Everybody Needs a Second Chance - a cheesy title

[jhanse]

Hi!

EDIT:
I'm sorry, but I had to remove the song because of a rule in a contest where I've applied and it states that it can't be publicly available until the contest is over.

Thanks for all the reviews though!

Jan

[kyleknapp]

The style is not my usual cup of tea, but I have a few thoughts to offer.

As for the mix, I think overall it sounds pretty darn good. Especially the intro.

There are a couple of production points you might look at. The first is at about 22seconds, as the intro ends and the vocal comes in, where the bass, guitar, and some of the drums drop out for a few beats - something about this transition just irritates me. A combination of the timing of the first keyboard chord, the way the vocal is phrased, and the starkness of the decibel drop seems awkward. You might try omitting the first couple keyboard strokes, and/or re-singing the vocal with more interesting inflections.

The 2nd point is that the vocal overall, but especially on the choruses, is kind of monotonous and lacking in flavor. You have a nice-sounding voice, but I think you could do a lot more with it. You might try phrasing the chorus differently - delay the 1st syllable of "everybody" by 1/2 a beat, for example. You're doing your vocal accents in sync with the keys and either they're slightly out of sync at some points or they clash somehow with the drums - I'm thinking the chorus might sound less choppy if either your vocals or keyboards were phrased a little differently (does that make sense at all?)

Anyway, just my two cents. Good luck!

[shaynevincent]

HI,

What mic and pre are you using?

[bigjoe10p]

I agree with Kyle on that it sounds good overall. I think if you brought the vocals up in the mix a little bit it would make a big difference. What mic did you use to record them? it might be my monitors, but it sounds like the whole mix needs some high end added. What do you think?

[kyleknapp]

Yeah, I think maybe it could stand to be a bit brighter. But to my ear (on my monitors) the vocal volume is about right (though, of course, it wouldn't hurt to experiment).

[DT Chris]

Holy cow! A blast from the past! It's Kyle! Welcome back

[jhanse]

Wow, thanks for all the feedback! I think I'll rerecord the vocals anyway. I used a (don't laugh) Behringer C3 through my Echo Audiofire 4. I think it lacks the low end. I mean the vocals sound too thin for my taste and that (apart from the way I sing it) is the only thing I'd try to change about them Any suggestions?

As for the chorus. I thought of doing that 1/2 (or 1/4) delay in the beginning but what would happen to the backing vocals if i did that? For example would I have to delay the "humms" which are always started on the beat (you can hear them i think)! I think the chorus sounds out of sync with the drums because I did a sloppy job recording it... I noticed only after a while and it was already late so I'll do it again today.

Well, thanks again. Just trying to get a fatter vocal sound. You think if I'd double-track with an SM57 just some dB quieter it would get more fat?

[kyleknapp]

Originally Posted by DT Chris

Holy cow! A blast from the past! It's Kyle! Welcome back

Thanks! Sorry I stayed away so long. My "House of Sod" project kind of burned me out, haven't done much in the studio since then. But I owe you guys big time for all your help, so I figure it's time for me start contributing here.

I thought of doing that 1/2 (or 1/4) delay in the beginning but what would happen to the backing vocals if i did that?

Hadn't thought of that, it might not work, but then again it might sound pretty cool. Worth at least a little experimenting I think.

I've never used an SM57 for recording vocals - In my experience they rarely sound good for live vocals, so I've assumed they wouldn't work well for recorded vocals, but that could just be ignorance on my part. I doubt the SM57 will get you any better low end response, but that's judging strictly from the specs, not from experience - couldn't hurt to try.

How close up are you micing with the C3? Maybe you can enhance your low end by singing closer and taking advantage of the proximity effect?

[jhanse]

I'm about 1,5 inch away or so. Except in the very high parts where I sing loud. Would that count as proximity?

Or should I just multi-track with the C3 again, only more silent?

Oh, the idea for the SM came from a friend of mine. He recorded an EP with his band right now and I think the vocals sound great and they were done on an SM. But then again, that is thrash/death metal....

[planetfall]

everybody loves cheese... good song, its got catchy arrangement

the bridge seems a little forced, but the song has good flow

i hate it that everyone's so good on here...