michaelhanson 60 Posted March 3 (edited) Hey Gang, a new Scandalous Grace tune. This one is written by Sean Piefer and mixed by myself. Please give this a listen and let us know your thoughts. Performed by Scandalous Grace Words & Music: Sean Peifer Sean Peifer: Lead Vox, Acoustic Guitar, Lead Electric Guitar and Solo, Drum programming. Michael Hanson: Bass, Electric Rhythm, BGV, Mixing/mastering. Reece Bain: Strings, Piano and BGVs. Edited March 5 by michaelhanson 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
David Sprouse 447 Posted March 3 I had trouble making out the lyrics, but enjoyed the song nonetheless. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jack c. 162 Posted March 3 acoustic needs some high pass filter.i think lower the key a couple of steps.nice recording job .jack c. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
michaelhanson 60 Posted March 4 David- Thank you very much for the listen. I'm happy that you enjoyed the song. We will look into your comments on not being able to make out the lyrics. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bapu 2,624 Posted March 5 On 3/3/2021 at 11:31 AM, David Sprouse said: I had trouble making out the lyrics, but enjoyed the song nonetheless. +1 Michael No credit for the drums? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bajan Blue 529 Posted March 6 enjoyable listen I could make out the vocals OK on my system - i was listening on my KRK V8's today Nigel Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
michaelhanson 60 Posted March 6 Jack- Thank you for listening and commenting. This song was written by Sean and he is the Lead singer. I'm not sure what the song would sound like in a different key, but he chose the key which fits his voice best. We will take into consideration your EQ suggestions. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
michaelhanson 60 Posted March 6 (edited) Ed- Thank you once again for your support. When you say you are having trouble hearing the lyrics, I have a question that would help me. Do you feel the vocal is not loud enough, or are there just a few lines of the lyrics that are just hard to understand the words? Fixed...credit for Drum's. Didn't mean to short credit Sean as he did an excellent job programming them before I sprinkled a little fairy dust on the final track. Edited March 6 by michaelhanson Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
michaelhanson 60 Posted March 6 Nigel- Thank you very much for listening and commenting. Good to know that you are hearing the vocal OK on your system. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bapu 2,624 Posted March 6 37 minutes ago, michaelhanson said: Ed- Thank you once again for your support. When you say you are having trouble hearing the lyrics, I have a question that would help me. Do you feel the vocal is not loud enough, or are there just a few lines of the lyrics that are just hard to understand the words? Fixed...credit for Drum's. Didn't mean to short credit Sean as he did an excellent job programming them before I sprinkled a little fairy dust on the final track. Louder might be the answer, or some EQ to make the vocal cut through the mix a little more. It's *almost* like they are muffled/masked. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KurtS 112 Posted March 6 On my monitors the acoustic sounds muffled and the chorus has a harsh mid, not sure what is coming in there but it makes me want to turn down the volume. I like the song, arrangement and singing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wookiee 1,009 Posted March 7 I am not hearing a problem with the mix here, the vocal is fine and balanced against the support instruments. Listening on my Adam A7x's driven by my Focusrite Pre 8 USB. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
treesha 91 Posted March 7 Good song, enjoyed the lead guitar playing a lot. As for the mix, when the background music gets loud, the vocals belt but don't stand out as well as through the rest of the song. When the acoustic guitar is playing notes, sometimes the little emphasis riff (not sure how to describe what I mean, a few notes , when the music is loud and the acoustic gets buried, sometimes that little riff pokes through on its own and I would try to have more of the acoustic guitar audible along with that little riff so it has its context along with it or include it less. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Paul Bush 152 Posted March 8 Well I liked all of this song guitar solo was great cheers Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
michaelhanson 60 Posted March 8 Kurt- Thank you for listening and commenting. I will check for the mids you are hearing in the Chorus. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
michaelhanson 60 Posted March 8 On 3/7/2021 at 6:54 AM, Wookiee said: I am not hearing a problem with the mix here, the vocal is fine and balanced against the support instruments. Listening on my Adam A7x's driven by my Focusrite Pre 8 USB. Wookie- Thank you greatly for checking out this mix. I have played with the vocal levels a little, but have not posted a new mix. I find that I can't really raise the levels of the vocals without them getting, in my opinion, too loud. I am not a fan of the lead vocal sitting on top of a mix, but prefer it to be surrounded, to some degree, by the instrumentation. I feel like the issue may just be in the way Sean sings the lyrics so that they kind of flow together. Definitely open to more comments on the subject. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
michaelhanson 60 Posted March 9 On 3/7/2021 at 2:25 PM, treesha said: Good song, enjoyed the lead guitar playing a lot. As for the mix, when the background music gets loud, the vocals belt but don't stand out as well as through the rest of the song. When the acoustic guitar is playing notes, sometimes the little emphasis riff (not sure how to describe what I mean, a few notes , when the music is loud and the acoustic gets buried, sometimes that little riff pokes through on its own and I would try to have more of the acoustic guitar audible along with that little riff so it has its context along with it or include it less. Hi Treesha- Thank you for the listen and comments. I think it's always a challenge when a song goes from single instrument to full band, in and out, through out a song. When we go full band, not every instrument can be as intimate as it was on its own. You are correct, the acoustic riff plays through out the song, but is less intimate as full band comes in. In fact, it may be the Bass that your hearing during full band, as the Bass line mimics that riff through out. I wish I knew a way to introduce the full band, without masking some of the other instruments that are also playing; even while using EQ and panning to attempt to give each its own space. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
michaelhanson 60 Posted March 9 On 3/8/2021 at 3:40 AM, Paul Bush said: Well I liked all of this song guitar solo was great cheers Hey Paul- Thank you greatly for listening and commenting. Really happy to hear that you liked the song. Sean's guitar solo work is always stellar and I am a huge fan of his playing. This is his song, but I know he always makes the songs that I have written better, just by the work he does on electric guitar. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
David Sprouse 447 Posted March 9 I could understand the lyrics this time around. This is awesome Michael. Maybe your best yet. I like this vocalist alot, is it you? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
michaelhanson 60 Posted March 9 (edited) Hi David- Thank you for coming back and giving it another listen. That's really good to know that this time you were able to make out the lyrics. This song was written and sung by Sean Peifer, one of our founding members of the band. Sean has an excellent voice! If this was myself singing, you would probably say..."hey, you sound a lot like Petty." Sean often asks me to do the mixing for his songs, as I think he really just prefers to write and play on the songs and not get into the production headaches that go with each piece. I love the mixing process, so I look forward to working on his songs. Edited March 9 by michaelhanson Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
