World music needs help

C

CyanJaguar

New member
hi guys,

I want to make this song radio ready. My song "amorita" is being played an average of 15 times a day on my school radio, and I would REALLy like to retire it next semester and replace it with a new one(the gm is a pal)

I put this short section up. Most of your ideas will eventually go into the mastered product. That is why I did not put the whole song up there.

You're appreciated.

Omo' ge

www.nowhereradio.com/artists/alternative/testerslogic

or
www.artistlaunch.com/jaguarslogic
 
What a cool sound! Is that your voice? I love the spoken intro.

Be warned, I'm not listening through the good speakers - I'm at work, so it's headphones and Media Player. :)

I'd love to hear the whole piece.

Couple comments:

I like the synth blip in the verse, but I wonder if I'd hear it if I weren't listening through headphones... I personally would turn that part up, ever so slightly.

And just a couple comments on the vocal. I know people hate this, but all the same...

At about :48 and a half, there's a point where the vocal REALLY jumps, and it's a bit of a jolt. Might want to compress that.

Also, the lead vocal at the chorus is out of tune. I think it's sharp, but I don't have a keyboard on hand, so I could be wrong.

Really enjoyed the song!
 
Yup, Eurythmic's right, this one sounds like a candidate for a pitch shifter in one or two places - it's something in the way your voice expresses your vulnerability - it would work better without the backup. I don't think you're gonna have to get someone to sing your songs for you, though - I think you're just about there. I really like the sound of your voice on this one.

Now the unexpurgated good news. What a nice sounding track. Good work. Good sound. Clearer than I've ever been able to come close to. Screw the NTK, right? :D

Dudolario, I gotta ask - is that any known language you're singing? You singing about Italian sports cars? :D

Lovely snippet...
 
Pitch shifting? THats EXACTLY why I like posting in the clinic, because there are some things that you just dont hear till people have pointed them out to you.

Thanks Eurythmic.

I have not compressed the vox at all, but I will go and compress it now.
You hit the nail on the head on a couple of points. I cant hear it in this tune(Ill go back and play along with the keyboard) I have a bad tendency to go sharp. I used to go flat, so maybe I am overcompensating. Even when my voice teacher is playing the piano, I still have to check my self for sharpness every once in a while.

Hey, Its not frustating to me to hear about snafoos in my singing. I have taken three semesters of voice class and I still get amazingly frustrated at the lack of bel canto or control in my voice.

Yes, this is me on all the vox

I also think that I'll go and increase the blip since its the only thing that fills in the verse.


Hey Dobro,

Thanks for the nice comments. I love hearing grand statements like
"it's something in the way your voice expresses your vulnerability" or
"Now the unexpurgated good news. "
I want to talk like that. It sounds super educated.

Yeah,, I am going to be working on the pitch.

Yes, this is actually a language. There is some English in there at the very end of the intro, but its a Nigerian language. I am saying that beautiful girls and all girls should stay away from me till I get my education and some financial stability

I am still using the sm58, but I hope to blow up with a nice Behringer b2 or an akg c3000 like buck62 uses.

thanks again.

TO all other kind listeners and also to Dobro and Eurythmic, Is there too much low end on the lead vox? If it sounds ballsy here it usually overpowers other speakers.
 
Not in my opinion, but these headphones do a really good job with bass frequencies.

I think the vocal was recorded and mixed really well.

Oh, there is one thing, though. This could just be an effect of listening to the song through headphones, but it sounds like you've got a stereo chorus effect on the backing vocal at the song's chorus. Yes? The stereo spectrum of that effect is pretty wide, and it tends to cover up the accompaniment a bit.

Um, let's say you're a chef at a four star restaurant. You're fixing a wonderful plate of, um, we'll say salmon, and your very special super fish sauce. It's an excellent sauce, but you're poured so much of it over your fillet, that it's mixing in with your parsley garnish on one side of the plate, and your incredible rice on the other side of the plate. Your customer doesn't want that. ;-)

...

Maybe posting from work isn't the best idea. :D
 
"I am saying that beautiful girls and all girls should stay away from me till I get my education and some financial stability"

LOL Well, that's a good thing, then, as long as they speak that Nigerian language. The rest better watch their step, though. :D

The vocals don't have too much bottom end here, no.

Eurythmic - I know what you're saying about the chorus, and you're right, but it's also true that this song is all about the vocals - the rest is just support, even that tasty snare.
 
I guess it's all just nitpicking when you're trying to critique a song that's already so good, huh?

I'm currently downloading the song to my at-home computer, in fact. I want to see what changes when I listen to it on my normal speakers. Well, and I want to listen to it again. :D

And I've learned something - I shouldn't be so quick to blame my SM-57 for vocal tracks that I'm not satisfied with!
 
thanks guys

Hahaha Eurhythmic, I laughed at the 57 comment. It would do a good job in an instant. I would prefer the 57 and a dang good pre to a marginal condenser and a marginal pre. I pray that I'll get a c3000 or an ntk soon.

Dobro, I know! I said I hope to get an ntk soon. I listened to Herm's Christmas song without knowing the mic, and I thought the vocal was extra good. I even thought that he had sent it to tape. When he emailed me that it was an ntk , I almost fell off my seat. He happens to use the same pre I use, the sytek, so ntk should be an extremely good match. THe snare is from my jv1010 though. I would have used one from fruity loops, but I could not match up the groove of the beat.

You woont believe it, I can now hear the flatness sharpness thing. I listened at a louder level and it was bright as day. I will rerecord it with more bass going to the headphones.

On my end, I have remixed what I have, I increased the sound of the blip . I also increased the low end a bit. I have also removed the chorus competely. I will just do as many backing voxs as I can muster. I plan to change the reverb to a bigger room.

You guys make me blush.
 
The pre is part of my problem, I think. I don't have one. :(

Actually, you know, they say that vocalists have a tendency to sing sharp if they're hearing too much bass.

You'll post the new version for us to hear, right?
 
Hey, Cyan, I *trust* your opinion about the NTK. You gotta trust your own ears. Also, maybe *your* voice isn't best on the Rode...
 
Dobro and Eurhythmic,

The full song is here. I put your ideas in. I redid the vocals and I think they sound a bit better.

I compressed everything and I dont know if it sounds better or worse

www.artistlaunch.com/jaguarslogic

Omo' de

Any other comments would be greatly appreciated. Thanks guys

I think that you can now download it if you want to.
 
Big improvement!

I think all of the instruments sound great now. I can hear every one, no instrument overpowers any other. Each is in its own space.

I'm going to criticise the vocals again. So again, please don't feel bad/offended - I'm saying these things because you have a really great tonal quality to your voice, one that definitely screams "star" - or it will, when your control gets just a bit better. :) Also, I just think this is a really, really good song, and you have the ability to perform it even better than you are.

This is a very delicate balance, because the highlight of this song is your voice, not the music. But I still think that the vocals overpower the accompaniment at the chorus. Just a very, very little bit. I do think the vocals sound better without the chorus effect, though. That's the only criticism I can think of that specifically relates to the mix.

There are still some spots that are a bit out of tune. It almost sounds to me like you're tiring out as the song goes. Is that high E really high up in your vocal range? You could possibly try doing the song in a different key, or maybe just recording a few more takes. Or, maybe Autotune.

I don't think it's quite there yet. But when you're finished with this song, it's going to be really, REALLY good.
 
hey Eurhythmic,

Thanks a lot for the great postive critisism. This is how one gets better, and I appreciate you for it.

OK, I am going to lower the sound of the vocal and the chorus. Luckily I can do that and repost with artistlaunch,but I wont impose on you to listen.

THat control is a very big problem. I am happy that its better than it was before before. I hope that it only gets better.

Even though hitting those notes is a bit strenous,I don't think the problem is hitting the notes. I think that it must be more is the passagio. Going from chest voice to head voice is a bit of an iffy situation yet.

I sang it at this pitch just to prove that I could do it. I would normally turn it down about 3 semitones.

Since you cared so much to point it out, what I am going to do is totally go over the whole piece and mark out were the straining and out of pitchness are, and then I will punch them in.

THanks man.
 
One reason I like this song is because it's lovely, and another reason is because I've listened to it 12 times LOL.

Yeah, the vocals are still a bit overpowering in relation to the instruments. If it was mine, I'd cut the main vocal 1, maybe 2 dB.

The intro vocal on this one is ballsier, which nicely sets off that yearning quality in the verses (which probably results from you just trying to reach the notes... :D).

When everything cuts out at 3.30 except the bass - *that's* architecture.

Really nice song. Baba a ye...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top