Life Is Beautiful

[Alison]

So, I almost didn't post this because, yeah, it's another schmaltzy song. A little background. . .

I was sitting in my music room thinking about how shitty everything is. . .wars, tRump indictments, fucking heat, Twitter going down the tubes, the list goes on. But, then I looked around at where I live and the things I do in my daily life that actually make life beautiful. Watching the ravens that at times fill our sky, the small birds at the bird feeder, my walks with Hobbs and I thought, this is what I need to write about! We need more of these things. . .

Anyway, I had some major problems with recording this even though it is an extremely simple song. At least one thing was due to my own stupidity (thus my thread in General Recording). Had to totally retrack my vocals because I recorded them way too hot and every "P" popped and there was way too much air on "ful" in "beautiful". It's been a bit of a nightmare but I think I am FINALLY understanding how to record with good levels in Reaper. I think the guitar and cello lines were okay and, hopefully, the bass but, that's where you guys come in. . .

Have a listen if you can handle another silly song and let me know your thoughts.

Life Is Beautiful mp3.mp3

[rayc]

LOVELY stuff Alison.
Sweet song, the arrangement fits it well and your voice is good good good.
My only suggestion is a tiny bit of de-essing, (manually).

[Alison]

LOVELY stuff Alison.
Sweet song, the arrangement fits it well and your voice is good good good.
My only suggestion is a tiny bit of de-essing, (manually).

Thank you! de-essing? What does that do exactly?

[musicturtle]

Very nice Alison.

Reminds me of a Dan Fogelberg type song.

My only nit would be that it could use some low end, some more beef or sustain on the bass might fill it out nicely. Or even a little synth pad of some some kind.

[Alison]

Very nice Alison.

Reminds me of a Dan Fogelberg type song.

My only nit would be that it could use some low end, some more beef or sustain on the bass might fill it out nicely. Or even a little synth pad of some some kind.

Thank you, what a lovely compliment!

Yeah, I was thinking that myself, there is a fine line between too much and too little bass in a song like this. I've considered re-tracking it anyway. . .
Thanks for listening!

[vomitHatSteve]

LOVELY stuff Alison.
Sweet song, the arrangement fits it well and your voice is good good good.
My only suggestion is a tiny bit of de-essing, (manually).

Thank you! de-essing? What does that do exactly?

Ultimately, it's just some complicated EQing to get rid of over-pronounced "s" sounds in the vocals. You can get dedicated plugins for it, or there are tutorials on how to do it with Reaper stock EQ. (If you're doing it manually, then you're probably looking at automating the EQ on and off)

The song is pretty. I don't even think it really needs de-essing, but it might be worth exploring just to get experience using it and see if you like it.

[rayc]

De-essing removes SOME of the SSSS sounds. I'm particularly aware of such sounds - it's a hole in my tinnitus thing. If no one else hears it then don't worry. I address it with manual manipulation of volume automation in Reaper. It's fiddle but doesn't have the collateral damage of the combined EQ/compressor plugins out there.
For educational purposes here's Kenny explaining & demonstrating how to do the EQ/Comp as well as volume automation processes in Reaper. I've tried both and the 1st in the video is good but requires a lot of setting up as well as saving as an FX chain PLUS only addresses ONE type of sound. The 2nd is time intensive but will allow plosives, ths, chs & esses to be addressed. It's interesting how easily these things can be recognised, visually, in the wave for representation.

[Armistice]

For de-essing, given that I always have a volume envelope running on a vocal track I do the same as ray, just dip the volume in any problematic areas - also good for plosives - that way you can target particularly bad ones whilst leaving others completely alone - and if you're moving around closer to and further from the mic (as I do) then that's handy. A plug-in targets a particular frequency, and presumably allows you to leave things alone below a certain threshold, but I prefer just to listen and only act on things that, in the context of the song, need some work.

I also always have the Reaper setting called Spectral Peaks enabled as it shows you exactly where the problems are, as it renders the waveform on your screen in colour based on the frequency, and Ss stick out like proverbials. Very handy generally also for locating string scrapes and noises in guitar tracks as well, where you might want to apply the same trick as for de-essing - not saying you have any in your song, just saying I find it a very useful tool generally.

And what you might decide to do depends upon the song context - as a for instance, if you have a sibilant S happening at the exact same time as a crash cymbal, you normally don't need to do anything as it's not noticeable... stuff like that.

Listening to the song, I think there's the odd sibilant that could use a bit of work, but it's not a huge problem - if you solo your vocal, turn it up and listen and find yourself wincing occasionally, or your dog barks at you, then that's where the problems are... It's mainly in the first half of the song where there's less instrumentation.

On the mix, I'd have to say that I don't think that's the best acoustic guitar sound I've ever heard - it sounds a little thin and brittle. Again, this disappears into the mix once the ARCO comes in, but in the start it's sort of bugging me a little. I might tend to do some subtractive EQing on it - so solo the acoustic guitar, go to your EQ plug, make a relatively narrow new band, put the gain up to the max, then sweep up and down the frequency band and at some point you'll find yourself gritting your teeth because it's a really harsh sound. Now at that point, widen the band to an octave or more, depending upon where it is, then reduce the gain under 0 - scooping out some of the frequencies - you might find taking a few dB off in this way will give you a more pleasant, less brittle sound. You could also try a free preamp plug, like Ruby Tube (set on "gentle shimmer") or there's a tape thingy that TAL do which I find useful to just calm things down a little... worth a try, anyway - see if you think it makes a difference.

Nice song, and it's not as soppy as you might think. Lovely tune for troubled times...

[Armistice]

As always, there's a Kenny video on Spectral Peaks...

[Alison]

Wow, this is a lot to digest. . . I will definitely look into de-essing! As far as the guitar sound, I was trying to emphasize the high end of my guitar since the cello lines and vocals are all pretty much mid-range so, wanted to get something high range to try to balance it out. Obviously, that didn't work. . .

You all are such a wealth of knowledge. . .I have a lot of work to do!
Thanks for listening and all the suggestions.

[Armistice]

Wow, this is a lot to digest. . . I will definitely look into de-essing! As far as the guitar sound, I was trying to emphasize the high end of my guitar since the cello lines and vocals are all pretty much mid-range so, wanted to get something high range to try to balance it out. Obviously, that didn't work. . .

You all are such a wealth of knowledge. . .I have a lot of work to do!
Thanks for listening and all the suggestions.

Others might disagree with me on the acoustic and I am only listening on a laptop - it's not that you can't have a detailed high end on it, it's that you might identify a particular frequency that's sticking out that, when you reduce it, gives you a fuller, less "brittle/harsh" sound. Always worth trying these things - they may, or may not have the effect you want, but you learn something in the effort.

That video ray posted is a gold mine on de-essing. I was just watching it myself, and thinking that I really should use the auto method on my multi-layered harmonies, instead of manually doing it in their groups. So much simpler. I'll be spending time tomorrow on that exact thing - always something to learn...

[Alison]

Wow, this is a lot to digest. . . I will definitely look into de-essing! As far as the guitar sound, I was trying to emphasize the high end of my guitar since the cello lines and vocals are all pretty much mid-range so, wanted to get something high range to try to balance it out. Obviously, that didn't work. . .

You all are such a wealth of knowledge. . .I have a lot of work to do!
Thanks for listening and all the suggestions.

Others might disagree with me on the acoustic and I am only listening on a laptop - it's not that you can't have a detailed high end on it, it's that you might identify a particular frequency that's sticking out that, when you reduce it, gives you a fuller, less "brittle/harsh" sound. Always worth trying these things - they may, or may not have the effect you want, but you learn something in the effort.

That video ray posted is a gold mine on de-essing. I was just watching it myself, and thinking that I really should use the auto method on my multi-layered harmonies, instead of manually doing it in their groups. So much simpler. I'll be spending time tomorrow on that exact thing - always something to learn...

Yes, there is always something to learn and that's why I love to record! And you all help me to no end!

The video is on my list of things to do today.

[JD01]

Listening on fairly casual headphones, not any of my good pairs, but this sounds fine. Albeit lacking bottom end, but that could be the guitar sound.

[WhiskeyJack]

Another great song. Very beautiful. I will echo that there is a notable lack of bottom end to complement the highs of your guitars but it works.

I know it was a pain in the arse to go back and redo but it was well worth it if this was the finished product!!! I like the subject too. I've been making more time to keep my head into the good things and out of the bad as best i can.

[TheTestingYak]

good choon luv