What do you think?

[larrye]

This is the first mix I have ever posted. I am curious as to what people, think of this.

This is a female vocal I recorded using a soundtrack that she provided. The soundtrack was on 2 tracks, background vocals, and instrumental. I recorded her mono, so I started with 3 seperate mono tracks.

Please give me some feedback on how I can improve.

CAUTION - it is a religious song.

It is athttp://pages.prodigy.net/ltucker45/index.html Click on the link "Because of Love"

thanks,
Larrye

 

[CyanJaguar]

Its pretty good.

The lead vox is too loud though and the room sounds small for gospel.

 

[larrye]

Thanks CyanJag,
I guess you mean to change the reverb?

I will follow your suggestions.

Larrye

 

[theron]

First off. You've got a studio and recording talent that exceeds my hopes. The tracks were almost too perfect. The professional sheen was very evident. Nice sounds coming out of your box.

The instrumentation was fine but, flat. Maybe it is the genre but, It verged on a contrived music bed for the lead singer. IT SOUNDED GREAT but, had no emotion.

The lead singer can sing better than most for sure, but, if you're going to be that completely in the spotlight, you'd better deliver something awe inspirering. The vocal was great but, not mind blowing (as the focus of the mix suggested)

Those back up vox take top honors! Of course, they were well tracked and mixed (You Have A Hold ON That!) but, the emotion and performance of the backup vox take top billing for me in the entire song.


I don't know jack about the style of music, but thought I'd send along my most cut throat thoughts I could.


Hope I helped,
You put all my efforts to shame. Nice work!!!

Peace,
Theron.

 

[Kramer]

The vocal needs work.She hits some notes but slays others.I think a girl sung this song to the same backing track in our church once.This pretty much sounds like a live recording of the singer singing along with the pre-recorded backing traxx through a mixing console and then into a 2-track machine.

The backing track doesnt sound like it's true stereo.It needs to be spread out so the volume of the vocal can be brought down and placed in the middle of the spread.Ive actually done some recording of people with backing traxx and the only time I got good results is when I added in harmonies by the lead singer to blend with the traxx pre-recorded harmonies and some other live instrumentation to try and kill that plastic sound of the backing traxx.

As you can tell,Im not a big fan of the pre-recorded backing traxx. To each his own.

 

[theron]

pre-recorded backing tracks?!?...........Say it ain't so....ohhh say it ain't so.

Once again, I don't trust anything.




Theron

 

[Fed]

I thought the voice didn't mix with the music well may be it was just a little too loud. And yes the singer is pretty good but she can't sing like she wants to , if you know what I mean, or at least not on this recording. It mostly evedent at the end on the more high parts. Most glaring for me was 3:33 words "honor and power".

Don't get me wrong though she sounds good just not everywhere. She does sound like she has taken lessons before.
I won't say what gives it away for me but she can sing alright.

Anyway the overall mix kind of spoils it for me.

cheers.

 

[larrye]

Thanks for all the input, I really appreciate it!

A little explanation of what I did so you can help me more.

1. Theron, sorry you thought I recorded the backup tracks, but I did say in the post that she had provided the soundtrack.

2. Kramer, the tracks were mono, I doubled the tracks, and used PSP stereo enhancer by putting PSP delay on both tracks, reversed phase on one and widened it. The first time I had it to wide so I narrowed it down. To much I guess!

3. The lead vocal is my neice, who was over at my house for Easter dinner. She had just sung, a bunch, at church a couple hours earlier, and her voice was fried. She did me a favor and sang it for me so I could practice mixing her. She did it in one take. I played it for her but she made me turn it off, because she hated how she sounded. Her biggest compaint was she said she sounded very nasal. That was probably because of mic placement, I would like to try her again with the mic aimed more at her chest. Would this help to make her less nasal???? I don't notice it when I hear her sing live.

I really appreciate the input. I will be remixing it using your advise.

Thanks,
Larrye

 

[Kramer]

2. Kramer, the tracks were mono, I doubled the tracks, and used PSP stereo enhancer by putting PSP delay on both tracks, reversed phase on one and widened it. The first time I had it to wide so I narrowed it down. To much I guess!


Thanks,
Larrye

Larrye,
First of all record the sound track in stereo.Is the backing track on a cassette?Whatever it's on just play it through a stereo device that has left and right outs on it.Run the left to its own channel and the right to it's own channel on your recorder.Once the tracks are recorded pan hard left and hard right.Dont use any of that stereo enhancer stuff or delay on the backing tracks.The delay is really showing up for the worse on the backing tracks right now.As I rule,I never use effects on those pre-recorded traxx that you buy from the store.They are already mixed and mastered in stone as far as levels go etc(most already have effects too)...and adding effects to them just seems to create new problems.The most I have ever done to a backing traxx is add just a tad of reverb to liven it up.(not really enough to be noticable unless you're listening for it).

Now that you have your pre-recorded tracks recorded in actual stereo from the left and right outs of your cassette/CD machine you are set to go to lay the vocal.Have her lay some harmonies of her own this time to set the song free from that plastic Traxx feel.Give her some really good monitoring headphones.I think thats why she was flat on a few notes because she couldnt hear herself.

Other than playing real instruments on a few more tracks to give it an original feel(not totally neccesary though) thats about all I the advice I can offer.

As always take any advice I give with a grain of salt!

 

[larrye]

Kramer,

I really appreciate your help!!!!! So if your ready to help I'm ready to learn. And I really need all the help I can get to speed up this slow learning curve. So a couple of questions.

1. I recorded the soundtrack in to 2 seperate channels. The soundtrack is on CD as 2 seperate mono tracks, left channel instrument, the right backup vocals. When I recorded the soundtrack, I came out of the CD player, and recorded Left to input one and Right to input 2. So if you play the soundtrack in a stereo the instruments are heard on the left speaker and the backup vocals are heard in the right speaker. I guess churches play everthing MONO. I doubled the instrumental, and then panned hard left and hard right then added the stereo effect. If I convert the mono instruments (same for backup vocals) into 2 tracks panned hard left and right, won't they still sound mono???
I really have never understood the mono-stereo thing!!! When I am trying to create a stereo field by panning, the mix always seems to sound mono. When I doubled the instrumental and panned hard left and right the sound appeared to come right out of the center of the sound field, so I tried to widen it!!! Anyway I just now looked at the image with a stereo analyser and without any effects it does look wider, just like you said. Anyway, just writing this has helped. I am going to try again following your advise.

Thanks,
Larrye

 

[Kramer]

Larrye,

What a dilemma!Thats the first backing traxx that Ive ever heard of that wasnt a stereo mix, with the tracks being panned hard left and right on the CD with vocals on one side, and music on the other.

(I guess they are mixed like this for separation purposes and if the pans are left straight up and down on both channels you will still get vocal and music in both sides.I guess it's just for volume separation purposes when singing along with the Traxx through a PA system allowing you to bring up either vocal or music tracks separately).

It might be a better idea to just use both mono tracks[rhythm and vocal] and leave the pan straight up and down on both.When you copy and paste a track/ping pong or whatever to get a duplicate it never turns out very well when playing both of them back.Maybe some of the technical wizzes can help you out on that but I think it's something to do with phasing.

The only solution Ive ever found to 'faking' a mono channel into sounding like it has a little bit of a stereo spread is by going out of the mono music track on the CD using a y-splitter cable into 2 channels on your recorder.It'll sound a lot better than 2 tracks that are duplicates from a copy and paste or ping pong.Ive also ran out of the mono source into a signal processor with the shortest amount of delay possible out into 2 tracks on the recorder.(it'll work using a simple stereo delay guitar foot pedal also).

Thats about all I can think to do with my limited knowledge.