Moonlight

[Stevie_M]

Acoustic ballad off my new solo project. I think it sounds pretty decent, but maybe I'm just insane? I am in dire need of reassurance and/or critique. I've listened to my tracks so much now that I'm naturally adapted to them, so I want to try them on some fresh ears. Specifically, I'd like to hear opinions of my track based on these two points:

1. How it sounds from an emotional perspective. Barring any technical/production impurities, does the track have soul? Does it move you? Is it unique/interesting? How does it sound from the perspective of the AVERAGE listener?

2. How it sounds from a professional/commercial standpoint. Quality of the recording and the mix.

** I am aware there is a lot of reverb and delay on the guitars. It was an intentional, stylistic choice that I felt contributed to the "dreaminess" of the track. Is it appropriate or excessive?

Thanks so much guys!

 

[CrowsofFritz]

I'm not into this kind of music, so I don't really feel anything from it, but it sounds good! I don't really have anything to add to it. The mix sounds good to me. It's funny. I used to be incredibly technical and nit-picky about mixes on here, but now I just go off and say "you don't have to do anything; it's great." I think my own mixes reflect that, too.

 

[dobro]

The vocal panning's unusual - it sounds skewed right and there seems to be nothing in the center. The delay/verb on the guitar at 1.11 sounds delicious to me, but sounds excessive at 1.33 and 2.41. Go figure.

Lovely song. If you can't hear it anymore, put it on the shelf for a week or two and listen again.

 

[TripleM]

I thought the vocals were really good. Good tone and nice harmonies. I thought the reverb you used was "too big" for a song like this. I'd go for an intimate sound.

The bass is a bit boomy in spots. I might roll off some low end.

Oh yeah and I'd go for a smaller reverb on everything else too.

 

[Mickster]

Yes...someone said it.......the panning seems strange and far from natural. Try to create some sort of fairly consistent "sound stage" in the mix. Things come at you from all directions and the right side seems to be where they land. A little too much reverb too. Yes...I know I'm being general here...........but that's my take on it. The reverb and the panning take away from what appears to be a spacious flowing melody that doesn't need so much in the way of effects. There's something else in there too. A keyboard of some sort. Piano? Bring that our more??? Just my 2 cents. Thanks for letting me listen.

 

[VomitHatSteve]

The panning mostly sounds pretty reasonable to me, actually. There's one guitar which is a bit further left than I'd recommend, and most everything else leans a little right, but it's not too bad.
There's a lot of reverb on everything, but I've heard worse.

My big concern technically is actually the noise floor. Every time there's a big pause in the song, there's a lot of background fuzz. The reverb probably exacerbates this, actually.

 

[Stevie_M]

Thanks guys for the reviews thus far.

As for the panning, I'll try centering the vox a bit, but I intentionally panned the male and female vox to establish a "call and response" type vibe. I wrote the song from the perspective of two star crossed lovers singing to each other in isolation. Wow that sounded really sappy, haha. I realize the guitar solo is a bit long, but I feel it tells a story. Sounds like I need to crank up the piano too.

Do you think this song will grow on you?

Please keep the critiques coming!

 

[DavidK]

The arrangement doesn't quite work. Either that, or the song doesn't quite work, take your pick. It doesn't go anywhere. I'm waiting for a synth pad to sneak in, a drum to kick off a new section, a modulation, etc. The performances are good, I enjoyed them. The reverb needs to be backed off a bit. There's a good song in there with a bit of revision.