The problem I have with the song is the vocals actually. I agree with the room that you may want to widen your imaging because it seems like your entire mix is in the center. You also have vocal and instrument balance issues within the mix.
Lets talk about presentation,
As a vocalist or singer you should never be scared to sing like you mean it. Maybe this is the kind of sound you are going for but the vocals seemed a bit lethargic and unflattering. At certain intervals it actually became hard to hear the vocals clearly because it seemed as if you were hiding the vocals within the mix. The guitar and pieces of the music actually got louder than your singing at certain intervals and it seemed as if you tried to drown a bit of the vocals within the music. If you are going for the rock crooner transition, then you may want to work on your vocal presentation to put a little more feeling into the vocals and it will power the overall mix. It looks like you can hold a tune and can play the guitar but the flat and lethargic vocals were the key problem. The mix balance issues as well as the imaging issues were the other issues.
I would say redo the vocals to refine your sound because your voice is an instrument and if it sounds flat, lethargic or boring than your music will usually sound flat and lethargic. I hear a good singer who did not put in a great vocal performance.
My first song, please critique! (rock, pop)
-
- KVRer
- Topic Starter
- 6 posts since 16 Feb, 2012 from Atlanta
Thank you for the comments. Seeing as this is my first time showcasing my singing abilities, I definitely could have been trying to subconsciously hide my voice. I'll keep all this in mind!YoungGen0 wrote:[text]
Wow, it sounds like a totally different song! Definitely less muddy than the original.rsmus7 wrote:I just had a few minutes to try a remix,
I'm not sure if it is better, but it's different at least
for proper editing I would need more time
I only used Live8 onboard FX, so that you can see what I've done,
I sent you a pm with a dl-link for the project file
listen here:
rsmus7 remix
-
- KVRAF
- 5713 posts since 5 Aug, 2006 from UK - The Mudway Towns
Indeed, a much lighter and clearer mix.
... and nicely spaced instruments
... and nicely spaced instruments
It wasn't me! (well, actually, it probably was) - apparently no longer an 'elderly', now a 'senior'! Is that promotion?
-
- KVRist
- 84 posts since 6 Feb, 2012 from Oslo, Norway
a little too much of everything now but it sure cleaned it up. guitar is a little too much and off to the side, but thats just here. maybe pan it depending on what it plays, its too much and too strong during the vocals.
then you could double kick in the melody like a ta-ta on the downbeat, rather than a repeating ta, ta, ta, snare-kickdrum repetition. your vocals is up in your face, clear and good actually, sonically. you shouldnt cover vocals, its important that you get your thing out and dont try to cover anything, you could change the space and presence of it if youre not happy with it, make it sound more "vinyl", eq the timbre on it etc, small reverb. dont think singing capabilities is what this song is about, more important to get your voice out. the vocals are actually the best part to me, not judging by your singing ability.
you can listen to your first record and overall its better, but the second record has a certain feel to it which i personally like more. much cleaner and in one direction. just a couple of pans and some gain adjustements left would fix it.
another tip is to listen to other tracks and find something you like, for example a guitar sitting perfect in space and try to replicate it on your mix. best technique is high compression and low gain, it just makes everything clear and with alot of life and you dont have to push the gain that more for people to be able to hear it, much easier to place everything after that and it wont sound that intruding.
take a listen to this record then listen back at yours, you get some idea about in which direction you should place and how loud your instruments should be next to everything else. its not about the pieces but about everything together.
but it sure cleaned it up. guitar is a little too much and off to the side, but thats just here. maybe pan it depending on what it plays, its too much and too strong during the vocals.then you could double kick in the melody like a ta-ta on the downbeat, rather than a repeating ta, ta, ta, snare-kickdrum repetition. your vocals is up in your face, clear and good actually, sonically. you shouldnt cover vocals, its important that you get your thing out and dont try to cover anything, you could change the space and presence of it if youre not happy with it, make it sound more "vinyl", eq the timbre on it etc, small reverb. dont think singing capabilities is what this song is about, more important to get your voice out. the vocals are actually the best part to me, not judging by your singing ability.
you can listen to your first record and overall its better, but the second record has a certain feel to it which i personally like more. much cleaner and in one direction. just a couple of pans and some gain adjustements left would fix it.
another tip is to listen to other tracks and find something you like, for example a guitar sitting perfect in space and try to replicate it on your mix. best technique is high compression and low gain, it just makes everything clear and with alot of life and you dont have to push the gain that more for people to be able to hear it, much easier to place everything after that and it wont sound that intruding.
take a listen to this record then listen back at yours, you get some idea about in which direction you should place and how loud your instruments should be next to everything else. its not about the pieces but about everything together.