Hi everybody!

I took quite a long time out but now I've finally written a new song. It's called "Muse" and is about an artist losing/having lost his inspiration, which I thought would make a good song for a comeback.

Musically it's kind of 80s style. I wanted to create a song Ultravox might have done back then.

So, hope you enjoy the song while giving me some feedback to recharge my batteries.

http://soundcloud.com/talvin/muse-v-1-0

Thanks,

Tal
Last edited by Talvin on Tue Oct 16, 2012 3:52 am; edited 5 times in total

*Bump*

I like the song, I think that you captured the song feel. I'm a big 80s fan, I really like Ultravox, New Order, OMD, Talk Talk, Simple Minds, etc.

I'm hoping that people with more mixing skill than I have chime in here because I don't really know specifically what feedback to give. The short of it is, I don't like the mix, it has an elevator quality to it. At first I thought that it was just the snare, which, to my ears, doesn't fit well, it's too "tubby", but it's more than that. Neither the synths nor the guitars are particularly dramatic in the mix. Again, I don't think that it's the writing, I like that aspect of it, I'm just not feeling the mix.

Listening to it a second time, a bit louder, I definitely think that the heavily distorted guitar is part of what I don't like, I think that it needs more definition, perhaps even some more variety in the playing style. Also, the portamento lead sounds quite anemic to me. If you were going for a sort of breakdown there, which I suspect owing to the drum volume dropping a bit, it wasn't enough, it just sounds like a bit of a weak lead. I do like the clap with the snare that follows shortly thereafter. Also, I think that the vocal effects sound good, the filtering and the delay caught my attention.

Sorry I can't be more specific, I'm not quite able to put my finger on what it is specifically about the mix that makes it feel somewhat "in the box" to me. With any luck my comments will at least attract those with a bit more skill to school me in how wrong I am

Thanks a lot.

I will definitely work on the drums and check if I can make the overall sound more "dramatic".
I'm not too sure though about that "elevator" quality you mentioned.

Of course I could try to add some strings/synth strings to achieve a more dramatic effect and/or add some vocal parts.

Well, as you mentioned, maybe there are some experts here who can give more precise tips on how to improve the mix, but your comment is really helpful.

Dramatic might not be communicating the right thoughts. I remember when I did a punk inspired song some years ago. I played it for my sister, she said that I might have something if I got rid of my drum machine. She was right, the drums sounded very clinical and lacked dynamic range. I played everything else reasonably competently, but the drums stood out like a sore thumb because my drum programming skills were crap.

nice one! I really enjoyed this relaxed (might be a tad melancholic) melody. a good song. although one thing might be improved: the arrangement of the verse. when this first enters at 00:37 there's a kind of unnatural cut.

thanks for posting

wolf

Thanks.

What do you mean by "unnatural cut". The piano or a missing drum break (which I might add?

I worked on the mix, especially the drums and also made some changes to the instrumentation. I already have some things in mind I will probably change in the next version, but before I'd like to hear what you think.

http://soundcloud.com/talvin/muse-v-1-1

Please take a listen and tell me what you think of the latest mix. I think it definitely sounds better, but I'm sure you can help me to make it even better.

http://soundcloud.com/talvin/muse-v-1-3

I remixed the song and would be happy to get some feedback and tips on mixing/the arrangement etc.

http://soundcloud.com/talvin/muse-v-1-4-remix

Diggin the song--but since we're talking about the mix, I'll chime in. It feels pretty muddy to me, but I have a hunch that may be due to the vocal part. My Suggestions for the vocals would be the following:

First, Higher in the mix.

Second, Compressed a little more--might not have to bring it as high with some harder compression (I'm a fan of heavily compressed vox, so take this with a grain of salt)

Third, if you have a good analog EQ or emulation I would boost a few dB around 1.5 for clairity, and then High Shelf at around 10 a few dB for "airyness." These vocals are Begging for air, and a properly executed high shelf will do this. However, I recommend a high quality EQ because, when boosting, low quality ones sound harsh, while analog (or emulaitons) add nice color. My favorite for boosting 1.5 and 3 kHZ is the waves VEQ4, and the SSL EQ for the high shelf. Between these two EQs, you'll be good for pretty much all your other instruments as well. The SSL is a real workhorse, and takes just small tweaking to get a great sound. Make sure to have the signal going in and out at about -12 dB (or RMS or whatever I forget right now), otherwise they clip hard.


Also, I would probably low pass the piano at around 300 and boost in the 3k region (mess around with this) to give it a more poppy sound, as opposed to generic sampled piano. Hope this helps!

Thanks.

I'll check that. How do you notice these things? Do you have an analyzer?

http://soundcloud.com/talvin/muse-v-1-4-remix

No, no analyzers. Just my ears, and a little experience with recording (though I've only been working with electronic music for a few months, recording real instruments has its advantages). Just like the punch of a kick lies around 120 hz, vocal clarity lies around 1.5 k and 3k and the air is 10k plus. All this depends a little on the source, naturally, but these are just some of the guidelines I use initially for equing

Thanks.

I worked on the last version and I think it sounds better now, although there might be too much compression/effects on the vocals. What do you think?

http://soundcloud.com/talvin/muse-v-1-43-remix

Hi again!

As you can hear a lot has been done to improve the mix. So could you please take a listen and tell me if I can leave it as it is?

What about the new bass groove?


http://soundcloud.com/talvin/muse-v-2-0