I Malone

Much better mix…Kevin

thanks Kevin

This is a clever song, reminds me of the surprises 10CC use to do in their songs. There are a few nice twists in the arrangement, and the mix is overall nicely balanced and equal. Maybe changing things in the mix along to the arrangement would make it even more interesting. The 'spoken’vocal much different , the synth more upfront when it is coming in. Hope a am making myself clear enough on that. It is really worth to mix this song in an different surprising way.
regards
Peter :slight_smile:

New mix is indeed much better. The feel is still very natural rather than the 3D studio feel, if you see what I’m trying to say. If it was my production and could pull off harmonies that well I’d probably switch in and out between harmonies and a strong lead vocal to make it more emotional (but that’s just me.)

Overall, a job well done.

thanks for the constructive view ,you got me thinking again now.

thanks Bane for your input,no i dont know what you mean when you say "The feel is still very natural rather than the 3D studio feel". regarding the harmonies ,i can sing harmonies a third above no problem but harmonies a third under the main melody is much harder for me,what i do is sing the main melody twice and then with variaudio i shift one of the vocals down a third but not all the notes of the new melody line will sound right so you have to shift some a semi-tone either way to make them sound right ,yes youre right i should maybe leave some out ,i will have another look. thanks

Definitely got an 80’s vibe… and, not a bad song! :slight_smile:

Listening to mix 2 - sounds a little brash to me though, lacking warmth overall, and dynamically quite flat I reckon. Also I think the vocal sounds rather ‘small’ and understated. I’d try fatten them up and allow it more prominence in the mix… and I don’t mean louder, but wider… bigger…

All the elements are there, just think the mix needs more detailed attention and generally - more ‘balls’! :slight_smile:

Someone really should make a ‘Balls’ Plugin… :laughing:

thanks for the listen sherz ,i hear what your saying on the first critics and a solution is kind of provided by you ,but as regards the balls factor i dont know how to get that ,possibly to do with the kit and lumpy bass i dunno ,youd have to explain in further detail or demonstrate for me to understand what you`re getting at. thanks

Yeah… the ‘balls’ thing is not necessarily a simple one click thing, but given this is kinda dance/pop thing I think a punchier bottom-end (kick & bass) is required. I don’t know what I would do unless I was actually doing it but I’d likely be messin’ with compression and EQ on the kick and bass etc. I kinda felt that more emphasis should be on these elements, and vocal and less on the other stuff which at the moment seems to detract somewhat. Also, there’s a lot of movement in the various parts which I think makes it feel very busy. That’s ok when there’s no vocal but I’d be tempted to calm things down when there’s singing happening as it’s kinda trampling all over the singer at the moment I reckon. Pan-wise you’ve got some of these busy elements panned centre or close to, right where the singer is which compounds the problem I think. Move them out of the way and give the singer room to breathe. Bass, snare,kick,vocals all share centre spot, so everything else I reckon get well out of the way. :sunglasses:

Thanks Sherz ,i think i understand a bit more better-er-a now , but it probably still needs quite a lot doing with it, which i am not capable ,i have never been any good with bass and kick,it`s all done by just stabbing in the dark really.i need to get some bass players and drummers in to help me with the levels and feel.

Well is what I’m saying is that it favors a live performance with lots of recorded instruments rather than a polished off, super clean studio sample sound (generally attained using VSTi’s). Perhaps that is part of what Sherz is calling lumpy? I could have sworn some of your older mixes were a bit more controlled a few months back, though they largely consisted of guitars.

Sherz you make a “balls” plug-in in the VST3 format and I will be the first to buy. :wink:

Listening again I now wonder if it simply is that all the busy synthy/guitar stuff is just way too trebly and prominent in the mix - and your rhythm section is actually OK?

yeh i see what yer getting at now. i once mixed a live recording of a band i was in and it all just fell under the fingers perfectly ,it more or less just mixed itself ,i couldnt go wrong ..vsts like you say are an whole different animal, i tweek more than a budgie .

sounds like some kind of blow up doll :mrgreen:

could be ,ill take a look.i know i like my top end ,marshalls and all that ,and im still in tape mode from the 80s, thinking im gonna lose top end.i need to shrug that one off . thanks

I think the opening hook is cool and the rhythm of the guitar and/or synths complement it nicely too. The writing is also good and enjoyable. However, and don’t take this next comment too personally, but the vocal performance just sounds a bit too dull overall and the enunciation just isn’t good enough by a long shot. I really have trouble discerning the actual words/syllables a lot of the time and that’s just down to the performance not the recording/mix. It’s certainly not a bad vocal, but I feel it does let the writing/hook down.

Other than those things I think the song is pretty cool!

thanks for your input Jonathan, always appreciated .
the singing if thats what you want to call it was me. sorry about the enunciation, thats a combination of trying to hide rubbish words and my crooked front teeth . i need a brace fitting and need to sit down and write more interesting storys(words). anyway ive added a new mix ,it isnt that different but i am trying to make it a bit easier on the ear sonically without losing dynamics ,i dont know really what i`m talking about .

Sounding much better…mix 3…

thanks Kevin ,i just noticed on soundcloud that i had 1 play of the new mix (3) and that there was also a love heart next to the song .so i assumed that it was you Kevin whod loved it ,but when i clicked on the "love" it was some other guy .so how could that be with just 1 play . ive noticed before when i put up new songs on soundcloud that some random person “loves” the track . it must be a bit of psychological mind warfare by the owners of soundcloud to make me feel loved, so that i feel good about soundcloud and upgrade. all i can say is “IDIOTS” ,im not gonna pay for it ,ill use the free version thanks very much ,also the STATS are childish and creepy anyway.

Yeah…y’never know what to believe on the interweb!

So good to see you back! Love your stuff. I don’t have criticisms to point out right now.