new session singers second cut

  • Thread starter Thread starter kip4
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kip4

kip4

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this is my recording of U2's one. Backing by me, vocals by my new session singer.
He's 17 and this is his third recording.
Please leave some feedback
What do you like?
What dont you like?
Do you think my singer has potential?

View attachment olly kiy ONE 3.mp3
 
Why this song?
Why a U2 song?
Sorry - personal bias getting in the way.
The vocal performance isn't strong enough to support the holes in the backing during the 1st verse.
The drums sound like they're next door - too much reverb?
The guitar sounds very toppy & thin.
The lead bits are thin too.
The bass started out OK but seems inconsistent in vol. and is at odds with the rest of the track in tone.
The string patch is ultra cheese but that probably suits U2.
The vocalist is rather hesitatnt & a bit pitchy. Needs to inject personality.
Have a fiddle & repost.
Don't throw away the singer but get him to actually sing instead of croon to the mic.
 
rayc said:
Why this song?
Why a U2 song?
Sorry - personal bias getting in the way.....
The string patch is ultra cheese but that probably suits U2.
Click to expand...

Hehe....not a big U2 fan I see? :D

I'm not a huge U2 fan either, but I have to say this is my favorite song by them.

OK....first of all...."Session Singer"? Sounds like a pretty lofty title for a kid recording a demo in someone's basement. Are you actually paying him?

As far as the tune, I find the drums distant and robotic. They sound distant while the guitar sounds like it's in the same room with me.The vocal performance is ok for a 17 year old, but he sounds like he hasn't reached puberty yet. He has a very "young" voice, which can be cool for some songs. But in this case, it sounds like a boy singing a man's song, for lack of a better way of putting it. He's able to stay on key, but there's absolutely no emotion in that performance.

Overall, there's nothing "BAD" about it, just a few mix issues to make it sound more co-hesive.

This is just a personal opinion, but if you're going to do a cover of such an emotional tune, the one thing that has to be there more than anything else is emotion. I didn't hear any here.
 
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The guitar in the beginning is noticeably out of tempo with the sleigh bells and the shaker.

Way too much sub-low-end in the bass and not enough of the mid-range (100-500hz). I would throw in a hi-pass at around 40hz.

Bit of quantization on the string synth but that could be from the overall downgrade in quality from conversion to mp3.

Sounds like the acoustic guitar was close-miked to the extreme. It sounds very drab and uninviting. I think it would sound better if you captured more of the resonance of the sound overall, so I would re-track it, if possible, but with the mic about 12-15" away from the sound board. What kind of mic was used on the acoustic?

Could go for some reverb on the sleigh bells and the shaker and the synth strings as well. Levels on those two instruments could be brought up a bit.

Be careful on the ends of phrases on the acoustic and on vocals, especially in the more exposed sections of the song. Might wanna tighten up the expander/gate on both of those tracks.
 
thats what i'm talking about
thanks guys
i will look into the issues and redo some more work on it
out of intrest my session singers work on an unpaid basis (they do sessioons for me and repay me by singing overdubs , harmonies on my other jobs. payment for them is they get to do some of there own recordings. for a poor man like me its a win win situation)
 
Aside from what others mentioned.

The bass has a "rubber ball" sound to it.

The change you made to the chorus (with the pauses) was interesting. But it kind of takes the wind out of the sails of the song. The listener is waiting for that big hit from the chorus of the song. And as soon as it hits, there are these big long pauses.

The gutiars are all pretty thin and/or direct sounding.
 
The instruments and vocals all sound like they're in different rooms. Need to dry them out and send an effect send out or something. Singer has a nice high range but could use some more punch in his voice. But I'd rather a softer voice in key than a wobbly screamer...lol.
Performances are great just tighten up the room a bit...
 
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