Out of the Sky- Revised

The mix is very close to finished.  I can hear all the instruments well, and I like the arpeggio guitar track.  I'm not sure I like the mode your guitar solo is in, but that's a matter of taste (it reminds me of "Spirit In The Sky").  Having said that, I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest something I rarely suggest- I would use either V-Vocal or Melodyne on the lead vocal.  My ears could be deceiving me, but I thought I heard a few notes off pitch.  Not too much, but enough to get my attention.  All in all, you're very close, and I can feel your inspiration.

Hey Lynn, Thanks for your imput.  I'm  not sure on the guitar solo either.    I mic'd my Classic 50 for the lead and I thought the tone sounded good when I recorded it.  Later, I was n't so sure.  I may take another stab at it yet.  I have Melodynne on the vocal track. I found a couple of areas that we just so ever slightly off pitch and corrected them. Everything else seemed to be good though.  If you could pin point a specific time of word you think you are hearing the pitch issue, I could definately check it again.


Daryl, Thanks as well.  The acoustic rhythm guitar seemed to be stepping on the vocals when it was more centered, so that is why I had it panned a little to one side.  If it is an issue that keeps coming up in this thread, I can take another look at it as well.  

Mike, I will give it a listen tomorrow with fresh ears.  I've been listening to tunes all day, and I could have a case of listener's fatigue.  Later.

Lynn


  I'm not sure I like the mode your guitar solo is in, but that's a matter of taste.
 
 
I am with Lynn on this (sorry).
I am a big fan of guitar effects, I love em.
With that said I feel a tone with maybe even a bit less gain than the
electric rhythm track might pull this together more. Only one way to find out.

Mike - I didn't meantion it earlier because some people tend to get defensive about their vocals, but I agree with Lynn.  I didn't listen critically enough to figure out where the problems were, but there were a few problems.

I fully understand not being able to hear them yourself and not understanding why melodyne didn't resolve it, I have the same problems.  I can hear pitch problems from other people, but not on my own vocals all the time (sometimes I can hear it after recording it, but not always, and usually never right after, I have to let it sit for weeks without listening and sometimes I never hear the problem). 

hope you're not offended. 

Mike, I don't hear any rumble per se, but there is a lot of low energy in the bass track somewhere  between 200-400hz.  You might try to scoop it out with a filter notch, but don't overdo it or someone will be telling you that there's not enough lows in the mix.  BTW, when I mentioned earlier that I wasn't crazy about the mode of your guitar solo, I was talking about the scale you chose, not the tone.  The song is melodic or sweet, and the scale you used is more of a blues mode which uses a minor third and minor seventh, which clashes with the rest of the melody.  Again, this is just a matter of taste, and is not right or wrong.  Still, a good song the fifth time around.

Nice song and well arranged.  Great hook...very catchy!

I guess I'm not a fan of the guitar solo either, possibly because it sorta jumps out at you.  I imagine I could get used to it though.  :)

You seem not to mind, so I'll take a stab at where I hear the melody line needing a bit of touching up:

Out of--you're sort of gliding that first word, so I'm not sure what note you mean it to be.
Beautiful
lightly -  again, it's the gliding, I think.  
Spirit of....very very close, but not right on.
the 'ing' on shining His light
last syllable of beautiful
Son of Man
last syllable of innocent
before Him I
died on the cross (mostly 'the') 
sight  (after 'beautiful) 
pain
Man, angels sing

Sorry, I feel like I'm putting red marks all over your well-done paper.  :(  But you might check those places.  I may be all washed up though.

Great song and good lyrics!  

You're welcome.  And I applaud you!  You notice no one around here has heard ME sing.  Well, not much anyway.  Keep up the great work.  And here's hoping for more YOU time. I understand that's a tough one...

 Makeshift,

  Your vocal sounds like another vocalist or similar , but I can't put a finger on who.I like this type of a vocal and it works well with this tune. I understand not having any other vocal than your own. I am usually in that same situation. We also do the same things and occasionally go flat here and there,although I thought it was very minimal. Very good overall.

 Its funny how on these forums different people will hear and comment on different things. I guess I missed the bass thing because I'm listening with ear buds that hurt for bass. What I heard at first was that the drums seemed really up front,especially the cymbals. I'm sure this is how you like it and lots of folks do and admittedly maybe my buds may be  giving me a boost in that freq. range.

 Good arrangement, you have a knack for good arrangement and lyrics. Not much to find any fault with on this one. Good job man!

Janet


Nice song and well arranged.  Great hook...very catchy!

I guess I'm not a fan of the guitar solo either, possibly because it sorta jumps out at you.  I imagine I could get used to it though.  :)

You seem not to mind, so I'll take a stab at where I hear the melody line needing a bit of touching up:

Out of--you're sort of gliding that first word, so I'm not sure what note you mean it to be.
Beautiful
lightly -  again, it's the gliding, I think.  
Spirit of....very very close, but not right on.
the 'ing' on shining His light
last syllable of beautiful
Son of Man
last syllable of innocent
before Him I
died on the cross (mostly 'the') 
sight  (after 'beautiful) 
pain
Man, angels sing

Sorry, I feel like I'm putting red marks all over your well-done paper.  :(  But you might check those places.  I may be all washed up though.

Great song and good lyrics!  

Hey Michael!  I listened to your rework.  first, let me say that the chorus is MUCH better!  the vocals stand out more over the guitar now and that's important in the chorus to drive the point home of the lyrics.
 
this is a great song, I really like it. 
 
I did mark in bold the places above I'm still hearing problems.  I don't have nearly as good of an ear as Janet, so I don't know if this is 100% right or not, but those places in bold above still bothered me.
 
I hope that's not too harsh of a crit for you.  in love, brother!

Hey Reese,

Well that is frustrating.  I zoomed into Melodynne in each of those specific areas, could see that they were just a hair off and I centered them all up to be exactly in tune with the way Melodynne was charting them.  I mean, if the note was a D, the vocal was showing it to be a D, just ever so slightly off.  I only had...maybe...2-3 instances where the vocal would slide up....from say... a D flat to a D in sylables and I fixed those as well.  I know that you should really do this strickly by ear, but when I can't hear the problem, how do you fix it by ear.  I am starting to wonder if it is more...the way I sang the first verse...than tuning.  I know I went with my first of 2 vocal takes and I was not quite as confident in the first verses, I can hear that in the way I sing it.  I am not drawing out the syllables like I do as I get into the tune in later verses.

Scotty, thanks for listening.  I will listen again for your suggestions.  In the chorus, I believe that I have 3 blended vocals going; the main lead vocal straight down the center and then 2 others, panned L35, R35.  I guess I could try pulling the pans more centered.  Or, play with moving the cymbals a little and see if that helps.  I was going for a powerful guitar rock sound here in this one though.  Are you listening on near fields?  

Reese, I appreciate your support.  I was kind of holding off to see if Janet listens again; I am hoping that it sounds better to her ears, that way I will know if I am working this in the right direction.  I am still kind of learning my way around Melodynne; I have the  lighter version, Essentials.  Herb talked me into giving Melodynne a try and for just straightforward pitch tuning, I like it better.  It just seems more natural.

(see below)

Janet

Out of--you're sort of gliding that first word...it should be an F#, right?  Is it in Melodyne?

A bird in flight - a, g, a, g?  I think that's what you mean, but it's slightly lower I think. 

Spirit of....very very close, but not right on.  I agree...is it supposed to be e, d, e, d?  
the 'ing' on shining His light  - is that also e, d, e, d?  (sorry...I mean, it's extremely close...maybe it's the gliding again) 

before Him I.... d, e, d, e?  check that one again.  
died on the cross (mostly 'the')   is 'the' supposed to glide from a to g?  I think that's what it's doing there.  And for some reason, it doesn't sound like you mean it to do that. 
sight  (after 'beautiful)  (at 3:08 app).  do you mean it to go a, g, a, g there?  (beautiful sight)  Cause sight isn't on the g.  If you mean it to go up, then you'll need to pull it up.  
pain  - is this supposed to be a 'g'?  It's extremely close. 
 

     
Hi Michael.  Sorry...I tried to listen last night and it wouldn't load for me so I finally gave up. Finally had another listen just now.  I've copied Reece's notes and added some of my own.  I deleted the problem areas I heard before that seem to be fixed now.  Hopefully what I wrote makes sense.  

Philip,

Thanks man, you don't know how much I value your opinion.  I  am very humbled that you like this one so much.  I have been working on some of those trouble spots that Janet and Reese have pointed out.  Almost done and I will post a new version tomorrow.

I think you've got it.  :)  How'd you do it?