R&B jams, tell me what you think

  • Thread starter Thread starter chingon
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These songs are pretty. The second one "It's feel's so right is very well produced. Did you do any of the mixing?
 
Thanks Chalin.
I didnt mix its on you, thats why it sounds good. I cut that track at Universal publishing and my buddy did the mixing. I mixed burnen red thats why it doesnt sound good and I tracked everything at my house. I suck when it comes to mixing. Maybe I should just stick to writing grooves and playing bass.
 
those...

...are really well-written musical ideas. I really like that jazzy-rnb feel you put in there. It's just.... I don't think your vocalist had the range you needed to pull that song off. My co-worker said she sounded like a screaming child! I disagree, but the melodies should be written more with the vocalist in mind. I only listened to "burnen red", but that's always something to look out for. My boy's cousin ain't mariah, so I won't have her trying that ish. Other than that, it's a hot joint!

peace.
-L
 
leonardjamaar, thanks for being honest, I appreciate it.

This tracks are what I call 2 minute jamz. I come up with idea and slap (arrange) the music together in my head. THen I track the instrumentation down really quick so I wont forget anything. I never went back and re-tracked any of the instruments though, and to me it sounds like it.

Your partner nailed it with the "screaming child" remark. The singer used to sing in punk bands for 4 years which is why her voice sounds kind of raspy.

Your right in saying the "melodies should be written more with the vocalist in mind." I'm brand new at this vocal production stuff so I still need to learn how to write to a singers key. I'm also new to this R&B stuff. My main music backround is Salsa/Afro Cuban Music.

I hope you and your partner check out the other track "It's on you." This track has a male singer and is better produced. Let me know what you think.


Keep the responses coming....
 
Its on you is hott! It has a Babyface neo soul feel to it. This production was great. It could pass as a single, but I really see it as a "vibing" album track. The vocalist has nice range and I feel that the track allowed his vocals to shine. What equip was used? Mic? Preamp? Modules? Sorry for being nosey but I am trying to achieve a sound similar to that one. I am really pleased with this one, but the first song needs work. Did you record the vocals yourself or with Universal publishing, tell ya buddy nice job on the mixing. Keep up the good work.
 
Thanks for the input Raydio.
THe vocals were cut at Universal publishing. I dont know what equipment they used to record. I didn't pay attention to those details back then. I can probably find out for you, I think my buddy still works there.
THe instrumentals were recorded in my buddies bedroom directly into a roland 1680. THe bass was recorded through a Gallien Krueger pre amp. THe guitar was recorded with a CAD LD condenser ( dont know which one.) We used his Roland whatever to sample the drums and sequence everything. I think we used a mo phat for sounds and a Yamaha CS1x for some strings.

Raydio, what did you mean by a "vibing" track?
 
Its more of a feel good track that leads to bigger songs on the CD. Its one of those songs that you can see people in the beauty shop vibing too, not really paying attention to the detail of the song, but just feeling it as they work. These songs are what drive an album as being an all-around good LP. I cant really see it being like a huge radio hit, but I see it as being a great addition to an album. It has a neo-soul, mature backround to it will it will appeal more to album buyers than p2p downloaders. Lucky you, lol. Peace
 
The first one was not very sonically dynamic to me... it wore on me... The vocalist was ok, maybe a different song would suit her better. When you are working with a non dynamic vocalist.. LAYERING is very important and EQing those layers can offer those lacking dynamics. The hook was non existant to me on that track. It was not BAD, but not a hit IMO. The second is hot. I thought the vocalist had that raphael saddiq feel, not the current solo Raph, but when he was with three Tonys. I AM LISTENING ON LAPTOP SPEAKERS so this is likely an off analysis, but the vocals in both seem a little out front. The first track needed more compression to make the wave pattern level all the way across in low and high volumes. The second was better (don't tell your friend we all liked his mix better!! he might get a big head lol) Overall job well done though.. Nice to see some pro sounding stuff. Mixing is a bitch and unless you have a professionally designed acoustic enviroment (or one that coincidentally sounds that way naturally) it is hard to get it to sound perfect when you get out of the studio.. hell I work on this problem weekly. I have new equipment so I am learning to hear what it NEEDS to sound like. Anyway keep up the good work.
 
Got another question, was that second song mastered? Im asking because a friend of mine achieved that same kind of sound but he got it mastered by Bernie Grundman a few months ago. Thanks
 
nice work playa, imma try to dive into the r and b scene soon with a group so i might have to holla at you for some tips
 
nice

i like these, both are done really well. you have two talented artists. the vocals in "It's On You" are a lot closer, gives it a more intamite feel than "Burnin Red". if you mixed "Burnin Red" like this it would be as equally nice. good job, i think you should pm lazi for feedback, he has a very talented r&b artist also.


yo, check lazi's link out. this is the artist he's workin with

http://hometown.aol.com/lazibwoi/LAZIBWOI.html
 
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Re: nice

jugalo180 said:
i like these, both are done really well. you have two talented artists. the vocals in "It's On You" are a lot closer, gives it a more intamite feel than "Burnin Red". if you mixed "Burnin Red" like this it would be as equally nice. good job, i think you should pm lazi for feedback, he has a very talented r&b artist also.


yo, check lazi's link out. this is the artist he's workin with

http://hometown.aol.com/lazibwoi/LAZIBWOI.html
Click to expand...

Good looks jug, that cat is def. talented.
 
JadionMusic, thanks for the detailed response, I really appreciate your thorough response. YOur right, there was no hook on the first tune. I didnt really care to much for one at the time becuase sometimes you just dont have to. It was just an expirament and I didnt care to much about writing a pop tune. I'm just trying to write tunes that groove and actually sound good with actual instrumentals and none of that casio shit thats on the radio. You can only jam so hard with a sequence. Trying to go for the vibe that motown had way back when they used bad ass musicians and singers that could blow and do every thing in 1 take. Those were the good old days when artists had TALENT! That when R&B meant Rythm and Blues, not Reacyled Beats. Oh well. But in the mean while a man can dream while learning how to do this R&B stuff.
Your not the first one thats told me that the male singer sounded like sadiq. In fact the my buddy who mixed the track did some engineering for sadiq. I remember because he called me up heart broken when he found out that sadiq hires cats from india to write his tracks for him while he keeps all the publishing and gives the writers a few bucks. I guess he runs a music writing sweatshop or something.

Raydio, the tune wasnt mastered at all.

jugalo180, that cat lazi working has some skillz.

jb4play, give me halla when ever you want. Diving into something new is always good, its always fun to get in new kinds of trouble. In fact, since I started this R&B stuff I've jumped into 2 R&B bands so I can learn this crap. And got into lots of trouble and ended up being the MD for both groups even though I didn't know what the hell I was doing. The groups just like how I made them sound and groove. The transition from playing Salsa to R&B was pretty easy though because playing salsa gave me a strong foundation for groove and feel because thats all that music is. And going from Afro Cuban music (Salsa) to afro american music (R&B) or any american music hasnt been to difficult because of my salsa backround and its syncopation.

Thanks for all the input everyone. ANd I'm going to tell my buddy that you all like his mix.
 
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