Need some ears!

[David Rossi]

Hey all, was an active member of the way old Sonar / cakewalk forum back in the day.  

Need a few mix comments for this.  The parts seem there but the cohesive glue seems a little, eh, lacking? 

Buffalo

 

Thanks for your time in advance…

Edited May 16, 2023 by David Rossi

[KSband]

That's really nice, great guitar and the vocals sound great. I wanted to hear a fiddle come in to fill it out.

[jack c.]

love those guitars and voice and harmony.add some synth strings maybe even a harmonica.jack c

[treesha]

Nice playing and singing, good song.  I might do a little bit of deesing here and there. It doesn’t seem lacking to me, but if you want to fill it out some sustaining bass notes would be nice, or as jack c. suggested strings maybe I would try cello - would be beautiful.

[markno999]

David,

The acoustic guitar seems the odd man out in this mix, space-wise.      Vocals are all good, LV and BGV fit together nicely.    I would try a different reverb or room on the guitars, like a chamber with a shorter decay or something like UA Ocean Way.   In other words, I would have the guitars (other than the solo)  somewhat dryer than the vocals so they mesh better.    

Otherwise I think you have a good mix going here.

[FreeEarCandy]

its a very enchanting piece.  Hmm? So many things you could add to spice it up, but frankly I could take it as it is-vocals and guitar. Of course, as treesha pointed out, there are a few sibilance issues here and there.  I may even use some automation to calm down some edgy areas in the vocals to smooth them out.  Perhaps some eq to also warm the vocals up just a tad.  Personally, I think if you just spend some time doing a little house cleaning this tune can stand on its own.  But if you want a little drama go with the strings. If you want to go sad, then the violin. Percussions seems out of the question for me, but there is really no reason some light percussion couldn't be added.

Bottom line is you have a fine tune, a good voice, and excellent guitar skills. 

[David Rossi]

22 hours ago, KSband said:

That's really nice, great guitar and the vocals sound great. I wanted to hear a fiddle come in to fill it out.

 

22 hours ago, jack c. said:

love those guitars and voice and harmony.add some synth strings maybe even a harmonica.jack c

Thanks @KSband and @jack c..  We’re trying to record a full album stripped down ala the Milk Carton kids with just guitars and vocals, maybe a little piano here and there.  Unfortunately my voice hasn’t left the grunge era lol.  

 

16 hours ago, treesha said:

Nice playing and singing, good song.  I might do a little bit of deesing here and there. It doesn’t seem lacking to me, but if you want to fill it out some sustaining bass notes would be nice, or as jack c. suggested strings maybe I would try cello - would be beautiful.

@treesha so much de-essing.  My next task is to load the vocals in Melodyne and tamp those down.  It is a sibilant nightmare track for sure.  

 

16 hours ago, markno999 said:

David,

The acoustic guitar seems the odd man out in this mix, space-wise.      Vocals are all good, LV and BGV fit together nicely.    I would try a different reverb or room on the guitars, like a chamber with a shorter decay or something like UA Ocean Way.   In other words, I would have the guitars (other than the solo)  somewhat dryer than the vocals so they mesh better.    

Otherwise I think you have a good mix going here.

@markno999 this was a good suggestion.  I have a tendency to overuse the UA EMT140 and just loaded up the Ocean Way on the last run as well as the hittsville chambers.  See if I can back off the wetness a bit…

 

11 hours ago, FreeEarCandy said:

its a very enchanting piece.  Hmm? So many things you could add to spice it up, but frankly I could take it as it is-vocals and guitar. Of course, as treesha pointed out, there are a few sibilance issues here and there.  I may even use some automation to calm down some edgy areas in the vocals to smooth them out.  Perhaps some eq to also warm the vocals up just a tad.  Personally, I think if you just spend some time doing a little house cleaning this tune can stand on its own.  But if you want a little drama go with the strings. If you want to go sad, then the violin. Percussions seems out of the question for me, but there is really no reason some light percussion couldn't be added.

Bottom line is you have a fine tune, a good voice, and excellent guitar skills. 

@FreeEarCandy yes, I agree this track needs some housekeeping.  Even the bleed through breaths on the guitar tracks are frustrating me.  Gonna de-ess and try to back off some of the harshness that the neve high air EQ tends to give if overused.  
 

Thanks all for the listen

 

[Lynn Wilson]

Great tune, David!  It seems that you have a handle on the few issues in this song, so let me just compliment you on everything else.  This arrangement can stand on its own because your vocal and melody carry this.  Can't wait to hear more.

[Larry T.]

On 5/15/2023 at 6:16 AM, David Rossi said:

Hey all, was an active member of the way old Sonar / cakewalk forum back in the day.  

Need a few mix comments for this.  The parts seem there but the cohesive glue seems a little, eh, lacking? 

Buffalo

 

Thanks for your time in advance…

I think you have a great basic piece of work. Minor EQ'ing and volume corrections would be nice imo. The guitars  need a bit of volume decrease and the background vox should be more clear/distinct and a dB or so louder. The flow of the words and music is hypnotic and your vox delivers the goods. That being said the addition of fiddle, piano, cello, acoustic bass are all valid options, but it's your song so how it's realized is up to you. Good work!!  ????