Advice on production

[billhewett]

Hi Passengers,

I am working on the production/mix of a collaboration for a Singer/Songwriter listing due at 5pm PST today and my ears are getting a bit tired. I'm looking for some help on getting this to sound more polished. With regard to the a la's we are shooting more toward the Griffin House track, as the structure suits itself more for that kind of arrangement.

Thanks in advance!

-Bill

Current Mix: https://soundcloud.com/bill-hewett/half-your-heart-demo

Listing:
SINGER SONGWRITER SONGS with Male OR Female vocals are needed by an A-List Hollywood Music Supervisor for a very successful Prime-Time TV Series on a Major Broadcast Network. She's searching for Down-to-Mid-Tempo Songs in the stylistic ballpark of artists like Joshua Radin, Schuyler Fisk, Griffin House, etc. Please check out the following songs to hear the sound, style, and feel that could work for this pitch:

"Underwater" by Joshua Radin: http://bit.ly/1v1Pt70

"What Good Is Love" by Schuyler Fisk: http://bit.ly/1iQz9Rd

"Better Than Love" by Griffin House: http://bit.ly/1je7BGV

Songs with warm, natural, acoustic-based instrumentation are preferred over harsh, loud, or gritty sounding songs. Your song should not be so complex or frenetic that it will distract from the scene's dialogue. Please do NOT submit anything that's stiff, dated, or MIDI sounding. Your vocal performance should be heartfelt, sincere, and engaging. Broadcast Quality is needed (great sounding home recordings are fine).

Lyric themes about love, relationships, life, etc., should relate well to this show's characters and storylines. Please keep your lyrics universal, and avoid references to specific names, dates, times, places, times, profanity, etc.

Lyrics:
<verse 1>
It started with a friendship
but then there was this one kiss
I saw a smile in your eyes but you needed to resist

I know that you're spoken for
But I wanna explore some more
And I know there is something you just can't ignore

You'll let me in?

<chorus>
I have already half your heart
Why fight, give me the other part
I want all your heart

<verse 2>
Put your arms around me
So I can feel what you feel
Don't move feels so right just want to stand here all night

It's more than just an impulse
You shouldn't be with someone else
We could fight feelings but that would just be so false

You'll let me in

<bridge>
Supposed to be
Just you and me
It's not that hard
Just need the other part

[johnlewitt]

Bill,

I like what you've got so far. A couple things.

I would change the settings on the verse vocal (but don't touch the chorus). It should be a little more intimate and up front, so maybe a little drier(?).

I dig the bass sound - it sounds fretless. Though I'm not 100% sure if it's suitable to the genre. So while it works for me, I'm not sure it works for the listing.

I know you're working on a deadline so I'll leave it at that.

John

[kemmrich]

I think the chorus part sounds greats, just perfect. The verses don't do much for me -- except the recording of the guitars is pretty good. I wish I could tell you what to change in the verse, but it is hard to tell. Maybe it just needs a different melody. The bridge is fine, too.

[billhewett]

Thanks for the thoughts, Kevin and John!

Kevin, the tip to roll off the reverb on the verse vocal might be the single best suggestion I've gotten on the forum yet. That really makes a world of difference, and I wonder if it would improve Kevin's opinion of the verse :)

Also, the bass is fretted... I'm just that smooth a player ;) I might be able to bring some of the fret attack back into the mix, but either way I'm glad you like the way it sounds!

-Bill

[playagibson]

I would dry up the mix some more.
Try a plate reverb or just tone it down and tone down the " ss "
A nice silky reverb that you don't really notice is what you want.
No long decay.

[uncbilly]

+1 on rolling down the reverb.
This is really strong. I'll bet money you'll get forwarded with the drier voc.
Bass sounds great. All the tracks sound great. The tone of this sounds spot on for the listing, to me. I was having a montage when i was listening to it. Great work.

[billhewett]

Thanks again for all of the advice and support!

Here is the final mix (plus a bit of EQ and Compression on the master) if anyone is interested: https://soundcloud.com/bill-hewett/half-your-heart

-Bill

[Robtoons]

Like this a lot Bill!
The 2nd mix is a big improvement in the verses. Like the acoustic picking pattern, when the 2nd guit comes in in the chorus it makes for a kind of a hammered dulcimer feel.
Nice!, good luck with it- Rob

[kemmrich]

Sounds mighty fine to me! Did you re-record anything or is it just a re-mix? I still love that chorus. Something to consider for future tunes is to tighten up the enunciation of all the words in there. There are some that get a little lost to me, but it doesn't really detract too much at all. Well done and good luck on the pitch.