Evening Star

K-dub

Well-known member
I employed new tools and new tricks to this tune ... hope you enjoy this "fresh off the production line" revision. Any/all comments warmly welcomed:

 
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The song writing is good and overall the sound isn't bad, but it could use a little work. The cymbals could come down in volume a bit and the acoustic could be low passed a little too. The piano also sounds very thin, I don't if it's because of how you processed it, or the samples/keyboard you're using just sounds like that, but I'd find a way to get more bass. If you recorded it though midi, try to find another piano vst with more bass and double the piano part to try to add some bass/lower mid fullness. You're voice has a lot of lower mids and I think cutting a bit from the bottom would help the song as well as adding a little more reverb or delay in the opening section. Overall it's a very nice song.
 
Whatever voodoo you put on the vocal, ease back on it a couple degrees - it's ever so slightly obvious.

I really like this one - I think you've gone and dropped yourself smack dab into the center of what you do best. This is one of my faves of yours. And I've only heard it the once. If you ever hear a tune of mine where I copy that chord change you did at the end, all I can ask is that you understand. :)
 
The song writing is good and overall the sound isn't bad, but it could use a little work. The cymbals could come down in volume a bit and the acoustic could be low passed a little too. The piano also sounds very thin, I don't if it's because of how you processed it, or the samples/keyboard you're using just sounds like that, but I'd find a way to get more bass. If you recorded it though midi, try to find another piano vst with more bass and double the piano part to try to add some bass/lower mid fullness. You're voice has a lot of lower mids and I think cutting a bit from the bottom would help the song as well as adding a little more reverb or delay in the opening section. Overall it's a very nice song.

Excellent thoughts that I wondered about myself. Thanks C.
 
Whatever voodoo you put on the vocal, ease back on it a couple degrees - it's ever so slightly obvious.

I really like this one - I think you've gone and dropped yourself smack dab into the center of what you do best. This is one of my faves of yours. And I've only heard it the once. If you ever hear a tune of mine where I copy that chord change you did at the end, all I can ask is that you understand. :)

Thanks P. I agree that I pushed the verb a little much. I'll pull back. I've got no copyright on chord changes. :)
 
I thought for the most part the mix was good, bass could come down a notch to remove some rumble (could be my system) and the cymbals were still out there for this type of tune. As a personal taste, I would pull the cymbals back underneath the vocals. Vocals are so good and focused, I would make sure nothing interferes with them.

Good tune.
 
I thought for the most part the mix was good, bass could come down a notch to remove some rumble (could be my system) and the cymbals were still out there for this type of tune. As a personal taste, I would pull the cymbals back underneath the vocals. Vocals are so good and focused, I would make sure nothing interferes with them.

Good tune.

The cymbals actually are down in the mix -- but when I "self-mastered", they really popped. I'll have to address. I agree.
 
Based on the feedback above, I applied the following:

- Rolled the OH mics back 2.5 db
- Rolled the vocal effects back 4 db
- Rolled the bass level back 3 db and trimmed eq a couple db at 125 and 250 ... while cutting fairly hard circa 4-500.
- Kept the same piano, but added the meat back via eq -- I'd taken a lot of it out to carve space for the bass -- same range I cut the bass
- Added some gating and eq to the toms to pop and tighten them a little more (not mentioned ... but it was another thought I had)

New mix is up top.
 
I think sound really good. Still at 50, the highs are still a tad high, but not enough to change just for that. I think the bass sounds nice a full, I didn't hear any rumble in the sub, just nice lows. mids are all nice and settled, real full sound. For my ears, great tune, great mix. You might want to cut the end off sooner, I heard this rumble and thought my stereo developed a hum.

Good work.
 
I enjoyed this, great songwriting and vocals. There's some high peaks towards the end which could be cut a bit in your eq on the vocals, cymbals and keys but other than that I really like it
 
I think sound really good. Still at 50, the highs are still a tad high, but not enough to change just for that. I think the bass sounds nice a full, I didn't hear any rumble in the sub, just nice lows. mids are all nice and settled, real full sound. For my ears, great tune, great mix. You might want to cut the end off sooner, I heard this rumble and thought my stereo developed a hum.

Good work.

I'm 55. I obviously need that 5 year extra boost in the highs. :)

I simply forgot to fade the end ... for the same reason noted above.
 
I enjoyed this, great songwriting and vocals. There's some high peaks towards the end which could be cut a bit in your eq on the vocals, cymbals and keys but other than that I really like it

I haven't had "Ripples" mastered, C -- but I usually do have professional treatment applied when I determine I'm actually done. I've not yet got to that "feel" point w/ this project -- even though I "unofficially" assembled the collection of material in 2012.

New & Improved! OTOH, I knew was done and ready for mastering, even though it was assembled months later.
 
Yea that makes sense. A healthier workflow that way I would imagine as you don't get cut off mid-creativity. I spend weeks making a mix before I have even written most of a song and by the time I'm done I don't want to go anywhere near my guitar ever again!

Just checked out your link and am loving your other tracks aswell; you've gained a new follower :) Look forward to hearing more k-dub
 
Vocals sound nice.

I'd turn the toms up around 1:12 when they kick in. just a bit. I'd turn up the snare. It's too far back to my ear.

I'd add another layer to the harmony vocal that starts at 2:16. Fill it out just a little more. Not a new harmony part - another layer to the existing part.

Big pop at :28 around the phrase "take your time." A smaller on around 3:18.

In the outro, when you're really belting out the vocal... I think you pulled the vocal level back a little too much.

Everything else sounded good to me.
 
Greetings K - I've listened to bits of this at various times but kept getting interrupted. Finally got to listen a couple of times this morning and I think it's sounding good. The vocal performance is excellent as always.

I was reading the initial feedback you got and was confused, because I wasn't hearing it that way at all, but now I see that I'm listening to a remix based at least partly on that feedback, so probably a lot changed since the initial mix.

I have zero experience mixing anything like this, but to me the overall balance, clarity and panning and all that stuff is already spot on. The only thing to me that stood out were the higher freq stuff like cymbals and your voice at times seemed a little too hyped, not quite to the point of being harsh, but excessive on my modest set-up. I think you could go a tad darker/warmer overall with the mix as a whole, but that may just be my own personal tonal preferences speaking...good work on this.
 
I kept bypassing this because it's the title of a Fripp & eno album and I couldn't get my head around someone doing an interpretation of that.
THis is very nice - the suggestions given already cover the territory well so I'll just add "Nice one!".
 
Vocals sound nice.

I'd turn the toms up around 1:12 when they kick in. just a bit. I'd turn up the snare. It's too far back to my ear.

I'd add another layer to the harmony vocal that starts at 2:16. Fill it out just a little more. Not a new harmony part - another layer to the existing part.

Big pop at :28 around the phrase "take your time." A smaller on around 3:18.

In the outro, when you're really belting out the vocal... I think you pulled the vocal level back a little too much.

Everything else sounded good to me.

Thanks (as always) for the detailed listen, Trip. I wondered about the end myself ... as I pulled back the lead vocal -- cause there is a lot going on at that point ...

... interesting idea on the harmony vocal too, bud. I get what you're saying ... it'll warm and thicken it a bit.

I think I've got another pass to take to tweak it a hair further.
 
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