Tiny World - 53mph

[Philip G Hunt]

Hi guys,

I've been going back to some older tunes to redo certain parts that I wasn't happy with. Now I've got a new house, new instruments, and new mics, I've been trying to 'up' the quality a bit.

In this track I've redone the vocals (recorded using Audio Technica AT2020), recorded a real upright piano (stereo mic'ing using a Rode M3 & AKG C1000S), and I've remastered everything using some new toys (sorry, I mean tools  ) to get a bigger chunkier sound.

It's been passed through Landr (minimal master) so I hope they haven't crushed it too much. 

 

Be interested to hear what people think before I go back and re-tweak.

 

Cheers,

 

[kloon]

This is great! The vocals drown a little bit in the arrangement, i would personally prefer it louder.

The instrument that comes in after the chorus is a bit loud and a little bit sour at times.

Other than that, it's great!

[Philip G Hunt]

Thank Kloon,

I'll go back and have a tweak of those elements.

 

[James G]

That's a good song, a little hint of Ray Davies in the delivery. I agree that the vocal is a bit low., and the constant snare/tambourine seems quite loud.

[PhonoBrainer]

This is a really cool song!

 

The girl's bgv could come up a little. Can hardly hear it. The strumming guitars down just a bit. Your vocals, yes, up a tad.

 

I like the chords, the piano parts, both elec and acoustic. I like the lyrics a ton. Has a really "up" feel.

 

There are spots where you intentionally break out of the "British Dance Hall" stomp rhythm, and shift for a measure into a traditional 4/4 . I think this breaks the magic you are creating . . . hard to describe . . . 1:37 is an example . . .. could just be one listener's experience.

 

I don't think Landr crushed anything, but hard to know without hearing the "before" picture. If you are happy with the raised noise floor on your bass instruments, lower guitar notes, and bass notes on the piano, then good to go.

 

 

I'd like to hear your next mix update!

 

cheers,

-Tom

[bjornpdx]

What a likable and infectious groove you have going. You had me toe tappin' the whole way through. Really like the chord changes, the driving beat and a couple of change-ups to add some variety.

[Philip G Hunt]

Thanks everyone for listening, and for the really positive comments. 

I'm really pleased @emeralssoul found the song uplifting.  I have a tendency to write sad songs, so this was a departure from the norm.  Also, thanks for the detailed review...gives me stuff to chew on. Appreciate it.

@James G, you hit the nail on the head with Ray Davies...back in the early 2000s I released music in the UK, and reviewers used to say the same thing about some of my earlier stuff.  Guess it's in my blood.

Thanks also@ bjornpdx. Anything that gets the toes tapping is good in my book.

I've had another go at the mix - I realised I had a Kontakt VST playing in the background which might have been causing the noise that @kloon mentioned before - I also, got surgical with the drums - trying not to break the 'magic'. - Brought the vocals up...or more precisely EQed and played them better (BTW: emeraldsoul, there are no girl vocals on there...it's all me  ) - and finally, I tried to tame in the drum EQ a bit to make the snare and tamborines sit back a bit. And to finish it off, I didn't master using Landr, but custom mastered using iZotope. Finish results here: 

 

Edited January 31, 2019 by 53mph

[kloon]

Big improvement, good stuff!

[paulo]

Mix 2 sounds much better on my laptop speakers.  Shades of Jean Genie meets T-rex to my ears.

[Starise]

Great listen here!

[thegaltieribrothers]

Hi 53mph,

Excellent song with great lyrics and nice twists and turns.

Thanks for sharing.

Good Job!

regards

paul

[SPAK]

I hear a bit of Marc Bolan vocal with a Kinks vibe .... great song (2nd Version gets my vote). Check out James & Tom's comments though 'cause it would improve the work overall.