Hello all I am busy recording an album of some of my favourite songs. Feedback on this mix of The Diary (Bread cover) is much appreciated so that I can take note when mixing the rest of the album. https://joannecooper.co.za/track/3023489/diary
This sounds really good to me. Everyone has different tastes and in my songwriter meetings (one of our young ladies just won a major Nashville songwriting contest this week and a got music deal by the way ) almost everyone has a different opinion on things.
But I love what is there. The guitars and the vocals are great.
I find the strings and the hard panning of them to the right mildly distracting because I think it dilutes the purity of the vocal and guitars.
When the second acoustic comes in hard panned right it sounds fine to me.
Maybe just a wee bit of cello or real track fiddle/violin, very slow??
The authentic wooden-box sound of the acoustics and vocals don't completely mesh for me with the synth-y strings.
For me in mixing (and I am just one person) my first thought is always: "Does the song really need this track?" If the answer is "maybe" then to me you have to take it out.
I think the strength of your vocals alone and acoustics carry the day and you should be careful not to distract from them in any mix.
The balance sounds great though and the tone is very warm.
Does that help?
David Snyder Songwriter/Renaissance Man Studio + Fingers
"don't completely mesh for me with the synth-y strings" I would agree with Dave on this. In this type of song I would probably use individual string instruments, or a four part string patch to maintain the organic feel. The attack of the string patch is also a little distracting in this rendition, somehow 'off'.
Singing is fine, right out front, but for me, when the strings were playing, it seemed like something was missing in the guitars. The left side finger picking seemed to disappear a bit. Otherwise nice job. Take with a teaspoon of salt; as Dave mentioned we will all have our own opinions.
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome Make your sound your own!
"don't completely mesh for me with the synth-y strings" I would agree with Dave on this. In this type of song I would probably use individual string instruments, or a four part string patch to maintain the organic feel. The attack of the string patch is also a little distracting in this rendition, somehow 'off'.
Singing is fine, right out front, but for me, when the strings were playing, it seemed like something was missing in the guitars. The left side finger picking seemed to disappear a bit. Otherwise nice job. Take with a teaspoon of salt; as Dave mentioned we will all have our own opinions.
My view is exactly the same.
On a side note if you like the sound of the strings I use you could send me the MIDI file and I will use my strings then send you back a wav file via Dropbox.
Waitress "How did you find your steak sir"?
Me "I just looked next to the potatoes and there it was"!
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
Ah thanks so much Rhavr, David and Mario. Much appreciated. I will put a cello instead of the strings.
I currently have the same picking guitar panned hard left and right and then drop off the right one when the other guitar and strings come in. I will adjust this.
This really helps. I am trying to produce this album with as little arranging and instruments as possible so that the focus remains on the vocal and harmonies.
Listening to the second mix I found the harmonies distracting. First the harmony vocal was panned left, then right, then both. Harmony vocals don't typically bounce from side to side.
May I suggest you use the same number of harmony vocals throughout the song and pan them near left and right. Imagine multiple singers surrounding a single microphone. They tend to blend together into one sound. Presently each harmony vocal is too distinct.
Thanks guys! I have reworked the harmonies and put some EQ on the fiddle so it is not buried in the mix (hopefully). More feedback is always much appreciated/
This version has cleared up the conflict in the right channel between the backing vocal, guitar and the cello - so there's a much better balance in the mix.
Are you compressing the guitar in the left channel - if it's a BIAB guitar, you might just need to EQ it and not use compressor, that'll make it sound a bit more clear.
0:17 into the song a very short acoustic guitar appears in the center (and slightly left) for a chord or two and then disappears - is this made on purpose or is it incidental?
1:44 I would fade the violin slightly, to my taste it's a little bit too dominating the vocal.
Your vocal is very strong and carries the song through nicely, and it's a very nice song.
Keep up the good work Peter
MacMini M1 - BIAB2021 - Logic Pro X - iZotope Music Production Suite - Scaler 2 - far too many Waves plugins and Line 6 Guitars and boards + a fantastic Yamaha THR10ll mini Amp - Avid MBOX Studio
Peters' Garage is available on all major streaming services
This is the difference between night and day. MUCH better.
You have a glitch at 34 seconds on the left channel guitar, like an effect produced a momentary artifact or something. A very audible click.
One thing for the future (not that you need it here) but Izotope's RX9 has a tool that takes out guitar squeaks. I am going to mess with it today and see how it works. You use a lot of acoustic and believe me I know it can be time consuming to get rid of all those squeaks!
Also, I don't know if you have any Cat Stevens CDs or albums (like the Best of Cat Stevens even) but if so you may want to check it out and listen to how deceptively simple the mixes are. Really genius. There is a lot to learn from this. Everything is subservient to the vocals.
David Snyder Songwriter/Renaissance Man Studio + Fingers
I agree with David about those clicks, there are a few more but they are lower in volume. Get rid of those and you will have a winner IMHO.
I don't mind those string noise sounds (not the clicks) as they are quite common in acoustic playing. I think they add realism to guitar tracks. If you wanted to you could lower a few of those string noises but I wouldn't take them all out.
Again just my opinion.
Waitress "How did you find your steak sir"?
Me "I just looked next to the potatoes and there it was"!
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
I wasn't saying you had string squeak issues on THIS song but just in general I know peope like you and me use a lot of acoustic and have to deal with that.
I think the RX9 Standard feature for that will save me hours on some songs.
Just thought I would give a tip!!
I got RX9 in February with the Izotope Valentine's bundle so it wasn't that much. It is a little pricey off sale though. But, it is fast!!
David Snyder Songwriter/Renaissance Man Studio + Fingers
All the many professionals I know and work with day in and day out (and Joanne is a professional) do this all the time as a matter of course.
It is how you get better mixes and better songs.
I don't know a single soul who has "gone places" who doesn't do it. Good-hearted constructive criticism, sharing, and listening to one another in a professional environment is the way it is done.
Maybe "shyness" is not the only factor. Maybe for some people it is a fear of wondering how they might be treated.
Consistently professional environments feel safer to most artists.
David Snyder Songwriter/Renaissance Man Studio + Fingers
FWIW in certain situations I think the string squeaks are important, but some people say I think a lot of weird things
Example: I have added samples of finger squeaks to a track that was *too clean* to make it sound more 'live', real, intimate, whatever your term is. Done sparingly, the response from clients was usually positive.
"How'd you do that??" type comments some trade secrets are better kept secrets, but I just gave one away I think
and yes, accepting/analyzing criticism is important for many reasons especially when the criticisms are suggestions, not really criticizing. Much easier for the recipient to accept
this thread is a good example
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome Make your sound your own!
you might pay a little attention to the sibilance in your lead vocal - since it's more "up front" and crisp - a gentle treatment with a De-Esser might be worth testing. (I've listened to your song on my Sennheiser HD25 Alu + the speakers in my car)
The song keep growing on me every time I listen to it - it's is really quality work from start to finish.
Cheers Peter
MacMini M1 - BIAB2021 - Logic Pro X - iZotope Music Production Suite - Scaler 2 - far too many Waves plugins and Line 6 Guitars and boards + a fantastic Yamaha THR10ll mini Amp - Avid MBOX Studio
Peters' Garage is available on all major streaming services
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