Speaker test: Two DancePop mixes

[Wayne Rama]

Hello, I'm a new writer/producer. I posted these mixes for a few friends, and they seem to like them, but it would be great to get some more ears on this. I've got HS-30's, and it sounds okay on them, but I'm still skeptical. If you're into dance/pop, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Thanks in advance for your time.

the link: Jane Doe | Facebook

 

[diggy_dude]

AutoTune ain't exactly my bag. Something tells me this singer can sing well enough without it. Do you have any clips of this artist that are a little less processed?

Also, the synth lead seems a little too hot. I got the feeling that I could easily damage my speakers if I turned up the volume to try to get a more balanced sound. This might play well on a beefy nightclub sound system, but for general listening an even distribution of energy across the audible spectrum is more pleasant to the ear than having one or two frequency bands way out in front.

 

[Wayne Rama]

Thanks for the insight, Diggy_dude. I'm in the beginning process of finding my sound, so every tip helps. Cheers!

 

[diggy_dude]

Thanks for the insight, Diggy_dude. I'm in the beginning process of finding my sound, so every tip helps. Cheers!

What kind of room treatment have you done? I suspect that your room acoustics may be why the frequency balance is off.

 

[Wayne Rama]

You nailed it, Dude. My room is pretty much untreated. Good call. I'm going to have to look into treatments, for sure. Any recommendations?

 

[diggy_dude]

The recording seemed terribly bass shy. Did you find that you were reducing the bass to keep it from sounding too boomy on your speakers? If so, I'd say you need bass traps first. In the meantime, moving the speakers 3 feet from the walls will help some.

 

[about2flip]

@Wayne Rama... You Have something there in the song. I would love to do a mix on this track, and help you release digitally via Beatport, Traxsource, Juno. It has alot of potential. Drums need to be programmed stronger, but the synths are right. Did you write that? Can I work on a mix for you? I would need the stems and vocals. Let's talk. Late Night Lover...clever.

 

[Wayne Rama]

Interesting. I would have thought It were a bit bass heavy, if anything. These HS 50's are supposedly bass light, so I relied on Logic's Multimeter for a visual reference. I thought I was in the clear not hearing the boomy bass. Perhaps too much in the clear. Thanks again for your time, Dude.

 

[Wayne Rama]

@about2flip - Thanks for the kind words, and the tip. I'm glad you liked my music. Stay tuned for much more. Cheers!

 

[PDP]

I like it, definately bass lite for Dance Pop, I kept waiting to here it come in. The Pussycat Dolls have mixes that start with no sub, then slam you at some point. By bass I mean subs, Red One the producer who does Lady GaGa and Kat Deluna has the best bass sounds in Pop music IMO. He blends up to 4-5 bass tracks sometimes. I'd really fill this out with bass parts, You've gotta have primal lows for club shit. The rest of it is quite good, the autotune doesnt bother me, but her voice was just a bit loud (and I like loud vox) good job, nice facepage!

 

[diggy_dude]

Interesting. I would have thought It were a bit bass heavy, if anything. These HS 50's are supposedly bass light, so I relied on Logic's Multimeter for a visual reference. I thought I was in the clear not hearing the boomy bass. Perhaps too much in the clear. Thanks again for your time, Dude.

I may be mistaken. As I said, the lead synth was so piercing that I was reluctant to turn it up loud enough for a more balanced listen. That and I didn't want to disturb the roommates, who never seem to freakin' leave the house.

You may get better advice from about2flip, as he seems to be more abreast of this kind of music than I am. Any advice I give would more likely be from an audiophile's perspective than that of a dance music aficionado.

 

[Wayne Rama]

Thanks for the listen and the thoughts, PDP. I am familiar with Red One, he's great. I'm already working on my room treatments, and I have an old pair of headphones that if I monitor with them as well as the HS-50's, there just might be a happy medium. I'm loving the hell out of the bassier sounds already. Cheers!

 

[Wayne Rama]

@Dude - I've got my monitors moved, and I'm working on a bass trap. Thanks again for the audiophile's perspective.

 

[diggy_dude]

@Dude - I've got my monitors moved, and I'm working on a bass trap. Thanks again for the audiophile's perspective.

What kind of bass trap are you going to build? I just read something interesting in that regard. This guy says an absorptive bass trap needs to be at least 1/8 of a wavelength thick to do any good. For 50 Hz, that would be nearly 3 feet thick. He says an 8" deep resonant structure covered with a flexible barrier mat and filled with rock wool would be more practical for home studios. The bass energy would be expended trying to vibrate the mat. No idea what flexible material he was referring to, but I'm going to investigate further.

 

[PDP]

I have an old pair of headphones that if I monitor with them as well as the HS-50's, there just might be a happy medium. I'm loving the hell out of the bassier sounds already. Cheers!

Thats a good start, because hs50s dont produce accurate subs no matter what you do with them. You have to have something else to compare too.

 

[Wayne Rama]

@Dude - Three feet thick, that's crazy. I'm still looking into my options for design/performance. Thanks again for your thoughts, everybody.

 

[jjjtttggg]

Great song. Definitely NOT bass heavy. Needs MO! Could be longer with some kicked up beat sections. Love the voice! Good stuff.

J

 

[Wayne Rama]

Thanks jjjtttggg, I'm fattening up the low end and it's making a definite impact on the sound. I'm contemplating actually buying the sub counterpart to my monitors, does anyone have any experience with a three speaker set-up? The songs I posted are just 90ish second demo clips, with full songs will be on the way. First I wanted to make sure everything sounded as good as possible.

Thanks again to everyone for the ears, the tips, and the kind words. Cheers!

 

[PDP]

does anyone have any experience with a three speaker set-up? !

Sort of, I use Tannoy 501a monitors which sound alot like HS50s, but I also use a computer/home theatre type speaker system with a sub woofer. It works well as a different sound source, especially with bass levels. You can pick up a set for 50 or 60 bucks. I also like to know how the mix will sound on cheap speakers. Just a thought.

 

[diggy_dude]

@Dude - Three feet thick, that's crazy. I'm still looking into my options for design/performance. Thanks again for your thoughts, everybody.

That's why I'm looking into the 8" deep structure. I can't figure out what kind of material I need though. I'm guessing any kind of thick rubbery sheet would work.