New One in The Works, Need a Sound Check

[guitar zero]

This is a new song we're working on. How are the levels and mix? Feedback appreciated.
http://www.box.net/shared/static/zit849mas5.mp3
Revised mix taking into consideration all the tips. Thanks for all the suggestions.
http://www.box.net/shared/static/jhpl0gay05.mp3

[kcearl]

I think the kicks the right level but the rest of the percussion could come up a little..the male voice seems a tad loud and a bit left sided when its on its own..

but sung so well..in fact its a great piece..simple and well perfromed..I think the drum machine really suites it, an acoustic set could make it sound much more generic..really nice backing vocals too..seemed very polished to me

great job on a nice tune


now I let others chime in how you need a 50hz boost at 2.37 and come theres sibulance at 1.21...whatever any of that means

[mattdee1]

I think this is very well done. Good arrangement and performances. The singer's voice really sounds at home in this song.

One small thing: there's something about that acoustic guitar strumming at the end of the tune that sounds a bit out of place. I'm not sure why... maybe it's a touch too loud, or maybe it's that it sounds too dry and organic juxtaposed against the rest.

All around, I think you're off to the races with this one. Good job.

Matt

[zero00]

I think it sounds great, nothing to add...

Question: how do you make the Backing Vocals on the chorus? they sound awesome, 2 or 3 tracks? NY Compression? please explain if it's ok.

Great Job

[guitar zero]

Originally Posted by kcearl

I think the kicks the right level but the rest of the percussion could come up a little..the male voice seems a tad loud and a bit left sided when its on its own..

but sung so well..in fact its a great piece..simple and well perfromed..I think the drum machine really suites it, an acoustic set could make it sound much more generic..really nice backing vocals too..seemed very polished to me

great job on a nice tune


now I let others chime in how you need a 50hz boost at 2.37 and come theres sibulance at 1.21...whatever any of that means

Thanks for the feedback. I did notice the verse vocal being left sided. Just how it came out from recording with two mics. I didn't know if it would be distracting enough to change it. I'll pan it a little more to center, and turn it down a little.

Originally Posted by mattdee1

I think this is very well done. Good arrangement and performances. The singer's voice really sounds at home in this song.

One small thing: there's something about that acoustic guitar strumming at the end of the tune that sounds a bit out of place. I'm not sure why... maybe it's a touch too loud, or maybe it's that it sounds too dry and organic juxtaposed against the rest.

All around, I think you're off to the races with this one. Good job.

Matt

I'll try some reverb on the acoustic and see if it makes a difference. Thanks for the feedback

Originally Posted by zero00

I think it sounds great, nothing to add...

Question: how do you make the Backing Vocals on the chorus? they sound awesome, 2 or 3 tracks? NY Compression? please explain if it's ok.

Great Job

Back up vocals recorded with two mics, two takes for a total of four tracks. No parallel compression, just light compression with echo, reverb, very slow tremolo. Thanks for taking a listen. I appreciate fresh ears on this.

[Bulls Hit]

Cool tune. Nice melodies, vocals are really good. My only one tiny minor nit is that hihat chip on the 3and every time. If that came in every 4 or 8 bars it would be better imo. Good stuff otherwise to these ears

[guitar zero]

Originally Posted by Bulls Hit

Cool tune. Nice melodies, vocals are really good. My only one tiny minor nit is that hihat chip on the 3and every time. If that came in every 4 or 8 bars it would be better imo. Good stuff otherwise to these ears

OK, I went back and got rid of dozens of high hat chips, and I think you're right, it sounds way better. Also trying out the demo softube FET comp for a few days, so I stuck it on the drums along with some reverb. New version posted at the top. Thanks again.

[guitar zero]

Originally Posted by zero00

I think it sounds great, nothing to add...

Question: how do you make the Backing Vocals on the chorus? they sound awesome, 2 or 3 tracks? NY Compression? please explain if it's ok.

Great Job

Still not sure which vocals you mean. Are you talking about the higher "oooo-ooh" vocals behind the chorus, or the main vocals in the bridge?

[zero00]

Hi, thanks for the response, i'm talking about the vocals on the chorus, the Uuuuh-Huuuus... what mic/pre are you using?

Thanks

[Marcadiablo]

I think it sounds great! Sometimes it had a Dashboard Confessional vibe. Which is really cool cause i love them. The only thing that sounds weird to me is the main vox. Sounds like panned in a strange way. Like panned to the left with a delay to the right. Its not biggie but a little distracting. Other than that, I think is a great recording.

[guitar zero]

Originally Posted by zero00

Hi, thanks for the response, i'm talking about the vocals on the chorus, the Uuuuh-Huuuus... what mic/pre are you using?

Thanks

All the vocals on this track were double recorded.
Shure SM7 into Avedis ma5 on one channel
AEA R84 into Lachapell 583s on the other.
Some of them were recorded twice and doubled up.

[heatmiser]

Yeah, this is really well done zero .

Very cohesive and clear. Nice panning in general. I was thinking at first that I didn't really care for the style or whatever, but it definitely grew on me. It moves along nicely and all of the instruments have a great sense of space. Nicely done!

I listened to the second mix btw...

[dodgeaspen]

Second mix sounds good

[guitar zero]

Originally Posted by Marcadiablo

I think it sounds great! Sometimes it had a Dashboard Confessional vibe. Which is really cool cause i love them. The only thing that sounds weird to me is the main vox. Sounds like panned in a strange way. Like panned to the left with a delay to the right. Its not biggie but a little distracting. Other than that, I think is a great recording.

I heard that in the first mix. Not sure I hear it in the second. There is no delay on the vocal mix, just reverb.

Originally Posted by heatmiser

Yeah, this is really well done zero .

Very cohesive and clear. Nice panning in general. I was thinking at first that I didn't really care for the style or whatever, but it definitely grew on me. It moves along nicely and all of the instruments have a great sense of space. Nicely done!

I listened to the second mix btw...

Thanks. I hope it didn't grow on you like fungus, but more like a nice comfortable sweatshirt.

Originally Posted by dodgeaspen

Second mix sounds good

Thanks for listening.

[kcearl]

second mix is perfect....good clear recording..great stuff

[heatmiser]

Originally Posted by guitar zero

Thanks. I hope it didn't grow on you like fungus, but more like a nice comfortable sweatshirt.

LOL...yes, much more like a sweatshirt...

[joeym]

Great pop tune, wonderful performance and a great voice.
This is chart stuff with that hookline...pop radios should play this stuff all the time. Got no nits, it was a really nice listen.

Joey

[guitar zero]

Originally Posted by kcearl

second mix is perfect....good clear recording..great stuff

Thanks for checking back.

Originally Posted by heatmiser

LOL...yes, much more like a sweatshirt...

Phew... good.

Originally Posted by joeym

Great pop tune, wonderful performance and a great voice.
This is chart stuff with that hookline...pop radios should play this stuff all the time. Got no nits, it was a really nice listen.

Joey

Thanks for the compliment. I'll pass it on to the artist/writer.

[antichef]

I was just at GC and picked up a pair of Yamaha HS50M demos real cheap (the GC is moving to a new location and selling a lot of their stuff) - So far I've listened to 3 of my mixes and 4 other songs, and they all made my eyes water - this doesn't sound bad at all, which means it must be really good! Only the high piano tinkling was hurting a little.

Great song and performance - think I'll listen again with my other monitors - I didn't listen to the first mix - I like the hihat in this one.

[nzausrec]

Your voice seems less confident on this than 'Like Me Only Different.' The mixing seemed better/clearer on that as well.

[guitar zero]

Originally Posted by antichef

I was just at GC and picked up a pair of Yamaha HS50M demos real cheap (the GC is moving to a new location and selling a lot of their stuff) - So far I've listened to 3 of my mixes and 4 other songs, and they all made my eyes water - this doesn't sound bad at all, which means it must be really good! Only the high piano tinkling was hurting a little.

Great song and performance - think I'll listen again with my other monitors - I didn't listen to the first mix - I like the hihat in this one.

Interesting comment because I was just listening to the mix and taking notes and one of them was to turn the high piano down a little bit. BTW this was mixed on Yamaha HS80M monitors. The HS50M monitors you have are similar, but I think they may lack a little low end if compared. I've heard a sub can really help lift the low end on those. Don't they have a switch on the back that lets you cut the highs as well? The 80s do. Any way I'll take "doesn't sound bad at all" as a compliment. Thanks for listening.

Originally Posted by nzausrec

Your voice seems less confident on this than 'Like Me Only Different.' The mixing seemed better/clearer on that as well.

Hmmmm... We were pretty happy with how these vocals turned out on this one, and now when I listen to 'like me only different' it sort of sounds like shite to me. If fact, we're re-doing it.

[antichef]

Originally Posted by guitar zero

Interesting comment because I was just listening to the mix and taking notes and one of them was to turn the high piano down a little bit. BTW this was mixed on Yamaha HS80M monitors. The HS50M monitors you have are similar, but I think they may lack a little low end if compared. I've heard a sub can really help lift the low end on those. Don't they have a switch on the back that lets you cut the highs as well? The 80s do. Any way I'll take "doesn't sound bad at all" as a compliment. Thanks for listening.

heh - not enough context in my post - apologies. I'm listening now with my other monitors, and the mix is fantastic - I'm keeping HS50s set to "sting" mode simply as a second set (still using my sub) for an acid test - my point was that my mixes and a couple of other songs didn't pass the acid test, but yours did.

[guitar zero]

Originally Posted by antichef

heh - not enough context in my post - apologies. I'm listening now with my other monitors, and the mix is fantastic - I'm keeping HS50s set to "sting" mode simply as a second set (still using my sub) for an acid test - my point was that my mixes and a couple of other songs didn't pass the acid test, but yours did.

Thanks man. That's good to hear.

[rayc]

I like it all except the high end piano ostinato about 2/3rds the way through - it sounded , err, um fake - not a great sample - BUT knowing my luck, it'll have been recorded using a real piano.
GOOD song well captured.

[guitar zero]

Originally Posted by rayc

I like it all except the high end piano ostinato about 2/3rds the way through - it sounded , err, um fake - not a great sample - BUT knowing my luck, it'll have been recorded using a real piano.
GOOD song well captured.

It's a steinway grand piano recorded with schoeps cem6 stereo pair, mixed with a Pearlman TM -1 omni room mic on stage at the elsinore theater.

Ah, just kidding Ray, its a sample, and you're right, it could be better. Mostly I think it's just too loud and a little too much reverb. If you know of any good piano samples to recommend, I'm all ears.

Thanks for listening.