Give it to me Straight

[cloudchamber]

This song is supposed to be a stirring and passionate love song. The mix is good, but not perfect, so I want some other opinions. If its possible, I would love to hear some feedback on the tone of the song, as well as technical pointers. My main questions are:
1. How is the vocal quality? ie. use of effects, how well is it blended into the mix?
2. How is the quality of the backing track? Does it sound professional? Does it need more orchestration?
3. How does the song flow? does it seem natural or awkward?

Here's the link:
http://www.soundclick.com/util/streamM3U.m3u?ID=41674&q=Hi

If that doesnt work, go to the site at

soundclick.com/tenninerecords

There's only one song up to avoid confusion.

Thanking you in advance,

Matthew Neale

 

[Sonic Misfit]

Nice song, not overdone on the instrumental portion. Just right for the type of music where you want the vocals to be showcased.

The weak spots, in my opinion, is that the bass (sounds like a synth instead of bass) is too chopped. There is a thump and then dead. It needs to have a little more life to add a solid bottom.

Bring out the lead vocal with a little reverb, in a couple places the backing vocal came out too much and overpowered the lead.

Just my opinions...Good Job!

 

[samich17]

it sounds pretty good, but it doesn't sound like professional R&B....the hand drums especially make it sound amateurish, yet still very good...i would have to agree about the bass, it sounds synth, which really wouldn't be a problem if it was arranged more to sound like a real bass...the lyrics are straight forward and the singing maintains a nice tune... good length, nice outro....i'd take out the hand drums or blend them into the mix a little bit better, so you can barely hear them, you'd be surprised what shadowing an instrument can do to your mix...in this case, it is much to loud...nice song, great job..keep it up

 

[mixmkr]

as I am listening to the track, I have to agree with sonic's comments...basically all of them. Nice tune, good singing. Nice backwards cymbals, ...and chimes!! Maybe a little less use of the cymbal as it is soooo tasty, and you don't want to over do it.....maybe Maybe a little more buildup of the song in the middle. With the exception of the ending, it is all kinda one constant level from the beginning...which I know a lot of songs do...but in this one, it might help things a bit. Maybe a new sound (pad, whatever) introduced in the middle somewhere, and that could be it. Just one simple track, maybe. good job.

 

[cloudchamber]

Thanks for the feedback!!

Thanks a lot, guys. Its amazing how fresh ears can pick things out of a mix. I will definitely take all your comments to heart. I would like a little clarification on a few things though. Its interesting you ALL commented that the bass sounded synthetic; it was a real bass player--I must have WAY overprocessed it. lol

Samich17: I'm not sure what you mean by the "hand drums." Are you talking about the percussion sounds (ie. cabasa, shaker, etc.)?

Thanks Again

 

[muzeman]

cloudchamber,
Nice song,really good piano playing&vocals.

I agree with mixmkr,breaking it up in the middle would be good.

After the verse where you start with "you have this word",an instrumental verse would be nice,mabey modulate up half a tone and stay there for the rest of the song or come back down when you start to sing again.

Also what I do with my acoustic guitars is,play the backing rhythm/
melody in 2 differant registers,and pan them at 9 and 3 o'clock.
Really fills out the song,mabey it would work with piano.

Just my 2 cent's

Good Luck,
Pete

 

[cloudchamber]

I updated the song. Tell me what you think of the changes.

 

[Sonic Misfit]

Matt,

I wish that I had kept a copy of the original to compare that changes, but WOW. Very good job.

The bass is more full and natural sounding and the backing vocals are not stepping on the lead.

Nice work...I hope that you are happier with the sound.

 

[cloudchamber]

yes

Way happier. Such simple changes-- I dont understand why I couldnt hear them. From now on EVERY mix is going up here.

Thanks again...

Matt