Piano & Vocal. Your thoughts?

[WhiteStrat]

Started tracking a couple weeks ago for a big project--a double CD with 24 songs. About half will be piano and (female) vocal only--maybe some light acoustic or strings added, but still very much a singer/songwriter feel. I'll be arranging and performing full band parts on the others for her, but before I even start, I want to focus on getting a good sound on the solo pieces. Here's a rough mix after today's vocal tracking session. Your input is greatly appreciated:

 

[rayc]

The piano plays through the voice really well - as if there're no EQ conflicts at all.
I wondered about natural reverb from a real piano vs added for a keyboard for a little while - but it became irrelevant when the voice came in.
The 2nd vocal line hovers nicely & then harmonizes pretty well though in some parts becomes almost invisible.
Maybe a bit too much effect at the 3min change - seems to sib & shoot with explosives.
On occasion the treatment/vocal delivery reminded me of Janis Ian around Between the Lines - probably on Pass the Tea & Sympathy.
Good start WS - you captured it well.

 

[Greg_L]

Piano sounds fantastic. A nice natural sounding stereo recording. If that's not a real piano, it's the best sounding fake I've ever heard.

 

[heatmiser]

Yup, the piano sounds way cool.

One chord sounds really odd...right on the word "thoughts" at the beginning...maybe it just conflicted with where I thought it was going...

The whole thing is very clear and warm sounding. The sibilance seems close to being too much at times...not so much at others.

A fine recording indeed !

 

[BentRabbit]

Wow...

Piano is very open and airy... What did you do to track it?

Vox are not as airy which sortof caught me off guard when they joined the piano, but a touch of verb will balance that out.

Nice job man!

 

[WhiteStrat]

The piano plays through the voice really well - as if there're no EQ conflicts at all.
I wondered about natural reverb from a real piano vs added for a keyboard for a little while - but it became irrelevant when the voice came in.
The 2nd vocal line hovers nicely & then harmonizes pretty well though in some parts becomes almost invisible.
Maybe a bit too much effect at the 3min change - seems to sib & shoot with explosives.
On occasion the treatment/vocal delivery reminded me of Janis Ian around Between the Lines - probably on Pass the Tea & Sympathy.
Good start WS - you captured it well.

Thanks Ray! I agree on the sibilance--gonna have to track down some frequencies.

Piano sounds fantastic. A nice natural sounding stereo recording. If that's not a real piano, it's the best sounding fake I've ever heard.

Yep, it's fake. She recorded with a Kurzweil that she loves for live use, but I'm glad I recorded the MIDI as well as the audio. I scrubbed it a bit, and sent it to a Stereo Grand patch that I love, and I think it sounds better than the Kurzweil.

Yup, the piano sounds way cool.

One chord sounds really odd...right on the word "thoughts" at the beginning...maybe it just conflicted with where I thought it was going...

The whole thing is very clear and warm sounding. The sibilance seems close to being too much at times...not so much at others.

A fine recording indeed !

I didn't hear that chord until you mentioned it. But since the piano is MIDI triggered, I can change it. Nice catch!

 

[WhiteStrat]

Wow...

Piano is very open and airy... What did you do to track it?

Vox are not as airy which sortof caught me off guard when they joined the piano, but a touch of verb will balance that out.

Nice job man!

I agree 100%. We did the scratch vox with a tube condenser that was more open and airy than this finished vocal track. She took the scratch tracks to practice and polish her vox, and in the process decided she didn't like it--she thought it was too accurate!--and she didn't like the breathiness.

We tried a few different mics before tracking any final vox, and she chose the Shure SM7. I still think the condenser would sound better, but considering how quiet and forgiving of the room the SM7 is, I figured it would be a decent compromise. If you heard her live, you'd know that the SM7 is doing a good job of thickening her voice up a bit (which she likes). So I'll just have to work a bit on adding some air.

Thanks!

 

[RAMI]

I don't know anything about tracking a piano, but I know how one sounds...and what you got there is it.

She has a nice voice and this is a nice recording. So far so good. Very nice and clean recording, White.

 

[true-eurt]

Hey Strat...nice start on the CD project. Love that piano sound you got.

The singer/songwriter has a good voice. It fits really well with the feel of the song. I think she sounds breathy in all the right spots.

Looking forward to hearing more from this project...especially the guitar parts you add...you are gonna add guitar aren't you?

 

[WhiteStrat]

Hey Strat...nice start on the CD project. Love that piano sound you got.

The singer/songwriter has a good voice. It fits really well with the feel of the song. I think she sounds breathy in all the right spots.

Looking forward to hearing more from this project...especially the guitar parts you add...you are gonna add guitar aren't you?

Yep, I'll be adding guitar on some, orchestration on others, and my son-in-law, Josh will be playing drums for some as well. The whole thing will take a while, but we're just trying to get her piano and vocal tracks done before she has her baby (she's about 7 months along). Then I can take all the time I need to mix & embellish!

 

[joeym]

What a beautiful voice she's got, Bob....it really captivates you, so much feeling. With a singer like this and with this kind of material, anything you do will fit. It's the right idea to build everything around her. Piano sounds awesome, the voice gave me shivers....

Joe

 

[WhiteStrat]

What a beautiful voice she's got, Bob....it really captivates you, so much feeling. With a singer like this and with this kind of material, anything you do will fit. It's the right idea to build everything around her. Piano sounds awesome, the voice gave me shivers....

Joe

Thanks Joe! I'll pass that along to her.

 

[Jeff_B]

the back up vocals sound a little weird to me.
and yea that one chord on the word "thoughts"

other than that, soundin good.
i really like the harmony vocals starting at 220ish.

 

[guitar zero]

the back up vocals sound a little weird to me.

I was about to comment on that, but first:
Love the piano sound!
She's got a great voice.
Now for the backing vocals. I don't know if it's the wrong mic, but it sounds strident in parts and barely audible in others. Is she moving in and out? Something is causing a distraction.
As always Strat, love your work. Good luck with the album!

GZ

 

[WhiteStrat]

the back up vocals sound a little weird to me.
and yea that one chord on the word "thoughts"

other than that, soundin good.
i really like the harmony vocals starting at 220ish.

Thanks Jeff. New mix coming with fixes. Maybe you can check it out again.

I was about to comment on that, but first:
Love the piano sound!
She's got a great voice.
Now for the backing vocals. I don't know if it's the wrong mic, but it sounds strident in parts and barely audible in others. Is she moving in and out? Something is causing a distraction.
As always Strat, love your work. Good luck with the album!

GZ

Hey Zero! Great to hear from you. Thanks for the input. New mix on the way...

 

[WhiteStrat]

A revised mix is up. Hopefully you can hear the following improvements:

1) Fixed the chord under "thoughts" as well as a few other stuck notes
2) Added some automation to the second vocal--I hope it's sitting better with the other one now
3) Added some "air" to both vocals
4) At the same time reduced sibilance on both vocals.

Thanks for all your input everyone!

 

[Dredakyst]

That piano sounds great..

everything else, i'd be repeating what's already been stated.

 

[WhiteStrat]

That piano sounds great..

everything else, i'd be repeating what's already been stated.

Thanks! Did you listen to the first mix (at the top) or the new mix (just above your post)?

 

[guitar zero]

Just listened to the revision. Both vocals sound better, especially the back up. Much more level. Nice work.

 

[WhiteStrat]

Just listened to the revision. Both vocals sound better, especially the back up. Much more level. Nice work.

Thanks again. I really appreciate it!