"Sarah" (have some problems)

[melahide]

Hi,

I wrote a new song and have uploaded it on my Soundlclick (I think I should look for an alternative for the "work in progress" stuff) ... I think I have some problems with the mix

The Voice... I don´t know... sometimes it´s too loud... I´ve used a compressor who should "balance" this, but it didn´t ... in the end I had big problems... I sing with 2 voices and the backing-vocals sounds totally wrong. I´ve checked them with Melodyne and from this point if view, they cannot be wrong... so... I don´t know, why they sound so bad?

For the recording... I use a Pre-Amp and a EMU-Interface... I think the next time I´ll use the USB-Audio-Recorder on my Keyboard, maybe I can get a higher quality?

So.. do you have any suggestions how I can fix my problems?

http://soundclick.com/share?songid=8731455

 

[Chili]

A few things stand out. The vocals are very pitchy and if you're using Melodyne, you're doing something wrong.

The whole production sounds karaoke; vocal track on top of an instrumental track. I think you can start by lowering the vocal levels and blend it into the mix. Maybe add some slight reverb to add a little depth to the vocal. Get it to match the feel of the instrumentals. If, indeed, this is a vocal over a pre-produced instrumental, you'll have a hard time getting it to fit and sound natural.

Clarity of the vocals are good, so I don't think you need to worry about what interface to use.

Hope this helps.

 

[melahide]

@chilli: Thank you - hmm... I always do this, that I produce the track at first... then I have one mix with the instruments and an other one with the vocals... I thought this is ok, because any time I went to a studio with a band we did it this way... we recorded the instruments first and afterwards the vocals.... but OK, I´ll take your advice and will try again. Thank you...

Hm.. vocals are pitchy... I´ve used melodyne for it and the programm says that it´s ok... I also thought that some notes are wrong, but Melodyne said that it´s ok... maybe the programm is stupid?

I´ll try again... thank you for your help chilli, always friendley and willing to help. Good man Your suggestions are always welcome...

 

[ido1957]

The piano part sounds good - it's you playing right? The vocals need work. You could use a bunch more compression and lower the vocals so they don't stand out quite so much. Great song - I love it!

 

[Chili]

@chilli: Thank you - hmm... I always do this, that I produce the track at first... then I have one mix with the instruments and an other one with the vocals......

That makes me curious; do you mix your instrumental tracks down to a 2-track mix, then record vocals over top of that? What program are you using for recording?

 

[melahide]

Yeah I do, I´m guilty...

I mix the instruments down to one so called "backing track" ... and then I sing my vocals and add backing and stuff.

I still use the latest version of Cool Edit Pre *lol* (I know...)

So, are you suggesting, that I should not do this (mix the instruments down) ... i should record guitar/bass/keyboards aso and add vocals, and mix this all together?

Maybe it was my mistake... some great albums were recorded this way (backing track recorded first, then vocals)... like Sgt. Peppers and Pet Sounds... good enough for the beatles, good enough for me... so I thought. My mistake. But I am here to learn

 

[Chili]

Maybe it was my mistake... some great albums were recorded this way (backing track recorded first, then vocals)... like Sgt. Peppers and Pet Sounds... good enough for the beatles, good enough for me... so I thought. My mistake. But I am here to learn

It's fine to record the backing tracks first, but don't mix everything down to 2-track before adding the vocals. The vocals are every bit a part of the song as everything else and you should be mixing all parts together.

And I use a realy old version of Cubase.

 

[Bulls Hit]

Only thing I can suggest is to high pass the vocal from about 100Kz, just to remove some of the boomy bottom. Vocals are a bitch. I like your song, great melody.