dachay2tnr
One Hit Wonder
In all honesty been struggling with this one. Still am in fact. Appreciate any ideas to improve it.
The Weight
- Thread starter dachay2tnr
- Start date
TalismanRich
Well-known member
There's something about the drums that just doesn;t sit right for me. A bit too "up front" and they are just too perfect, there's no variation in the hits. I get the same thing with my drum program, MTPDK, but its the only drummer I have right now.. I usually try to use different patterns within the group to give it a bit of human feel.
How are the drums tracked?
How are the drums tracked?
dachay2tnr
One Hit Wonder
Thanks for the feedback. Drums were actually played, not programmed. We used Roland e-drums, but they were recorded via midi and we used Session Drummer software for the sounds. Not sure if telling our drummer he sounds like a drum machine would be good or bad.
We record it that way as it gives me individual control over each kit piece for volume, panning, compression, etc. Otherwise you’d get whatever Roland dictates.
TalismanRich
Well-known member
Interesting that they were done with playing Roland e-drums. He must be a really precise drummer. My comment was more that the hits seemed to all be the same. Does the midi show differences in velocity, especially the kick and snare during verses?
The rest of the instrumentation sounds pretty good. The vocal harmonies are well done.
The rest of the instrumentation sounds pretty good. The vocal harmonies are well done.
dachay2tnr
One Hit Wonder
Yes, velocities are captured. As noted, I edit things like panning, relative volumes (i.e., loudness of cymbals vs snare vs kick), but I rarely touch the velocities unless there is an egregious error (one hit way too soft for ex). i guess he just plays pretty evenly.
Appreciate the input.
dachay2tnr
One Hit Wonder
Thanks for listening.
uncle sixer
Member
You covered a song I absolutely LOVE. You did a great job with it. Everything is played very well and I like the vocals a lot.
Constructive criticism:
For me, I would have slowed it down a couple BPM. A couple of lyrics felt a bit rushed to me.
As for the mix, guitars and piano sounded too "high pass"ed to me along with very in-your-face hihat and tambourine, this made for a treble-y sound imo.
Where is the "body" of your acoustic? Maybe 100-200 Hz... I think the acoustic needs some more there, then maybe leave the piano as-is.
I would bring the hihat down a little, then bring the tambourine down just a little more than that. Maybe vary HH vs tambourine levels from verses to choruses
The snare is very crisp sounding, I would eq that to mellow it a little bit.
Other than all that, maybe a darker reverb is something to think about (I have been running everything through a reverb bus lately and I eq the verb output so it isn't so hifi-sounding)
The bass and kick sound nice on headphones, but disappear on cheaper speakers, I think they needs some presence in the 300-500 Hz area for bass and 1-2 kHz for kick.
Sorry if that sounds like a lot of criticism, just throwing ideas out there that I think could help you get the best out of what you have.
TAE
All you have is now
Killer version......totally perfect as is if I were to mess with it I'd try to get more separation going on with the various instruments.... a lot of the stuff in the middle...I'd of put a smidge more verb on the vocals......but as as I said in the beginning perfect just as it sits.. Great job on a beautiful song.
dachay2tnr
One Hit Wonder
A lot to process there.
But very much appreciate the ideas. I will try some of them next time I’m on my DAW.Funny your comment about slowing the song down, as I already did. I already tried a slower speed than this, but my recollection is it worked on the verses but dragged during the choruses (or vice-versa, as I don’t fully recall). But the song in its current format is about 15-20 seconds longer than the speed it was actually recorded at.
Again, thanks much for the input.
dachay2tnr
One Hit Wonder
dachay2tnr
One Hit Wonder
Here's an updated version incorporating some of the suggestions received. The difference I think is relatively subtle, but hopefully for the better.
Mostly I tried to boost the bottom - primarily guitar and bass. And cut the highs, guitar, tam, and high hat. I think it balances better this way. Let me know if you have any further comments or suggestions.
And if you don't hear any difference between this and the first version, let me know that too.
Mostly I tried to boost the bottom - primarily guitar and bass. And cut the highs, guitar, tam, and high hat. I think it balances better this way. Let me know if you have any further comments or suggestions.
And if you don't hear any difference between this and the first version, let me know that too.
uncle sixer
Member
hihat and tambourine sound a lot more natural to me! Maybe a little too much presence on the kick drum, split the difference, maybe. Overall this is much more organic to my ears, sounds a lot more like good friends jamming.
keith.rogers
Well-known member
The mix is a little hot. CD quality, maybe, but high for streaming. I might make some minor edits on some plosvies, and just make sure you're not monitoring your mix (for mix/master decisions) at too high a level. I like the sound of it better when I turn it down . Very nice cover.
. Very nice cover.Attachments
dachay2tnr
One Hit Wonder
Thanks for listening and for the input. I was actually thinking the same thing myself. I assume you’re talking about the latest mix, as I didn’t quite feel the same way about the first one. And strangely I didn’t change any of the mastering settings - just mostly different eqs on instruments in the original mix. But it did seem to make it hotter in the final, which tends to make it a tad harsh imo. I’ll back it off a little in the master.The mix is a little hot. CD quality, maybe, but high for streaming. I might make some minor edits on some plosvies, and just make sure you're not monitoring your mix (for mix/master decisions) at too high a level. I like the sound of it better when I turn it down
dachay2tnr
One Hit Wonder
I replaced the second version with one that's a little lower in volume as suggested by keith.rogers. This is a song that should be a little more organic, so hopefully this is in the right direction. Again thanks to all for the feedback.
dobro
Well-known member
I liked it. Righteous cover. Here's an experiment - it's easy enough to try, and if you don't like it, easy enough to return from. Drop the level of the vocals a whole step so that they're almost getting buried by the sound of the band. What's my thinking? Well, right now the vocals are forward, they're featured, and the mix works. But if they were lower in the mix, it would sound more like a band with a singer and less like a singer backed by a band. Would it work? Would it sound good? Dunno. Try it.
famous beagle
Well-known member
Overall, it's a very enjoyable listen. I had to listen to the first mix, because I couldn't find the updated one.
The thing that sticks out the most to me is the piano. It's really rushing badly in many spots, and it prevents the song from really grooving the way it should. It's jolting it out of the pocket almost every time it comes in.
It's particularly noticeable in the fills during the choruses and especially in the descending chord sequence after "you put the load right on me."
IMO, the song will feel much better if that piano is re-tracked or edited.
The thing that sticks out the most to me is the piano. It's really rushing badly in many spots, and it prevents the song from really grooving the way it should. It's jolting it out of the pocket almost every time it comes in.
It's particularly noticeable in the fills during the choruses and especially in the descending chord sequence after "you put the load right on me."
IMO, the song will feel much better if that piano is re-tracked or edited.
dachay2tnr
One Hit Wonder
Doh! I suspect when I uploaded the new file, I never hit Save afterwards. Anyway, think I fixed that.
Thanks for you input on the piano. We had some of the same issues, but maybe not to the degree you did.
dachay2tnr
One Hit Wonder
Interesting thought. Archived for when I have some extra time to kill.