(triphop/hiphop/r&b) first release

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Troublemecca
Posts: 151
Joined: 04 Jun 2018

22 Aug 2018

If you all could help me with the genre I will gladly edit the title of this thread... It's a bob marley cover

Decided I was going to attempt to make music last November... between a full time job, family, I've managed to put this together... I suppose it represents much of what I've learned in the last 9 months thanks to YouTube and this forum, which is a lot really... From chord theory to rack extensions, reason has forced me to become a little sound engineer... My ears are terrible in all likelihood though (lord knows my rec/mix space is), so I present this to you, fine musicians and critics especially, for your devouring.



*updated with adjustments per community suggestions
Last edited by Troublemecca on 22 Aug 2018, edited 1 time in total.

Troublemecca
Posts: 151
Joined: 04 Jun 2018

23 Aug 2018

No takers... That bad huh... 😶

How about just the mix, can someone please rip my mix apart?

thedjjudah
Posts: 151
Joined: 02 Dec 2016

23 Aug 2018

I read the comment on your SoundCloud account that said that all the elements are fighting to be the main element. I would definitely agree with that statement. If I am listening to your vocals, and then when the piano comes in it's the same volume level and it's taking up the same frequencies, it's gonna be pretty distracting. Also, it sounds like some of the elements were out of time, but that could just be me.

I would put some reverb on the guitar at the beginning and pull the volume of the guitar and piano down. In this style of music, you want the bass (along with the vocals) to be a bit louder than the other elements (except for the drums).

Anyway, that's what I think.

Happy music making!

Troublemecca
Posts: 151
Joined: 04 Jun 2018

23 Aug 2018

thedjjudah wrote:
23 Aug 2018
I read the comment on your SoundCloud account that said that all the elements are fighting to be the main element. I would definitely agree with that statement. If I am listening to your vocals, and then when the piano comes in it's the same volume level and it's taking up the same frequencies, it's gonna be pretty distracting. Also, it sounds like some of the elements were out of time, but that could just be me.

I would put some reverb on the guitar at the beginning and pull the volume of the guitar and piano down. In this style of music, you want the bass (along with the vocals) to be a bit louder than the other elements (except for the drums).

Anyway, that's what I think.

Happy music making!
The comment on SoundCloud was more humbling than it was helpful, as it wasn't clear if they meant the instruments were too busy, or they meant the mix was off, or both... Your response is stellar, thank you.

Re: elements out of time... Creative licence? 🤣

Troublemecca
Posts: 151
Joined: 04 Jun 2018

07 Sep 2018

Made a few changes, brought down the guitars and pianos, and tried to make the vocals stand out more with eq, thanks for listening guys!



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Pete B
Posts: 271
Joined: 23 Feb 2016
Location: Tokyo

07 Sep 2018

That's an interesting stripped-down version. I'm not much of a fan of cover versions but this is definitely different enough to the original to justify doing it. I see you said you brought the piano volume down but I think the piano could do with being a bit more substantial. If it was a fuller sound I think it would make the whole song more powerful. If you added some reverb to the piano it could fill it out without making it too upfront. You could also automate it so its volume was quieter when there's singing.

Troublemecca
Posts: 151
Joined: 04 Jun 2018

07 Sep 2018

Aiyah! Up, down, up, down! Who here likes money, and enjoys mixing? When I'm famous, I can pay you [emoji1787]

Ty man, this one has been challenging for me as I have so many instruments in the same range... Piano, two guitars and the vocal. I prolly need to go watch more vids on separation techniques.

The pianos kinda just disappeared whenever I tried to throw reverb at them.

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Pete B
Posts: 271
Joined: 23 Feb 2016
Location: Tokyo

07 Sep 2018

Yeah, reverb has to be added with care. I'm certainly no expert, but I know there are lots of ways to avoid it drowning out the instruments. E.g.If you add the reverb as a send effect, in the mixer on the right hand side there's a blue Level pan pot that you can turn down to stop the reverb flooding the instrument. And adjust the green mixer channel Send Level which controls how much of the piano signal is sent to the effect.

Another thing you can do is to cut the EQ (slightly) of the instruments that are in the same range as the singing, that way the vocal will stay above them. So if the main intelligibility of the singing is at 2KHz then slightly cutting the EQ of the piano and guitars at 2KHz should keep the vocals clear in that crowded area.

Troublemecca
Posts: 151
Joined: 04 Jun 2018

08 Sep 2018

I hear you should eq your Reverb as well or some such.

Great tips re making the vocals stand out, cause I had just cut more low, to demud them a bit and threw more RE202 exciter at them...

Dynamic mic user, which I hear is a problem, but between my neighbours, my two dogs, my wife, my 3 year old, my 5820k, my fridge, my air conditioner etc; I would never get anything done.

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AS7RO
Posts: 114
Joined: 04 Aug 2018

08 Sep 2018

Troublemecca wrote:
07 Sep 2018
Made a few changes, brought down the guitars and pianos, and tried to make the vocals stand out more with eq, thanks for listening guys!



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Pretty sure that was my comment that you deleted from the song.. but all I was trying to do is letting you know the issue. is up to you to choose what to do to fix it. there are plenty of solutions.
Why are you reading this?

Troublemecca
Posts: 151
Joined: 04 Jun 2018

12 Sep 2018

I had posted the request for criticism here, and hoped to receive it here. Wasn't expecting it on the SoundCloud track itself. That might be my ego, tripping. Your words were appreciated, but somewhat final, and not as relevant (I think?) once I made the appropriate adjustments, so I deleted it to give everyone a chance to hear the track with their own amateur ears, and without your bias of experience (Which I value! Your stuff is tops!).

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thedjjudah
Posts: 151
Joined: 02 Dec 2016

16 Aug 2019

Yeah man! Sounds much better now. I don't remember exactly how the original sounded, but this sounds pretty good!

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