MacJams.com - Song: Perfect Illusion (w/ Jiguma, Texasfeel) by mikey

Perfect Illusion (w/ Jiguma, Texasfeel)
by mikey_d

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Guest profile visits: 517
Member profile visits: 2
Song comments: 40
Tokens: 0
Plays: 71
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Downloads: 27
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Submitted on: Mar 15, 2008 - 12:08:45 AM
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Keywords Jiguma (15), Texasfeel (16)

Description Some of you might remember this open collab. I posted quite some time ago. Shortly after posting my original, John (Texasfeel) sent me some killer guitar tracks. Neil (Jiguma) then sent me a tasty bass track. (it's been so long I hope you remember doing this one Neil)

I had a hard time mixing this back then and more or less put it away until I had learned some more about mixing. (very embarrassed about that) I was also waiting for one of my friends to record a vocal track for this, which never happened.

I decided to revisit this in January '08 and worked on it as I had time. I happened to purchase Drums on Demand Vol. 10 when they were released (I think it was mid-January). I decided to dump the original drums and use drums from Vol. 10. I like how these kick drums hook up with Neil's bass better than the original drums.

So, here we are with a mix I can live with. It may have a tad too much on the high end of the mix, but damn it sure does crank loud in the car!

John & Neil- thanks so much for doing these tracks for me! You guys are super-cool dudes! And Neil, thanks for being more patient than a person should have to be.

I'd really enjoy reading your thoughts/comments/suggestions about this mix. Thanks for listening!

Fan List

Feter

Kenta_and_Linda_Rocks_together

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	Feter said 167 days ago
	Perfect Illusion I m enjoyin this rockin song ...the texan guitar here just incredible ..the drums beat so high here its very much alive ..the bass boomin in the back so cool ...nice colab and mix my friend ..Rock on !

	mikey_d said 166 days ago
	Thanks!! I'm glad you enjoyed this Feter. With aclarke's help we should have a version with lyrics soon.

	Kenta_and_Linda_Rocks_together said 167 days ago
	Way too cool mix Hey! this kick ass I dig this mix very nice bass and John's axe is heave as H... Every think sounds great here with me right now I'll use my headphones it's too early to test it in my big loudspeaker. I'm sorry u could not have that singer on it it had been cool too BUT it sure kick some ass. Take care -- Kenta

	Mcboy said 167 days ago
	its a hot one.... past 11 on the 10 volume scale...hehhhe...but damn it rocks......yeah corral yourself a vocalist and tame those levels and u have yourself a killer song......

	aclarke said 167 days ago
	Well.. you seemed to have corralled some of favorite players on Macjams... and have turned this into a serious rocker.... everyone sounds great here and totally dig the driving groove. Do you already have lyrics for this? Either way, I've downloaded it and would like to see if i can come up with anything vocally... if that's okay with you.

	MarkHolbrook said 167 days ago
	it's sweet... The ONLY thing I would do is take the primary guitar down a slight notch. It tends to over power the bass and drums a little in my opinion. I'm no mixing expert by any means but I just like to hear all of the instruments. Its a personal taste!

	Karmatoburn said 167 days ago
	inner metal Mikey, a crisp clean ride. Big sonics. Mucho props to John and Neil's generosity for adding their magic. The guitar is indeed killer. I think vocals would be a stella addition and if Adam jumps on that it should go super nova

	davisamerica said 167 days ago
	right then is a dean available to kick this up to 7th rock heaven .... GREAT TRACK!!

	Tom Wounded said 167 days ago
	Tasty is right The soundtrack to some heavy stuff, good going guys!

magnatone said 167 days ago

Perfect Illusion
Oh man you guys, this is GREAT! What a fabulous ROCKER you've got here. I love it - I'll have to go back to hear the original, so I can appreciate the transformation. Mixing is HARD - I'm just learning the wee-ist bit about it and it's so challenging. Therefore, from one with a long way to go in the mix-skill dept., I declare that YOU did a fine job. Added vocals would kick it up a notch, not that it really needs that! Really enjoyed this - thanks.

	Godchaser said 167 days ago
	No illusion here Lovely guitar tones and riff work.Rock solid stuff from some of MJ's most creative and inventive music makers.Sounds just like I knew it would! Blessings,

	Leon said 167 days ago
	Brooding rock! This sounds like a Jan Hammer piece but made darker with a hard rock flavor! Really love the heavy bass and the guitar rifts and the drums, and well.. I guess everything. All the elements in this piece just really rock! I was half-expecting Neil to step up to the mic and uncurl some heavy rocking vocals... but maybe he's reserving that for the next version :-) Great job, guys!

	jiguma said 166 days ago
	Almost forgot this one Mike! Turned out pretty well didn't it :) A lot of fun moving out of my usual style. John's playing sounds fantastic, and the drum track works a treat - Adam's offer of vocals sounds interesting for sure. Maybe a little less on the guitar and all should be nicely balanced. Cheers from Oz

mikey_d said 166 days ago

Thanks Neil!
I certainly do appreciate you taking the time to record that bass track. Early on, I couldn't get your track to sound good in the mix due to my inexperience in mixing. After changing the drums recently, I decided to mix this in steps, rather than try to do it all in one file. (yes, I tend to be lazy, hehe)

With John's guitar track, I left the volume a little higher due to the lack of vocals. In reality it was a tad much I guess :) Once I have Adam's vocals, I hope to get everything balanced.

Again, thanks for being part of this collab. It means a lot to me!

drakonis said 166 days ago

sssssssmokin!
weaving through traffic until the lights stream by in a blurrrrrr....

exquisite bit of rock here... Texasfeel did a superb job with the guitar (I'd agree to move it back slightly), and Neil's bass wraps around it perfectly, but needs to be up a little or a little richer... and the drums are absolutely perfect. Not sure about vocals, this is pretty darned good as an instrumental.
ttfn,
Drakonis

mikey_d said 165 days ago

Thanks!
I really do appreciate you taking the time to give this a "spin". Mixing this has been a challenge and I went a different route this time.

After getting the multi track file close, I bounced it down to a single file to adjust EQ'ing and level. Then I repeated that last step once more.

My goal was to get this to behave more like a store-bought CD when played in my car. (the ever elusive professional mix, haha!) Two main things I was going for- Overall level and low end. Normally when I play a purchased CD, I can bump up the bass to +1 or +2 and I get that loud pounding "feel" that I like with rock music. And, the levels are hot enough that I don't run out of travel on my volume knob before I start over-driving the speakers.

This mix is by far the closest I've ever come to that. Neil's bass track sure does pump the low end nicely in the car, but I do know what you are talking about when you say "richer" sounding. That may have to do with the very slight 80hz bump I gave his track during the first mixdown. I plan to revisit that.

Mixing John's guitar tracks with vocals shouldn't be too difficult. I was a bit overzealous with the guitars on this one I think. (but dang, I do love loud guitars, haha)

I hope this didn't seem too compressed to you. While I was trying to get more volume I also tried to keep compression at a minimum.

Thanks again for your comment Eduard!

	Vic Holman said 166 days ago
	so this.... ...is what happens when you let John and Neil play with fire. heavy metal kashmir!

	Sir Bass said 166 days ago
	Rocking It's mixed well.

	TEXASFEEL said 165 days ago
	Can't wait To hear the version with Adam on vocals. This song just generates from your original idea and I can hear it grow. Neil's bass really adds life to the tune, a midi composition taking shape into a real band experience. It's really cool you would let me be part of it.

	paralax said 155 days ago
	very hot asmokin track and a great callab from all involved very nice. Terry

	rsorensen said 155 days ago
	shred! Cool song with some outstanding guitar work! well done everybody

	Heightened said 101 days ago
	Heavy metal is something I'm not all that familiar with but it sounds pretty good to me.

	Dee1962z said 79 days ago
	Perefect Illusion. Wow!! This is a killer !! Love It !! love it !! Seriousely love it :). some great sounds here Mikey Great production you guys. Thanks for the download, Peace Dee .

	mikey_d said 166 days ago
	Thanks Kenta! Glad you enjoyed this! I still have so much to learn about mixing, but I keep trying :) Thanks for listening and commenting!

	mikey_d said 166 days ago
	That would be great!! I hope you got my email. Man, I'd be honored if you'd write lyrics. Thanks Adam!

	mikey_d said 166 days ago
	Hi Mark! Thanks for the feedback- much appreciated! Based on other comments so far, you are not alone on the guitar level. I like John's track soo much, and the fact that there isn't a vocal track (yet), I guess I went a little to far. Glad you liked this track- I was extremely lucky to have Neil and John help me out with their talents. Thanks again for the comment!

	mikey_d said 166 days ago
	VOX Yea, I'm looking forward to what Adam comes up with. It's hard to believe that it's been nearly two years since I posted the original midi guitar version. Thanks for stopping by having a listen. BTW- your track "Swing Axe" is fantastic!!

	mikey_d said 166 days ago
	Thanks! aclarke offered to give the lyrics/VOX a shot and I'm looking forward to hearing what he comes up with. Speaking of Allen Dean, I do have another somewhat "dormant" project I have that I'd like to get him involved with. There's just too many time restrictions on my end to get things moving along faster. Thanks again for the comment!

	mikey_d said 166 days ago
	Thanks!! Always good to hear from ya TW!

	mikey_d said 166 days ago
	John & Neil really helped me out on this one. Not only are they great musicians, but nice guys too :) I am really glad they took the time to help me out like this. Thanks for listening/commenting!

	mikey_d said 166 days ago
	Leon- It's great to have to stop by- always enjoy reading your comments! aclarke offered to take a shot at the VOX on this one and I'm looking forward to what he comes up with. Your latest post "Amadeus' Song in Need of a Singer" is fantastic! I hope he takes you up on that one!

	mikey_d said 165 days ago
	yes! They did a fantastic job on the tracks they sent me. I feel really bad about taking this long to get it together on my end. Glad you liked this one Vic!

	mikey_d said 165 days ago
	Thanks! I do appreciate you taking the time to listen & comment. Looks like I'll be making a few more tweaks once I get the vocal track.

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	mikey_d said 165 days ago
	Thanks John- I too am looking forward to the progression of this. If it wasn't for you and Neil we wouldn't be at this stage. You guys really made this tune come alive and I really appreciate that!

	mikey_d said 154 days ago
	Thanks Terry! Glad you enjoyed our collab. Neil and John really made this one come to life. Thanks for listening/commenting!

	mikey_d said 154 days ago
	That's John's fault Haha! Buried under his excellent track is my original not-so-great sounding midi guitar track. Glad you liked this one. Thanks for listening/commenting!

	mikey_d said 101 days ago
	Even still... We do appreciate you having a listen and leaving a comment :^) Thanks for that!!

	mikey_d said 74 days ago
	Thanks! Dee, you've been very supportive and I do appreciate that! I'm sorry it took so long for me to reply. Things are a bit upside-down for me lately with very little free time. I'll reciprocate your generosity as soon as I can. Thanks again!