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lancelot0888
New member
Hi! Guys, I really need a feedback on this mix. Please tell me how can I improve this mix because I think it sounds like crap. Please help me improve this recording. Thank you! 
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lancelot0888
New member
Anyone? I really need your help guys.
Steenamaroo
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Hi there,
Have a bit of patience.
Quite often threads don't get replies for hours, or even days.
I don't think it sounds like crap, but I think I would do some things differently.
What way have you recorded and mixed the guitar? It sounds like there's been some copying/pasting going on, or maybe some polarity flipping? It sounds very very wide.
It doesn't sound natural, which I think is important in an intimate recording like this.
The vocal is a little muffled sounding. It's a bit hard to make out what you're saying sometimes.
Can I hear some room ambience going on there? It's hard to tell, but tell us about your recording environment.
That section building up through the 4 minute mark has potential, but the accumulative muddiness of the vocal is spoiling it for me at the minute.
Have a bit of patience.
Quite often threads don't get replies for hours, or even days.I don't think it sounds like crap, but I think I would do some things differently.
What way have you recorded and mixed the guitar? It sounds like there's been some copying/pasting going on, or maybe some polarity flipping? It sounds very very wide.
It doesn't sound natural, which I think is important in an intimate recording like this.
The vocal is a little muffled sounding. It's a bit hard to make out what you're saying sometimes.
Can I hear some room ambience going on there? It's hard to tell, but tell us about your recording environment.
That section building up through the 4 minute mark has potential, but the accumulative muddiness of the vocal is spoiling it for me at the minute.
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polarity
New member
I agree with Steeno. The guitar sounds way too wide. The vocal definitely needs some work. The notes are really supported by breath at all so they are kinda weak and shaky. He also wasn't confident in going for the falsetto and some of the higher notes and just kinda trails off with them.
All in all a good start but keep working at it.
All in all a good start but keep working at it.
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lancelot0888
New member
Hi there,
Have a bit of patience.
I don't think it sounds like crap, but I think I would do some things differently.
What way have you recorded and mixed the guitar? It sounds like there's been some copying/pasting going on, or maybe some polarity flipping? It sounds very very wide.
It doesn't sound natural, which I think is important in an intimate recording like this.
The vocal is a little muffled sounding. It's a bit hard to make out what you're saying sometimes.
Can I hear some room ambience going on there? It's hard to tell, but tell us about your recording environment.
That section building up through the 4 minute mark has potential, but the accumulative muddiness of the vocal is spoiling it for me at the minute.
Hi! Thanks for the fast response, I recorded the acoustic guitar mono and aimed at the 12th fret then Duplicated it and pan one to the left and the other to right then I set the other track to be delayed by a 15 milliseconds.
Yes, I think it's the room ambience you are hearing. I have no proper acoustics in my room and I record with only one cheap condenser mic with a behringer usb mixer. What can I do to make this recording sound good? Thank you again.
Sorry for being impatient tho
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lancelot0888
New member
Thank you for the response. By the way, I am the one who is singing and playing the guitar. Do you think the vocals sounds bad and should I retrack it again? I appreciate your feedback!
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polarity
New member
I would. Work on your breathing some and learn to take a breath and use that to steady the notes you are singing. They will sound much better that way. Also work on saying the words clearly
Steenamaroo
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That makes sense.
It's personal preference but I guess most people would agree. I'd delete the duplicate and either
- track the guitar again to give two unique recordings, and pan those apart or
- keep the single guitar recording down the middle and use a stereo reverb to add a bit of width and space to it.
Personally, I'd rather hear a nice well recorded mono guitar than a pseudo-stereo effect. I find it very distracting.
I agree with the comments about the vocal. The room's probably a factor but I think you could maybe sing with a little more strength and confidence.
Are you trying to be quiet so as not to disturb people? That's common in home recording.
Mr Clean
AKA Teddy Wong
A bit of friendly advice. If you spent a bit more time around here and commented on other peoples works, you might get more people listening and helping you out. Flying in, posting a song and expecting help immediately without giving anything back wont do you any favours in this place.
Personally I agree with the above. The guitar sounds too wide and kind of wrong/awkward. If you want a good stereo guitar, play it twice and pan it accordingly. Copying a track doesn't often sound good, even with a time delay.
I thought the singing was alright for what it is. As mentioned above though, work on your breathing in the intervals of the vocals.
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lancelot0888
New member
Thank you sir! How should I eq my vocals in this kind of arrangement? I really don't know what plugins should I use for mixing the vocals. Sorry for many questions
DM60
Well-known member
Lance you've been here a lot and we all like helping you, but we also like for people to give back. You really should take some of this to heart and contribute back a bit more. You get two things out of it, one you learn, two, people don't mind reciprocating in kind. Even if you feel you can't add to the comments, you can by just saying, good tune, or I hear this, you don't have to be the expert, just show you are participating.
With that said, you're improving with every new recording. On this one, your vocals need a bit more rehearsing, I think that would do a lot for that area. You can never be to familiar with a song, even if it is yours.
Also, if you want to fatten up the guitar, you can add layers by double tracking. It takes practice but it is worth it. It doesn't even have to be the same thing, just the same key and add textures to the tune.
Trending very positive. Do a few more takes, listen to the parts you struggle with and rehearse them until you like them.
Steenamaroo
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I think you could probably get a lot more out of how you're singing and how you work the mic.
Eq, if needed, should be your final touches rather than a fix-all, you know?
I duno, maybe how you approach it is important. Rather than singing to the mic, forget the mic is there and sing to an imaginary person 40 feet away. Try to be heard without shouting. Think to yourself, can they make out the words?
You hear the difference between the verse and chorus? The verse is much less clear.
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jamie_drum
New member
The copied / panned / delayed guitar doesn't work at all. Better to try for a nice stereo recording, or just stick with mono otherwise. Or double track...but that might be more challenging to get the same performance, given the way the guitar is played.
Singing is ok but I agree with the comments above
Singing is ok but I agree with the comments above
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lancelot0888
New member
Ok, I'll do that from now on. I'm afraid to comment on other people's work because I know im not an expert in terms of mixing but maybe I'll try to give simple feedback to others from now on.
Thank you again for the feedback and I'll try to retrack some of the vocal parts.
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lancelot0888
New member
I am having a hard time recording the verse because it is very low and very quiet, I don't know what should I do to record it. I find it easier to record the chorus part than the verse. I'm frustrated right now. Thank you for the feedbacks! I appreciated it
Steenamaroo
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I suppose the thing to do is warm up well and sustain some of those low notes that you struggle with to build your strength and confidence a little.
Either that or find a melody at a higher inversion, or re-record the song at a higher pitch.
I expect the former would be fine though.
Either that or find a melody at a higher inversion, or re-record the song at a higher pitch.
I expect the former would be fine though.
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lancelot0888
New member
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Crazy Luke
New member
I agree with the above posters that you shouldn't have done a copy>paste on the chorus. Also, this song needs a little sweetening (Cello, strings, dubstep, tribal drums), something to hold the listener's interest through the whole song.
Also, try to put on a little bit of light compression on the guitar to smooth it out.
Good "organic" song!
Also, try to put on a little bit of light compression on the guitar to smooth it out.
Good "organic" song!
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Greykitkat36
New member
The vocals don't match the guitar--in other words, it sounds like they were both recorded separatley, which isn't what you want for this kind of song. You want it to sound like one solid performance. A way to fix this is through Eq. Cut out some of those lows in the vocals. Depending on what kind of mic you used, you should be able to cut everything below 100hz and not loose any bass clarity. Also a slight boost in the 3k-5k can put some more brightness on the vocals.
Agree with everyone about the stereo sound. The acoustic is def. panned too hard. It SOUNDS good however, just a bit too panned, which sounds too unnatural. If this was a song with tons of other instruments it wouldn't matter as much, but for a solo acoustic song, you should try and bring that in more center. I can also hear the cut and pastes in the vocals, specifically when the second harmony comes in. I would resing the song again (if you can) all in one take, and don't worry about the other parts, you can add them in later. I would take that second harmony down in the mix a bunch considering it's the same vocalist. If it's lower in the mix it'll be harder to distinguish. Although, it's also a personal taste thing, if you happen to like that louder, go for it.
Keep in mind these are all suggestions and in the end, you need to be happy with it, because you'll never please everyone.
Agree with everyone about the stereo sound. The acoustic is def. panned too hard. It SOUNDS good however, just a bit too panned, which sounds too unnatural. If this was a song with tons of other instruments it wouldn't matter as much, but for a solo acoustic song, you should try and bring that in more center. I can also hear the cut and pastes in the vocals, specifically when the second harmony comes in. I would resing the song again (if you can) all in one take, and don't worry about the other parts, you can add them in later. I would take that second harmony down in the mix a bunch considering it's the same vocalist. If it's lower in the mix it'll be harder to distinguish. Although, it's also a personal taste thing, if you happen to like that louder, go for it.
Keep in mind these are all suggestions and in the end, you need to be happy with it, because you'll never please everyone.
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cali_afroman
New member
I'm new to this site but love it so far, not a professional either but a few things...
Vocals: record them again and focus on not moving closer and farther from the mic. Pronunciation and articulation. It may be better to sing a little more articulated then what might feel right but it may sound better once it's recorded. Maybe even get a female vocal on the chorus or the bridge part.
Guitar: mono would be better. You can add some light reverb for texture as well as strings or another guitar melody as another person said.
All that said, I really like the song!
Vocals: record them again and focus on not moving closer and farther from the mic. Pronunciation and articulation. It may be better to sing a little more articulated then what might feel right but it may sound better once it's recorded. Maybe even get a female vocal on the chorus or the bridge part.
Guitar: mono would be better. You can add some light reverb for texture as well as strings or another guitar melody as another person said.
All that said, I really like the song!