OK, I'm a dork.

  • Thread starter Thread starter Chris Shaeffer
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Chris Shaeffer

Chris Shaeffer

Peavey ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hi, everyone.

Its been forever since I spent much time here, I know...

I couldn't resist posting my latest tune, though- first fully produced in Cubase SX. :D All comments, reactions, etc are welcome.

There's one part I'm concerned about, though. The end of the rune has 12 layered vocals doing a bunch of different things. It sounds about 95% to me and I'm having trouble nailing the other 5. Whadda ya think? How does it hit your ears.

The tune is called "Standing Ground"

http://www.nowhereradio.com/artists/album.php?aid=1247&alid=-1

Take care,
Chris
 
Hi Chris.

I spelt your name wrong in the Song Writing forum. Sorry.

I'm listening to Standing Ground now.

The song is great.

The only thing I can say is that some places your vocals are overshadowed by the guitar.

The harmony is nice.

Good job. Great song.

The ending is a trip.
 
Beautiful song

I agree the guitar masks the voice at times - I'd like to see the lead vocal brought up, and the guitar down a little- starting around 2:25 has about the right balance I think.
There may be a slight timing issue at the beginnng of the instrumental break 1:20 - 1:30 with the classical guitar solo - sounds a little behind the tempo.
I don't have any suggestions for the layered voices - sounds pretty good to me.
Nice job. :)
 
Outstanding song. I like this a lot. It has a very unique style. The vocal does need to come way up in a few spots. At times, it disappears. I like where you're going with the mix, the end was a nice touch. It just needs the lead vocal to punch through.
 
the cymbal(?) in the background sounds like a drone, rather than part of a percussion instrument....and it seems to be thru the entire song. Also, very hard for me to understand many of the lyrics. The nylon gtr is nice, possibly also because you don't hear it to much on stuff, it seems, and you've used it well for this song.

The chorus' are a wash of sound, and is one of parts that the lyrics really become kinda mushed together. Also seems your bordering on clipping.

I think the 5% you're looking for is some distinction, and separation of the vocal tracks where the entire bar room joins in. Some VERY wide panning on some tracks should help, as well as I'm guessing you used the same mic, pres, EQ, etc, to record basically each vocal track, as it sounds like the 'problems' inherent with the mic/pre/EQ usage...are compounded as the track count is increased. Try different EQ's, mics, volumes, wider panning(or more liberal use of), and that might do the trick.
 
oh...are we to comment/agree/critique the dork comment??:D :D
 
oh...another thing, upon listening again while I read other posts....
it appears that the lead voc line is doubled, tripled??...or whatever, ...in unison, and I'm not sure that is really needed or not with so many other vocals happening. A single lead line might be more effective at punching thru and being upfront, with the 'masses' spread out behind them.

now...after saying all this, you probably didn't do any of the things I thought you did, and the dork reference might shift to the south...
 
Chris,

Love the melody! :) Cool guitar, and travis-picking. The way the backing vocals come in sound like one of those 70's bands I'm not as familiar with as I should be :):) Great lyrics "makes standing your ground feel like running away". All in Cubase SX, huh? Mac/PC? CPU?

Gonna listen again for specific mix comments: The acoustic (does sound nylon) sounds nice and warm. Bass is nearly perfectly balanced. Vocal cuts thru okay, but like the other guys said -- gets covered up a bit. Instinct says 1kHz is getting "crowded" in the chorus, but that could be wrong (listening on crap speakers). Mix is actually much better that what I'm doing now -- since the low end is perfect. Pretty good lack of mud -- listening for that 250-400 Hz stuff, and it's pretty well defined (again, on crap speakers :rolleyes: ) Some of your "la la la's" on the lead in the outro do clip, and peek out above the mix.

The other folks here with more experience could articulate better how to polish this up, but this is a cool track:cool: Thumbs up!


Chad
 
Nice tune, good picking and melody. I'd agree the vocals need a little more clarity. All the acoustics sound great but suffer from the same lack of high end definition as the vocals.

There was a slight swirly sound to the high end. Is that the MP3 or noise reduction? I think that is what's killing your vocal sound.

I noticed the click bleed, computer noise or something in the background which is too bad because it really ruins the quieter parts for me. I'm guessing that is the reason for the noise reduction?

Great arrangment on the ending.
 
nice

i can't pick out all the little thing's everyone else is talking about, because my ears are are still very much virgin( it still amazes me that ya'll can pick that stuff up) maybe some day.

but i digress, your voice is awesome , very unique. although not my genre, i try to listen to everything, and this song is very well peformed. bottom line is i liked it!

peace

rick
 
Wow! My head's going to get big with words like "outstanding" and "beautiful" flying around.

Badgas: OMG! I totally missed that thread in songwriting- THANKS for the comments! I *do* put those things into my writing intentionally so having it noticed is pure bliss. :) I'm glad you like the tunes!

Crazydoc: Gotcha on the timing. I was trying to be all skillful with little arpeggiated things, and... oh, well. :) I think I can fix it with some editing. Thanks!

Track Rat: I'm glad it tickles your fancy, Mr. Rat. :D Punch for the lead vocals, eh? I listened again and I totally agree. Thanks for the listen!

Mixmkr: Yup, no dorkdom heading your way today- you're right on. The click was a bass drum- and I'm pissed that it bled through. I can't hear it, buy my ears are funny anyway. :( And I did use the same mic/pres for everything. That's another first, so I haven't run into the lack of definition that it causes. I remixed with far less reverb on the backing vox, and different EQ/panning. It sounds much better. Thanks.

Chad: Hey, you don't need to know how to fix something to notice that it needs fixin'. Thanks for the good comments! Cubase SX 1.01. PC- 800mHz Sony Vaio laptop w/ Tascam us-428. This tune has 18 tracks- mostly 32bit, a host of plugs, and doesn't even burp with fairly modest buffering settings. I love SX! :D

Tex: The high end swirling must be an mp3 artifact as I didn't use any noise redux. Yup- lack of high end is my demon. Oh, well. That's where my ears don't work.

This is fantastic. With all these comments (and a full night's sleep) I redid all the vox with much less reverb, better panning, and some EQing. I also killed the doubled lead vocal and turned the original up. I was really happy with it yesterday and it kicks even more butt today. Thanks for the great advice, guys.

Take care,
Chris
 
nice tune.. It reminded me of Cat Stevens mixed with a bit of old Jethro Tull?...maybe? not sure but I thought it was great... nice harmony.. no complaints about any part of it..

thanks..

sam
 
I dig the acoustic guitar. It sounded very live. But then again, I always dig acoustic guitars. The singing is good, and I love the acoustic melodies and vocal harmonies. This sounds a lot like some 70's acoustic pieces that used to sound a bit like medieval lute playing stuff :D I can't hear any problems in the mix. The balalaika-style guitar playing in the end sounded a bit off, but not that off. I think you did good mixing all the vocals there.
 
Nice job Chris! This is really wonderful.... I'm that asswipe who always compares people to "famous" groups, and I just have to say that I hear a lot of Tull in your style. I hope you take that as a compliment and not a dig.

I really enjoyed the vocal sound a LOT.

There's a change around 2:50 that kinds of loses it for a moment though...

Really nice song!

Slackmaster 2000
 
There is some background noise in the intro. I didn't see anyone mention it. Actualy it's there latter on too.

I like the sound you got from that nylon str gtr for the finger picking track. How did you mic it?

I like the song. Oveall the mix does lack in clarity to my ears.

cheers
 
Whoops! I missed your post, Fender... Thanks for the listen. It amazes me what these folks can hear, too. I'm getting there. The best way is to listen and comment on what you think is happening. This place is so totally cool! :D

Sam and Slack: Whoa! Yeah, I'll take Tull as a compliment. I wouldn't have thought they'd come out in my playing, but I've been an avid Tull listener since I was about 8. :D I'm curious what element of Tull I resemble because I can't really hear how the influence is coming out. Thanks for the comments!

Slack- I hear you on that transition. I'm going to see what I can do to clean it up. Oh, and the vocal sound is the infamous C-1 on all of the tracks.

Cranky: Balalaika, eh? You NAILED it! My dad used to play a Balalaika record all the time when I was young and that's where I drew my inspiration to do those flutter picking guitar harmonies. I agree, too, that these aren't very well performed.

Fed: Yup, that's probably my computer fan and the traffic that is just outside my window here. Grrr! I'm x/y micing the guitars with Studio Projects C-1's and they are a lot more sensative to ambient noise than the mics I used before (*cough*...Nady scm900's...). Clarity? Do you mean high end or general crowded mix? Thanks!

I remixed yesterday and burned a new mp3- its still not 100% (I didn't deal with the timing and clipping issues) but I'll repost the new mix tonight when I get back to my broadband connection.

Take care,
Chris
 
Comp fan noise was my thought also. You must be sitting on your comp when recording as the noise is pretty loud. :D

it might be that noise actualy that "muddies" the mix.

I don't know if it's siblance or you have problem pronounsing "s" it sound strange to me sometimes (could be just me). Anoter thing I noticed is that the vocals sound kind of "swelly" :) like the part that starts at 0:30. I think it's just your singing style but it's magnified by the harmonies and I found it a little distracting. Again this is subjective and maybe is something that actualy makes your style unique and cool.

The mix sounds more or less balanced to me. But you got to get rid of that noise somehow. It takes a whole lot away from the recording. And since you are on the laptop maybe you can move more easily around and find a quieter spot. I myself try to be as far as I can from the computer, I just give my self enough measures in the begining so I can get to the mic and grab the guitar after I press record on the computer.

cheers
 
Hey Chris, NICE!

I agree with some of the comments (the guitar overshadowing the vocal at times, etc.)

But...NICE!!!!

Big thumb's up!

Macle
 
Yep.............add a flute and it's Tull to the max. Do I hear a guitar a little bit out of tune? I'm not totally sure but there are a few spots where one string sounds out. I love vocal harmonies and these are cool. About the only comment on the sound I have is the vocal sound is a little "dark" sounding to me. Seems like it could use just a little bit of "sparkle" on the top end of the vox. I didn't hear it until after the remix and the voices were up enough in the mix for me.
Good job...both the song and the recording. :)
 
;)

Hate to say it Lt. Bob, but I haven't posted the remix, yet. Doing it right now, actually. You're right though- and my voice will always sound like that. Born 60% deaf- all in the mids and high frequencies. Never heard 'em so never learned to pronounce or sing them. What to do?

Fed: Yup. I know I need to so that. Sometimes I throw a pillow over the thing and that does wonders. This song started as a scratch recording and I got carried away. I suppose I should know better by now...

Macle: Thanks! I upped the lead vocal in the new mix, so hopefully that will fix it. Are mixs ever done? :)

Take care,
Chris
 
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