Help me make this song more ALIVE!

  • Thread starter Thread starter PiltdownMan
  • Start date Start date
P

PiltdownMan

New member
I tend to have lifeless mixes. I don't know all the ins and outs of compression, eq, reverb, et al. Listen to this song, "This Is My Head," and give me some technical advice on how to make it sound more ALIVE! I want some punch to my songs.

Maybe it's just because I'm a sucky vocalist.

http://www.nowhereradio.com/artists/album.php?aid=2881&alid=-1

Disclaimer: I am a single artist in a bedroom, not a band. I've had Cubase 5.1 for a few months, analog previously. I have an Alesis QS6 keyboard, fxpansion dr-008 drum machine, Jackson PS-4, a cheap Washburn bass, Aardvark LX-6 soundcard and a Zoom 2020 for effects. No amps. And my mic sucks. So cut me a little slack. :-) Still... I want to improve, and some of you guys are awesome, so please give me some real advice.

P.S. This has the lyric, "Good for you if you can choke the motherf***er down, we'll be waving to you when you f***ing drown" in it, for those of you who are bad language sqeamish.

Thanks!
Piltdown Man
 

Attachments

Ignore the attachment. I screwed that up. Still new here. Use the NoWhereRadio link. I'll learn. :-)
 
Bass!!!

vocals r strong...guitar has good emphasis...but the bass just seems to float on top of the music and needs a little snap to match the emphasis of the guitar. the bass lightly floatin' against the snappy guitar holds the song back.
 
nice groove to start......i'd pull up the drums a little........the vocal is a little muddy........what kind of mic are you using? sounds like a dynamic mic rather than a condensor............interesting song...kinda cool.........good job
 
THanks for the feedback.

powderfinger: I'm using an ElectroVoice MC100 dynamic mic. It's, like, a $60 mic. I have REALLY limited equipment. What do I gain with a condenser mic? How much more will that cost?

Kevin Allen: How do I punch up the bass and make it "float" less?

Thanks!
 
Bass!!!

needs a little more thump rolling off the tip of ur fingers, try to let it match the snap of the guitar, not a harder note, just a little more thump rolling off the finger. the guitar had snap, the bass seemed a little soft.
 
I didn't think it seemed that lifeless. I didn't think you were that sucky of a vocalist either (at the begining of the song I thought maybe you were, but later on you demonstrated what you can do).

I did think the song moved kind of slow. But it was more a style and material thing, not a recording or mixing thing.

Mixwise, there were a few minor things I didn't care for. The delay on the vocals didn't really help anything. Instead I'd either use reverb and/or double track them.

I didn't care for the tone on the guitar during the chorus. A bit too distorted. The panning going on through there gets kind of crazy if you're listening on headphones. Pan it, just not as hard IMO.

Bottom line - it's not as lifeless as you probably think.
 
PiltdownMan said:

powderfinger: I'm using an ElectroVoice MC100 dynamic mic. It's, like, a $60 mic. I have REALLY limited equipment. What do I gain with a condenser mic? How much more will that cost?


Thanks!
Click to expand...

Condensors are generally considered much better for recording vocals, but not as good live.......they will get a much crisper, cleaner sound............they start as low as $100.....look at Marshall's MXL mics
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top