Mixing Vocals is my biggest weakness. I've never done a mix where I was really happy with how the vocals sat in the mix, and there's a lot of improvement here.
That all sounds good, but you might still be able to stretch it a bit wider by taking the Sides up a dB or 2 and the Middle down the same, and then pan the individual mics a nudge further to the edges.All instruments are recorded live. M/S room mic and separate mics for each instrument with quite a bit of bleed. I just panned the solo mics to fit the room mic. Nothing drastic. Singer was recorded separately which is slightly problematic because the melody section just does not stop! There already is a bit of automation. The close mics on the violin and sopran sax are dropped almost completely when the singer comes in, but it might still be too much. I'll see if I can get them a bit further back during the vocal parts. I worked myself into a bit of a corner because I started with the room mics and then EQ'ed everything to the room mics, so once I drop those down the mix falls apart.
Mixing Vocals is my biggest weakness. I've never done a mix where I was really happy with how the vocals sat in the mix, and there's a lot of room for improvement here. I'll try your suggestions and see if I can put her in the same space as the instruments by adjusting the reverb.
It does have a live feel but I don't hear the instruments laying back for the singer like I'd expect so maybe a little automation here and there to keep the vocal just a little more in front.
FWIW, the first time I asked a few folks over to record in my little room and when they asked what I wanted them to do I said something like, "Just play stuff and I'll try to put it together," one astute fella said, in jest sort of, I needed to think more like a producer if I hoped to have them play anything worth the time. So, the arrangement may be something they brought, but when you are recording, unless there's a producer in the room, or you're passing it all off to someone else to mix, you have to think a little bit about how you kind of want it to turn out, and maybe even move folks around the room and remind them when the vocal parts are - a scratch track can be useful for that....That works. But this is more of an arrangement problem, which means it's not really a me-problem....
Well, maybe it's overcompressed! I'd be tempted to loosen it up a tiny bit and try use both side compression on the instruments and mix-bus compression (or maybe just limiting) to keep the overall thing under control.On the vocal compression... there already are 3 compressors on that vocal, not counting the 2 de-essers and one on the mix bus... admittedly they're not doing much. I tried a full-on crush bus on one of the songs but with meh results. This was a really uneven vocal recording, but I can always smash it more!
Yeah, if this isn't obvious from listening to it, she's mostly doing classical musical theater. She came in for about 2h and did all the songs. Most were single takes. I'm not sure if she ever rehearsed with or even met the band. Considering that, she did a great job. This isn't going to be on a cd, this is for a youtube demo. If they do a cd production in the future, they'll do it in a studio. This was a 2-day session in a rehearsal room.Yeah this is really great overall. The vocal is definitely the weakest link, IMO, in both sound and performance. There are a lot of pitchy moments in there; I think she most likely has some better takes in her. But if it's all you have to work with at this point, then you do what you can.
But overall, great job capturing the band! Cool tune.
Yeah, if this isn't obvious from listening to it, she's mostly doing classical musical theater. She came in for about 2h and did all the songs. Most were single takes. I'm not sure if she ever rehearsed with or even met the band. Considering that, she did a great job. This isn't going to be on a cd, this is for a youtube demo. If they do a cd production in the future, they'll do it in a studio. This was a 2-day session in a rehearsal room.