Relax Demo

Snowman999

Active member
If all I watched was CNN or MSNBC I'd believe the world is going to end in the next four years. But, I don't. I have friends who firmly believe (and this sounds ridiculous) that slavery will be brought back to the US, women will be forced to quit their jobs and stay at home to tend to the children, and every immigrant is going to be deported from the US. It's strange to say the least.

But, hey RELAX!


https://soundcloud.com/francesfarmermyhero/relax
 
Pretty cool. Some mud building in the 200-400hz range. Small cut like 1.5db would help. A bit of a comb filtering sound on the vocal. That ending was hilarious...holy crap.
 
Thanks.

I have to ask, how do hear that range stuff? That's what I need to learn (among a whole host of other things). I often think in my own songs, I don't think enough about recording parts to cover a lo/mid/high range, and I usually end up with a lot of high end because I love guitar parts.

I feel bad for my friends, so I wanted them to be correct, hence the world explodes. I remember back in 2009 I went to work for a company and I was greeted by a fellow employee (who had children) with this tale of the world ending in 2012. First I looked at her like she was nuts, then I did a little research and found out it was true. I finally asked her "You seem happy the world is going to end. Don't you feel bad for your children who are only starting out their lives?" She ignored me after that. Of course it's 2017, so...

Thanks for the listen.
 
Thanks.

I have to ask, how do hear that range stuff? That's what I need to learn (among a whole host of other things). I often think in my own songs, I don't think enough about recording parts to cover a lo/mid/high range, and I usually end up with a lot of high end because I love guitar parts.

I feel bad for my friends, so I wanted them to be correct, hence the world explodes. I remember back in 2009 I went to work for a company and I was greeted by a fellow employee (who had children) with this tale of the world ending in 2012. First I looked at her like she was nuts, then I did a little research and found out it was true. I finally asked her "You seem happy the world is going to end. Don't you feel bad for your children who are only starting out their lives?" She ignored me after that. Of course it's 2017, so...

Thanks for the listen.

You know what they say about doomsdayers, eventually they will be right since the sun will burn out in like 4 billion years. But they're always early when predicting things like economic collapse, etc. Though, we are in a weird time with a lot of tensions so who knows. I think it's smart to prepare for the worst then forget about it.

How to hear the ranges...hm..took me forever, but basically just by mixing a lot and paying attention to areas of an instrument that sound bad. Maybe solo the instrument, make a bell EQ, and raise it and sweep across looking for the bad sounds. You'll start to know where to look on certain instruments. Like 200-400 the kick can get muddy or it could be the bass, or even the lows in an acoustic guitars. The voice is higher up like 2k-5k mostly. So as you start to know where each instrument sits you'll figure out the ranges. I'm not a master at it, but I can hear frequency buildups better now than a few years ago and it has mostly come just from mixing my songs.

There are charts online that show you were each instrument lies in the frequency spectrum. You can look at those, but IME they are hard to remember and it's best to just listen.
 
The mix is pretty narrow. And it leans toward the left in quite a few spots.

The vocal is a little boxy, and it sounds like it's in a different space from the other tracks.

String patch sounds decent, but a bit midi.

I thought the acoustic guitars sounded good.

The low end is pretty rumbly. To me, a mix like this should be fairly light.

The cymbals are pretty loud and the snare is pretty soft.

That thunder clap at the end is startling and a little strange.
 
I actually kinda like the over-loud cymbals. They have a very artificial sound to them, but it's in a bouncy fun way.

The lead vocal is pretty buried and narrow (all mid-range) It's especially prominent when the bgvox come in. As tripM said, it sounds like a whole different space

I've still got friends who are convinced that Obama was a secret Muslim bent on Christian genocide.
 
I actually kinda like the over-loud cymbals. They have a very artificial sound to them, but it's in a bouncy fun way.

The lead vocal is pretty buried and narrow (all mid-range) It's especially prominent when the bgvox come in. As tripM said, it sounds like a whole different space

I've still got friends who are convinced that Obama was a secret Muslim bent on Christian genocide.

Thanks.

I have to ask, because I forgot to when someone else said cymbals. Do you mean high hat? I had to go back and check and there are no cymbals in this song. The loud accent is hand claps.

I've only listened to this in my car and stereo. I have a pair of tiny Sony computer speakers hooked up now, and the hats do seem a little loud, which they don't on speakers that have decent bass range.

Yes, there are idiots on both sides of the aisle.
 
I like the song a lot. Very interesting melody and phrasing on the vocal. Do you have some kind of effect on the lead vocal? It was distracting. My main suggestion would be to go for a more natural vocal sound. The arrangement was really good. Lot of supporting parts that come and go.

I hope you'll take the time to comment on mixes that others have posted.
 
I like the song a lot. Very interesting melody and phrasing on the vocal. Do you have some kind of effect on the lead vocal? It was distracting. My main suggestion would be to go for a more natural vocal sound. The arrangement was really good. Lot of supporting parts that come and go.

I hope you'll take the time to comment on mixes that others have posted.

Thanks. I use EQ and lots of reverb. I think my "tone" has a style, but I'm always flat, fix in melodyne and hopefully really mask with reverb.

As my engineer used to say "When you double a vocal, if you're a pinch pitchy in spots on one and spot on in the other, they blend and give a natural echo that compliment each other. That's how you can get away with it in the studio. With my voice I fix it in melodyne and then use the movement tool in Pro Tools to move the second vocal just a pinch to falsely get that echo. Or as he likes to call it "A poor mans double".

I do comment on others mixes. The only ones I don't comment on, are either so out of my enjoyment range, I couldn't possibly answer with anything positive. Or something that I don't enjoy, and don't hear anything I'd change. I leave those posts to people who can answer with some type of authority, and on this site, that's quite a few. This is a very helpful place.

Thanks for the listen and I'm glad you enjoyed most of the song.
 
Hi hats are cymbals, FYI
Pop @ 0.03
Some type of glitch in your MIDI patch @ 0.04
You've got a fair bit of low end build up as has been mentioned. Try HPFing the guitar and the MIDI strings a little to clear it up
Hi-hats are a little sharp for my ears
Those single word backing vocals are too loud in the mix - they can be quite alarming - especially @ 1.08
Glitch @2.09
Compare the BV at 2.16 with the very next line. You can hear the first one but not the second. Very inconsistent levels.
The explosion at the end. Get a better sample. That one takes your head off.
Vocals are very boxy. Try not doubling and you might have a better sound without the comb filtering which dogs them throughout, also mentioned by others. I don't think your trick of moving the double a little in pitch is adding to the tune.
You also sound like you're at the bottom of your range, which probably doesn't help with the pitch thing - it's very easy to be flat at the bottom of your range, no matter where that range is.
The MIDI string patches sound pretty poor - there are much better freebies around.
Vocals disappear a bit in places.

I have to ask - why are you here? Do you want to learn to record? If so you can address some of the feedback you're getting in abundance. As a recording, overall, it's not very good - and while people might think your song is cool and cute they won't listen for too long, I wouldn't think.

I ask specifically because of the glitches rather than anything else. If you can't be bothered fixing such obvious issues, how will you deal with more complex problems?

Or if you just want to amuse yourself with your little folky musings at your current level of recording prowess, and don't care much for feedback, then say that too, so I'll know not to listen any more. But then they probably should go in the Marketing forum, and not here. It's hard to tell from your initial post.
 
Hi hats are cymbals, FYI
I’ve been around musicians longer than many on this board have probably been alive. I’ve NEVER until this thread ever heard ANYONE call a high hat, cymbals. EVER. There’s ride, crash and high hat. Are they cymbals? Yeah, two. But, they’re still called a high hat. You can call them whatever you want. But, for some, we know them as a high hat or the short way hats, which is less characters than cymbal and the actual name given to them.

Pop @ 0.03 Some type of glitch in your MIDI patch @ 0.04/Glitch @2.09

I don’t hear the pop, I hear the glitch, which comes from soundcloud. It wasn’t there when I first uploaded it. It’s definitely not on my original MP3. I played them both through the same speakers, and it’s only on soundcloud. I don’t hear the later glitch at all.

The explosion at the end. Get a better sample. That one takes your head off.

It’s not the sample, it’s the volume. I’ve had enough complaints about it, that it’ll be gone when I remix.

I don't think your trick of moving the double a little in pitch is adding to the tune.

You don’t move it in pitch, you move it in time. There isn’t a song from the 50s through the 90s where the vocals aren’t doubled. A single vocal sounds thin. They even used to fake double with tape. I never did. But, I had the ears around me.

You also sound like you're at the bottom of your range, which probably doesn't help with the pitch thing - it's very easy to be flat at the bottom of your range, no matter where that range is.

That is my range. It’s limited. Very limited.

I have to ask - why are you here?

Just like everyone else, I want opinions on my mixes and songs.

Do you want to learn to record?

I know how to record. I need to improve my terrible mixing skills.

As a recording, overall, it's not very good - and while people might think your song is cool and cute they won't listen for too long, I wouldn't think.

That is your opinion.

I ask specifically because of the glitches rather than anything else. If you can't be bothered fixing such obvious issues, how will you deal with more complex problems?

You mean soundcloud compression.

Or if you just want to amuse yourself with your little folky musings at your current level of recording prowess

Well that’s just rude.

and don't care much for feedback,

Who said I don’t care about feedback? Certainly not me.

so I'll know not to listen any more.

If you don’t want to listen, don’t.

This thread has 450 views, with 5 reviews. There are many people who viewed this thread, listened to the song (or part of the song) and didn't say a thing. Which is the same with most threads.

I appreciate the notes regarding the mix. They fall in line with the others.
 
One question. Have you compared Armistice's mixes with your own mixes? Only you've blamed Soundcloud artefacts for stuff that is patently nothing to do with Soundcloud. Armistice uses the same site that you do for streaming, but the sound of his stuff doesn't suck. Care to explain?
 
One question. Have you compared Armistice's mixes with your own mixes? Only you've blamed Soundcloud artefacts for stuff that is patently nothing to do with Soundcloud. Armistice uses the same site that you do for streaming, but the sound of his stuff doesn't suck. Care to explain?

Yeah, at least the first glitch is from soundcloud. It's called compression. I don't hear the pop or the other glitch, maybe it's his speakers. If it was on my mp3 I'd have no problem saying so. I heard Armistice's mix which was not on soundcloud. It sounds great. the song itself sucks. But, hey that's just my opinion. I guess you heard my song, so you can say with authority it sucks. From your post, I don't give a shit what you think. But, I wouldn't expect anything more from someone named Bubba.
 
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