Come And Gone NEW MIX 1

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FoulPhil

FoulPhil

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Ok this is a new song (First Mix) that I've been working on. I actually was able to finish it up, but might make some changes because it might be a little too hillbilly sounding. And I don't have a banjo to complete the sound :P

I arranged some drums that I know might be kind of shitty, but I'm working on a ton of songs and no drummer and at least need it to sound consistent from song to song. Anyway how's it sound?

Phil - ReverbNation


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I also made a new FaceBook page for my non-metal music if you guys would like to "LIKE" my page go for it. Would appreciate the "likes" :D

Phil | Facebook


THANKS!
 
Yeah, any combination of banjo / mandolin / fiddle / harmonica would complete the backwoods vibe for sure. Some tambourine or shaker would be good though. The timing is a little rough in the intro. 'Years have come and gone' pitchy. Maybe a little compression on the vocal. It seems to come and go a bit volume-wise.
 
Thanks for the input. I can't even to get the vocals just perfect, but I'll keep trying. That was just the way it came out naturally with one take on the vocals and I liked it. So, I left it the way it was. Not sure I can do better LOL...
 
Sorry...but listening to that folky-rock tune while looking at that metal face picture of you...just doesn't work! :D

But yeah, nice tune, good playing.
I would maybe push the vox up just a pinch, or just add a touch of body to them...they're maybe a little "light".
 
Yeah man I listen to a lot of songs and it doesn't seem like they are trying very hard, but some how manage to just sound so good. I need to figure out how to take the easy route and just sound good without so much effort.
 
There are some rough spots with tempo in the intro.

I like the song. I like the kick and snare sounds. I like your singing voice. Some cool chord changes.

Words here and there are getting buried by the guitars.

I like the lead acoustic stuff. But some of the high notes get a little tinny.

I didn't care for the reverb - the overall ambiance sounded a little roomy and "cheap." Too wet.

Bass sounds pretty good. It's sitting at a nice level.

Doubled vocals would work well on this song i think. harmonies would be nice too.
 
nice production Phil....mix seems clean and clear...Id prolly like the vocals up a little more

I liked the verb on it...I heard a couple of small timing bits on the drums but maybe because I just read Triples comments and was focusing on them..just on one or two of the fills


I like you cuntry/folky stuff better :)
 
I'll keep experimenting lol. I'm having a hard time with the dynamics of my voice. Is there a compressor, limiter or effect that will get the vocals to be the same perceived loudness so then you can just pop it in the mix and adjust the volume and everything comes through nice, clear and even? Right now I'm stuck doing it manually and it takes a long time. Also, I can't hear the timing issue in the intro and the only pitchiness I hear in the vocals is only on the very last "Years have come and gone" at the end of the song. Does that sound about right to you guys? Or am I already going def? lol. Some of the drum rolls aren't suited well for the song. So, I'll fix that easy.

Thanks for the input :D
 
FoulPhil said:
I'll keep experimenting lol. I'm having a hard time with the dynamics of my voice. Is there a compressor, limiter or effect that will get the vocals to be the same perceived loudness so then you can just pop it in the mix and adjust the volume and everything comes through nice, clear and even? Right now I'm stuck doing it manually and it takes a long time. Also, I can't hear the timing issue in the intro and the only pitchiness I hear in the vocals is only on the very last "Years have come and gone" at the end of the song. Does that sound about right to you guys? Or am I already going def? lol. Some of the drum rolls aren't suited well for the song. So, I'll fix that easy.

Thanks for the input :D
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Not sure what kind of vocal technique you are using or what the mic/pre chain is....but the way it sounds to me is like someone who is 1.) not able to hear themselves while singing, so they push/strain harder, but 2.) their mic/pre is maybe set too low or they are too far from the mic...so you end up with a "light" vocal even though you probably try hard.

Try turning up the preamp gain and get right up on that mic 6"-8"...then crank up the level in the cans.
You can then sing with less push/strain, but still have that nice, thick body to the vocal.
Think "crooner" mentality...bring it up out of the gut and chest...but of course, you don't have to sound like a crooner....it's just that those guys that did it well, were always able to sing almost effortlessly, and still have this HUGE vocal sound.
Then when you want to bring it increase the tension on a word or phrase, bring the vocal up more, out of the gut and into the throat or way up into your "head".

I think a lot of people can sing much better and/or at least with many more different flavors than they realize...just by working the vocal from gut to chest to throat to head....all kinds of different tones.
 
Yeah I use a lot of techniques and I've tried different ways of doing it. Even with the head phone covering one ear to hear how I sound naturally. It sounds different through the head phones. When I sing in lower tones it's not as loud as when I sing in higher tones. So, what happens is the dynamics end up being way too much even though I'm singing in my vocal range. I've tried everything from taking it easy to giving it every ounce of energy that I have. I'm very much an amateur when it comes to singing. I've done a few software singing lessons and what not, but still learning how to get the sounds that I want. Practice makes perfect I'll just keep trying :D
 
FoulPhil said:
When I sing in lower tones it's not as loud as when I sing in higher tones. So, what happens is the dynamics end up being way too much even though I'm singing in my vocal range.
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During a single song?
Do you move in/out of the mic in anticipation of a loud or soft section or singing style?

Some of the really good, seasond singers are great at working the mic...so that you don't need comporession or anyone riding the fader at the console...the singer does everything, but it takes practice to get it smooth and just right.
 
I gave it a few listens Phil. The only thing I really had a problem with were some of the drum fills...most of 'em actually. They just felt off enough to be awkward.

The whole thing seemed a little disjointed though, almost as if you had a groove going with the bass and vocals and another slightly different one with the guitars and drums. I dunno, that's how it sounded to me anyway. The vocals sound like they could be pretty good. I just think they could be captured better.
 
I haven't tried moving in and out too much, sounds kinds of hard.

That's funny about the grooves lol.
 
Hey Phil. Wow, this is a little different from the stuff on your Flatulated page. And a style I think's a little harder to pull off because of the clarity of the instruments and vocals. The timing stuff doesn't distract me too much, I think maybe just work the mic a little more with the vocals like miro was saying, try to get the vox to sound a little "chunkier" or something.

Not sure if you're looking for arrangement opinions but I'm not sure all the acoustic riffing (though well-played) is really serving the song... If it were me, I might try to restrain it a little to the instrumental sections where it really "belongs" but that's probably personal taste.

Cool song.
 
It all sounds well recorded. Nice vocals - could come up a tad in my opinion - remind me a little of McCartney in places. Only criticism is the drums could use a little variation, it sounds a little like you just set a beat on a drum machine and let it run for the whole song. Maybe stop the drums when the other instruments stop, bit of fill and then back in. Overall nice song, well performed and well recorded.
 
Thanks for the input I'm taking a few days off of working on it hopefully I'll be able to hear what everyone is saying lol. To be honest with you both styles are equally hard in different ways. It feels way harder to get the metal stuff to sound GREAT. I've never been 100% satisfied with any of the music I do. What's harder about the non-metal stuff is that I sometimes tend to want to incorporate too many ideas into the song musically because I sometimes feel it to be more boring than the metal stuff. I just keep on trucking because I get better and better at audio in general as I go. I guess my goal is to have some good tunes that sound decent over all, but I need it to sound damn good to your average listener. These are good forums because most people don't notice all the stuff you guys do. They just accept it the way it is and think that's how it's supposed to sound, but WE know it needs to be worked on and perfected.

toad_uk said:
It all sounds well recorded. Nice vocals - could come up a tad in my opinion - remind me a little of McCartney in places. Only criticism is the drums could use a little variation, it sounds a little like you just set a beat on a drum machine and let it run for the whole song. Maybe stop the drums when the other instruments stop, bit of fill and then back in. Overall nice song, well performed and well recorded.
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I'm not a drummer so I just kept the drums simple. I don't think I could do much more without having a real drummer come in and record drums for all 12 songs. Lots of old songs have simple drums that just ride trough the song. Since I'm not a full band there isn't much I could do about it lol.
 
Very abrupt start, makes it sound like a timing issue, or maybe there is? I don't like the open high hat riffs in the intro, part of why it sounds a little funky. A roll around the kit is likely what a real drummer would do there..As i see mentioned above-some stops would be natural-drum editing sucks but does add that extra bit of realism. Overall the mix has a limited/compressed feel, which confuses my ear because this is an acoustic song. Like there's an unnatural amount of info in the "junk zone" around 350 or so and a general lack of dynamics which you expect from an acoustic song-the electric guitar seems almost unnecessary as it just seems to add to that junk zone. I like when those nice chords come in "ill meet you at the picnic table" the elec guitar is actually contributing a part there, if i was mixing i would lose the verse electric and highlight that em-a7 part. Acoustics sound good bass sounds good voice sounds good, you using auto tune? A few notes sound funky when you go low register. I know this sounds like a lot of critique but I like the song and the melody and the singing and was able to listen to it for about 30 min straight so...


Strat
 
Yeah it's the abrupt start. maybe a few seconds of silence would help lol. You are correct I just added Slate Digital FG-X to the master channel and pumped it up to get it loud. Really nothing magical about it. Just keep in mind I'm a total noob when it comes to working on music like this and with acoustic. I just try to do the best I can do LOL. So, I don't know about this junk zone or what the 350 means. No Auto Tune.

But you're right I end up adding more crap than needed trying to spice it up. Most certainly not the final version, but when I'm done with all the songs I'll leave it up to someone else to master. So, hopefully it'll be much better :D
 
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