Creative Help Sought: Orchestral and Female Voice Mixing - NEW VERSION UP!

Tall order there Scott!

What reverb are you using, and how? On first listen it sounds like everything is treated with the same reverb equally, making the mix kind of 2-dimensional and mushy. Have you tried different room sizes on a sequence of busses, getting bigger going outwards? So, lead vocal in a small sized room, guitars slightly bigger room perhaps, strings in a concert hall, backing vocals in a cathedral. I'm exaggerating a little, but something like that might help to get a more 3-D feel.

Also with the backing vocals, I think you need more doubling, tripling of the parts to get that 'celestial' sound.

James

On first listen....

tune the vocals they are off key in a few places.(approx 1:07) .....  Be careful of having the instruments compete with the vocals... the strings? and another BGV (cellos?) were running interference on the vox there at the beginning of the vox part.

A little further along, there was a kind of lead behind the vox. clashing with the vox.

Lyrics in a movie track are  either dead on to the mood and feeling of the scene or a total distraction..... you really have to be careful with lyrical content.

It sounds good.... but take the time to get it right if you're submitting to a movie studio. The  bar is pretty high and competition is rough.

Good luck.

I don't know if your top post is the updated version but if it is, I think the vocal seems way back, almost loud enough but back in the mix.  I don't know how to explain those things I hear.  I could hear this song as a movie tune.  It's a good song!

Scott:

The whole idea/song is cool, but the mix is a complete mess, my friend:

• sounds like the entire thing was highpasses around 200hz, and a big dip at 800hz; there is so little bottom to any thing other than the drums. Get a multiband on it and harness the lows, don't reduce them to nothing
• the strings sound way too synthy, and thin as all heck; find some better patches and work on any articulation they might have with them. ThAs mentioned, the orchestration is working against itself
• her vocal sounds clipped and distorted, and very boxy sound, can barely hear the reverb, which is a shame, since she can really sing
• the hihat is too HERE when it should be back here

Best of luck, pal

That's why I'm here!
Thanks to all.

Big production! No comments on the mix, except whenever I do a late night mix, I always do a new on in the morning when I have fresh ears on and that makes quite a difference.

I'm listening on computer speakers so that's not a good way to critique the mix...... and mixing  something with headphones to submit to a producer is not a good idea either. Having an  "IN" with a producer is a sweet ticket to have.... but.... you still have to submit the best tune and mix of ALL the ones he/she will be reviewing for that coveted spot in the flick. You can best believe that the other submissions will be mixed on some nice reference monitors. The producer will not choose your mix just because they know you if it doesn't also "deliver the goods" musically. They will choose the best sounding mix every time even if the song is not exact over the exact song that doesn't have a good mix.

I'm not telling you this to discourage you.... in fact, just the opposite.... be encouraged. You have the talent to write & record, and a connection in the business.... but understand the high bar that exists, and understand that connections AND talent AND a broadcast quality mix are required to jump over it.

Mixing on headphones, burning a CD and running to the car to listen to the mix..... let me ask a question.... do you see anything wrong with that picture?  I'm not saying it can't be done that way and I wish you the best..... however......  I understand too that you want so badly to get this tune in the film, and you're doing all you can..... and truth be told...I'd be doing the same thing too if I was in your shoes.....

after you submit this tune.... get yourself a set of studio reference monitors and you will hear things in the mix that your headphones and cars stereo ( both of which are colored) don't let you hear. The tunes you send in have to be a "wow moment" for the producer, or they will pass on the song.

Best wishes on the tune in the film.

Thanks Guitarhacker,

I'm no noob to the business, nor to mixing, so I'm not really sure what the point is.  I also pay for my equipment out of pocket, and don't charge up a storm spending money I don't have.  So it's taking a while to get the "ideal" situation and equipment that would make my job easier.  But I still haven't let that prevent me from releasing two studio and 1 live album, nor from getting my first royalty check from both last week.

Working on getting the reference monitors too.  I'm saving up for some awesome ones, rather than settling for something within my budget.  I'd just have to replace them with what I really need down the line anyway.  But sometimes you have to send the best you can muster at the time and within your budget at the time, and there's a deadline for the film submission.  So I do it and move on with my life.
Whether or not it gets accepted into the film is not the reason we did this.  I've always wanted to re-do this song and this film was a good excuse.  If it gets accepted by some long shot, GREAT!  But if not, I still have what I wanted.  I did this because we wanted to, and we're releasing it as a single irregardless of what happens.  I like it.   MOST importantly, we had fun doing it!

The fact is, I don't really care about "competition" or "high bars".  Just look at the Top 40; the stuff that's popular nowadays.  If that's what people want, then I can't (read:  won't) compete with that, and I'll just do what it is that I've always done:  make music for myself.

So far, it's worked pretty well.

Thanks to all that have taken the time to listen and your critiques.  Some of it was used for sure! 

So depending on how big the checks are.... use that to get the monitors.

Guitarhacker


Oh yeah!!!!  (Not quitting my day job - YET - though!)