Old 10-30-2021, 09:41 PM   #1
Stinger
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Default Hands Up - a tough one for me

Ok, I can still hold my hands up (barely) – but I did have a tough time putting all the parts together for my new song “Hands Up”. Seems to have worked out ok, but I have questions – hopefully some of you can offer opinions. I always feel better after running it past you guys before going public on Soundcloud (SC is fun, but woefully absent constructive criticism).

Two items in particular:
1)Intro is simply me finger-plucking muted acoustic strings…I think it’s a good technique / approach for an intro, but the pluck needs a little spark (or something). Any FX I can try, or any other way of giving the plucking a more interesting sound, without rendering it too electronic-ish? (BTW, you can hear the metronome clicking here – how to get rid of that?)

2)The song has a sudden jump in intensity around midway. I think it’s quite effective, especially considering the song’s message, but is it over the top?....too much?....does it work? Yes? No?

Please comment on anything else you hear – mix / arrangement etc. Even opine on the content if you want – this one is a little social / political commentary, as I’m prone to do from time to time (more detailed explanation on my SC page).

For anyone who couldn't find song before, try link below.

https://soundcloud.com/bruceavery/hands-up-1

Last edited by Stinger; 11-12-2021 at 03:01 PM.
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Old 11-01-2021, 03:26 PM   #2
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Track not found...
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Old 11-01-2021, 04:16 PM   #3
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I could have sworn I posted the private link earlier. Anyway, try this one. And thanks for letting me know Time Waster.

https://soundcloud.com/bruceavery/ha...90619f46bc2259
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Old 11-01-2021, 06:01 PM   #4
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I think the intro finger picked guitar is OK, but you could maybe try just using EQ to boost a higher frequency band if you want to brighten it up a bit. How much you can do will depend on how you tracked it i.e. is there much bleed trough of vocals etc? You mentioned the metronome, which I assume is on the guitar track. Anything you do to brighten the guitar might also boost the metronome (not necessarily a bad thing if you make a feature of it).

I think the increase in intensity is good, although you could boost the overall level of the preceding section. The level of the whole track is quite low, so there is probably some headroom to play with.
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Old 11-02-2021, 01:07 AM   #5
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Originally Posted by Stinger View Post
Ok, I can still hold my hands up (barely) – but I did have a tough time putting all the parts together for my new song “Hands Up”. Seems to have worked out ok, but I have questions – hopefully some of you can offer opinions. I always feel better after running it past you guys before going public on Soundcloud (SC is fun, but woefully absent constructive criticism).

Two items in particular:
1)Intro is simply me finger-plucking muted acoustic strings…I think it’s a good technique / approach for an intro, but the pluck needs a little spark (or something). Any FX I can try, or any other way of giving the plucking a more interesting sound, without rendering it too electronic-ish? (BTW, you can hear the metronome clicking here – how to get rid of that?)

2)The song has a sudden jump in intensity around midway. I think it’s quite effective, especially considering the song’s message, but is it over the top?....too much?....does it work? Yes? No?

Please comment on anything else you hear – mix / arrangement etc. Even opine on the content if you want – this one is a little social / political commentary, as I’m prone to do from time to time (more detailed explanation on my SC page).

For anyone who couldn't find song before, try link below.

https://soundcloud.com/bruceavery/ha...90619f46bc2259
My initial impression is that the vocals sound thin and are not intimate and full enough, too much early reflections maybe. That organ note that comes in briefly is too loud. I can barely hear the percussion. Perhaps post the project here, and let other people try to mix it, I have a hunch you might be too close to the project. Are you the singer?
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Old 11-02-2021, 02:32 PM   #6
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Originally Posted by Time Waster View Post
I think the intro finger picked guitar is OK, but you could maybe try just using EQ to boost a higher frequency band if you want to brighten it up a bit. How much you can do will depend on how you tracked it i.e. is there much bleed trough of vocals etc? You mentioned the metronome, which I assume is on the guitar track. Anything you do to brighten the guitar might also boost the metronome (not necessarily a bad thing if you make a feature of it).

I think the increase in intensity is good, although you could boost the overall level of the preceding section. The level of the whole track is quite low, so there is probably some headroom to play with.
Really appreciate the feedback, Mr. TW. I’m still in the process of self-learning frequencies & how to gainfully apply EQ, but the “plucking” tracks are isolated, so I can certainly experiment and come up with something more satisfactory. And yes, the metronome click is isolated to those same tracks, but since it is a droning sound (as is the plucking), maybe allowing it to be part of the mix might just work. BTW, if you (or anybody) have any suggestions as to which EQ effect on the standard Reaper menu might work best here, let me know.
Regarding the section preceding the intensity boost, I’m glad you noted that. I suspected that the soft & verby feel there didn’t quite fit, so I can bring that more up front – just takes time to rebalance the harmonies etc. Thanks again for taking the time to help out.
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Old 11-02-2021, 06:17 PM   #7
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BTW, if you (or anybody) have any suggestions as to which EQ effect on the standard Reaper menu might work best here, let me know.
I use ReaEQ as my go-to EQ, but if you want to get really surgical about it, you can use ReaFir.
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Old 11-06-2021, 03:11 AM   #8
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Originally Posted by Time Waster View Post
I think the intro finger picked guitar is OK, but you could maybe try just using EQ to boost a higher frequency band if you want to brighten it up a bit. How much you can do will depend on how you tracked it i.e. is there much bleed trough of vocals etc? You mentioned the metronome, which I assume is on the guitar track. Anything you do to brighten the guitar might also boost the metronome (not necessarily a bad thing if you make a feature of it).

I think the increase in intensity is good, although you could boost the overall level of the preceding section. The level of the whole track is quite low, so there is probably some headroom to play with.
Intro picking is more like a plucked bass guitar to my ears. And yes it does sound like hard work, especially keeping it in the groove and playing multiple parts on top of each other.
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Old 11-06-2021, 04:19 PM   #9
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My initial impression is that the vocals sound thin and are not intimate and full enough, too much early reflections maybe. That organ note that comes in briefly is too loud. I can barely hear the percussion. Perhaps post the project here, and let other people try to mix it, I have a hunch you might be too close to the project. Are you the singer?
Hello Ramses....sorry for the delayed response - just back from a 3 day memorial service so couldn't post until now.

Thank you very much for taking the time to listen & critique. I would absolutely love to have someone mix this for me - would even pay a reasonable amount. But I'm embarrassed to admit that I don't know the best way to share a project for mixing. Accordingly, I will inquire elsewhere on this forum - about time I learned.

Meanwhile, several questions about your response:
- you say vocals are thin - do you mean at the beginning or throughout?
- what do you mean by "too much early reflections"?
- "organ note too loud"....I know. I left it loud intentionally, knowing that I may soften it if some responded as you did.
- yes I'm the singer (& everything else), and I'm probably too close to any project by the time it's finished. Again, mixing help would be welcome.

Hope you're still lurking around here somewhere & will be able to respond. Thanks again.
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Old 11-06-2021, 04:30 PM   #10
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To Ivansc - thanks for stopping by & commenting. Trying now to add some spark to the plucking, and yes, much harder than it might seem to keep droned plucking like that lined up with the metronome clicking.
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Old 11-09-2021, 10:42 AM   #11
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Originally Posted by Stinger View Post
Hello Ramses....sorry for the delayed response - just back from a 3 day memorial service so couldn't post until now.

Thank you very much for taking the time to listen & critique. I would absolutely love to have someone mix this for me - would even pay a reasonable amount. But I'm embarrassed to admit that I don't know the best way to share a project for mixing. Accordingly, I will inquire elsewhere on this forum - about time I learned.

Meanwhile, several questions about your response:
- you say vocals are thin - do you mean at the beginning or throughout?
- what do you mean by "too much early reflections"?
- "organ note too loud"....I know. I left it loud intentionally, knowing that I may soften it if some responded as you did.
- yes I'm the singer (& everything else), and I'm probably too close to any project by the time it's finished. Again, mixing help would be welcome.

Hope you're still lurking around here somewhere & will be able to respond. Thanks again.
Hi. 1. Yes, throughout. 2. Too much early reflections in the reverb, making the space sound a bit unnatural. 3. I figured you were the singer, since the singing isn't featured enough in the mix IMHO. Many people feel a bit shy about their vocals, so they tend to not feature them enough in the mix.

I could try to mix the song when I get the time, just to give you an alternative vision, but you will need to consolidate and export the tracks for me. Experiment a bit with "consolidate/export tracks" under the File menu, I believe it's pretty self explanatory. And before you do, its always a good idea to bypass all active plugins in the project, so that you export the audio raw. Except for VST instruments of course.

Send me a PM if you're interested.
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Old 11-10-2021, 02:45 PM   #12
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Thanks Ramses & yes, I may well take you up on the offer. I will look over the c/e tracks feature and get back to you via PM.
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Old 11-13-2021, 12:40 PM   #13
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Yeah I think everything could maybe use a high pass. It's a bit of too much real low end info going on. I think.... I'm not an expert either but that's what I feel like I'm hearing.

If you high passed the guitar part in the beginning and boosted some high eqs.

I'm still learning compression and on one video kenny says he doesn't like to compress acoustic. I'm trying to decide on a song I'm working on now if I agree with him or not. Point being it could maybe use some compression. But I think a good place to start is to learn what high passing is and maybe apply it to your mix and I think it would help. If you haven't done that already.

Praise God for him working through you. I had a hard time hearing all the lyrics but I like the term of putting our hands up and keeping the word alive.
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