Need help with Piano/vocal mix

kenivel

kenivel

New member
Hi, and thanks again for a great forum. :D

Now it's time for me to ask for som help with my mixes.

Here is a little background:

I have about 13 recorded songs done by my wifes sister, which is her and a friend on the piano.

The piano is Midi --> NI Akoustik Piano. And the vocals are SP-C1 --> Toft ATC2 --> RME F800
Then some light eq and comp.

I can't seem to get this mix to work on every system i test it on.. (it could be my other systems..or my room)
It's hard to explain it just seems to boxy in my ears. Either it's the piano or the vocals. Somthing seems wrong, and my ears are bleeding :eek: .
Been working on and off with these songs now for about 3 months.. :(
Trying to eq/comp but nothing seems to work. "Darn Alesis M1's" :o

So here's yet another try. Can someone please tell me what i'm doing wrong?



Tanks for any help :)
 
I think it sounds good. Nice vocals the only thing is the midi. I can tell its midi I would mic a piano maybe. Is the problem in the piano sound? What exactly dont you like about the mix.

Maybe get someone ot lay down a bass track?
 
Vocals sound great.

Piano sounds good too, just not much dynamics in the playing as you would expect from a piano. Still sounds natural enough that most people probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

You could try a little reverb on the piano and see if that helps. To me, it sounds like it should be just a little further back in the mix.

It also sounds like the piano has a "soft" attack, as opposed to the "hard" hammer-like attack we're used to hearing on most pianos.

Have you tried other piano VSTis? You could try layering 2 or more piano sounds together.

If you like, you could send me the MIDI file and I could run it through Reason and give you another piano sound or 2 to work with.

Other than that, I think everything sounds good.
 
DAS19 said:
I think it sounds good. Nice vocals the only thing is the midi. I can tell its midi I would mic a piano maybe. Is the problem in the piano sound? What exactly dont you like about the mix.

Maybe get someone ot lay down a bass track?
Click to expand...

Hi, mic'ing a piano is not a choice, don't have one or know enyone that does :p
I like the vocals i seemed to have nailed that after alot of back and fourth.
the problem is that on my monitors in the studio and headphones and a second set of crap speakers it sounds good. but when i hear it in the car or on my crappy stereo in the livingroom i sound wierd. as described earlyer.
it's probebly me thats the problem :p i'm getting tired of the songs and starting to hear things.
 
Grilled_Cheese said:
Vocals sound great.

Piano sounds good too, just not much dynamics in the playing as you would expect from a piano. Still sounds natural enough that most people probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

You could try a little reverb on the piano and see if that helps. To me, it sounds like it should be just a little further back in the mix.

It also sounds like the piano has a "soft" attack, as opposed to the "hard" hammer-like attack we're used to hearing on most pianos.

Have you tried other piano VSTis? You could try layering 2 or more piano sounds together.

If you like, you could send me the MIDI file and I could run it through Reason and give you another piano sound or 2 to work with.

Other than that, I think everything sounds good.
Click to expand...

Yes been thinkin the piano is a bit upfront.

I have tried other VSTis as Reason a friend of mine has it and he made a file for me from the midi. dont know if you have other sounds in Reason than he had. He just used the Grand Piano in one of the sampler things.
For me that piano was a little harsh.

Thanks for offering :)

But i could try layering with the other piano's in NI..
 
What you're doing wrong:

1. Not much. :)

Suggestions:

1. Fix the flubbed words in the second line ("... and my heart burdened be").

2. Maybe a bit of compression on the voice. The low notes are getting buried, and need to be brought out. Alternatively, the vocalist can learn to lean into those low notes a bit more. The singer has a really pretty voice, and I'd hate to mess with it too much.

3. The piano does sound a bit mechanical to me. Also, the ending seems to have been chopped off.

4. I'd cut the intro in half. It doesn't contribute much to the recording.

Cheers,
Don
 
DonF said:
What you're doing wrong:

1. Not much. :)

Suggestions:

1. Fix the flubbed words in the second line ("... and my heart burdened be").

2. Maybe a bit of compression on the voice. The low notes are getting buried, and need to be brought out. Alternatively, the vocalist can learn to lean into those low notes a bit more. The singer has a really pretty voice, and I'd hate to mess with it too much.

3. The piano does sound a bit mechanical to me. Also, the ending seems to have been chopped off.

4. I'd cut the intro in half. It doesn't contribute much to the recording.

Cheers,
Don
Click to expand...

Tanks Don :)

Yepp, been meaning to fix the flubbish in the voice :p
Havent used that much comp on the vocal, I'm afraid to overcompress :o

Yepp the piano got chopped when i exported, easy to fix.

Is there any way to get the piano to sound less mechanical?
Eq? New VST Piano? or is it the playing thats mechanical?

And im in with cutting the intro, it's been anoying me to.


Thanks for all the reply :D keep em cumming
 
Hi folks,

Changed a few things to the mix. Can anyone tell me if im in the right direction?
how's the overall mix quality?
Do i need som more tweeking?




Tanx :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: XLR
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top