HTTK - Scandalous Grace

https://soundcloud.com/beaglesound/hallelujah-to-the-king
 
All crits welcome!
 
Scandalous Grace - "Hallelujah to the King"
Reece Bain Words & Music, Lead Vocals, Piano, Drums, Engineering & Production
Michael Hanson Bass, Acoustic Rhythm, Elec Lead, BGVs
Sean Peifer Electric Rhythm, Elec Lead, Acoustic Rhythm, BGVs
Jeremy Peifer and all: handclaps

Thanks my friend,
new mix up now reduced compression on lead vox and raised their level.

I like it Beags - good mix generally but the main vox seem a bit dry/over compressed? I can't make it out but the vox sound sorta hurts to listen to

I usually don't listen to this style but I liked what I heard. Great job!

Vox sounds harsh to me ...
 
Otherwise sounds like a great mix to me.

Thanks BobF!  I appreciate the listen and feedback!  I've adjusted the EQ and the verb on the lead vox and uploaded a new version!  thanks again!
 
thanks That or Ed!  see above comments I appreciate the ears my ol' pal!

Betterer Beags

Hey Danny,
 
Thanks for stopping in and commenting on this song.  Reece, Sean and myself have been collaborating on songs as the virtual band, Scandalous Grace.  We have had a great time with this over the last 2 years.  
 
Your comments are very helpful and we will take all of your suggestions into consideration.  

michaelhanson
Hey Danny,
 
Thanks for stopping in and commenting on this song.  Reece, Sean and myself have been collaborating on songs as the virtual band, Scandalous Grace.  We have had a great time with this over the last 2 years.  
 
Your comments are very helpful and we will take all of your suggestions into consideration.  

Hey Mike, I must confess I didn't realize you were in this. I didn't read the first post like I should have. Apologies my brother. I'm trying to stop around here in between clients and what little down time I have, so for now I'm doing quick drive bys. Lol! Yeah, I really enjoyed it man. Sounds like you all enjoyed what you were doing. That's what it's all about. We'll done. :)

Hey Beag, I really like the current mix.  Sounds great - bravo!

evadianepug
Good song, Reece.  I remember when you were taking the vocal lessons.  You have really come a long way since then.  I couldn't sing a song like this to save my life.  You have the right voice on the right song.  You probably remember that I am not the mix guy of the Pugtones so I can't offer too much there.  It sounds good, buddy!

Glad I'm not the only one that noticed the improvement in his voice. We sometimes concentrate so much on production that we may miss a really great performance. That's one of the issues we all can pick up from time to time being engineers or hobbyists etc. I actually like when I could listen to something and didn't know what production was. It allowed me to enjoy music for what it was, not what I felt it should or could be. :)
 
These days I try to only comment on production if something sticks out to me as "OK this definitely sounds like it can be buffed out a little." 
 
I feel like you.....like I'm almost not qualified to comment on production due to "art" being so subjective. Who am I to tell someone what colors their portrait should be? We know some of the guys like to hear the opinions of others. I just try to stick to the blatantly oobvious stuff and it keeps me out of trouble. Lol! :)

michaelhanson
 
Funny that you say that Danny, I actually trust your engineering skills immensely.   
 
I, however, feel that way all of the time.  I find myself rarely commenting on production as well, music (art) being such a subjective medium.  I find it hard to critique songs, lyrics and production, even within our own band.  I find myself only pointing out the things that I feel are obvious, as well.  If it is a song that either Reece or Sean have written, I always defer to them to make the final decisions on their creations.  As a group, we have all fallen into the trap from time to time, that we should have spoken up more about something that we thought, wasn't quite right.  
 
That is why this songs forum is soooooo valuable to all of us.  It helps immensely to have other ears hear what we have been working on for months and have, maybe become to accustom to hearing critically.  

I'm glad somebody does...lol! Thanks Mike. :)
 
Truth be told, some people don't want to hear opinions. They can get defensive. We have all experienced this, myself included. But I think some of the defensive stuff is due to how someone decides to tell you their feelings. The important thing is tactfulness as well as respect, as we are, in my opinion, commenting on "someone's child". (as I like to refer to songs.) Hmm, there's a sentence gone wrong...lol...I think you get what I'm saying. :)
 
I really think the key is treading softly, yet you have to be honest and also open-minded. There was a time on here where some of the posters would just speak out in ways that were like a king on a throne barking at people. Those types ruin it for people and make others not want to post. We don't need to walk on eggshells, but we don't need to annihilate someone to the point where they may not want to post a song ever again.
 
Now as a group, you have to handle things a little differently. And where the issue can be there, you're never in front of each other physically. Text can get lost so easily man....it's just unreal as you know. Add in someone from another country that may have different ways of saying things to where there, it's common...here we take offense...and bang, instant issue. Always try your best to communicate with your band mates. Sometimes we may need to bend a little and allow, other times....well, you have to tell it like it is while always being respectful and you should be ok.
 
I find in my real original band, I only comment on something the guys offer that has little to no value. Like if they decide to put a power jam right in the middle of a pop song, in some situations, I don't think it is the right move for the song. I love that they play their butts off...but for me, it has to be about the song. Then again, here's the reverse....if you have a hook that can draw people in, who's to say you can't do a 4 bar power jam in a pop song? it's less predictable, even if I may think it's not the right move. See, there we go again with "subjectivity." LOL! There is no right or wrong....other than to comment on something that might be blatantly obvious. :)

Awesome job on this one!  Reece, your vocals really do sound good!  The only suggestion I might have is that the harmonies/bgv's were a bit hard to hear.  However, this could be an artifact of my cheap (cheap not just inexpensive) system.

Overall the mix sounds pretty good here, but I've only listened to the latest version.   I would personally still add a bit of ambiance to the lead vocal using delay and/or reverb, but that's subjective - the vocals themselves sound really good.   I also like the way the harmonies surround it.
 

Hi Reece and co,  y'all are getting good at this, excellent vocal performances, as a guitarist I have to say turn it up and the solo is way to short ; )
 
Rik