May Angels Guide

[K-dub]

I'm not religious in the least - but I do believe angels walk among us.

Following a comment in another thread, I was wondering about the percussion parts in this one. Are they too prominent as well? I'm seeking whether I'm just rather fond of them and perhaps bringing them a tad too forward.

This piece was written for my daughter and my Mom - for very different reasons.

Oddball curiosity on this one is the female parts are vocaloids (Yamaha invention). I wanted a female to sing (Mom/daughter) and I didn't have one handy when I recorded it - so I improvised.

As per usual, thanks in advance for any/all comments!

 

[dobro]

The 'female' vocal part would stand out more with a muting of the background parts, completely in the first instance, stepwise and graded in the second.

 

[K-dub]

The 'female' vocal part would stand out more with a muting of the background parts, completely in the first instance, stepwise and graded in the second.

That's a curious thought, P. I'll have to chew on how I would make that work. I've got the bongo and percussion up in that section. Mostly it's keys/bass in that segment.

 

[TripleM]

In general this sounds really good. Great parts on just about all the instruments.

The percussion is definitely loud. Is it too loud? Probably not. I will say that there are words here and there that get lost behind a snare hit. So maybe pull it down a db or so. It'll still be very prominent and it won't cover the vocals as much. But you could also leave it where it is and it wouldn't be bad.

There is some sort of "veil" over the vocals. I don't know if it's a chorus effect or something else. But there is a little swirliness. Very little. But I hear it.

 

[K-dub]

In general this sounds really good. Great parts on just about all the instruments.

The percussion is definitely loud. Is it too loud? Probably not. I will say that there are words here and there that get lost behind a snare hit. So maybe pull it down a db or so. It'll still be very prominent and it won't cover the vocals as much. But you could also leave it where it is and it wouldn't be bad.

There is some sort of "veil" over the vocals. I don't know if it's a chorus effect or something else. But there is a little swirliness. Very little. But I hear it.

Great thoughts, bud - and thank you! Since the female parts are "angels", I wanted to convey that in a ghostly sort of manner - and I added such effects to the female parts that smudge the sound of the vocal. They're slightly odd sounding anyways - being vocaloid synths. The effect is intentional. They are swirly. I also buried them slightly in the mix to hide their "synthness". If they were more out front, it would be clearer that they are not natural.

The lead vocal has a slap and small space verb on it, but it is fairly dry - until the harmonies hit. The harmony parts are a harmonizer plug off the main vocal - directed by midi notes (the underlying vocal follows the midi note pattern). It was an experiment in using a new pitch plug in. So they, too, sound phasey and a bit robotic. To my mind, and I might be wrong, the two together add a "sonic signature" to the piece. It can be argued that it's an artificial sonic signature - because, well - it is artificial, but it is what I aimed at.

I'm going to play with the levels of the percussion. Excellent thoughts on them, and I know you're right. It's really a matter of taste, not "correctness".

 

[Papanate]

I'm not religious in the least - but I do believe angels walk among us.

Following a comment in another thread, I was wondering about the percussion parts in this one. Are they too prominent as well? I'm seeking whether I'm just rather fond of them and perhaps bringing them a tad too forward.

This piece was written for my daughter and my Mom - for very different reasons.

Oddball curiosity on this one is the female parts are vocaloids (Yamaha invention). I wanted a female to sing (Mom/daughter) and I didn't have one handy when I recorded it - so I improvised.

As per usual, thanks in advance for any/all comments!

Cool Tune - odd mix - the background vocals IMO don’t work - the artficial nature is too fake for me - the subtle doubling on the Verses is fantastic - the Guitars in the Chorus need to be panned more and brought up - I want to hear a stereo lush U2 type approach - the song has a passing resemblance to Cock Robins “Cowards Courage’ - at least it makes me think of it.

 

[K-dub]

Cool Tune - odd mix - the background vocals IMO don’t work - the artficial nature is too fake for me - the subtle doubling on the Verses is fantastic - the Guitars in the Chorus need to be panned more and brought up - I want to hear a stereo lush U2 type approach - the song has a passing resemblance to Cock Robins “Cowards Courage’ - at least it makes me think of it.

I listened and hear the resemblance as well. Good take. I kind of lean towards agreeing w/ you about the fake harmonies. I think it would sound better w/ real harmonies - but I don't want to have to sing them. Too much "sameness". It "suits" as a placeholder, I suppose, but could be improved upon.

Will take the guitar comments under advisement. Older mixes had them more forward - a little out for my eventual liking.

Thanks P!

 

[Bulls Hit]

Real nice groove on this, I like those keys. I like the angels too, agree with dobro you could mute some of the backing when they come in. Drums are at a good level. They work well during the side stick parts, during the verses they're a little busy - seem at odd with the vibe. The keys remind me of something, can't quite finger it - Yes maybe.
Great track - is this a recent recording?

 

[DM60]

Got a nice little Manfred vibe going on at the start. I am more into heavy lower bass. Maybe add a little below 200, maybe punch the kick more?
Your vocals sound so much like Toy Matinee.

Other than a little more thump, sounds good, maybe vocals pulled back a tad, but I probably would leave them Nice, good tune, good mix.

 

[K-dub]

Real nice groove on this, I like those keys. I like the angels too, agree with dobro you could mute some of the backing when they come in. Drums are at a good level. They work well during the side stick parts, during the verses they're a little busy - seem at odd with the vibe. The keys remind me of something, can't quite finger it - Yes maybe.
Great track - is this a recent recording?

Kind of. I went back into things and swapped everything around for different voicings. For all intent and purpose, the "sounds" are brand new. Great thoughts on the drums, K. I'd wondered if they got a little to "disjointed" and busy during parts of the song - almost like the drummer is just into doing his own thing and isn't serving the song. It's midi drums. Lord knows where the fuck they're from - but generally, I like them. Maybe just swapping out some of the "busy" parts would serve the song better? Thanks bud!

 

[K-dub]

Got a nice little Manfred vibe going on at the start. I am more into heavy lower bass. Maybe add a little below 200, maybe punch the kick more?
Your vocals sound so much like Toy Matinee.

Other than a little more thump, sounds good, maybe vocals pulled back a tad, but I probably would leave them Nice, good tune, good mix.

It's funny, Dave. I actually was listening to this in the car - and it may be the system there, but I consciously pulled the areas you mentioned back because I thought it a little too thumpy in the rumpy. I personally like adding a lot of cream (my euphemism for lows) into mixes, but I know I've a 200hz hole in my hearing so I possess a tendency to overdo it to compensate. I try to watch that deficiency accordingly. Still - this is why I value other ears so much - they hear shit I simply cannot. Point noted. I will blend more back in. I must have stripped a bit too much out in my caution. Thanks guy!

 

[DM60]

It's funny, Dave. I actually was listening to this in the car - and it may be the system there, but I consciously pulled the areas you mentioned back because I thought it a little too thumpy in the rumpy. I personally like adding a lot of cream (my euphemism for lows) into mixes, but I know I've a 200hz hole in my hearing so I possess a tendency to overdo it to compensate. I try to watch that deficiency accordingly. Still - this is why I value other ears so much - they hear shit I simply cannot. Point noted. I will blend more back in. I must have stripped a bit too much out in my caution. Thanks guy!

I have a rather stock stereo in my Focus, it has a tendency to find problem bass areas (40-300 it seems), it gets ugly. When it is bad in the car, it has to be fixed, even though I hear it no where else. Very important to get it right on that system

 

[K-dub]

I have a rather stock stereo in my Focus, it has a tendency to find problem bass areas (40-300 it seems), it gets ugly. When it is bad in the car, it has to be fixed, even though I hear it no where else. Very important to get it right on that system

Mine is a new Hyundai Plug in Hybrid - 2024 - w/ a Bose system. I noticed it's a bit heavy in the low end at default settings - as commercial mixes lean into a low bump as well when I listen.

Originally, my mix of this exceeded comparable low end mixes heard on radio stations. I attributed it to my 200hz hole (which is documented btw ...), so I rolled that area back in my mix updates. I may have gotten too lean down low in over compensation - but I do have a harder time dialing that area in due to my natural impediments in my hearing.

You're right, though. It needs to sound good there. Your Focus sounds like a car version of the Yamaha NS10s - which are used because mix mistakes show up so readily on them.