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Hi,

I'm new to the forum (British guy living in Italy), so I thought I'd introduce myself with one of my tracks. I've been using Reason Essentials 8 (never felt the need to upgrade) for about 3 years. I record live audio such as guitars and drums, but this track is pure Reason. All sounds, effects, mixing and mastering were done in Reason Essentials 8 using no extra plug-ins. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for listening!

Groovy tune! Once the bass comes in the chorus it really comes alive. I like the vibe of the vocals, I think the bass might be a bit high pitched for the vocal melody and might rob the vocal of focus. I love the synth tones you used too. I’d never guess you did this in Essentials.

Thanks for the feedback Timmy, really appreciate you taking the time. I find that limiting yourself forces you to be more creative, so I'm pretty happy with Essentials for now. I think that I'd find having every sound library under the sun available to me a bit overwhelming. I wouldn't know where to start! I have more songs ready to post on here, but that was the only track where 100% of the instrumentation came from Essentials. The others either have live guitar or drums. Thanks again.

I don't really feel your presence on this track... I would mix the vocals so they stand out a bit more. Perhaps as simple as louder? Couldn't pay attention to your words, and that's a shame.





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Thanks Troublemecca. The problem I seem to have is that I get really varied sound levels for the vocals depending on the device they're being played on. They could sound too loud on one set of speakers, totally drowning out the music, while lost down in the mix on a particular set of headphones for example, so it may depend on what you used to listen to the track. I therefore try as much as possible to get them sounding decent on all devices, not easy though. Does this happen to anyone else on here? Are there ways around it?

Erberderber wrote: ↑

24 Sep 2018

Thanks Troublemecca. The problem I seem to have is that I get really varied sound levels for the vocals depending on the device they're being played on. They could sound too loud on one set of speakers, totally drowning out the music, while lost down in the mix on a particular set of headphones for example, so it may depend on what you used to listen to the track. I therefore try as much as possible to get them sounding decent on all devices, not easy though. Does this happen to anyone else on here? Are there ways around it?

My experience in mixing is limited, so I was hesitant to make suggestions on how to improve it, but on first listen I thought "those vocals need more compression". My vocal technique is non-existent. I know literally nothing about breathing or mic technique (also why I got a dynamic). As a result my raw recordings tend to do what yours is.... I was relieved when I discovered compression, as it really smoothed my voice out. The quiet parts will get louder and the loud parts will get quieter, for a more consistent performance.

I used the headphones that came with my galaxy S8+, they are AKG branded for what that's worth lol.

I do use compression and EQ and I've been slowly figuring out how to use them. I've definitely seen an improvement over the last couple of years, so I must be on the right track. It would seem like tiny tweaks here and there make all the difference. It was actually really useful to know what earphones you used Troublemacca. I found that my in-ear earphones used with a smartphone had the quietest vocals, while cheap speakers had the loudest! My Samson sr950 studio headphones seem to bring me the best results, where you can hear both the vocals and the different layers of the music. I'd still like to find a way of getting the vocals to a similar level on all devices though.