Hi Ray, To me this is a very cool song. Like the video; intriguing. I agree with Dave and Floyd the vocals could given some more volume, but that's a minor point. And speaking about the vocals, I was wondering how the lower voice would have sound. If it was like the 'Pogues', I mean the vocals I heard in the song before this one (I forgot the title of it, sorry Ray). Those I liked very much! But that is of course a matter of taste. Well done, Ray! Hans
Ray, this sounds wonderful to me! Is this your voice/vocal? It sounds great, but as others have mentioned, it needs a boost to my ears! You have serious ability in all aspects of music production and it's appreciated by me! Thanks, Torrey
Thanks Torrey, Yes it's me singing in a register I've not used for 30+ years. I'll attempt to get a more acceptable level if I can't replace it.
Cheers rayc "What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe
Pretty groovy Ray. I like the song and the arrangement. If you are looking for suggestions in the mix I would say the guitars could come down in volume a bit and maybe not panned so hard. Either that or bring the vocals up a bit. It would be interesting to hear the vocals with some compression...
Chris, Yes, thanks. The vocal level is up for debate and tweaking. I'm interested in your suggestion to narrow the guitar panning. I'd have thought a narrower image would crowd the vocal even more. I'm probably wrong in that though. I'll give it a try. Vocal compression...each individual vocal track, (it'd double tracked for mains), has two compressors - one for evenness and colour the 2nd being a fader rider. There's another compressor on the Bvox bus as well as the main vocal bus and, finally, there's a compressor on the VOCAL bus. Where ought I add another? I'll happily do it if it helps. The cops used are the Focusrite Red3 for colour, ReaComp for fader riding and Density MkIII for pinning down very dynamic tracks - used in different configurations to achieve different aims.
Last edited by rayc; 06/24/2001:16 AM.
Cheers rayc "What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe
Hi Ray ... A really cool song! It's a genre I can't say I know anything about, technically. But, I tend to rely on my ears and instincts when I'm outside my normal coloring lines. Regardless of the general expectations for the genre might be, I found this to be very entertaining. I particularly liked the way the bass line moved ... not just quarter notes and half notes, but a real sense of a modified swing movement And yeah, the vocals could move a little more forward. Not much more I can add. I'm more a "Big Picture" guy than the "Nit-Picking" sort. Just entertain me, regardless of any little this and that quibbles. You entertained me. It was a very enjoyable listen. Nice work! Best to you. Be safe ... Alan
Hello Alan, Thanks for the kind words and positive world view. Yes, vocals are an issue to be dealt with. The bass part was fun.
Cheers rayc "What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe
Ray, Very cool. Super vibe! Acidic video, seems like you are having fun with it. Ok... bashing time. You have excellent vocals on it, but I wish they would come up more (More!). Also I think drums are fighting with bass a little and are not well pronounced (too much low end on drums?) If I decided to try something, I would: Raise vocals 3db, spike "panning guitar" with high EQ, so it is more on "top", less processing FX on drums so they are more clear. Sometimes, when I am stuck on the mix, I would just make a copy and do completely opposite of what I think it should sound like....and about half of the time I end up keeping the later mix What I am saying is, if you will experiment with it, try to push "suggestions" beyond your "comfort" level and post the result. Comparing side by side works best and will give you a more clearer picture of your ear vs "average" ear. Or you can disregard all my blathering Thank you for sharing. Good one Ray! Misha.
Misha, I love the idea of running contrary to expectations in a parallel experiment. I'll give that a go. The tweaks you mentioned, (in detail which REALLY helps), will get a run tomorrow. PHANQUE
Cheers rayc "What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe
Musically, definitely you achieved what you were intending. Vocally, well, I had no idea what was going on there.
VT, the vocals are the problem and the reason for posting, apart from feedback about adding the final chorus. What was going on was me "singing" an octave higher than normal, blending a matched lower octave in and some bvox: not very successfully from my perspective. Thanks for the positive regarding the backing.
Cheers rayc "What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe
Cool tune. Loved the tone of the guitar. Excellent driving backtrack.
Thanks Scott, the tone is: humbucker into cocked wah setting on an ancient Ibanez EQ, High & Low from the same EQ, then Marshall Superbass (modded) at channel vol 8 and MV volume 2.
Cheers rayc "What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe
I guess we are the odd folks out as we thought the vocal level was fine for the genre. Actually every time we listen to hard rock or whatever genre you want to assign to this we think the vocals are a bit buried. It took us a while to realize that its part and parcel of the package. There being no intent to be warm and intimate just let it work with those crunchy guitars as it well does. Nice guitar performance and a cool baseline also. And we enjoyed the light show! Fun production... J&B JnB, Thanks. Yes, odd ones out, almost. Most ears prefer vocals set as the focus, pop and ballads have trained us for that. You're right in that it's often a stylistic choice to have the vocal at a level that requires a little effort or imagination to discern the narrative. In this track the narrative is a very short biography unlikely to be noted by most folk and, in truth, of little consequence. Some "in" jokes and a ghoulish tendency on my part. The video actually tells the story rather better. Thanks for understanding.
Cheers rayc "What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe
Ray, Add lyrics to the video and most listeners ( myself included) might not find vocal levels to be such an issue. You make an excellent dense driving sound and to my ears the higher pitched vocal is a good part of the noise. Robert
Thanks. A lyric video is an option but I'm more inclined to reward curiosity. The video, rather better than the viewer may imagine, tells the story of the narrative quite closely. I'm pleased you hear the higher voice as effective 1m below the surface of this maelstrom. I HOPE to have a better vocal soon and one that will be better heard as a result.
Cheers rayc "What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe
Nice rocking sound, Ray and trippy video. I wasn't too fussed about not being able to make out some of the vocals but agree that posting the lyrics would be one solution. Regards, Leon
Hello Leon, I'm glad you're not unduly concerned about the vocal level. As to a lyric video...please see my response to Robert.
Cheers rayc "What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe
@rayc - This is a conundrum. I really like the effect of the dreamy/hazy vocals - it fits really well with the guitars. On the other hand, I concur with others that it would be better if the lyrics could be discerned. I would add that they could be improved at points with some effect which would add more dynamics - maybe something to bring out the peaks, but strategically. As to how to do that, it is beyond my ken. In any case, the vibe comes across instantly and with a powerful drive. You know instantly what type of song you're listening to and you just sit back and say "yeah - lay it on me baby!" So overall, loved it, great listen, no complaints. Edit: What about inserting some short holds or a couple silences in there at key points? For example, let one of those guitar chords ring out and then sort of hang and fade out, then come back hard with another chord and bring the vocal in strong. That might really add some tension. Just tossing out ideas.
I can toy with the idea of hold and silences but, as the backing isn't BIAB other than drums, I'll have to do some careful editing etc. I will give it a whirl though. Could be excellent. Thanks for taking the time and listening/considering options as well as the kind words.
Cheers rayc "What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe
Hi Ray, To me this is a very cool song. Like the video; intriguing. I agree with Dave and Floyd the vocals could given some more volume, but that's a minor point. And speaking about the vocals, I was wondering how the lower voice would have sound. If it was like the 'Pogues', I mean the vocals I heard in the song before this one (I forgot the title of it, sorry Ray). Those I liked very much! But that is of course a matter of taste. Well done, Ray! Hans
[quote=rayc][quote=Birchwood] Hi Ray, Yes I listened to that song as well and I liked the vocals. so I would suggest you use those vocals ;-) Hans
That would be my preference too Hans. It seems, however, that the low vocals bury any residue of melody in the verses. I THINK I have a vocalist lined up to save the day. New mix in first post pending new vocal.
Cheers rayc "What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe
Liked it a lot, vox sound good enough to me that raising them a tad wouldn't be a bad reveal IMHO. Surprised not to see a lyric sheet, even if it is a repeat. Excellent work, mate!
Windows 11, Intel Core I5 10400, 16 gig ram, Scarlett 2i2, Sony Acid Music Studio 10, BIAB 2020 UltraPlus Pak
Cool video. Cool song, Ray. All of the instruments seem very well mixed. You know me, I always suggest the bass should be louder, but everyone pretty much ignores me. I'd like the vocals a bit more up front, but then they sound cool behind the guitars --period-like.
Enjoy whatever happens! marty
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@babumusic51 SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/marty-straub Band in a Box, Reaper, Cakewalk, Ozone 12, EZDrummer
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