New song - Locked In

J

Jags

New member
Well actually I recorded it a while ago, but recently retracked the vocals with my new mic. I use a modified clawhammer pattern when playing this one. Nice little acoustic number with some impromtu background wailings to give some atmosphere;).

www.ampcast.com/jags 'Locked In'

Jags
 
Kinda of a sad moody feel to the piece. It was a little boring at first but then the vocals got really interesting (must have been the "impromptu background wailings"). Sounds like a lot of work went into those vocal tracks.
 
hey,

I mistakenly listened to the lo-fi. I was about to tell you that the vocal was horrible when I realized my mistake. THe 128 kbps vocal sounded very good. Nice desirable high end.

The guitar guitar sounded good too.

What I liked best about the mix is the song. I have a soft spot for melancholy melodic music.

THe mix needs low end. The power of a track is in the low end. I was hoping a big bass guit would come in somewhere.

Another thing about bass is that sounds rich in low end and high end sound like they are more upfront. I think the mix would sound more powerful with a touch of bass. The vocal can do with some bass too.
 
hey,

I opened up the file in a wav editor and it was very low in volume.

I ran an eq and succesfully brought the output volume up by 6 decibels without once clipping.

Try this eq. 3.0 decibels at 141 hz with a q of 1.50
 
Jags,
Nice work, sounds like Ben Folds with the Beach Boys as backup. I thought the vocals sounded a little 'back' in the mix, but that might be my crappy PC speakers @ work. I'll try to re-listen on the monitors at home.

Queue
 
MAC2 - Thanks for listening, i can understand it being a little boring;) it is a bit slow on the uptake I guess. Actually the 'background wailings' were completely improvised, I just clicked record and sang, trying to achieve some nice harmonies, both tracks were first take, right through, with no prior idea how they should go. I guess it worked;). The lead and background vocals were slightly more planned however, having been rerecorded when I got a better mic and preamp.

Cyanjaguar - Again, I appreciate you taking the time to listen. I have always intended adding a bass part to it, but the problem is i don't have a bass at the moment and the compromise of using an acoustic with the bass eq way up is ok, but not the same. Also, thanks a lot for the advice on eq and increasing the volume, I need as much advice as I can get on that type of thing. I will certainly take heed of your recommendations and I'll be working to add bass asap:).

Jags
 
Thanks a lot queue, I await your response;). Are you talking about the vocals in general or a particular part? I remember thinking the lead vocal may have been a touch lost in the midst of the chorus but the backing vocal kind of backed it up enough, (appropriately enough;)), that I let it be. I'd be interested to hear your opinion.

Thanks again.

Jags
 
Very nice work. You must've spent a lot of time on those vocals! I really like the section at around 3:20 with the reverby backing vocals in the right channel...they sound very distant and smooth.

I can't really comment on anything else since I'm listening with headphones. The mix sounded pretty decent, and I agree with most of the comments you've received above.

Good work!

Slackmaster 2000
 
I'm beginning to think i should pretend that a lot of thought went into the vocals so it seems more impressive;). Thanks slackmaster, your comments are greatly appreciated.

Jags
 
like the feel

I am a firm beliver there is great beauty in melancholy and this song has ENORMOUS potential to deliver a huge amount of beauty indeed.

A couple of places one of the vocals went a bit flat. My experience tells me that occurs when the singer can't hear themselves well enough.

I would LOVE to do guitar fills for this hehehehe

Best of luck with your work..I look forward to hearing the final mix!!
 
Thanks for the kind words thestickman, very much appreciated indeed. I think I know the bits that you heard problems with the vox, either I was too lazy at the time to retrack or I only noticed it subsequently and haven't had a chance to address it. I've got a day off tomorrow so I'll have a chance to work on it, maybe do something about adding a bass part too.

Feel free to experiment with those fills... what is the standard session rate??:) or maybe a percentage of sales if it ever gets released as a single;) (i get the feeling option A might be more profitable;))

Jags
 
Very nice mood piece Jags. I agree with the comments that it builds powerfully, and that it would benefit from a bass (maybe even an upright bass or a cello!). I also think you could get away with some (more?) compression on the lead vocal.
 
I like it.

this is great stuff. Good harmonies! CyanJaguar is right though, it needs some bass. that would give you a much fuller sound. I also think it could use a little percussion in the buildup towards the end. Keep it up!
 
LI Slim, thanks, I don't know where I'll get hold of a double bass/cello, I'll look into it;). The vocals went through a joe meek pre/compressor/enhancer into the line in so they are already compressed a bit, but I'll play about and see what happens.

Dorker, thanks again for the encouragement, I was working on adding some stuff to it today, I think It'll occupy my weekend;)

Thanks a lot

Jags
 
Brooding, brutal and born of the heart. You have some pin prick lyrics in this song i.e. "here come the vultures to pick at my shame". Nice job at getting the emotion and personal reality across.
If you've the time, tools and inclination I woudl love to here the song with percusion and such. Let the "band" build around the emotional content. Gotta go, I need a tissue.
thanks for the listen.
theron.
 
Thanks a lot theron, it means a lot that you picked up on the lyrical/theme aspects of the song and it had some kind of effect on you;). I'm going to build up some flesh around the song so the vultures can have a treat over the weekend:).

Once again, I'm glad you liked it.

Jags
 
Clean recordings rule!!!

Loved the harmonies. Nicely done!!!

Reminded me of old Pink Floyd to a degree. I kept expecting some booming keyboard tone to sweep across my speakers hehehe

VERY clean recording. Nice straightforward mix and subtle reverb on vocals.
 
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