Got a new one, could use help

R

Ray J

New member
I have a new tune on my page. I'm having a hard time taming the bass. There's a particuolar note that really resonates or whatever on my bass guitar, it's a high A if I'm not mistaken played on the G string, 7th fret. I tried compressing it on the way in with my pod, but I got unbearable string noise everytime my fingers slid down the neck, I tried compressing it during the mix, with a compressor but it got mushy. I tried tracking with a pick and without one. There are also some other issues with the accoustic guitar in this one. Any advice or feedback on the tune would be appreciated

Thanks

"When the Feeling's Gone"

http://www.mp3.com/RJohnson
 
Thats pretty cool shit. I really dig the layered guitars, especially the jazzy acoustic, the slide and the octave riff. A couple of suggestions though. The two rythym acoustic tracks are panned too hard and are a little distracting. If you put them a little closer to center it would help make the mix more cohesive. I can't really help diagnose your bass problem since I can barely hear it in the mix - at least not the bass frequencies. The vocals sound good, but ocassionally the chorusy effect you have on them sounds harsh and a little brittle. The effect really reminds me of this Gales Bros album I have BTW. The percussion is cool and the background vocals are well placed. Cool track.

Ben
 
WOW

It seems you are a very good guitar player RJay!
The mix sounds really good. Your voice sits very well in the song.
The panning on the guitars sits well too.

good job!

www.mp3.com/tujama
 
Ray>>>really liked your tune man. Had a real jazzy/blue's feel to it.I liked your vocals also, what effect do you have on them? I couldn't hear what you were talking about with the bass...these speakers suck ass though. I didn't really hear any influences in this song...totally original and a really good song.
 
gnarled - Thanks for listening. THis is the first time I try to double accoustic guitars and I was acting on the advice that I was given about panning them hard. They are at about 4:30 and 7:30, which is pretty hard. I noticed that they (accoustic rythmn guits) are soft and hard to hear on some systems so you may be right about bringing them more toward the middle. I'm gonna try it when I remix to see if I like it.

Jam - thanks, this is a little bit of a deviation from my other stuff, I usually do mostly electric, somewhat blues-flavored stuff, but this one kinda came to me so I did it.

David- thanks, I don't know where the influences for this one came from either but the music came to me really easy. Regarding the vocals, what you're hearing is me double tracking them and panning at about 1:30 and 10:30. I played with the panning for a while until I found what I thought was a 'sweet spot'. If I would have had one more track available, I could have put one in the middle and panned the other two a little harder, this usually sounds really good but rarely do I end up with enough tracks to do this. I could have done a better job singing in unison thought. It's a little inconsistant but around here, I get very little chance to track vocals because of the noise that goes on with the kids and all. That condensor mic can pick up water boiling in the kitchen. On the rare occasion where I do get to lay down a vocal track, it's usually has to be a keeper. Oh, there's also a touch of reverb on them.

Ray J
 
man,

I dug the instrumental mix and balance. Everything sounded clear and present, while at the same time being warm. I also dug the arrangement and the choice of sounds.

I think the vocal can be improved much. The singing is good, but it sounds way too distant. It also sounds covered up. I think you should minismise any effects you have on it and open up the midrange and top. It also needs to be a bit louder in the mix.

peace
 
Hey this is one cool toon. Best I've heard on this board in a long time. Original sound, no wannabe notes here.

I've found that using a good bass preamp makes a huge difference. Much more eq available to tame those boomy frequencies in your instrument than on most mixing boards. I record my bass through my bass amp head and use a line out into the board. You can do some really good fine tuning of your tone this way. I thought the vocal levels suit the tune; however, my personal preference would be to show off the leads a little more, esp. those flashy spanish style licks. But the mood is subtle and perhaps you want to keep everything on an even keel. I could see that as well.

I wouldn't bring up the panned acoustics any more--they're right just where they are.

Well done!
 
Hey Ray-

As always, I like the song and the musicianship. Also as (almost) always, I think you should bring the vocal more up front (I don't think it's a reverb issue this time, just a volume issue). Your voice sounds real good on this one (btw, try doing what I do; send the wife and kids out for ice cream or something).

The mix sounds kind of muddy to me. Perhaps the bass issue is an eq issue; perhaps cut it at the bottom and somewhere around 500-900hz. I think the percussion is a little too prominent also. I really like the slide; I think the other acoustic lead gets too busy during the vocal.

Good song. I think there's also a little Latin flavor there (I also remember your wailing Santana tribute -- a little Spanish heritage mixed in there Ray?).
 
This is really cool, unfortunately i was listening through the tinniest of the tin laptop speakers, but even still it sounded really full and crisp if that's possible. Great guitar work and i couldn't hear any problem with the bass. The vocals were cool as well, they do fit in nicely. I think the percussion is maybe a bit in your face but i'm not convinced yet. Great song, loved the mood;).

Jags
 
CyanJ - I tend to be really conservative with mids as a rule particularly on the vox. One of my friends offered to master my CD for me. I dl ed the file and listened and he really boosted the mids and volume and the tune has really come alive since. I don't have the mastered version posted but it's an improvement.

Tapehead- Your advice has been noted and thanks for your compliments about the tune itself, it's very encouraging and much appreciated.

Slim - You make some good points. The fact that I don't have a vocal track dead center made it hard for me to judge the level. If you ever double tracked and panned it, you probably know what I mean. It gets a thickness but when there's nothing in the center, it ends up a little soft ( for lack of a better term). As I mentioned before, mastering has help this track with presence and clarity. WHen I get the whole CD mastered I'll probably put the new versions up on my page. The funny thing about the percussions is that I swear they don't sound too prominent on my CD, but when I heard the mp3, that's the first thing I noticed. Another good observation. Spanish heritage? no, probably very little. I have more Italian in me than anything, but I have been influenced a little by the latin sounding stuff.

Jags- Thanks, mood is pretty much what I was going for, glad you picked up on that. This for now, is one of my favorites on my page, maybe 'cause I'm not tired of it yet but it is a little of a deviation from the rest of my stuff. Thanks for taking the time to listen
 
Really liked the mood and feel of this one.

Count another vote for bringing up the vocals....and I agree with Slim on the muddy low end issue.

The fact that I don't have a vocal track dead center made it hard for me to judge the level. If you ever double tracked and panned it, you probably know what I mean
Click to expand...
Does that mean you recorded the vocals panned already?
 
Mac 2, thanks for the input, regarding your question, no, I tracked the vocals by singing it twice on two different tracks but I didn't pan on the way in. I tracked both of them dead center. When I mixed down, I panned the two tracks at 1:30 and 10:30 (appox). It is my experience when panning double tracked stuff, whether guitar or vox, it becomes hard to judge the levels during mixdown. It seems to take on a different quality, like thicker and strong on one hand, but loses some 'upfrontness' for lack of a better term because there's nothing down the middle. I have a hard time judging the levels because of this. I think a lot of people triple it up by (when mixing) putting one in the center and the other two panned a little harder than I have mine panned. This give the best of both worlds, you have a track dead center for presence and you have the effect and thickness of double tracking. However, I never end up with enough tracks to do this.

Thanks again for listening, your right about the low end. I had a lot of problems trying to mix this.
 
Very dark, this one. I think the vocals and the noodling guitar need to be brighter. I think the darkness almost fits the Wes Montgomery electric bits, though.

Really nice song, really nice song.

I think when things get complicated and difficult, it's time to simplify - what do you have to do to this one to get it sounding good on a car radio 2" speaker?
 
I love the song.
I'd pan the vocals more centered(maybe 11:30/12:30) to try and give them more upfrontness. Maybe lowering one vocal track a few dbs, still giving the vocals some thickness, but not letting the dble tracking sound so obvious, I'd bring the lead guitar up a tad but only when it's not fighting with the vocals. The percussion - can you spred it across the stereo field, it seems to lean heavy to one side?
Bubba
 
dobro - "What do you have to do to get it sounding good on a 2" car radio speaker" Yeah, that's the trick. This one's far from fitting that description. I feel like I took a step backwards with this one from a production standpoint. My last two uploads prior to this were probably my best mixes but this one wasn't as easy. I"ve gotten some good advice from you and the others and I'm going to remix it soon with some of the advice i've received. Thanks for listening.

bubba (finetunes)- Regarding the percussions, I panned them intentionally to one side, just for the hell of it, I may experiment more with it when I remix. I rode the faders with the lead guitar trying to get it loud enough when it is featured and then backing off on the part when it fights with the vocals but I didn't back off enough or pump it up quite enough during the other parts. Your idea on the vocals is also something to consider. The two vocal tracks don't match up as well as they should, especially during the first verse. I think redoing them will help. Thanks for the advice

Ray J
 
All you gotta do is back off the basic rhythm track a tad. Mostly the bass and a little on the percussion, which would leave a little more room for the vocals and lead guitar. That'd clean it up a bit.
 
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