Lost At Sea

J

Jags

New member
Song's called 'Lost At Sea' - www.ampcast.com/jags

Haven't been here for ages but I've just been working on my first song in a good while, once again prospering from the advice I've been given here in the past. My best sounding all round song in terms of the initial mix i think, slightly more upbeat than I'm used to aswell! I'm not sure if the lead vocals are ok, i get the feeling they may be getting slightly lost in some of the more beefy parts. I've used the often dreaded, much feared, recorder in the chorus, possibly sounds out of place?

Anyway, I'd be grateful if you'd give it a listen. :)

Jags
 
Hi Jags,
Welcome back. I remember you were one of the first to help me out a while back.

Some random comments as I'm listening...

Ya, the vocals do seem to fall back a bit around 1:00. Vocal panned left around 1:25 might be panned a bit too hard...
Very nice ideas coming in around 1:40, but again, vox too far back...

Some of this reminds me of Radiohead...which I love...
I think you've got a good start here. Panning seems to be something you might want to look at more closely. Things just kinda keep popping up from the sides. I think the bass needs to be a bit more consistant as well.

I believe the next step is to raise those vocals up right away. This should put the rest into a better perspective. You're probably afraid that raising the vocals will spoil the ambience you're trying for. That's the devil at work. He's lying to you.

Overall, this sounds very good. Some others will offer better advice I'm sure. My initial mixes always...and I mean always... have the vocals too low.
There's my two cents...hopefully someone's got a dollar for ya.
Nice song!

-Tom
 
Cool song!

I dig the production,especially the little piano part,(nice contrast),and when the full chorus comes in.

The vocals do seem to get lost in the chorus.
The snare seems a tad to loud,and the overall mix sounds like it has to much high end.
IMHO
I'm listening on pc speakers,so take it for what it's worth.

Very nice song writing!

Best to you,
Pete
 
agreed...lot of sibilance on my monitors, and winamp's EQ display shows some spikes on your S's...
 
The keys had a steel drum sound that I dug, and the dissonance created was effective. I agree that vocals need to come up. Still unsure whether or not I like the bass chording toward the end.
I like your singing voice, very clear and solid.
As far as the writing, I liked the imagery (pyramid/sand, island sighting).
The little drum tag on the end could be cleaned up.
Something haunting about this one that was appealing, very cool.

Mark
 
Jags,
I like the different sounds you create.
I also like how the songs called "lost at sea" and the actual feel of the song is a wavy one, like your rocking up and down on a ship. I don't know if this was intentional, but if it was - Brilliant.

I can't say im a fan of the recorder, i think it sort of makes the song sound less professional. Maybe you could play that line with a nicer sounding instrument - like a flute, or something. But thats just a suggestion.

Anyhow I liked it - p.s. I Like the vocal harmonies
 
Thanks everyone, i'm at work at the moment so I'll reply properly tonight, but needless to say the vocals will be coming up!

Jags
 
This is a great song, something which I could really get into.
Love that haunting piano walkdown.

Only problem I had was the bass, seems like it should flow more or it's out of time in some places.

Good job.
 
I like the ambiance of the music in this one. I love that little piano part that comes in here and there (the first one is about 1:20).

The harmonies that come in around 2:54 are awsome.

I loved the tone on the bass. However I'm listening on cheap headphones, so on a nice system they might be overdone. Don't know. But what I listened to sounded terrific. It faded in some sections and a note here and there didn't seem to be hit right.

I heard some pitch and vocal synching problems at about 1:47. The harmonies through that section weren't so sweet.

I the intro needed some work. What were those lyrics? Something about the sea and quiescense... too heavy for me.

Good job.
 
cool song. i like it.

the vocals are nice but do get buried in the song as it progresses. i really like that piano thingy that comes in and out.
 
This is going to take a while so I better disconnect!...

sluice - panning and bass and vox comments taken on board. Think I'll record the bass again as a few of you have picked up on it and i did think myself that it was a bit inconsistent in terms of level and general competance! Thanks

muzeman - i'm glad that 'that' piano part is appreciated! Before I put it in the bridge seemed a bit too sickly, it's done well to add the required atmosphere! ;) Thanks for the snare advice, I'm hopeless at mixing drum tracks so much appreciated. As for high end, I'll have a go at sorting it. Don't know of any freeware VST de-essers do you?!

mkg - glad you liked the general ambience! What did you mean by cleaning up the drums at the end, is that a mixing or timing issue? My voice is definitely improving with practice and time, thanks for the compliment, and I do try to put a bit of thought into the lyrics so it's flattering that you've picked up on it!

yiordanaki - i did try my best to incorporate lyrical themes into the song, some of the instruments parts were designed with that in mind, but I was surprised myself at how it did take on the feel so well! Not brilliant, more a lucky experimenter with sound! I knew the recorder would grate. Believe me, if I had a flute I'd use it... just be thankful I kept the stylophone away! ;)

lynx - as i said, i'll probably re-do the bass when I get the opportunity, wasn't entirely to my satisfaction either... It all becomes worthwhile when you realise that what you're doing can give some people a little bit of pleasure! :)

Triplem - i was thinking of doing something else with the intro, not sure what, if anything, yet though. I love creating vocal harmonies, glad you liked them! Know what you mean about the 1:47 region though...

erichenryus - thanks, the piano bit seems popular!! who would of thought that a Casiotone CT-607 could spew forth such joy!! ;)


Thanks again everyone, time to get down to some mixing...!

Jags
 
Jags said:
who would of thought that a Casiotone CT-607 could spew forth such joy!!
Click to expand...

knowing that you did that with a casiotone makes me like it even more! every hear a song called "casiotone nation" by soul coughing?
 
Jags, by cleaning up the drums at the end I meant that the beat seems to go on after the song is finished. You could do a fade or slice off a measure or two, where the music has stopped but the drum machine keeps going...no biggie, just something that I noticed at the end.
I still dig the song, looking forward to more!

Mark
 
Ah, I see! That was intentional, just part of the climb down! :)

I still dig the song, looking forward to more!
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot, I'll be working on some more stuff over the next weeks and months!

Cheers

Jags
 
the site was down today, but I listened the other day..


The one thing I remember was liking those piano parts a lot.. I can't remember the other things, but I'll try it again later..
 
Can't believe ampcast, you pay a premium to join and yet they still can't manage to keep the site running all the time. Don't know how many times the site's been down but it's getting annoying! Thanks for listening anyway b.sabbath! :)

Jags
 
I just tried it again, and it was still down.. I should have commented on it when I first listened.. At least I remember liking it.. :)
 
Thanks for persevering B.Sabbath and King Elvis! :) I tried the site a minute ago and it appears to be up and running again, at last!

Jags
 
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