New Songs - Feedback on Mix/Songwriting :)

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RnRRecording

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Hey guys,
Been a while since I've been on this forum properly. Here's a new song that we've almost finished, off a new project that we're aiming to do over the next couple of months or so. It's called Heart Isn't For Me, and is an acoustic-guitar led rap tune, with sung vocals on the chorus. I'm aware that the mix sounds quite closed and mid-heavy, but some advice on how to make it sound better would be great. Part of the issue is that we're still mixing mostly on headphones as we're still to get monitors (decided on which ones to get... need to find the cash!). Also feedback on general songwriting / the style would be appreciated. Let me know if you like the track :).

Bit different from my older stuff, but if you're interested, you can find the at the link in my sig. Thanks in advance for your help :)

Hulkshare.com Heart Isn't For Me Mix 3.mp3
 
Sounds good so far, sounds like a electronica/rap type deal. Pretty neat. Nice mix, especially on headphones, only recommendation I can say is to take a tad bit of verb off of the vocals during the verses, just a tad bit. It makes it stand out just a bit too much.
 
Thanks, yup I'll try doing that. I tend to find that the vocals are mixed too dry in a lot of rap songs for my liking, so I think I go too much the other way, so will definetly have a play around with taking things the other way.
 
Anyone else got any feedback? Will return any feedback if you link me to your work. :)
 
Sounds really, really good, so take these criticism as pure nitpicking... I find the vocals a little hard to understand especially on the parts where the reverb is a little more noticable as Ninja drummer pointed out. Maybe a teeny bit dryer there to improve clarity. The synth horn part on the left during those same parts seems a little out of place, like kind of a distraction rather than an addition, it jumps out and grabs your attention a bit, but then isn't really something you feel you want to be picking out from the rest if that makes any sense. Small thing, though. I'm really having to reach to find something to say other than... nice work.

J

Edit: I just listened again. I think maybe that's a real trumpet. I still say it could be made a little more interesting melodically given how it grabs your attention, or maybe just nestle it in the mix a little. A touch quieter, maybe slightly more to the center. Ah, what do I know? You're clearly in a whole different league from me, so it's probably out of place me even commenting. Good stuff!!!!
 
In spite of the fact that its not really my genre, I really like this track. It reminds me of the Streets with a bit of Lightning Seeds on the chorus. I love the strings coming in at 2.00. I agree with J above about the trumpet. It competes with the vocal line rather than complimenting it. Try leaving it out altogether if that is a possibility. Another thing I would try (though it might not work) is to reverse the sequence of instruments at the intro i.e. start with the piano riff with no accompaniment then let the acoustic (maybe with bass & drums) kick in later. Its a less obvious approach and sometimes works really well, as it did for The La's on "There She Goes"
 
@jjjtttggg
thanks for the comments, I think I'd agree about the trumpet now, it's a synth horn which I drowned in reverb to make it sound more real. I might try taking it out altogether like beatlebum suggested or improving the melody a bit to make it compliment the vocal line more. And do you mean the vocal on the chorus or the verses? I've been feeling that I need to make the vocals in the chorus a little more prominent, but I'm not sure about that.

@beatlebum
I'm gonna try your alternative arrangement, cos it would be nice to add a bit of interest at the start and set it apart from other tracks like it. And will try taking the trumpet out as well. Do you think it might be a bit boring in terms of instrumentation with just the guitar/bass/drums in the chorus? Maybe a bit of piano too? but often it can sound quite crowded.

Thanks so much for you guys' help, gonna hopefully make some changes in the studio later today so will post another mp3 soon!
 
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