Should they go karaoke?

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davdud101
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2014/12/15 19:09:38 (permalink)

Should they go karaoke?

Hey, all. A friend of mine commissioned a production of a song she wrote with her husband. She'll be performing it coming up, and of course I have to record/mix/prepare it and stuff, and so I'm wondering what approach I should take? It's a sort of beguine/latin fusion styled tune with a liiiittle bit of brass and a liiiiiittle strings. It's tough to describe, really.
Am I looking FOR a karaoke sound? Or should I attempt to emulate a stage band? Is it better yet to assume it should be a good-quality studio mix?
I'm not quite sure the direction I should go for mixing this.

 
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    paulrace
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    Re: Should they go karaoke? 2014/12/20 11:40:50 (permalink)
    DavDud,
     
    You've probably already done this, but here's my .02.  First of all, if your track doesn't suck, they'll be happy with whatever you provided.  Second, whatever you provide will be the way that they think of that song "going" from now on, so be careful not to let the cat out of the bag until you're happy with it.  Third, if you give them three different versions, they will not be able to choose one over the other easily, or they may argue about it.  Fourth, my tendency for anyone who is used to performing onstage with instruments would be to make it sound like a live 5-piece band might sound, with the horns and strings, there but not too obvious. This is especially true if one or two of them are going to be playing guitar or something during the production.  Fifth, and most likely, if they're performing at a venue where everyone else will have "store-bought" backings (which always go to the "wall-of-sound" mark), or they're competing with people with live, loud bands, they'll probably feel more comfortable with a full "wall-of-sound" background, what I think you mean when you call it a Karaoke mix.  That's the version they'll probably be most satisfied with.  So mix it the way you like it for your own archives, then mix it "wall of sound" for them.  P.S. If you can get them to sing it for you, taking several takes so you can go back and comp it later and mix it for your demo file, that might be nice, too . . . .
     
    Best of luck,
    Paul Race
    CreekDontRise.com
     
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