Thanks for all the helpful comments. I pulled the song after some temporary freak out/insanity moments and then reinstated with some encouragement from high tier officials.
2 Likes
Pretty good idea you got going here, Paul. There’s something I like about the dryness of the recording, especially the dry lead vocal. When the little lead guitar break comes in it with all that reverb it makes a nice contrast from the dryness of the rest of the song.
I know you’re just demoing this song but when you tighten this up it’ll sound much better. Keep the tunes coming!
1 Like
digging it. I would agree that some variety on the drums would be nice but not a deal killer. The timing at around 1:30 is a bit of a bigger issue in my estimation. Thanks so much for sharing. There is a lot to like about this song and the production that you go going on.
1 Like
Hey Paul, since you asked specifically for mix comments, I’ll go there.
I’m finding the mix on this quite good, but the vocal is kind of muffled. I’ll come back at you with one your favourite critiques: “I can’t understand the lyrics!” 
… no, seriously… I can’t!..
The reason is, your midrange elements need…er… more midrange, and there are some of the vocals that have a lot of low mids in them that are building up. This is better dealt with at a track level, but I had a bit of a play around with some eq, and doing some mid-side processing, and some overall mix processing, I was able to get it so I could actually understand the lyrics.
Here is the eq I applied - it may be of some help:
for the verse:
and for the chorus:
2 Likes
I just played the before and after for my wife Roz. She was so supportive “why can’t you do that…AND…how long have you been at this anyway”
Yes I am guilty of wanting to hear the vocals over everything else. I usually just crank them. I did mess with them many times. I started the EQ cut at 125, but never ever increased at the 2k before. I also don’t have the extra greenish and white lines? I did read somewhere to boost from 2-6k for clarity. I tried one time and it didn’t seem to make a difference.
What I really don’t get is how you got the vocal to pop not having the individual tracks? Don’t bother to explain, because I will never get it 
I did notice the bass was much lower. I used a “round and deep” S1 setting to try to get that vocal to shine thru. Big cut in the 200 area.
Ya know Andy, the only thing that bothers me is the amount of time you took to do this. I can never repay that. I am retired with oodles of time and you live a very busy life. I appreciate this muchly. I there is ever anything I can do for you…
2 Likes
feaker,
Thank you for the review! Now your song: yeah that one note or chord is a bit weird that happens a couple of times; otherwise I like ALL of the melodies. Vocal are well done. Audio quality (your mix) is very good, I think. See, even feaker does some MIDI (drums).
1 Like
Mid/side blah blah blah etc etc 
Took all of 10 minutes 
1 Like
I’m no expert, so my opinion is worth … not much. That said, I really like the arrangement. There is a lot of great texture in this piece where the instruments play off each other and the vocals mix. The rhythmic cadence of the vocals in places is sort of dream-chant like, and it works. I didn’t listen on great speakers, so I can’t say much about frequencies etc. But I could hear all the instruments individually and as a whole, which means you mostly didn’t have them clobbering each other. So I think you did a good job with this.
1 Like
Ok, I feel better about the time spent on repair now. I messed again this morning. I sung a few parts to add and put the vox 50% to one side to help with the vox. Not sure if that is allowed. I did EQ the original like you had it. Lowered the bass a tad (I love bass btw) Lost a couple of tracks. S1 once in awhile wont play a track from the previous day. I lost my ooo’s before the bridge. Anyhow, It might be overkill now, but i think it was an improvement. So much to learn before I croak. No need to listen. Just posting the difference. ha ha
I am so over this song…ha ha
Hey Brutus. This is my first time with a track like this. I started with a club-like drum beat I found and downloaded right thru Studio One. Then I sat down with the guitar and started messing. My granddaughter told me of a friend of hers that had a make believe boyfriend and there you have it. ha ha
Thanks for your take and kindness. peace to you
Nice of you to keep it posted for all of 2 seconds, Paul!.. I mean, what the…? I’ve been away on a camping trip, no power, phone went flat… I just got back, go to listen to your new mix and… as usual… gone! 
… but luckily, I happen to also have Mods privileges, which enables me to view the edits you made to your post, so I was able to listen after all!
The changes you made sound great! It is a BIG improvement. Nicely done! (Hope I managed to keep your attention long enough to read to the end of my post. 
1 Like
I posted on taxi also. Don’t do that very often. I got a couple of comment that i think are mean but not sure. I will copy and past them.
Post by Zaychi » Wed May 26, 2021 4:11 pm
Made me suddenly remember Patti Smith somehow…
and right after
by AlanHall » Wed May 26, 2021 5:45 pm
So I was way off… I heard Christie McVie fronting for Blondie instead of Debby Harry. Who knew?
I don’t understand what they were saying? I though maybe the track with the young girl having a fantasy boyfriend might be “creepy” anyhow, I panic easily
Man, I only get on this forum about once a week now. Leave the songs up! (please) I only heard it thru Andrew’s EQ posting.
This is a great synopsis. You have a gift for this type of delivery Paul. I got the sense of Tommy Roe (1960’s, “Dizzy”, etc) on this song too. But you also go for some more minor-key passages with some drama.
So just sing with more 2k in your voice, problem solved.
Great songwriting material and observation, and you didn’t miss the opportunity!
There are some subtle similarities, but I don’t know that I would have picked up on it if I hadn’t read the comment. The intro acoustic guitar part does bear some similarity in tone and riff to Patti Smith’s “Dancing Barefoot” intro perhaps.
I can only guess this has to do with your voice, and not those bands particularly. You tend to sing in falsetto (I think) and it almost has a female vocal quality to it. Christine had a lower voice than Debbie IIRC, but your music doesn’t really sound anything like Blondie, so I’m not sure what he meant (might sound like early underground Blondie songs maybe). You did one song with a really low aggressive growl, which was really awesome, and I’d like to hear again. An under-served part of your voice, perhaps.
BTW, that short little part at 0:56 - 1:06 of whistling was really good. Iconic, almost in some way. It gave me goose-bumps.
1 Like
Hi Stan the MAN I looked back at old posts and found ten songs i jerked the same way. Might have to go see a shrink? The ole ticker is giving me problems and I am a bit edgey.
Andy gave me a shot. I always thought he was a straight arrow, but he has been engaged a lot lately and much fun. His talent level is off the charts.
I sent this track to Taxi and titled it “genre please” . I didn’t understand the two comments and i am glad you explained the possible similarities. I did pull it from soundcloud. I don’t know anybody at taxi anymore.
The whistle was at first a time waster, but then I kinda liked it. Only prob was the wind/breath behind it was a hard to hide.
I don’t sing falsetto in the verse or chorus. I do for high harmonies sometimes.
I have to send money to the site. I’ll look that up today.
thanks for the detailed breakdown comments…peace love and minor chords
Try meditation, man. 
Y’know, contemplate the navel. 
Stress is the very worst thing for the immune system and overall health. Now, “eustress” is fine, like when the girl found her imaginary boy toy. Eustress is exciting and exhilarating, even if it takes you out of your comfort zone. Lots of endorphins and dopamine being manufactured. Get more of that and less of the other. 
It sounds like you had some reverb on it which covered the breath noises. It sounded great to me. The brief “oooh” at 1:50 is a nice segue too.
Yeah, it’s full voice not falsetto (my bad), but the high vocal pitch gives me the impression of falsetto. I guess it’s what my voice coach might have called “head voice”.
1 Like
Might be the funniest post yet. ha ha I remember going to a mediation session one time. I was still pontificating as i was walking out the door and noticed the dude sucking his thumb over in the corner.
Had to look it up, (eustress) but now i feel smarter = NOUN
- moderate or normal psychological stress interpreted as being beneficial for the experiencer
Lucy’s two cents for five cents might have been interesting.
I never used to do it, but I am putting a touch (4%) of delay on whistles and bgv’s.
This was a hoot Wouldn’t it be fun to have the crew here at a bar? Take care STM
1 Like