Your opinions please

  • Thread starter Thread starter WhiteStrat
  • Start date Start date
WhiteStrat

WhiteStrat

Don't stare at the eye.
Some specific issues:

Are the vox too hot?

Is the big orchestral climax near the end "convincing?"

Any other comments on the mix are appreciated. Thanks for your time!

 
What a beautiful song (even to an atheist like me....:o).
I love that reverb you have on the voice, Bob. Voice isn't too hot to me, orchestra sounds nice. My only nit is with the drums. When they came in , I was wanting them to sound like the kind of drums that Alannis Morisette has in her songs on Jagged Little Pill. To me they have to have more groove, hope I'm explaining it well. Otherwise, she's a great singer and your sound is brilliant.

Joey :):):):)
 
Thanks Joe! I appreciate it! Check your PM's for an off topic message from me...
 
Great job! Beautiful song.
Your keyboard sounds really nice (i.e. expensive) and the lady sounds a lot like Loretta Lynn (or there abouts).
The piano seemed to meander around the 3:30 mark, but I guess that's the feel you were shooting for.

@ 4:05, the addition of extra or boosted strings is overdriving it a bit on my cheap system.
Could be just the sum of everything increased making it that way. (could be my stuff at fault)

The vocal is definitely there, but when you have a woman with a voice like that, you WANT it to be out front.
I'd reduce the strings at the end.

My 2¢
 
very nice Strat...very nice indeed..

The vocs are right at the limit imo...but I dont think they need toned down, there's room though, beautiful voice

I think the drums were fine, maybe a little more punch as they get lost when everythings at full pelt

orchestras great...the strings really sweep in, Id maybe drop the horn sample at the end (if thats what it was)...there's enough going on there imho


cant believe Im trying to comment on something so far superior than anything I can manage but there you go...now I have to listen to Sabbath to bet the balance of evil in the world right :)
 
Clark Grizwald said:
Great job! Beautiful song.
Your keyboard sounds really nice (i.e. expensive) and the lady sounds a lot like Loretta Lynn (or there abouts).
The piano seemed to meander around the 3:30 mark, but I guess that's the feel you were shooting for.

@ 4:05, the addition of extra or boosted strings is overdriving it a bit on my cheap system.
Could be just the sum of everything increased making it that way. (could be my stuff at fault)

The vocal is definitely there, but when you have a woman with a voice like that, you WANT it to be out front.
I'd reduce the strings at the end.

My 2¢
Click to expand...

Thanks Clark. I appreciate the input--I'm with you on the strings at the end. BTW--I've noticed your username. I love it. It's one of my own nicknames, as I believe (as does my family) that I'm the real life well meaning but dufus of a dad that Clark represents. Just watched Vacation a couple days ago--Christmas Vacation is coming up soon!
 
kcearl said:
very nice Strat...very nice indeed..

The vocs are right at the limit imo...but I dont think they need toned down, there's room though, beautiful voice

I think the drums were fine, maybe a little more punch as they get lost when everythings at full pelt

orchestras great...the strings really sweep in, Id maybe drop the horn sample at the end (if thats what it was)...there's enough going on there imho


cant believe Im trying to comment on something so far superior than anything I can manage but there you go...now I have to listen to Sabbath to bet the balance of evil in the world right :)
Click to expand...

Thanks Keith. Your comments make good sense--I like input from anyone w/an ear--doesn't matter to me if you think this is "somehow" superior to what you can do. (Just means I'm spending too much time in the dungeon/studio).
 
Hiya Strat!

Beautiful voice and song.

I personally would love to hear the drums kick in sooner...unless...there were more of an intense build up to where they do kick in..at 00:55 I could hear some strings gently come into play..and about 1:22 I could hear some toms start the gentle build up.

Where is the guitar? I think it would be perfect accompaniment with the strings and her voice.

Around 3:02 where the strings come in, would be a great spot for some of your lead to adorn the song to 3:40 where the strings come in and from there a mix of axe and strings..but then..4:25 the axe alone again til the outro where she sings the final line alone.but hey, it's just me trying to tell YOU how to do YOUR mix...I who have nothing to brag about...:eek:

Isn't it amazing, how easy it is to create with another's palette?:D



I like the ending..simply and quietly encompassing the whole point of the song.
 
I hear you on the guitar True--it would really work on this one. Problem is, there's 24 songs and I'm trying hard to stay "behind the scenes" so the finished product is all about her songs. The more guitar I put in, the more I feel like it's me showing through.

There are a number with guitar--but I had to save it for the songs that really needed it--or that she requested. A few electric, even more acoustic--so I got to have some fun too.
 
WOW Strat, that was amazing. I LOVED it. At the end I thought the climax with the orchestra was drowning out the drums and things, but other then that, it was fantastic. Who was on lead vox? What a beautiful voice.
 
dodgeaspen said:
WOW Strat, that was amazing. I LOVED it. At the end I thought the climax with the orchestra was drowning out the drums and things, but other then that, it was fantastic. Who was on lead vox? What a beautiful voice.
Click to expand...

Thanks man--that's a good friend of mine named Angela. She does the usual singing in church kinda thing, but writes really beautiful original songs. She came into my studio and played piano and sang 24 songs. I captured midi on the piano so I can tweak the timing (to add drums after the fact) and then trigger a nice grand piano patch. I'm building them into all sorts of different songs for a double CD. Some will stay just her voice and piano, but some (like this one) are obviously built up.

I should've listened more closely to it before I posted it, because you're right on about the end--it was getting completely squashed. I backed way off the limiter so there's more headroom at the end. I don't have the revised version on the web yet, but I'll be posting a link to the whole project very soon.
 
Hi, Strat!

Vox performance is great!
My first impression was "thin and harsh" (and "hot" in the end...), but I tried a gain in the whole mix in the 150/500 hz (first part -piano + vox)and things works and sits a lot better and "confortable" (in fact I think vox was needing these frequencies).


Snare could be more forward and fatter
A carefull eq (less "bright") + some panning will helps with the hihat.
Another thing is that the bass guitar is too low in the mix, I listen basically only the BD.
At 4:00 mix sounds overcompressed.

Everything IMO, sure....

Performance itself is pretty good.

Ciro
 
CIRO said:
Hi, Strat!

Vox performance is great!
My first impression was "thin and harsh" (and "hot" in the end...), but I tried a gain in the whole mix in the 150/500 hz (first part -piano + vox)and things works and sits a lot better and "confortable" (in fact I think vox was needing these frequencies).


Snare could be more forward and fatter
A carefull eq (less "bright") + some panning will helps with the hihat.
Another thing is that the bass guitar is too low in the mix, I listen basically only the BD.
At 4:00 mix sounds overcompressed.

Everything IMO, sure....

Performance itself is pretty good.

Ciro
Click to expand...

Excellent input! Thanks Ciro! I'll go back and look at these areas!
 
Everything sounds good to me for the most part. I think the drums sound kind of cheap and casio-like. Maybe use better samples if you can and widen the drum field a bit. It seems awfully mono which adds to the drum-machine cheese factor. The kick and snare are fine in the center, but get the toms or cymbals panned out a little bit. Not crazy wide, but off-center a little. It also needs more low end overall. It seems very mid-rangey. I'm not hearing much bass presence.

The song seems a little long/repetitive and the intro takes forever to get going. 2 minutes is way too long to wait before something else to happen. I think those subtle strings can come in sooner.

Overall though, it's a really nice job. Vocals are a little up front, but it works well in this kind of music that has a message.
 
Greg_L said:
Everything sounds good to me for the most part. I think the drums sound kind of cheap and casio-like. Maybe use better samples if you can and widen the drum field a bit. It seems awfully mono which adds to the drum-machine cheese factor. The kick and snare are fine in the center, but get the toms or cymbals panned out a little bit. Not crazy wide, but off-center a little. It also needs more low end overall. It seems very mid-rangey. I'm not hearing much bass presence.

The song seems a little long/repetitive and the intro takes forever to get going. 2 minutes is way too long to wait before something else to happen. I think those subtle strings can come in sooner.

Overall though, it's a really nice job. Vocals are a little up front, but it works well in this kind of music that has a message.
Click to expand...

Thanks Greg. Those are real drums, so I better go back and have a look at 'em if they're sounding casio-ish. I've noticed the bass thing too--across all the songs in this project. I appreciate the confirmation.
 
Real drums huh? Hmmm, maybe they're too compressed? It's hard to tell.
 
I hear what Gerg is saying about the drums.

Seem to be the weak link in this one.

They're not so bad but they could be a lot better.

Strings are convincing enough, I suppose.

Vocal recording is top notch.

But, she says "God" WAY too many times. It's totally alienating. :D ;)
 
my thoght with the drums is that mybe there is a bit too much high end boost, which is especially noticable in the hi hats.

I probably wouldn't mistake the strings as a real orchestra section, but that could be because I spend so much time working with fake strings, I kind of have gotten used to the signature fake string sounds.
 
nave said:
I hear what Gerg is saying about the drums.

Seem to be the weak link in this one.

They're not so bad but they could be a lot better.

Strings are convincing enough, I suppose.

Vocal recording is top notch.

But, she says "God" WAY too many times. It's totally alienating. :D ;)
Click to expand...


Thanks Nave. We're going to press this week--but this song is one of the bigger numbers, so I'm gonna spend some time on the drums tonight. Maybe if the drums are better, you'll feel less alienated? :D

Just for kicks guys, here's another song from the same CD. Totally different style song/mix, but same drums, drummer and session. The mix is obviously a different approach, so I'm curious if you think these drums sound better:

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top