feedback...acoustic song

[ZekeAcoustic]

hey all..

looking for some feedback/suggestions/ideas/likes and dislikes. sort of a last minute tracking session...like "hey lets lay these down quickly" so i can't really re-record anything...anyway it's a damien rice song we were playing with for fun. I'm really interested in how to get a little more of that "professional vox" sound, having the vox maybe sit in the mix better and some ideas with the acoustic. but all advice is welcome...everything from e.q. levels, compression, reverb, other plug-in etc. thanks for listening

www.r6music.com/music/volcano.mp3

sorry about the 7-8 sec of silence in the begining....forgot to take that out before rendering...

if anyone needs more detail on the compression/reverb or stuff like that let me know and i'll type it out. thanks again

[Nutdotnet]

What gear did you use?

I won't comment on the performance itself but most glaring things I noticed in my headphones:

1. Guitar is far too quiet
2. I think I know what WHY you panned the vocals the way that you did, but it doesn't work. People who haven't heard this song before will not be expecting another singer...so having the main vocals slightly panned to the left is just confusing and even then it's still confusing. A lot of the song only has one voice throughout.

[ZekeAcoustic]

thanks for the feedback...exactly the stuff i'm looking for
the gear i used is

sm 57-> Alto L-8 -> SoundForge 6.0 -> Acid 4.0 pro

i'm mixing another version with different panning and guitar volume...i'll post it asap... looking for more feedback, thanks again

[ZekeAcoustic]

i brought the guitar up in the mix and centered the male vocals. i didn't want to put the female vocals right on top of the males, so she is panned 15% R. please post your feedback on the new mix. Also any ideas about the sound of the vocals...are things like compression, volume, e.q. o.k. or does anyone recommend changes...thanks again!

new mix
www.r6music.com/music/volcano2,mp3

old mix
www.r6music.com/music/volcano.mp3

[Nutdotnet]

Originally Posted by ZekeAcoustic

i brought the guitar up in the mix and centered the male vocals. i didn't want to put the female vocals right on top of the males, so she is panned 15% R. please post your feedback on the new mix. Also any ideas about the sound of the vocals...are things like compression, volume, e.q. o.k. or does anyone recommend changes...thanks again!

new mix
www.r6music.com/music/volcano2,mp3

old mix
www.r6music.com/music/volcano.mp3

Sweet man, mucho better!

I like the panning on the woman's vocal WHEN the male vocal is there (for separation, obviously) however, that same, "problem" occurs when the female vocal is solo...the listener is expecting the main vocal in the smack-dab middle...her vocal becomes the main during the second verse. Maybe you could bring her voice to the center during her solo'd part (maybe), or create separation through EQing...I don't really have an answer though, I'm not that techinically-versed yet.

This is only my opinion...I could be smoking crack.

[ZekeAcoustic]

thanks for the comments...i'll work with some more ideas and post them

[amra]

I don't know who was singing, but they both had really nice voices.
Listening to the second mix - the guitars are lacking a bit of brightness (to my ears) maybe you meant them that way. They kind of sound like Incubus' accoustic guitar and they sold millions...so what do I know.

On the other hand, the vocals kind of jump out at you. I can't really put my finger on it, because I am by no means a pro, but maybe a little compression to take the edge off a bit? Maybe some reverb that gives the vocals a little more "space"? Not really sure. Nice recording, though!

[ZekeAcoustic]

Thanks for the comments...

There is compression on both vocals on the second recording. I agree they jump out a little and are kind of "in your face" I'm not real well versed with compression parameters. what are some common ones....i think right now the parameters are

Thershold -9.0db
ratio 3:1
attack 15ms
release 251ms

where should i adjust to take the edge off? lower the threshold? or increase the ratio? I'd like to get the vocals to sit with the guitar better.

i'm not sure what to do with the guitar...it wasn't the best recording (of the guitar) to begin with. Is there a way to brighten it up...e.q. maybe? or an effect?

thanks again

[Nutdotnet]

I thought the guitar sounded pretty darn good considering the gear that you were using!

[atswafford]

I'm having a problem downloading the second mix. Seems like both files are the same. Either way it sounds really good and I agree with the other post, great voices. Well done.

Edit: I take that back. Got it to work. I do like the second mix better. Feels a little more balanced overall. Still think maybe the guitar could come up a little maybe? Still sounds great.

[DAS19]

Master volume needs to be rasied ALOT!

the rest is good

good song btw.

[ZekeAcoustic]

i've having problems raising the master levels without it clipping. Ideas???