Mix Review for Pop Song

[MarciaM]

Hey Taxi Peers,
I'm a lyricist/songwriter (not a composer/producer) and would love expert ears on this nearly done mix for anything that needs to be tweaked.
It's a pop song for a niche tween market.
https://soundcloud.com/marcia-morgan-96 ... de-retreat

Thank you!
Marcia

[LongBlackNight]

Marcia, I think it's well mixed and recorded at a decently strong level with the vocals appropriately forward. I like what the song's about as well.

As for what can be improved, to my ears the shaker (is it a shaker?) is a bit "spiky." Not terribly, but I think there's a high frequency in there that could take a cut.

Best of luck with it.

-jp

[gregorym]

Marcia, WOW! I'm listening on my flat response headphones. The mix sounds AWESOME!
I like the shaker where it is, but I'm 46 and can't hear much about 12k, so I can't help you there.

Is there something specific that is bothering you about the mix? If so, let me know. I'll listen for it.

Awesome work!

[MarciaM]

What's bothering me a bit is the male vocals...I'm thinking they should be pushed back in the mix!
Thoughts? - Marcia

Marcia, WOW! I'm listening on my flat response headphones. The mix sounds AWESOME!
I like the shaker where it is, but I'm 46 and can't hear much about 12k, so I can't help you there.

Is there something specific that is bothering you about the mix? If so, let me know. I'll listen for it.

Awesome work!

[cassmcentee]

Thoughts as I listen...
Have to eliminate the Kick/Sub POP at 0:00/0:01 (the start)
The mix sounds very Mono till 0:31
The opening White Noise sweep seems to add a bit much static/hiss, maybe lower it an octave (it is cool, just sonicaly feels sub par to my ears)(just a thought)
I hear what you are saying regarding the male voice, it's hard to tell because you have those voices Stacked in the center (or it feels that way) so they are fighting the lead vocal
Your opening "yeah" and "hey" need to be a little more serious and not stacked on the lead vocal, performed live these would be your background vocalists on either side
I think your lead vocal could still come up some and EQ in a little more mid-low depth to it?!?
Lastly, the kick isn't cutting through, I turned up the volume to see if it was getting through, I almost couldn't find it because of the Sub bass covering it up.
Just some fine tuning overall...
Wonderful Tune!
Cass

[WhiteKix]

What's bothering me a bit is the male vocals...I'm thinking they should be pushed back in the mix!
Thoughts? - Marcia

Marcia, WOW! I'm listening on my flat response headphones. The mix sounds AWESOME!
I like the shaker where it is, but I'm 46 and can't hear much about 12k, so I can't help you there.

Is there something specific that is bothering you about the mix? If so, let me know. I'll listen for it.

Awesome work!

Hi Marcia,
New on the boards, but I would agree that the male vocals should be pushed back. As Cass said above, I would try widening the male vocals. Try duplicating the vocal, and then panning one left and one right, and then adjusting the volume. Cass is also right about the pop/click at the very start of the track. I only listened on earbuds, so hard to tell, but Cass is probably also right about the kick. Try sidechaning the bass to the kick, so the base level drops when the kick hits. overall it's a nice sounding track.

Scott

[gregorym]

What's bothering me a bit is the male vocals...I'm thinking they should be pushed back in the mix!
Thoughts? - Marcia

Marcia, WOW! I'm listening on my flat response headphones. The mix sounds AWESOME!
I like the shaker where it is, but I'm 46 and can't hear much about 12k, so I can't help you there.

Is there something specific that is bothering you about the mix? If so, let me know. I'll listen for it.

Awesome work!

Interesting, now that you say something about the male vocal being a little forward, I notice it. I DID notice his voice last night, but I didn't give it a second thought: it's more than acceptable the way it is. To use an analogy, let's consider red pepper flakes that we put on pizza. You know? A couple shakes of red pepper is good, three shakes is a little more. Not much more, but more. You don't have the problem of the cap falling off and pile of red pepper on the slice. Two, three shakes...ALL good. It's a matter of preference. I like a tad spicier. You like it a tad less spicier. Anyone can chime in at this point and tell me I'm cray-cray. That's cool. If I'm way off the mark, please tell me I'm way off base.

By the way, it's a wonderful song.

[MarciaM]

Super helpful, thank you!
-Marcia

Thoughts as I listen...
Have to eliminate the Kick/Sub POP at 0:00/0:01 (the start)
The mix sounds very Mono till 0:31
The opening White Noise sweep seems to add a bit much static/hiss, maybe lower it an octave (it is cool, just sonicaly feels sub par to my ears)(just a thought)
I hear what you are saying regarding the male voice, it's hard to tell because you have those voices Stacked in the center (or it feels that way) so they are fighting the lead vocal
Your opening "yeah" and "hey" need to be a little more serious and not stacked on the lead vocal, performed live these would be your background vocalists on either side
I think your lead vocal could still come up some and EQ in a little more mid-low depth to it?!?
Lastly, the kick isn't cutting through, I turned up the volume to see if it was getting through, I almost couldn't find it because of the Sub bass covering it up.
Just some fine tuning overall...
Wonderful Tune!
Cass

[SamGreene]

Fun, catchy, positive song!
I'd cut the male vocal where he says 'this is my gratitude retreat' at the end of of each chorus. The timing, pitch and character don't fit with your vocals.

[MarciaM]

Great idea! Thank you! I'll do that.
Marcia

Fun, catchy, positive song!
I'd cut the male vocal where he says 'this is my gratitude retreat' at the end of of each chorus. The timing, pitch and character don't fit with your vocals.