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Alternative Rock / Grunge Ballad

cedricm said:
Hi,
I don't know this genre very well, but the track sounds a little thin to me. A little more compression, stereo widening, and reverb could be advantageous.

Or it's simply because the audio volume is a little low, as compared to, as an example: Imagine Dragons - Demons
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Good point, I need to use a reference track. Thanks for the advice
 
Bullersten said:
Dear all,

Could you tell me if this song ready for publishing or not? If not, what do I need to improve?

Soundcloud link

Many thanks
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Maybe need to do something with vocals. Maybe try to use hall reverb, the space sounds small. Not a bad track but it needs some fixing. Also reference it like cedric said, it has potential. Compress it - each track. Good refrain!! Fixing this can become a real gem.
 
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PeterN said:
Maybe need to do something with vocals. Maybe try to use hall reverb, the space sounds small. Not a bad track but it needs some fixing. Also reference it like cedric said, it has potential. Compress it - each track. Good refrain!! Fixing this can become a real gem.
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Thank you for the advice and encouragements Peter, more compression and reverb it will have to be.
 
Bullersten said:
Thank you for the advice and encouragements Peter, more compression and reverb it will have to be.
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I think you should invest in it. Get two of those mixology types of ppl, you find them allover Internet, some show Grammy award backgrounds, they will assist you in the process. Learn from it. This is not too expensive. Make it really shine.

Throw it back here when its ready.
 
PeterN said:
I think you should invest in it. Get two of those mixology types of ppl, you find them allover Internet, some show Grammy award backgrounds, they will assist you in the process. Learn from it. This is not too expensive. Make it really shine.

Throw it back here when its ready.
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I have posted a new mix. Don't think I will get a Grammy with it, but it sounds a little more full. But you are probably right, there is only so far I can go on my own, so will need professional help to move this forward.
 
Bullersten said:
I have posted a new mix. Don't think I will get a Grammy with it, but it sounds a little more full. But you are probably right, there is only so far I can go on my own, so will need professional help to move this forward.
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Let me start by saying Im not an engineer, just an objective listener. Which you need more than one. Been doing my own mixes 5 years, and since its plenty fuckups, so I got some credit for that.

Just a few things.

1. Did you write it yourself?
2. Are you worried your neighbours hear you singing? Joking. You need to get that voice out. Imagine shouting the refrain with a coarse voice. Get that fixed and possibly tune vocals (slightly) The instruments are a pinch better now, but the vocal part not good, because you dont let it out. You have a good voice for this. Suggestion: sing loud and shout for hours in a cabin to warm up your voice.Then sing this.
3. Make first refrain louder than first verse. Make more distinguish there.
4. Either EEQ cut vocals high or guitar high. To make guitar and vox in slightly different EQ freq.
5. Which plugins to you use for mixing? Mastering?

This will become very good when fixed to its potential.

P
 
PeterN said:
Let me start by saying Im not an engineer, just an objective listener. Which you need more than one. Been doing my own mixes 5 years, and since its plenty fuckups, so I got some credit for that.

Just a few things.

1. Did you write it yourself?
2. Are you worried your neighbours hear you singing? Joking. You need to get that voice out. Imagine shouting the refrain with a coarse voice. Get that fixed and possibly tune vocals (slightly) The instruments are a pinch better now, but the vocal part not good, because you dont let it out. You have a good voice for this. Suggestion: sing loud and shout for hours in a cabin to warm up your voice.Then sing this.
3. Make first refrain louder than first verse. Make more distinguish there.
4. Either EEQ cut vocals high or guitar high. To make guitar and vox in slightly different EQ freq.
5. Which plugins to you use for mixing? Mastering?

This will become very good when fixed to its potential.

P
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Yes, written, played and produced. It all lives in a cubase 11 session.

Ok i think you dont like the soft syllables on the second part of the sentences in the chorus. It does fit the mood of the track but it cuts the energy build up short. I will have a think
 
liquidlino said:
It's a nice song. I was hugely into grunge in the 90s, so know the genre well. The thing that stood out most to me needing improvement was the vocal mixing. The reverb is splashy, needs to be a bit darker. But most important, the vocals need a lot more vocal riding, make sure every syllable is loud and clear. At the moment the vocals have a tendency to fade in and out and some syllables can't be made out at all. Nothing a couple of hours of tedious envelope editing won't fix in your daw :)

Really nice though, wish I could sing like that!
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Thank you and I wish i could understand mixing like you do. I have no idea what a splashy reverb sounds like.

I have spent a fair chunk of time editing vocals already so maybe it is my pronunciation that is beyond repair
 
liquidlino said:
Double down on the vocal riding. Vocal production is all about getting volume absolutely level throughout, you can't overdo it. It's not about compression so much, it's the manual riding that does the work. Here's a great video in reaper, but should be the same in all daws.
By splashy reverb, I just mean that there's loud early reflections that if you listen in headphones are distracting, up in higher frequencies. Just need to eq them down on the reverb send track before the reverb.
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You have some ear! Moving the reverb pre-delay from 0ms to 120ms clarifies the vocals a great deal. I have never used this setting before but this is a keeper, thank you.

I will try some more level adjustments on the vocal audio track also. They can be better indeed
 
I believe I have solved the most obvious issues (as far as I can tell) on this last mix: Vocal tracks are more even, more multi-band compression and more controlled reverbs. If anything else sticks out, please let me know. Thank you all for you help in any case
 
liquidlino said:
Yep, vocals are definitely more even... Some more feedback, listening on monitors this time:

1. The vocal reverb is still quite bright and in my opinion the reverb is too loud too. Dryer is more hte genre-norm. Particularly noticeable during the intro, where the vocals should be up close and intimite, they sound a bit distant (like you're singing in a tiled bathroom) with all the reverb.
2. The vocals could be louder - probably another 1-2db more on the fader. They're still blurring back into the mix quite often. As a consequence, it's still really hard to make out the words.

But these can be artistic choices too, so it's up to you :)
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Vocal reverb dialled down and track a nudge louder. Thank you :thumbsup:
 
It has been a while but final version was released today:



The Synth is the only MIDI part remaining, and it was mixed and mastered professionally.
 
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