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Monday, September 6, 2010

"Uprising" - Muse Isolated Tracks

Today we'll be analyzing something a bit more modern than usual. It's "Uprising" by Muse, from their 5th studio album The Resistance. This was the first single off that 2009 album, which was recorded in Italy and topped the charts in 19 countries. The single also topped Billboard's Alternative Songs chart for 17 weeks. This track consists of drums, vocals and bass.

1) The bass sounds like a synthesizer that's sequenced since it's so perfect, along with the filter sweep in the middle of the song. Could be a pedal that's manipulated in the mix. Anyone know for sure?

2) Likewise, the drums are pretty perfect and don't vary very much. In fact, it's mostly kick and snare with the occasional crash cymbal that's mixed low.

3) Good sound on the drums though, especially the snare.

4) Excellent vocal sound. It's present yet doesn't seem too compressed. It's mixed back in the mix, which I think is important for a rock band since the band loses some power if the vocal is too loud. Not so on a pop song though.



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10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Do you think the vocal is a bit sibilant, Bobby? I'd feel worried about it if it was my mix, but maybe I shouldn't be de-essing so much??

Nico said...

I won't be surprised if the bass line was actually not sequenced as Muse's bassist is really awesome and precise ! Check that bass line for example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJg8U0QMXEQ

SG said...

What's your source for the synth bass?

Bobby Owsinski said...

First of all, it really sounds like a 2 oscillator synth with the filter open. Perhaps it's a bass using a synth pedal. Then it makes me think that it's a synth bass because of the filter sweep in the middle of the song.

Unknown said...

Actually, I remember reading an interview in which Chris Wolstenhome (the bassist) said that they wanted to use a 100% bass sound without any mixed synth (as they used in Time is Running Out and other songs). I can't find the link anymore...
He is known for his very precise playing and sound quality. He uses a bunch of great and rare pedals. One of them is the Akai Deep Impact which is indeed a synth effect pedal, so maybe it has been used on this track, but I am pretty sure he didn't sequence the line and mixed it with a hard/soft synth !

SG said...

My bet is that the bass part is played on electric bass.

I'm curious to know what effects he used though :)

Anonymous said...

This is from musewiki.com ..
Chris uses onstage an:
"
Expression Pedal (for City of Delusion and Uprising only,controls a low pass filter)"

I think Bobby hit the nail on the head with filter sweep.

Create Music Productions said...

I'm wondering where the verse tom fills are...as well as the main floor tom pattern. Does that mean they were overdubbed? I'll be pissed if they are. Also, my bass amp has a low octave doubler. When coupled with the built in distortion it can approximate this sound very well, so I'm not so sure it's a synth either.

Joe Clar said...

This doesn't sound like the original mix at all

Anonymous said...

@Create Music Tips it's because the bass and the drums you hear are panned in the center of the mix while the toms are panned to the right (which you can't hear) because this video is only playing the audio that's centered in the middle.

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