"May Angels Guide" - technology check

[K-dub]

Everything in this is fake. In that, I mean the bass is a synth. The drums are sampled midi. The bongos are a rhythm loop. The female vocals are Yamaha vocaloid synths. The chimes MIGHT be real, but the cymbal swells are samples. Thinking more closely, I think the chimes are samples too - though I have chimes.

Oh - the guitars are real and the Fender rhodes was something I did perform but everything else was added from preexisting modern technology.

As a matter of sharing - it did take some doing to get the "angels" to sing their parts in the right words w/ the right notes. Vocaloids are not easy to work with. The results are interesting though. The harmony vocal, though sung originally by me, was reprocessed to be unrecognizable AS me - and the notes are directed via midi. I was just learning and experimenting with what it would sound like.

A lot of production tricks on this were stolen from George Martin. If one listens to the spruced up Beatles releases, it is amazing how much production candy Martin inserted into their work. Little things, like doubling vocals in certain parts to thicken and lift. Subtle but really effective.

My cousin, Mike, was a nationally known producer (Stacy's Mom has got it going on). He once laughed when he told me that he, more times than not, would tell his groups "We're going to stay here all night until we get something that sounds spontaneous!"

That's this question: Does the technology sound "natural"?

 

[Papanate]

That's this question: Does the technology sound "natural"?

Yes and No - if you didn’t say so in advance - the Girl vocals are obvious not real - but natural - yes they fit - Lead Vocals - Doubling sounds fixed and synthesized - And Speeded up which sounds like the singer could hit the notes - Drums - sound Quantized but not tech - but stiff - Bass I can’t tell either way - it’s in the background - The Rhodes sounds like a Rhodes - the whole production doesn’t sound like a performance though - so maybe that’s the Technical Part - Interesting and well written song - sounds like a late 80s production - the bells coming through are a nice touch - but very loud compared to everything lese.

 

[K-dub]

Yes and No - if you didn’t say so in advance - the Girl vocals are obvious not real - but natural - yes they fit - Lead Vocals - Doubling sounds fixed and synthesized - And Speeded up which sounds like the singer could hit the notes - Drums - sound Quantized but not tech - but stiff - Bass I can’t tell either way - it’s in the background - The Rhodes sounds like a Rhodes - the whole production doesn’t sound like a performance though - so maybe that’s the Technical Part - Interesting and well written song - sounds like a late 80s production - the bells coming through are a nice touch - but very loud compared to everything lese.

In the category of "Kev is a huge procrastinator", I started this song when my daughter was born - and I finished it just after my Mom died - probably a span of near 20 years. Now folks know what the lyrics are about.

Thanks so much regarding mentioning the angel's voices. I worked really hard to make the robotic sound ephemeral - so they WOULD "fit" - in an "other worldly" way. I effected them heavily to hide their synth origin. I poked the bass only so much through for the same reason: "there" but adding more feel than distinction.

The doubling (curiously) of the lead vocals are simply multiple takes of the comp'd vocal. I do about 3-5 passes of the vocal - rephrasing and altering the melody/delivery slightly, and then segment each track out line by line, phrase by phrase. I then mute/unmute each segment to determine which pass delivered the best phrasing for a given line - and send each track to a lead vocal bus. The result is each vocal is cherry picked from the 5 source tracks for the best delivery. Unmuting two tracks of the same line results in the doubling effect.

I DID, though, add a slight detune to the lead vocal parts so it may be what's lending a "synthesized" feel to the part(s) (the doubling goes through the same path to the lead vocal aux bus).

I will attend to the chimes. I am in full agreement and wondered if I'd overdone them.

Thanks for the thoughts, P! Always helpful!

 

[TripleM]

I caught some backwards cymbals stuff - I liked that touch.

The fake female vocal didn't bother me much. It wasn't really the center of attention.

Little pitch problem at 2:47? Sort of sounded like it. Vocals are nice and clear. And they have a pleasing tone. Talking about your vocal.

Guitars and Rhodes sound nice.

I wasn't a huge fan of the drum sounds. They were a bit too perfect or slick sounding.

 

[Bulls Hit]

Really cool track. Some vocal weirdness with the doubling/pitch shifting at 3.05 'may you find happiness'. Otherwise the vocal sounds great and the effects are...effective
It does have an 80s vibe, the drums in particular. I agree with Trip, the snare for me is too slick sounding. It needs a bit of dirt or something to get it a little shaggy around the edges. I liked the vocaloid parts too. Everything's generally blending well. Nice job

 

[DM60]

After reading of all the things that were done in the studio from the 60's on, nothing to me is out of bounds. Making it sound good is the only criteria. 80's really ratcheted up synths and drum machines were used a lot during that decade. I am no longer in the purist camp, because it didn't exist after the 50's.

That being said, I think your production is very good, presentation is good, composition is very good. I liked it. So no mixing nits from me.

 

[rob aylestone]

I liked it - and all those vocal tricks worked fine for me. I really hate it when people sort of apologise for MIDI, as if it's some kind of evil. I don't really care if any sound is played by any device, if it is done well. I heard one thing I didn't like and that's just the end vocals where they constantly slide up. Nothing wrong with how it's done, but pitch shifted vocals - either programmed or done live just sound like an effect rather than if humans actually did it. It's just not my taste, not an error.

Everything seems to fit, there is loads of details and a clarity. That piano sound is very good - the voicings work and it sounds real. The drum kit's a bit prominent in places, but again, that's a mix decision that is not wrong - it's your track!

The drums might well be sampled, but sound like you played them in live, rather than using the usual quantisation mistake. For me - the source of sounds don't matter, if they work. Loads, though, sound quantised and fixed velocity - bad MIDI like this are common. This recording sounds human - like real people.

 

[K-dub]

I liked it - and all those vocal tricks worked fine for me. I really hate it when people sort of apologise for MIDI, as if it's some kind of evil. I don't really care if any sound is played by any device, if it is done well. I heard one thing I didn't like and that's just the end vocals where they constantly slide up. Nothing wrong with how it's done, but pitch shifted vocals - either programmed or done live just sound like an effect rather than if humans actually did it. It's just not my taste, not an error.

Everything seems to fit, there is loads of details and a clarity. That piano sound is very good - the voicings work and it sounds real. The drum kit's a bit prominent in places, but again, that's a mix decision that is not wrong - it's your track!

The drums might well be sampled, but sound like you played them in live, rather than using the usual quantisation mistake. For me - the source of sounds don't matter, if they work. Loads, though, sound quantised and fixed velocity - bad MIDI like this are common. This recording sounds human - like real people.

The point of technology is to make it easier to sound better - and to me, that means more natural. The drums ARE a live drummer recorded via midi. So they are played "live". The key is the marriage of the song to the drum prescription - making what's played fit the song. One of the things I caution myself against - because these are REALLY good drummers - is allowing them to be featured unnaturally. They should fit like they were playing the song, and not stand out because it sounds like they were inserted.

Where I usually try to land is allowing the drums to be slightly forward (they're really played well) in the mix but still remain subservient to the material and the production.

 

[K-dub]

Really cool track. Some vocal weirdness with the doubling/pitch shifting at 3.05 'may you find happiness'. Otherwise the vocal sounds great and the effects are...effective
It does have an 80s vibe, the drums in particular. I agree with Trip, the snare for me is too slick sounding. It needs a bit of dirt or something to get it a little shaggy around the edges. I liked the vocaloid parts too. Everything's generally blending well. Nice job

Thanks K! I will give that area a check. Thanks for the detailed notice.

 

[K-dub]

After reading of all the things that were done in the studio from the 60's on, nothing to me is out of bounds. Making it sound good is the only criteria. 80's really ratcheted up synths and drum machines were used a lot during that decade. I am no longer in the purist camp, because it didn't exist after the 50's.

That being said, I think your production is very good, presentation is good, composition is very good. I liked it. So no mixing nits from me.

One of the hardest things for anyone who makes music to do is retain the listener's casual perspective. They don't care what goes into making something sound good. To them, it either works or it doesn't. It's as simple as "I like it." or "I don't like it." - because they're not studying anything. They're listening to simply enjoy it.

I kind of liken this dynamic to watching a sports game. We approach music understand all the rules and the "game play", so we have an "enhanced" enjoyment of what's being done. But, like sports, most spectators just watch w/o really wanting to know the intricacies involved.

 

[OSHC]

I loved the soothing vocals, the unique notes hit by the vocals, and the chord progression. The call and response type interaction between the vocals and the guitars sounds amazing as well. Really cool sound and refreshing vibe!

 

[R D Smith]

I thought everything sounded good. Nothing I heard sounded out of place or wrong for the vibe. Cool song.