New Original Tune: Everything Always (Alternative Rock Guitar Synth Pop Love Song)

[Flyguitarfish]

Definitely a different direction for me. I generally stick with “real” instruments but I added synth and electronic drums to the guitars on this one.

Everything Always: at first glance the lyrics sound a little crazy until you realize that when we give our hearts to someone we really are promising to give them everything and hoping to receive everything in return.

Any mixing feedback (and feedback to help the arrangement add impact) is definitely appreciated!
Thanks for listening and for your help!

Lyrics:

Everything Always

I don’t ask for much
Just your heart
Just your everything
It’s just a start
And when you’re ready
All of your time
All of your soul
And all of your mind
I don’t ask for much
Just your heart

One last try…
Say your goodbyes…

One last try…as sure as the moon falls out of the sky
Say your goodbyes…standing so still, drying your eyes

I don’t ask for much
Just your heart
Just your everything
It’s just a start
And when you’re ready
All of your time
All of your soul
And all of your mind
I don’t ask for much
Just your heart

 

[Papanate]

Neat song - wanted a little more range on the vocals - to differentiate them - BTW nothing to do with the song but you spelled “Your" wrong on the first ‘All of You Mind’.

 

[Flyguitarfish]

Neat song - wanted a little more range on the vocals - to differentiate them - BTW nothing to do with the song but you spelled “Your" wrong on the first ‘All of You Mind’.

Thanks for the feedback!
You —> Your…fixed!

I basically have a 1.5 octave range…so I’m pretty limited with my vocal offerings. My daughter on the other hand is amazing. Maybe I’ll see what she can add. Hmmm.

 

[Papanate]

Thanks for the feedback!
You —> Your…fixed!

I basically have a 1.5 octave range…so I’m pretty limited with my vocal offerings. My daughter on the other hand is amazing. Maybe I’ll see what she can add. Hmmm.

A little top end in places would work wonders.

 

[Flyguitarfish]

A little top end in places would work wonders.

As far as Eq?
I did pull out some top end because it was getting a little too airy…but maybe I should put a little back in.

I’m thinking I should adjust volume levels a bit too. The vocals seem a little too loud in the intro. And one of the vocals is a little too loud on the back end of the song.

Also, thoughts on having the drums cut out so early? I kind of like it but not totally sure.

 

[Papanate]

As far as Eq?
I did pull out some top end because it was getting a little too airy…but maybe I should put a little back in.

I’m thinking I should adjust volume levels a bit too. The vocals seem a little too loud in the intro. And one of the vocals is a little too loud on the back end of the song.

Also, thoughts on having the drums cut out so early? I kind of like it but not totally sure.

No on the vocals - like with your daughter.

 

[mark skinner]

I Love the overall feel of this ! Great job on the vocals. How did you treat (mainly panning) the background vox ?They seem to spread to almost being hard panned. I think I'm always too conservitive with vox panning and don't get the fullness you got in this one.
As far as the mix , I believe I would back off the backing vocals a little around the 1:09 mark to the end. Really Enjoyed it .. mark

 

[gecko zzed]

I enjoyed listening to this. It was engaging, interesting and original. I wouldn't mind hearing a change in the middle, something to give the listener a musical surprise. Maybe an instrumental break lifted a tone or something

 

[Flyguitarfish]

I enjoyed listening to this. It was engaging, interesting and original. I wouldn't mind hearing a change in the middle, something to give the listener a musical surprise. Maybe an instrumental break lifted a tone or something

Agreed, monotonous for sure. I’ll have to think about that. Could definitely make it more interesting.

 

[Flyguitarfish]

I Love the overall feel of this ! Great job on the vocals. How did you treat (mainly panning) the background vox ?They seem to spread to almost being hard panned. I think I'm always too conservitive with vox panning and don't get the fullness you got in this one.
As far as the mix , I believe I would back off the backing vocals a little around the 1:09 mark to the end. Really Enjoyed it .. mark

I recorded the background vocals twice then hard panned them. They each get their own processing. That works great for that big sound, especially for choruses.

For verses I usually only pan backup vocals about 15-20% R and 15-20% L and process them pretty dry to sound more like a duet rather than a big chorus.

I agree the backing vocals were too loud in parts. Thanks! I’ll go back and make some adjustments.

Much appreciated!

 

[dobro]

I used to listen for the music and the lyrics when I listened to songs, and my criterion of a good mix was one where the sound didn't get in the way, nothing poked out. Now when I listen to a song, the sound of it - the texture of it and the space - are up there with the music and the lyrics. On a first listen, I like the music and the sound of this one. That's huge. It'll take more listens to tease out the words. (Or I'll just cheat and read the lyrics above lol.) Good work.

 

[Thekesslerboy]

Nice vibe to it and the electronic instruments blend well with your usual stuff. It is a bit short at 2:20, so could easily take a small middle 8 or run out to get it to a still brisk 3 minutes. A Psychedelic Furs and Semisonic feel to it.

 

[Old Music Guy]

Everything Always: at first glance the lyrics sound a little crazy until you realize that when we give our hearts to someone we really are promising to give them everything and hoping to receive everything in return.

That is not evident in the lyrics at all. Sounds like "gimme, gimme" with no reciprocation.
Slower would be more impactful for what I perceive as a ballad.
Overall, it thought it was good. There is a significant amount of hiss at the start of the vocals.

 

[cmharwood89]

I dig the composition and the performance. I think you work really effectively within your range, and it's a good fit for the song. I do agree that a higher vocal part (maybe around 55 seconds) would be lovely.

I hear the mic noise too, along with some mouth noises that seem accentuated by what sounds like a boosted top end. I saw you said that you backed off on the higher frequencies, but there's still a distinct sizzle. What mic are you using, and what does you EQ look like? Maybe cut another few dB above 8k or so?

Love how you handle the background vox. The panning is great, sounds big, wide, and lush.

 

[albie]

Sounds great to me. Anything else I say would be personal to my tastes. (oh, go on then!...Chuck in some weirdness. Maybe something to make it stand out. I hear a lot of music on forums made by...normal people? People OTHER than Sting. And I think most of it is very proficient but will never open doors to some new world for them. You have to go beyond what already is. And then beyond THAT. Music is terrible right now. And still sells. You only need one good song on an album now. Ahem! OWL CITY! AHEM! Anyway, be experimental. That's what I came here for. Please?)

 

[Flyguitarfish]

I dig the composition and the performance. I think you work really effectively within your range, and it's a good fit for the song. I do agree that a higher vocal part (maybe around 55 seconds) would be lovely.

I hear the mic noise too, along with some mouth noises that seem accentuated by what sounds like a boosted top end. I saw you said that you backed off on the higher frequencies, but there's still a distinct sizzle. What mic are you using, and what does you EQ look like? Maybe cut another few dB above 8k or so?

Love how you handle the background vox. The panning is great, sounds big, wide, and lush.

What you’re hearing is a ton of compression. All buttons in Nuke mode on the CLA-1175. It works wonders on a dense rock mix but is probably too much for a sparse mix like this. I could back off on that and get rid of most of what you’re hearing. Could also gate the vocals and back off on the top end. Thank you for the feedback!

 

[Flyguitarfish]

That is not evident in the lyrics at all. Sounds like "gimme, gimme" with no reciprocation.
Slower would be more impactful for what I perceive as a ballad.
Overall, it thought it was good. There is a significant amount of hiss at the start of the vocals.

Yeah, it’s supposed to sound “take, take, take” for the effect. The listener has to connect the final dots and realize that both parties should be willing to give, give, give if a relationship is “wholehearted”. That’s how I see it anyway!

Agreed with the hiss! See post above…thank you for the feedback!