-
vocal woes – sounding demo-y? not sitting? needs more fx?
hey guys! excited to be a new member here 🙂
i’m co producing this tune attached – Runaway Train, an 80s disco power ballad type – and we’re struggling with the lead vocal. The track in my opinion is sounding awesome, but the vocal is sounding like it’s sort of plopped on top, like it doesn’t belong in the mix yet. i’m trying to figure out how to embed it better into the mix, when the rest of the track is already feeling really good. so carving out a space for the vocal to live. i also want to add more fx (delay, reverb) in places, or would that sound tacky given we are already leaning into the 80s thing already? 😀 thanks guys!
-
3 Replies
-
Hi Phoebe! This is so cool!
The vocal feels connected to the mix to my ear, i wasn’t hearing it as being particularly “plopped on top”. One thing that struck me when listening was that you may want to ride the lead vocal a bit when the band is really hitting. The section between 2-3min I was finding that the lead vocal could have been louder. It felt like it was sitting great in the intro and the first verse when it didn’t have as much to compete with.
I think exploring more reverb/delay and special moments with FX throws, etc would totally fit the vibe. Couldn’t hurt to try!
Can’t wait to hear the final mix!
Best Wishes,
Jesse
-
Phoebe,
Welcome.
I agree with my colleague from NY who suggests the vocal is getting a little lost during louder passages. If the spotlight is on the singer, and it should be, let’s keep her prominent and easily accessible for the audience / listeners.
You mention finding a space for the vocal and ask if it needs more FX to make it fit better. I said a few incantations and put the song back in the oven to let it cook it a little longer. My ears and tapping toes tells me that this version works better. Specifically, I turned up the vocals 1.5 – 2 dB, then used the separated vocal stem to trigger the overlapping frequencies and gently ducked the rest of the music a dB or so. See if that feels closer to what you’re aiming for vocally. I think you’ll find the vocal production work you did with FX is more audible now.
I sat out the disco era but certainly had some good fun messing with your production.
-
Phoebe,
v2 of my voodoo.
Great job on your loudness level! I had to work to make it nearly as loud.
Log in to reply.