Melodic pop/rock song mix. Feedback welcome!

frobisher

Here we go, getting that big pop rock sound at home isn't easy. Here's a song that's nearing the end (I always think it's better to get feedback BEFORE you finish). Any thoughts on what's working and what can be improved?

Street Lights

Paligulus

Good job. That's a very strong song.

-Thought the vocals were very good - the harmonys are excellant also.
-The acoustic sound is very good (which is an achievment in itself!!!). If I was to be very critical i'd say that it is slightly too upfront in the mix at the intro and verses. To me I thought the level should have dropped at the verse to give more impact to the intro and first chorus. This is eliminated once the electric guitar comes into the choruses though.
-I know its personal opinion but I felt the Electric guitar was slightly too distorted on the chorus for this type of song. If you really loved that guitar sound and wanted to use it, arpeggiating the chords might of worked better.
-The lyrics are very strong. They fit the music nicely and at no point does it get too wordy i.e. that you've rushed a line to fit the melody.

All in all I liked it and its a very good mix. Well done chief!!!

TelePaul

Hey frob!

Acoustic is great, really like it.

I thought the strings were good in the verse but I'm not sure they work as well during the breakdown.

Also not a huge fan of the lower register overdubs, but I think the rest of the vocals work really well.

What's the kind of arpegiated phrase during the chorus? And does this remind anyone of 'Save Tonight' by eagle Eyed Cherry?

cornbb

I'll throw out my uninformed thoughts as usual

- The synth/sampled strings could do with some "humanisation" if you know what I mean - try varying the velocities there, or the attack/release times if you can. And maybe some more reverb there.
- The dynamic range is good overall but the level as a whole is a bit quiet, maybe you had planned to address this when the tune is gonna be finished.
- I like the faint little synth fill during the chorus, maybe this could be developed a bit more.
- Great work on the guitars/vocals.
- I thought the drums/percussion were a bit static/unimaginative overall and could do with a bit of variety, but I'd stress that this opinion just stems from personal taste and that changing this might not actually improve this particular tune!

Sounds great anyway, make sure to give us a peek at the final mix.

Neurojazz

I'm a bit brutal with mixes so please take my ramblings with a pinch of salt

I'd lose the electric guitar that lies behind that backs the chords but keep all the fills in the gaps.

I'd add a little reversed snippet to the dry vocal at the start just to take the edge of the shock of it appearing.

I'd add heavier compression to the main vocals and balance the levels of the gorgeous harmonies - theres little else to do on the vocals - gratz on some fine recording there.

I'd bring up the percussion and maybe get some decent loops in there with acoustic dry drums to see what happens with the mix - i feel as though the shelf life could be stretched out with a few simple percussion changes.

My initial thoughts were 'uneven vocal levels' and 'bad guitar in background'

As an addition i might even risk processing an exciter on the main vocal after making those sorts of changes to make it a bit more defined and 'dry/dusty' if u get what i mean...

Good luck with it!

Niall - Dahlia

TelePaul wrote:

And does this remind anyone of 'Save Tonight' by eagle Eyed Cherry?

I missed that comment first read down through this thread and was wondering which song it reminded me of...

Nice song and mix though frob, I like it alot, a few small things that struck me:

The "Stop!" vocal has alot of noise after it, which doesn't sound right to me. I'd strip that noise out and make it a complete silence right after the "Stop".

It's not quite tight enough when it kicks back in after the breakdown at 1:44, seems a bit hesitant and sloppy.

On a more personal note I didn't like the synth strings at the start. The vocals and acoustic guitar were recorded so well that they sounded unnatural and out of place. Not a fan of the synth beeps during the chorus either but can see how they could be developed into something nice.

But great job on the acoustic guitar and vocals. Any details on mic type/placement/technique?

sei046

The chord progression could do with a bit of thought, keep the save tonight vibe but maybe look at the voicings so it has a bit of depth.

For a song that relys on a groove you have the drums mixed very low. I would add a few frilly bits on the kit and bring up the snare and kick.

Nice acoustic sound, sits well.

The chorus needs to have a lot more impact. I would have a look at maybe adding some sort of filter or effect to the backing vocals in the chorus, they sound a little off sitting in the same register as the main vocals.

The strings to me would benefit from realism. What sample library is that? Think about what an orchestra would do there especially the attack. A bit of reverb will add a noticeable trail as they are very stacattoey which will give depth to that section.

Keep up the good work

squibs

Nice and poppy, just needs a bit of stardust.

Initial marcatto string intro is a bit stark - maybe big it up with a hall verb and a bit of delay. Listen to the opening bars of Madonna - Papa don't preach for a classic pop marcatto sound.

The guitar/drum balance is off. Drop the guitars 2db and raise the drums 2db. Adjust to taste.

The backing whistle sound seems off, though the riff is nice - you could try dropping it an octave, and adding chorus and verb.

I'd also filter off more of the lows on the acoustic to let the bass push through and notch up the bass eq somewhere between 1-2KHz 4-6dB with a moderate Q - maybe a bass line that does more than just follow the chord root notes? A nice keyboard pad would help gel the mix as well.