Balladish Reggaeish Folk

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rayc
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Balladish Reggaeish Folk

Post by rayc »

Here's a complete remix of Sandpaper Castles 1811.
The drums are less dominant, (in fact the snare and bass guitar are at similar levels), the intro stripped of drums and vocals raised.
I'd kept the vocals subdued because of the pitchiness and printed reverb but Gerry did such a cool job of addressing both that I can give them the sort of level you'd expect in this sort of song.
SPC200218.mp3
Thoughts?
Here's a remix using the suggestions offered so far.
I've put some "sheen" on the vocal & organ - though I've not added more of the left hand from the organ because that buried everything else. I've attempted to take a little muddiness away as well.
Now, the "sheen" on the vocal may have some undesirable results - I can't tell yet as I've spent too long mixing to hear abstractly for at least a few hours - so I'll rely on your ears for that.
sandpapercastles230218.mp3
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Last edited by rayc on Fri Feb 23, 2018 12:17 am, edited 1 time in total.
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vomitHatSteve
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Re: Balladish Reggaeish Folk

Post by vomitHatSteve »

Man! You guys with the patience to keep working on a song for months!

That fade at the end threw me off a bit. Did you fade everything but the vocal?
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rayc
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Re: Balladish Reggaeish Folk

Post by rayc »

vomitHatSteve wrote: ↑Tue Feb 20, 2018 12:34 pm Man! You guys with the patience to keep working on a song for months!
That fade at the end threw me off a bit. Did you fade everything but the vocal?
Yeah, I did.
This was a walk away job - I needed time away from it.
Now it & I are back together - reconciliation & resurrection.
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SweetDan
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Re: Balladish Reggaeish Folk

Post by SweetDan »

I like it. The feel of the song reminds me of "Kiss Me" by Sixpence None The Richer.

As far as the mix goes, the vocal and the organ sound like they could use a bit more high-frequency emphasis, more "sheen". In the case of the organ (the chords on the right, not the solo), I wonder if some of the lower frequencies are masking the rest of the organ sound too much; maybe try cutting some lows, either a shelf or scooping/slicing out the most dominant low or low-mid frequencies. In the vocal, did you cut some highs? If so, bringing them back a little (or boosting the highs a touch) might bring her part up and out. The vocal level is just right in relation to the rest, though, so I'd be very careful about bringing it up and out too much.

Nice bass, drums and rhythm guitars.
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Lol it's still less satanic than whatever rituals Katie Perry and Taylor Swift do in their performances. πŸ˜‚
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rayc
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Re: Balladish Reggaeish Folk

Post by rayc »

SweetDan,
thanks for the detail.
The vocals are about a decade old and were recorded WITH reverb to tape as well as being pitchy. They've been treated to reduce and/or address all of that which is why they don't have any sheen. I'll try to add some gloss but if that brings back any of the yucky stuff it'll be a case of sticking with it. Organ is a mono file. I reduced it from the original stereo as the left hand stuff was WAY TOO dominant in the mix and was blowing out that side of the mix. I'll look at bringing some back with your suggestions.
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Lt. Bob
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Re: Balladish Reggaeish Folk

Post by Lt. Bob »

I like it although i don't see how reggae could even remotely apply to it.

How'd you do the leslie thing on the organ .... changing speeds? Was all that just in the original organ track?

I like the 'distant' sound quite a bit .... it is a bit muddy but that can be a palette for the vocals to ride over.
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rayc
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Re: Balladish Reggaeish Folk

Post by rayc »

Lt. Bob wrote: ↑Thu Feb 22, 2018 12:25 pm I like it although i don't see how reggae could even remotely apply to it.
How'd you do the leslie thing on the organ .... changing speeds? Was all that just in the original organ track?
I like the 'distant' sound quite a bit .... it is a bit muddy but that can be a palette for the vocals to ride over.
Thanks Lt. Bob,
Just my joke re Reggae - when I 1st wrote it it, in about 84, it was a reggae song but I couldn't get anyone to sing it or play reggae drums so it morphed into what it is.
Sadly the Leslie organ comes straight from Band In A Box. I typed in the chords, set the tempo & style selected blues organ and ran it a few times until it came up with what I used. It is based on an actual organist's prerecorded phrases that are combined in the box to match the sequence.It does an OK job though.
Thanks, I'll consider your observations as I remix.
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rayc
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Re: Balladish Reggaeish Folk

Post by rayc »

SweetDan wrote: ↑Thu Feb 22, 2018 12:51 am I like it. The feel of the song reminds me of "Kiss Me" by Sixpence None The Richer.
the vocal and the organ sound like they could use a bit more high-frequency emphasis, more "sheen"
I've added some sheen as suggested. Did it work?
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SweetDan
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Re: Balladish Reggaeish Folk

Post by SweetDan »

rayc wrote: ↑Wed Feb 28, 2018 11:45 pm I've added some sheen as suggested. Did it work?
Yes. Subtle change, for sure, but the vocal is more clear. There were a handful of ess-es that stuck out a bit in this new mix, which I don't remember being noticeable in the first mix, so maybe the added (or restored) sheen is a bit too much for those consonants. You could zoom in really tight and automate the ess-es away in those four or five places where they stick out, I think, but otherwise it's very nice as is.
awesome youtube comment of the day
Lol it's still less satanic than whatever rituals Katie Perry and Taylor Swift do in their performances. πŸ˜‚
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rayc
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Re: Balladish Reggaeish Folk

Post by rayc »

SweetDan wrote: ↑Thu Mar 01, 2018 1:51 am
rayc wrote: ↑Wed Feb 28, 2018 11:45 pm I've added some sheen as suggested. Did it work?
Yes. Subtle change, for sure, but the vocal is more clear. There were a handful of ess-es that stuck out a bit in this new mix, which I don't remember being noticeable in the first mix, so maybe the added (or restored) sheen is a bit too much for those consonants. You could zoom in really tight and automate the ess-es away in those four or five places where they stick out, I think, but otherwise it's very nice as is.
Ta mate,
that's the info I was looking for. I'm hyper sensitive to essing and have to rely on others to tell me when it's noticeable lest I trust my own ears and slice the life out of the track.
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Re: Balladish Reggaeish Folk

Post by Bubba »

I'm sorry Ray, but Autotune - it's going on the never listen again pile. :biggrin: I might listen to the old mix occasionally. I prefer pitchiness to hearing vocals glitching about without reference to phrasing or nuance.
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Re: Balladish Reggaeish Folk

Post by Greg_L »

I think the music bed is good. I got no problem with it. Nice guitar solo. The vocals are a no-go for me. I don't know who that is and I apologize if it's someone's wife or something....but no. Not good.
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rayc
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Re: Balladish Reggaeish Folk

Post by rayc »

Bubba wrote: ↑Thu Mar 01, 2018 11:07 am I'm sorry Ray, but Autotune - it's going on the never listen again pile. :biggrin: I might listen to the old mix occasionally. I prefer pitchiness to hearing vocals glitching about without reference to phrasing or nuance.
I understand - BUT gicen the recording to tape was done about 15 years ago and I have no access to the singer the electrickery was the only option. I though it was pretty subtle to be honest but your ears are attuned to the autotuned tune I presume.
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Re: Balladish Reggaeish Folk

Post by rayc »

Greg_L wrote: ↑Thu Mar 01, 2018 7:59 pm I think the music bed is good. I got no problem with it. Nice guitar solo. The vocals are a no-go for me. I don't know who that is and I apologize if it's someone's wife or something....but no. Not good.
It was a last attempt to get her voice in some sort of order - a huge improvement on the original recording but that's life. Maybe I can get my missus to sing it form me.
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Re: Balladish Reggaeish Folk

Post by Bubba »

rayc wrote: ↑Thu Mar 01, 2018 8:43 pm
Bubba wrote: ↑Thu Mar 01, 2018 11:07 am I'm sorry Ray, but Autotune - it's going on the never listen again pile. :biggrin: I might listen to the old mix occasionally. I prefer pitchiness to hearing vocals glitching about without reference to phrasing or nuance.
I understand - BUT gicen the recording to tape was done about 15 years ago and I have no access to the singer the electrickery was the only option. I though it was pretty subtle to be honest but your ears are attuned to the autotuned tune I presume.
I didn't mean to sound so harsh, mate. I've liked this in the past and said so. :)
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rayc
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Re: Balladish Reggaeish Folk

Post by rayc »

Bubba wrote: ↑Fri Mar 02, 2018 3:52 am I though it was pretty subtle to be honest but your ears are attuned to the autotuned tune I presume.
I didn't mean to sound so harsh, mate. I've liked this in the past and said so. :)
[/quote]
No need to apologize Bob. It wasn't harsh -it was your observation which was, at least in part, echoes by greg.
You respond to autotune on a couple of levels - you seem to be able to hear/detect it very well and it's anathema to you.
I'm not a fan of it m'self but it was a case of needs must/desperation on my part.
I'm very aware of sibilance - overly so even - and comment when I hear it because I, initially anyway, felt the same.
You & Greg have spurred me into working on getting the wife to have a crack at it.
I like the song and want it to be a complete/whole thing so have been trying ways to achieve that.
This is, after all, the 4th or 5th iteration of the thing.
Upward & onward!
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