Silent Waltz - remix & mastered

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rayc

rayc

retroreprobate
MP3 Player SoundClick

Hello folks,
The link will take you to soundclick's streamer for Silent Waltz. The song has been around for 5 or so years & recently I did a remix and had that mastered by Jan Ohlhorst of finemastering.
I'll add a link for a FLAC version incase anyone wants to hear it in better quality (I had to cut it down to 224 MP3 to get it onto SClick though the dropbox one is 320).
Cheers
ray
Oh, here's a link to the previous mix so you can compare & contrast if you feel inclined.
http://www.soundclick.com/util/getplayer.m3u?id=3383143&q=hi
The biggest prob with the previous is that there was a swamp of reverb printed to tape wiith the vox. It's less of an issue now.
There's some hiss but that's my fault I'm afraid.

OK Folks, by special arrangement I've had the vocals levels tweaked a bit before the master was rendered to wav.
Here it is:
http://www.soundclick.com/util/getplayer.m3u?id=11085768&q=hi
 
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It's really cool, but it doesn't sound entirely tight.Occasionally a kick hit sounds off, etc. Maybe that's a good thing.
Is that a real cello? Sounds like it.
 
bb,
Thanks mate - not a tight recording at all - loose as a goose, but that's me - I had a different, denser, mix that covered up some of that but this more open mix breathes a little better despite the odd palpitation.
Real cellos - yep. The good one is Miriam, the bad one is me.
The drum track is my Roland drum machine (C1985).
 
Hey Ray ...

Beautiful voice too up and down in the mix --- and levels are all too weird about everything. The material is solid -- you've got everything tracked REALLY well. This is a glue issue.
 
Sounds like the picked guitar which comes through my left ear occasionally is out of tune, either that or there are a lot of weird chords being played that I can't wrap my head around (which may be the case)... Very different music. Seems a bit scattered. Also, I thought the vocals were a bit too far back in the mix at times. Hiss at the beginning, but didn't notice it too much during the song.
 
Cool...there's no way you can put a label on this styl, Ray, folk-rock, pop-folk, traditional, Irish, whatever....and that's a good thing!
Very haunting, in fact some nice reverb on the voice would make it even more haunting.
 
Slightly tweaked version post comments re levels (same as at bottom of OP):

http://www.soundclick.com/util/getplayer.m3u?id=11085768&q=hi

K-dub,
Thanks for the feedback. The levels were, essentially, where the original premaster version sat after feedback and general approval in the clinic a few years ago. All I really did was remove an electric guitar and rebalance the stereo image. Maybe the slightly tweaked version now available will sit better - I hope so. To my ears it sounds fine - but I've lived with it for a while & propinquity lessens critical analysis doesn't it? THe song sounded more "glued" when I had the electric guitar in the middle of things BUT it masked too much of the other instruments. I tried EQ carving but the song only opened up when I removed it.
PI,
most of my chords are weird because when I stray beyond the simple dozen I learnt in the late 70's I have to make them up. That said you're probably right re tuning. The possibility is that I tuned that guitar to standard tuning as I tuned the 'cellos and the rest to concert pitch which is lightly different. Another possibility is that the arpeggios I play on the cello as "almost chords" are messing with things (it was a difficult task for me to get the fingering right without frets believe me) as well.
FINALLY - (& this is where I cop out in a big way) - my tin/cloth ear combined with my love of atonal music may well mean I can't tell in tune from out. Thanks for the close listen & careful critique.
Joe,
Thanks mate. Yeah, I understand about the reverb BUT I overdid it so much I've overcompensated. I copped such heavy flac for the same problem with the original Whipser, (so much so that I ended up using a different vocalist and NO reverb). I'm gun shy I think. Thanks for the generous assessment.
 
There is a lot of timing weirdness and weird weirdness. It kind of sounds disheveled, but it also kind of sounds like it could be on the White Album, so who knows? For me, the backing music and vocal melody never quite jive. But you know me, if it aint 1000 mph, I don't get it.
 
Interesting tune Ray - I liked it. I listened to the updated mix. It's a shame about the hiss (is it all over the mix or just on a couple of tracks?), but it is what it is and once you know it's there you can ignore it.

Love it when the cello's open out at around the 3.00 minute mark - lush and full sounding. Wish I had access to a cello
 
Greg,
The I think timing eventually comes together rather like a slow moving Rubik's cube without the colours & with braille instead. Yeah, I know weirdness ensues...that's me unbridled by musicality. The gelling of the melody with the backing is probably why I originally drenched it in reverb. After a few years it sounded like it worked. It was a difficult ask for the singer. She'd not been asked to make melodies up on the spot before, nor had she recorded an original melody. You've heard some of my sloppy timing before - this time I'll blame the Roland - it does seem to speed up & skip a beat every now & then - though, truth be known I'm disrythmic.
Rob,
The hiss is a product of trying to excise as much reverb as possible as well as tape noise. It does seem to settle, or move back from the frontal lobe as the song thickens up. Cello - well I'm lucky. I mentioned in passing that I'd like to add some strings to a song and that I'd probably have 1/2 a chance at doing so with a cello as it has four strings & is bassy. My missus heard me, took note & presented me with one on the following Xmas. THEN I discovered that the strings weren't EADG, that no frets means no guide dogs for the tone deaf and that I'd have to take lessons. Nw I have one & some VERY rudimentary ability with it & can drag it out to play simple bits on songs. Lucky me. It helped that I managed to record my 'cello tutor often on my own projects. She plays the nice cello on this & I do the chords and almost drone bits. Thanks for your kind words.
 
Sounds like something that should be in Braveheart! It's a little outta my frame of reference to comment on the mix or arrangement, but props for being so different and intriguing. I bet that vocal haunts me all day now! :)
 
I thought this was really, really interesting ray. The guitar work, cellos and bass all worked together nicely and wove a pretty cool and unpredicable pattern. I liked that part of it a lot although I wished the bass guitar had played a clearer role.

I don't know what to say about the vocals. She has a good voice, and I can hear her clearly, but she's just kind of out there on her own away from the music in a way. I think there's kind of a contrast between the whole feel and vibe of the strings that clashes with that of her voice for some reason.

I didn't think the drum machine really fit in this particular arrangement myself. Some big, but mellow, splashy drums that synched up better with the strings and offered more variation would bring this all together I think.

I don't remember this one from before and was very psyched to hear it since it was like new for me.

Oh Yeah - none of your soundclick links here worked so I had to find the track via as general search of your soundclick page. Thanks man.
 
Damn, I love the cello. :)

You're going to kill me, but if this were mine to mix I'd take out the kick entirely. The high hat on two and three and the acoustic guitar strum are rhythm enough. It's an atmospheric song, and the drums aren't adding much to the atmosphere. I would go so far as to say it doesn't need much in the way of crash cymbals either. I'd just use the HH and back it into the mix with some reverb, preferably of the same type that's on the vocal, to put them in the same room.

Just for a lark, pick up some soft felt mallets and record cymbal swells and soft cymbal hits sometime. You can get some really cool overtones at low volume and swell into parts or out of them. You're into textures, it's clear. Something to think about.
 
Heat,
Sorry about the links - they seem OK now but I'll give them a thorough goinging over in the morning. I can hear the things you point out. The Drum Machine I kept because iI was concerned about retaining the waltz time. I didn't do a draft without it either - more fool me. Thanks for the considered response.
Casey,
I like the aesthetic you've suggested. I do have 1 cymbal & may have a play with that as well as pull back on the othewr bits as suggested. For now I'm just going to enjoy what it is as it's a paid for master - and the ME did a terrific job with what was presented to him.
I'll note your ideas for further development. Thanks.
 
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