Seeking advice and comments on an original Christmas song

[kregdurant]

I think it could benefit from just a little dessing for sure, just because they are definitely a little distracting. But not much, most of these xmas songs are pretty sibilant anyways and you definitely don't want to sound like Mike tyson singing xmas carols lol. (a desser on your FX bus is always a great thing to practice as well)
At 33 seconds on "Gloria" i do hear a crackle, don't know if that was a bad edit point or maybe some mouth noise. And for my taste the vocal could use a small boost at around 5k and a little less compression.
Then the first bell, and the bells at the very end could probably come down a few db. They walk on the vocal a bit
Of course i'm not in my studio right now so it's hard to dissect
But overall it sounds great! Great job mayne! <3

Hi, Kregdurant,
I incorporated your suggestions re boosting the eq in a certain range and tried to alleviate the other issues. I found that after a while, I got to the stage where the production started to progressively suffer more and more from over processing, etc. and was getting worse, so I backed off and made a decision to go with the following final version. There still seems to be a bit of sibilence and a couple of other issues, but I think that I will go with this (as at the link below, which is the same link as the previous one) or maybe I'll rest my ears for a day or two before revisiting and submitting and putting it behind me.

https://www.taxi.com/members/nwRU7pygQr ... stmas-time

Thanks again for your input, and that of others previously - very much appreciated. I have learned very much.

Cheers
Michael

Sounds Great man! Hope you get a forward. Feels so weird to be listening to xmas music with the AC on lol

[AlonMarcus]

That's a beautiful melody and arrangement and the lyrics sound very nice. I read the conversation and listened to the different mixes. You did a good job with the vocals.
Still it seems to me that the main issue is over-processing. The vocalist did a good job. Maybe just a bit of EQ and really a little bit of compression could be enough.
Some plugins that clean noises also have side effects and make things sound strange. They do the cleaning by eliminating too much some times.
But overall such a great song and wonderful arrangement. Wish you the best of luck.

[MJLeeman]

That's a beautiful melody and arrangement and the lyrics sound very nice. I read the conversation and listened to the different mixes. You did a good job with the vocals.
Still it seems to me that the main issue is over-processing. The vocalist did a good job. Maybe just a bit of EQ and really a little bit of compression could be enough.
Some plugins that clean noises also have side effects and make things sound strange. They do the cleaning by eliminating too much some times.
But overall such a great song and wonderful arrangement. Wish you the best of luck.

Thanks AlonMarkus for your encouraging observations. I agree with your comments re the possibility/traps of over processing, particularly where there is a good standard of an initial vocal track. And, possibly in accordance with your comment, I am coming to the conclusion that the need for plug-ins/processing is maybe diminished in cases where the tracking stage has been well done. And for me it would appear that the the important mixing stage will be made easier by first having good music and good tracking, in that order. Just my view.

Thank you for your input, which is appreciated.

Cheers
Michael

[kregdurant]

I am coming to the conclusion that the need for plug-ins/processing is maybe diminished in cases where the tracking stage has been well done. And for me it would appear that the the important mixing stage will be made easier by first having good music and good tracking, in that order. Just my view.

Nope, its not just your view!
There are several places where you can download tracks for mixing practice. Usually, they're very well recorded and have a good arrangement, and its amazing how easy basic mixing becomes when that is the case. Sure, there's loads of fancy tracks that will still distinguish a pro from a beginner, but working with great recordings is a great leg up to getting a good basic mix. Some say Get It Right At The Source (GIRATS) if you want to make life easier for yourself. Of course, its always easier said than done, especially if you're not sure what 'right' is, but the principle is a sound one.

There is a ton of great courses on mixing by "Ultimate Recording machine" they mostly focus on emo/pop rock/ and metal but the technique is relatively the same in any genre. Really great stuff. I got a degree in audio engineering from Art institute, and my business partner got one from full sail, and we STILL learn stuff from URM. I highly recommend it.

[MJLeeman]

I am coming to the conclusion that the need for plug-ins/processing is maybe diminished in cases where the tracking stage has been well done. And for me it would appear that the the important mixing stage will be made easier by first having good music and good tracking, in that order. Just my view.

Nope, its not just your view!
There are several places where you can download tracks for mixing practice. Usually, they're very well recorded and have a good arrangement, and its amazing how easy basic mixing becomes when that is the case. Sure, there's loads of fancy tracks that will still distinguish a pro from a beginner, but working with great recordings is a great leg up to getting a good basic mix. Some say Get It Right At The Source (GIRATS) if you want to make life easier for yourself. Of course, its always easier said than done, especially if you're not sure what 'right' is, but the principle is a sound one.

There is a ton of great courses on mixing by "Ultimate Recording machine" they mostly focus on emo/pop rock/ and metal but the technique is relatively the same in any genre. Really great stuff. I got a degree in audio engineering from Art institute, and my business partner got one from full sail, and we STILL learn stuff from URM. I highly recommend it.

Thanks very much for referring me to the above. Much appreciated. I will follow up with interest.

With gratitude
Cheers
Michael