New track "Lost"

ZV Yoda

Hi folks,

Looking for some mixing advice on this new one. It's a different style of song for me - my attempt to write a bluesy sort of track.

Anyway, been fiddling with it for a few days & need a fresh pair of ears. It's a simple enough mix / arrangement, but it sounds a bit harsh to me. I've been trying to focus on keeping the mixes from getting too muddy, but I'm not sure if this is at the other end of the spectrum.

As ever, any advice greatly appreciated.

https://soundcloud.com/m-a-whelan/lost

keithkk16

What way do you yourself want the song to sound like?
You've definitely got something there, it's a good track.
There isn't much happening in the low end with the drums, can't really hear the kick much and the snare sounds a bit light as well. It just sounds like everything could be beefed up and maybe a bit of reverb on the vocals. Maybe some of the vocal underneath the main one is a bit out of key or out of time but it sounds a bit off to me.

Blong!hahaha

Doesn't sound too bad at all dude! You have a good sense of balance with regard to backing vocals vs lead vocals. But it seems overall the vocals are sticking out in the mix too much - maybe work on identifying the frequencies that are pushing out too much. You can get away with taking out a lot of bottom end in vocals. And yes, the drums need some work too- a lot of people seem to get good results by making a dip in the bass guitar around the 50hz mark, and then boosting the kick drum around the same place. Do you have good monitors with a flat frequency response to listen on? If you don't then you might be on a wild goose chase with regard to EQ etc.

You have a nice voice, but it's a bit pitchy in places. I know it's so difficult to get polished vox in a home setting, with the fatigue of re-takes and also managing the rest of the recording process, but it's worth addressing if you're looking to send these around to labels etc.

Nice songs btw.

ZV Yoda

Thanks for the comments - I always appreciate honest feedback.

keithkk16 wrote: »

What way do you yourself want the song to sound like?
You've definitely got something there, it's a good track.
There isn't much happening in the low end with the drums, can't really hear the kick much and the snare sounds a bit light as well. It just sounds like everything could be beefed up and maybe a bit of reverb on the vocals. Maybe some of the vocal underneath the main one is a bit out of key or out of time but it sounds a bit off to me.

Dunno what I really wanted it to sound like. I didn't have particular sound in mind. It just feels like it lacks any real punch. Yeah, there's a wobbly vocal in there aright - very obvious now that I listen back to it. I've been meaning to get a handle on side-chaining the kick / bass, so maybe that will get a bit more low end punch.

Blong!hahaha wrote: »

Doesn't sound too bad at all dude! You have a good sense of balance with regard to backing vocals vs lead vocals. But it seems overall the vocals are sticking out in the mix too much - maybe work on identifying the frequencies that are pushing out too much. You can get away with taking out a lot of bottom end in vocals. And yes, the drums need some work too- a lot of people seem to get good results by making a dip in the bass guitar around the 50hz mark, and then boosting the kick drum around the same place. Do you have good monitors with a flat frequency response to listen on? If you don't then you might be on a wild goose chase with regard to EQ etc.

You have a nice voice, but it's a bit pitchy in places. I know it's so difficult to get polished vox in a home setting, with the fatigue of re-takes and also managing the rest of the recording process, but it's worth addressing if you're looking to send these around to labels etc.

Nice songs btw.

Good points. Vocal is too prominent alright. "A bit pitchy" is an understatement, but thanks for your diplomacy Monitors are M-Audio BX8a. Not great, but they're passable. The room isn't treated as such, so I tend to listen to mixes on a few different systems & in the car to get the best overall balance.

Not planning to send the tracks anywhere, I just write for my own sanity amusement really.

Right so, I'll re-record the vox & take another look at the EQing. Thanks!

Blong!hahaha

Ah right, that's cool- yeah it's good to listen on multiple sound systems. I also find it's handy to have a reference track that you can flip back and forth between, so you can compare it to your own level and EQ etc.

i57dwun4yb1pt8

i like the balances , but think the kick snare bass grind needs to come up

seems to be a recurring comment of mine , maybe its my taste

not much to moan about really i suppose !

ZV Yoda

DaDumTish wrote: »

i like the balances , but think the kick snare bass grind needs to come up

seems to be a recurring comment of mine , maybe its my taste

not much to moan about really i suppose !

Cheers... I totally agree with the comment, I just haven't figured out a way to get a good thump off the snare & kick yet. It's not for lack of software or plugins, I just seem to be missing something in how I'm using them. I need to spend some time going back to basics and figure out how to use side chain compression / EQ between kick & bass gtr.