fake strings bashing needed

[bozmillar]

I just finished doing the string section to this song for someone tonight, and I need some bashing. I'm already pretty aware that the string arrangement is somewhat boring, I was just going for something that could support the band and not try to draw too much attention to itself.

If any parts, or the whole thing, is unacceptably fake sounding, please let me know.

[bozmillar]

it's updated now.

[Danny Danzi]

Boz, I think this is killer and you managed to make it incredibly intimate on all counts. Really fantastic...spaced properly, strings are perfect in the background where you have them. Sounds real enough to me man....excellent job!

The only things I would maybe work on here (which is subjective) would be maybe a piano sound that isn't as dark? Sounds a bit mid rangey and dark. The acoustic guitar has that same sound....somewhat dark...could have a bit more presence. When both of these (piano and acoustic) are coupled....we're getting some mid-range congestion which is somewhat pushing the up front vocals you have, in the back when everything kicks in. Of course some vocal automation could fix this, but I think the over-all mix would be a bit more pristine with some presence in the piano and the acoustic guitar in my opinion. Other than those 2 things, this is incredibly well done man. Thank you for sharing it! Really loved the vocal capture as well....everything was extremely intimate and well done. Hope this helps.

[PeterSimonRussell]

I don't find the strings too fake sounding, not at the start at least. The build up sounds more artificial, 2:44 on and esp. from 3:00. Is it perhaps a too simple arrangement here?
Mix and balance sound OK.
If it were mine, I would be looking to reduce some of the occasional vocal ssssyllabance essspecially at the start.

[bozmillar]

Hey thanks for the listen. yeah, I'm aware that my string arrangements are always overly simplistic. Something I definitely need to work on.

As for the mix, I agree. All I got from him was a stereo downmix, so there isn't much I can do about it. If nothing else, I think I'm going to ask for the vocals on a separate track, but I'd like to have control over the entire mix. We'll see what he's willing to give me.

I'm thinking of adding some drums and bass too, but I'm not sure I want to get into that much detail with this song.

[illybang]

this sounds pretty awesome man.

personally, what i'm wanting to hear coming in at the power section / end of the song are some horns on top of the strings, along with some minor percussive elements. maybe some cymbal rolls and some big concert bass drum sounds. everything works great till the build up, and then i just feel like as the final chorus is sung, it gets kind of stagnant, when my brain wants to hear and feel it keep building till the final note.

i don't know if you've ever listened to Silverchair's Diorama album, but they manage to mix the orchestra (strings/horns) with their rock perfectly in the song Across the Night (in my opinion). it's definitely more up-tempo from this song, but i think you could get some cool ideas to use from listening to it.

[bozmillar]

hey, thanks. I'm always looking for good songs to get ideas from when it comes to orchestra sections. I'll check that one out.

I kind of feel the same about the buildup. I was thinking of adding drums and bass to it to kind of fill in what seems to be missing, but I'm moving in a couple weeks, so I'm in the process of tearing everything down, and I don't think I'll have time to do it.

[richiebee]

Strings sound great. Really nice song too. I think it needs drums and bass when it powers up, then job done.