the phase artifacts cause by the stereo expansion you used. You have to be careful with that. It does feel large, but data compression softwares don't like that too much. they get lost, especially with severe data reduction. The safest way to convert for internet is mono. No phase problems, half the data (then you can use less data compression for the sale size as a stereo file) I know it sounds stupid, but if you listen to it on a computer speaker it does not matter and at least, the essential quality of your music will be retained.
For the PA, it must be bad luck... I flipped the phase on one of the channels and the vocals were gone except for harmonies and reverbs.... Are you sure the PA was properly wired? Did you check with other material?
My opinion about stereo expanders is that they should only be used for deparate tracks and not the whole mix. The more you use it, the more you screw your phase up, mixes loose bottom and thightness.
Check your mono all the time, it says a lot!
Hope it helps