The Parting Glass

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Serendipity Records

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Hi guys,

Check out this rough mix of a rough recording ;) of my arrangement of a classic, "The Parting Glass".

Arrangement, lyric reworking, vocals, piano, violins, and viola are all by yours truly.

Looking forward to your comments! It's a work in progress, so don't hesitate :)
 

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That is so sparse, hard to say anything thing negative about the mix. Pretty honest recording. Your words are bit too muffled. I am guessing proximity effect.

Still pretty good overall.
 
DM60 said:
That is so sparse, hard to say anything thing negative about the mix. Pretty honest recording. Your words are bit too muffled. I am guessing proximity effect.

Still pretty good overall.
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Papanate said:
As @DM60 said - sparse mix - The Vocals have a lot of mouth noise which needs to be edited out or re-recorded - and the words are not articulated.
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Proximity is the culprit for sure. The vocals are the first to be re-tracked when/if I get up to it.

Thoughts on EQ/compression/verb? Levels aren't my concern here ;)
 
@JAPOV I'll definitely re-record those vox. The set-up is not ideal for those, and my voice is not very developed, which would be best for this genre.

But until then, here are the lyrics:

Of all the money e'er I had
I spent it in good company
And all the harm that e'er I've done
Alas it was to none but me.
And all I've done for want of wit
To mem'ry now I can't recall.

So fill to me the parting glass
Good night and joy be with you all.


My dearest dear the time draws near
When here no longer I can stay
There's not a comrade I leave behind
But is grieving for my going away.
But since it has so ordered been
What is once past can't be recalled.

So raise with me the parting glass
Good night and joy be with you all.


A man may drink and not be drunk
A man may fight yet not be slain
A man may court a pretty girl
And yet be welcom'd back again.
But since it has so ordered been
A time to rise and a time to fall.

So drain with me the parting glass
Good night and joy be with you all.
 
You wouldn't happen to know a guy named Gavin, would you?

Great Lyric!
 
JAPOV said:
You wouldn't happen to know a guy named Gavin, would you?
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No...?
JAPOV said:
Great Lyric!
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Thanks! One of my favorites. It is traditional -- the first verse is virtually intact, but there are so many different versions out there that I decided to pick bits and pieces to make the second and third verses, and add a touch of story "arc" through the "choruses".
 
Aaaaah, "Traditional", that explains things. I know a Scottish guy (Gav) at another site who has been working a version of this lyric for several years. You'd probably like it... the lyric anyway. He uses BIAB.

Luv'it!
 
The vocalist is way too close at the onset.
A/B them.
It gets better as it goes.

The outro is perfect.
Match that presence at the into with a bit of his personality shining thru and you got a winner.
 
Manslick said:
The vocalist is way too close at the onset.
A/B them.
It gets better as it goes.

The outro is perfect.
Match that presence at the into with a bit of his personality shining thru and you got a winner.
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Thanks for pointing that out! It was a bit inconsistent... again, a rough recording.
 
I Love the sparce mix. It gives all the instruments room to swell and decay more naturally. I thought the violins and viola were Very nice ! vst ??
Enjoyed it .. mark
 
mark skinner said:
I Love the sparce mix. It gives all the instruments room to swell and decay more naturally. I thought the violins and viola were Very nice ! vst ??
Enjoyed it .. mark
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Thanks Mark! The strings are all real. I'm a part-time orchestral musician, so... yeah :)
Edit: Also, I borrowed the idea of a moment of space before the music from you. I won't do it on every single song, but it works very well IMO for this one :thumbs up:
 
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Serendipity Records said:
Thanks Mark! The strings are all real.
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Awesome ! I really didn't think "anyone" could acieve the way they were played , even with a top notch virtual instrument and all the keyboard skills in the world. I wish like hell I could play a violin. Besides bagpipes it's the only instrument I have ever Totally given up on. Traded for a cello that I can fake pretty well. Maybe a viola would suit me better ?? Looking forward to the next mix .. mark
 
@mark skinner Bagpipes/uilleann pipes and violin (closely followed by oboe, apparently!) are the hardest instruments on the planet, so I don't blame you! Must say I really like the integration of the 'cello in your music -- very successful. It might be a bit before I fire up the "studio" again but will post as soon as I have something new.
 
Hey guys,

So I re-tracked the vox and piano -- real piano this time :) Diction is a lot clearer.



I'm a bit dissatisfied with the mix though, and can't figure out what's wrong. I've tried EQing the typical "problem frequencies", but that didn't fix what I think I hear. So... thoughts?

Also I discovered that I'm having serious trouble with processing my vocals. The difference between recorded vocals and what I'm used to hearing is so great that as I listened on 'phones I was subconsciously trying to compensate by mouthing rubbish, and I only realized this when I started gagging. Anyone ever experienced something like this?
 
My thoughts are that everything is a bit separate. The piano is spread wide with nothing in the centre while the vocal is right in the middle. The piano is also a bit too loud which makes the vocal seem a bit quiet and they sound like they are in different spaces. With this style of music you only need one reverb.

I also felt that this could be an NS10 mix - the high midrange seems to have been removed from the lead vocal and the strings sound a bit boxy. In fact, I suspect that the vocal mic that you are using is doing you no favours. It has that typical modern budget LDC "zingy" sound which sounds impressive when you try it in the shop but actually doesn't work well in the context of a full mix.

I'd love to hear the vocals recorded with an SM58 - it may be more appropriate than the mic you are using.

PS - if any readers have a sense of deja vu. I've given very similar advice elsewhere recently about a different mix. There are an awful lot of people using the wrong mic for their voice these days.

PPS - I knew the title seemed familiar - have you seen this project?
 
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First a quick comparison between the two mixes. Second mix is a fairly big improvement. Vox in the first mix, as mentioned, are quite wooly. Real piano in the second mix sounds nice.

On the second mix...

The vocals are a little brassy in spots. Just a bit harsh on certain words. Maybe a multiband comp in the 2K-3K range to tame it? Lot's of mouth clicks. Maybe drink some water beforehand? Some pitchiness in a few spots. Pitch correction could handle it, I think.

Little pop around 1:30. Another at 2:19. I don't think those are mouth clicks. But I could be wrong.

Strings are nice. Maybe pan them slightly? Not a lot. At least when they're in harmony. But the mix is narrow with them down the center.

A pretty song and nice arrangement. Heartfelt vocals and playing.
 
jamesperrett said:
My thoughts are that everything is a bit separate. The piano is spread wide with nothing in the centre while the vocal is right in the middle. The piano is also a bit too loud which makes the vocal seem a bit quiet and they sound like they are in different spaces. With this style of music you only need one reverb.

I also felt that this could be an NS10 mix - the high midrange seems to have been removed from the lead vocal and the strings sound a bit boxy. In fact, I suspect that the vocal mic that you are using is doing you no favours. It has that typical modern budget LDC "zingy" sound which sounds impressive when you try it in the shop but actually doesn't work well in the context of a full mix.

I'd love to hear the vocals recorded with an SM58 - it may be more appropriate than the mic you are using.

PS - if any readers have a sense of deja vu. I've given very similar advice elsewhere recently about a different mix. There are an awful lot of people using the wrong mic for their voice these days.

PPS - I knew the title seemed familiar - have you seen this project?
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Thanks for the listen James!

I get what you mean about the different room sound -- but vox and strings were done in one room, while the piano was close-mic'ed, and the one reverb is on its send.

For this mix I did not get it on monitors yet -- it's a late evening / early morning mix which was hastily done on 'phones (Sennheisers). I am extremely limited in mic choice -- in fact, this entire project was done on the one pair of Shure SM81s, as I don't own an LDC. I have the Behringer SM58 knockoffs, which are a surprisingly awesome bang-for-buck thingy for live use, but s*ck in the "studio". I have experience with far better gear in real studios, but that's only on a client's budget lol.

I guess I should put an official disclaimer out there -- this is not a song I wrote! It's a traditional Irish song (though many "purebred" Irishmen have disowned it as "too British"), and has been sung by many artist -- perhaps most notably, Hozier -- in various arrangements and with various lyrics. This is "just" my arrangement and lyrical rewrite.
 
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