Aaron Ragland-Color Blind Original Song(Demo) Mix Feedback

[anorms]

Hi,

This is a song I've been working on for a while that I wrote.I'm just starting to get into mixing and mastering and I've been studying online tutorials.I know I still have some slight adjustments to make,but wanted to see if I'm headed towards the right direction.

Thank you so much for this opportunity,feedback,and hope you've had a great holiday!!

Best,

Aaron

[TobiKeymaster]

Once it gets going, the song comes to life... the intro / first verse don't really work for me yet.

Your voice feels a lot better when you're going for it more in the choruses. Perhaps trying standing slightly further back from the mic during the first verse? Feels like the mic proximity isn't helping your voice.

The lyrics are a touch unrelenting... they just keep on coming. Maybe leave some space for the music to breathe. I like a lot of the lyrical work and I love that fact you're singing about something real and important.

Not totally convinced by all the instrumentation. I think the broad strokes are all there. The underlying chord pattern of the song is working, as are most of the choices of instrument. ...but I'm not sure about the piano - it's very thin and synthetic sounding. It also sounds a little phasey, seems to drop in and out. Some of the string arrangement works well, but some of it feels heavy handed.

I think you've got a very good song there... your voice is great and the overall build and effect of the song is working really well. ....it just needs a little more room to breathe and quite a bit more work on the instruments.

What Virtual Instruments are you using?

Mix wise, it sounds like a demo. It's fine. There's a lot of mixing that could be done to really help bring out and show off the genuine quality of the song.

• This reply was modified 7 years ago by Tobi.

[anorms]

Sounds like some great advice.Thank you so much!!I'm using Maschine plugins through Ableton Live 9.I also used Ableton Live 9 eq 8s and compressors to start mixing.I believe the piano is specifically a Maschine Pop piano.I definitely will record the beginning verse again.

As far as the music itself,I originally recorded this since another artist was interested in singing it.I really wanted to add more variety to the instrumentation and haven't gotten around to it yet,but I will be changing some things up to make chords more full and exciting.

Other than that,I've come a little ways since my very first mix,but I know I still have so much more to learn.How long have you been making music and what problem areas stuck out to you in the mix?

[Tim MorrisParticipant]

The good - you wrote a song !...recorded it and posted it, that in itself is a great start.

The Critique ( and Im no expert)....the opening 4 bars didn't grab me, and its too long.

The Piano is to " programmed" not very natural at all, and the sound is a little light.

As mentioned, try and thin the vocals out a bit, let some musical melody in.

Just my opinion after a first listen.

Keep at it !

[Cris Sabater SabaterParticipant]

Hi Aaron, nice tune, it takes too long to get going at the intro for me and the instrumentation is ok for a scratch idea if that is what you are going for. Your vocals are good perhaps with a little high pass EQ taking off the low end of the vocal would be good. The harmonies are good and as a general idea I think you have a pretty good idea going here. Of course the instrumentation has to be far more realistic but there are so many great midi instruments out there you will have no problems. Perhaps the Piano may need to be played in real time so as to not have such a brittle sound but that is easily sorted. Great effort and keep up the good work mate! Cheers. 🙂

• This reply was modified 7 years ago by Cris Sabater Sabater.
• This reply was modified 7 years ago by Cris Sabater Sabater.

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