New sappy song

  • Thread starter Thread starter jmasek
  • Start date Start date
Hi jmasek,

This is a nice little tune, it has a definite Beatles/Lennon vibe to it and I love the laid-back mellowness of the track. You've got some really nice instruments/parts in there that keep interest, and the arrangement is good. Mix-wise, it's close, and this may be a personal taste thing, but there were two things that jumped out as distracting to me right off the bat...

First, the hi hat and ride, etc that is panned way hard to the left - I'd either try to move that back a little more toward center, maybe at about -30 or something similar, or at least maybe take the volume down a tad, probably a little of both. As it is I found it distracting. Do you have stereo overheads? How is your panning set up with the drums overall?

For the vocals, I like the doubled voice thing, and I think that's part of that Lennon vibe (maybe?), but I think you don't need it and IMHO the mix would sound more pro without the doubling. I am assuming you are singing, you have a good voice, and if you work on the vocal track and take the time to make sure it's clean, all the levels are consistent, etc, then I really believe it would sound better on it's own without the doubling. I think a lot of us singers use doubling when we mix our own voices because we don't always like the way our voices sound. But, I am telling you honestly, your voice is very good, so let it stand as out there as an instrument on it's own. People will like it and it will sound like a more modern, better mix.

Those are nits, overall I really liked it...I listened a few times!

Best,

Dave DeWhitt
SoundClick artist: Dave DeWhitt - page with MP3 music downloads
 
Thanks very much for the feedback... On the vocals I put a slapback delay on the main (center) vocal, and then did a background vocal (with a breathier sound and more reverb) panned right. I suspect that the doubled vocal + delay is, as you say, a bit much. Also, the slapback sounds great for articulated consonants, but has a hard time with long, held notes (ie. any "warble" gets accentuated and highlighted).

The drums are EZ drummer plugin - so it's easy enough to change the highhat mix!
 
Yeah, man. I just had another listen. I really like the whole vibe of the song. The vocal doubling didn't stick out to me as much today, but I was listening more for enjoyment today rather than to critique, so that's probably a good sign that it's not a big issue. EZ Drummer...that's at least the second time that I've been fooled by EZ Drummer, or Superior Drummer, or whatever, into thinking it might have been a real drummer...those programs have really come a long way :)

For the overall mix, there are probably some things you could do here and there to tune it in a bit more, but I'm still learning this whole art, so unfortunately I don't have any great suggestions for you. I'm hoping that maybe a couple of other people on here with golden ears might take a listen and offer you some specific things to dial in.

I really enjoyed it, keep up the good work!

Best,

Dave
SoundClick artist: Dave DeWhitt - page with MP3 music downloads
 
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