Hanging Tree (Remake by my 12 yo daughter)

Flyguitarfish

Flyguitarfish

Member
This was a fun one. My 12 yo daughter wanted to make her own version of Hanging Tree from the new Hunger Games movie. We starting messing with it and I made it this big blues type tune. She did a great job on the vocals. I tried to keep it raw with just guitar and vocals, but big with reverb and grit. Advice is welcomed.
Enjoy!

View attachment Hanging Tree.mp3
 
I think the verb is fine, but you probably need to tame it. I can't really hear the voice. I would suggest get the verb to sit correctly to compliment the vocals. Not sure if you are running the verb as a send on on the vocal track, either way you might want to EQ the verb and blend dry/wet.

I didn't think I was going to like it, but it is actually good. But when it is this sparse, you really have to hit it dead on.
 
I think that’s awesome and only 12. Nice. If it was up to me I’d record bass and drums, stick in a nice solo and crank it all up. Then stick on YouTube or something like that.
Guy
 
DM60 said:
I think the verb is fine, but you probably need to tame it. I can't really hear the voice. I would suggest get the verb to sit correctly to compliment the vocals. Not sure if you are running the verb as a send on on the vocal track, either way you might want to EQ the verb and blend dry/wet.

I didn't think I was going to like it, but it is actually good. But when it is this sparse, you really have to hit it dead on.
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Great advice. I’ll go back and try to clean things up. I rarely add Verb to vocals, but since this one is sparse I thought it needed some. I tried the Soundtoys Little Plate for the first time on these vocals. It’s a great sounding reverb. I only had it at about 30%, but I agree it’s a little heavy handed. Also, my other reverbs have a pre delay, but this stripped down version doesn’t. I did darken it to try to let the original pop out a bit more. I’m going to spring for the full Super Plate version ($49 upgrade) to get a pre delay and a few other options. Maybe I’ll just get the whole Soundtoys Suite ($199 upgrade)?

I also tried the Decapitator for the first time. I think I was a bit heavy handed here too. My daughter also wants to add some piano or xylophone to accent a few parts…so version 2 coming your way at some point today!
 
Flyguitarfish said:
Great advice. I’ll go back and try to clean things up. I rarely add Verb to vocals, but since this one is sparse I thought it needed some. I tried the Soundtoys Little Plate for the first time on these vocals. It’s a great sounding reverb. I only had it at about 30%, but I agree it’s a little heavy handed. Also, my other reverbs have a pre delay, but this stripped down version doesn’t. I did darken it to try to let the original pop out a bit more. I’m going to spring for the full Super Plate version ($49 upgrade) to get a pre delay and a few other options. Maybe I’ll just get the whole Soundtoys Suite ($199 upgrade)?

I also tried the Decapitator for the first time. I think I was a bit heavy handed here too. My daughter also wants to add some piano or xylophone to accent a few parts…so version 2 coming your way at some point today!
Click to expand...
While you are thinking it over, try running it as a send and EQ say to start, 1K-5K and see how that works, then blend the send with the vocal with no effect. See how that comes out. You might have what you need with a little experimentation.
 
DM60 said:
I think the verb is fine, but you probably need to tame it. I can't really hear the voice. I would suggest get the verb to sit correctly to compliment the vocals. Not sure if you are running the verb as a send on on the vocal track, either way you might want to EQ the verb and blend dry/wet.

I didn't think I was going to like it, but it is actually good. But when it is this sparse, you really have to hit it dead on.
Click to expand...
Here’s one with a little more vocal forward with less reverb/saturation. Any better?

Edit: I just saw your last post. I think we were posting at the same time. I’m not sure what you meant about the 1-5k. I’m sure you stated it correctly, I’m just not a pro at this! Thanks!

View attachment Hanging Tree Mix 2.mp3
 
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I think the volume in the first take was fine, and cleaning up the mid lows in the second is definitely closer to the mark. Now, I think I would try a wide band drop right in the center of her Eq about 2db.
Her voice already has lots of presence, sounds to me like that's what you're battling with.

She's a "natural"! ;)
 
JAPOV said:
I think the volume in the first take was fine, and cleaning up the mid lows in the second is definitely closer to the mark. Now, I think I would try a wide band drop right in the center of her Eq about 2db.
Her voice already has lots of presence, sounds to me like that's what you're battling with.

She's a "natural"! ;)
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I am agreement with this. Get the these frequencies under control and reduce vocal volume by a small amount, you will have nailed it.
 
Man, I wish I could sing like that at 12. In fact, I wish I could sing like that now. :)

She's got good pitch and a nice emotion (where does that come from at 12?) . Guitar work is nice.

But... it's all a little harsh to my ears. I tried putting an eq cut at around 2500-3000, and another around 9000. Maybe 4-5 db. I thought that helped a lot. Try it and see what you think. I think this might also be related to the verb complaints.
 
dachay2tnr said:
Man, I wish I could sing like that at 12. In fact, I wish I could sing like that now. :)

She's got good pitch and a nice emotion (where does that come from at 12?) . Guitar work is nice.

But... it's all a little harsh to my ears. I tried putting an eq cut at around 2500-3000, and another around 9000. Maybe 4-5 db. I thought that helped a lot. Try it and see what you think. I think this might also be related to the verb complaints.
Click to expand...
Awesome, thanks. I definitely added too much presence and dropped the guitar too low in an attempt to make the latter version more intelligible. I’ll see what I can do to tame this one and get a little of the feel of the original back without being too distracting with effects.
 
Just a thought, now that the song has matured, you might want her o do another total take.
Also, now that the mix is cleaning up, do you have some drive on the vocals?

I have to say, I think she has a really good voice. Getting a good clear vocal on this would really notch this up a level. I am still impressed.
 
Funny you should ask. That’s the thing that jumped out to me on this last one…on further listening, the saturation poked out way too much for some reason. Maybe I changed the plugin order, or added more at some other point in the chain with a compressor or something. I’m not sure what I did, but I’ll ratchet that back! Thank you.
 
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A surprisingly mature performance for 12 years old!
I'm actually quite the HG fan -- not so much the movies, but the books for sure -- and this is really cool!
Also, I agree with this:
DM60 said:
Just a thought, now that the song has matured, you might want her o do another total take.
Click to expand...
It might not make it to the final mix but definitely worth giving a try :)
 
Flyguitarfish said:
This was a fun one. My 12 yo daughter wanted to make her own version of Hanging Tree from the new Hunger Games movie. We starting messing with it and I made it this big blues type tune. She did a great job on the vocals. I tried to keep it raw with just guitar and vocals, but big with reverb and grit. Advice is welcomed.
Enjoy!

View attachment 135233
Click to expand...
Good version of the song - it sounds to me like you got the wrong mic on her vocal - you need some a little brighter - an there is distortion on the backgrounds - I couldn't tell
if it was on purpose or not.
 
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