Entourage Jeremy Roye
EntourageForum Replies Created
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Thanks a million @dana and @JoeRobinson!
Per your advice, I pushed the drums up and vocals down a bit. I liked it and got it mastered by my usual guy; however I’m thinking of getting an alt.
I feel like the beat/snare in particular doesn’t crack or hit like my go to references (PBJ’s Young Folks, Odesza’s Line of Sight, Radiohead’s Lotus Flower).
And I feel like the mix/master sounds a bit mushy. 🙁Any recommendations for getting the snare to crack a bit more?
I can’t tell what frequency it really needs to stick out in the right place, my 6k/7k. Feeling lost.
Any recs would be hugely appreciated!
Thanks,
Jeremy
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Loving this thread of notes and curious to learn more about the chaos to clarity protocol!
More importantly, Joe! Phew, smoking performance and song.
Really nice stuff. Felt like I was back in Texas in some middle of nowhere saloon about to test my grit on a few too many shots of bourbon.
The only thing that caught my ears lines right up with Dana’s notes about the width. Of course his notes are always on the money.
Looking forward to hearing the next mix or master!
Cheers,
Jeremy
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Thanks so much @-PT @JoeRobinson @CMN @dana ! Really appreciate the encouraging words, production tips and tricks, and real talk.
I took your notes to heart as I agreed with most every time I hear the playback.
So I implemented them in this version!
Mostly subtle: vocals up, shorter pre-bridge, beat up a smidge (with more filtering here and there), arp up near the end, synths hit on the 1 in the chorus instead of fade ins.
My goal is not to add anymore bells and whistles at this point. Just hoping the vocal-to-instrumental levels feel right. (hard to hear my own voice sometimes haha).
Better with vocals up or too loud?
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Man, great track and performance! Feels good on the laptop speakers balance wise. Other than Dana’s notes, add some warmth/lows in particular, for me, I’d say it’s ready! Hope to hear this in a film.
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Ah, ok. So it sounds like you might typically get dry and wet stems. I’m trying to get better at printing the wet fx for main stems like vocals but it can be a pain in Ableton to do quickly.
As for BBQ, you are correct! Us Texans do think the meat should be succulent without the sauce, but we still love us some sauce options. At least this saucy-boy does! 🍖🛸
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Loving this thread and process!
It’s like bbq (vegan or otherwise), make it slap with the dry rub and then add the sauce to taste!
Do you ever get vocal stems with already great fx that you then have to approximate if tasty? Or are they typically dry and you sauce to taste?
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Thanks everyone for the kind words, deep listens, and such. I took it all to heart and went a bit ham on the song. Added more poppy bits like harmonies, worked on the levels, learned the Studio version of Melodine to really sync and polish the millions of vocals, and, perhaps most expertly, didn’t leave the mix bus in mono this time like the last one. haha. Good catch, Paul!
Please let me know if there’s anything egregious or stealing the head nod / booty shaking vibe from your listen. (PS: This is not mastered yet just compressed a bit).
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Yo Roy,
Another bangerrrrrr!
Doesn’t need much to my airpods, the track is banging. A few potential tweaks…
Thoughts for depth: put some verb or delay or slapback on the intro synth bass. This is a great underlick, could use a lil’ more vibe.
Lead Vocal feels a hair quiet (hard to understand), especially in the chorus. (Verse 2 is fine). The new Eminem has low vocal volume and it’s a bummer not being able to understand him. So I project that here; I want to hear more of your words more clearly! Maybe just a db or so.
Verse 2 vocal = there’s so much mix space here you could add a fun/subtle-or-not echo that modulates or gives us a different sonic space for the vocal vibe to compliment the change in arrangement.
Primary Hi Hat – feels loud mostly in my left ear which makes me feel weird for some reason, I don’t know why. My brain says ‘make more centered’ perhaps because it’s so instrumental to the energy. But, hey, The Beatles panned the lead and the kick drum so whatever. ha.
On 3rd listen I noticed you have some many dope adlibs and low doubles, I might go with Dana’s “go bold” mix mantra and give us a few in-your-face vocal stack moments – like, turn them up, or turn something else down to let them shine a few times.
Bravo bruv!
J
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Hey y’all! Sorry for the delay on reply. @dana @JLEW
Thank you SO MUCH for the notes and encouragement. You have no idea how much it means.
Especially because I agreed with them all.
Soooo, I’ve been woodshedding on the track (and finally bought and learned Melodyne as Wave Tune was too frustrating). I took all your notes into account and applied more of those pop-fundamental moments, cleaned up the vocals considerably, and even added a tambo!
I applied a faux master but will hand off to mastering. Hoping there’s no distracting pops or vocal bits to carry it to mastering? Whachall think?
Many thanks!
Jeremy -
Ah, yeah! Love this short Tiktok-friendly cover, Paul.
It’s pretty over the top with the tuba in a fun way. haha.
Not sure if you’re looking for feedback or just sharing for fun, but if so… my main note might be to add a little verb, or slap and tape on the vocals. Sounds too pristine to my ears, especially as I’ve listened to the original 5bazillion times.
Compelling recover cover. Not sure the cactus would agree with the message of the song. ha.
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Woohoo, so glad to see this and your montage on the socials! Looks and sounds great, Jesse!
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Hey Paul,
Real nice song. Sorry you lost your singer. This is a must-release.
Love all the instrumental building, especially when that nasty loud and surprising guitar blasts in. I’m here for it!
My main thought might be to add just a touch (or more!) of verb or slap back on the vocal so it sits a bit more in the mix. It feels especially stark in the opening verse where maybe that could add some glue to the organ.
And/or perhaps some low harmonic content under the organ would be nice, such as the guitar could help set up the song up with more energy and glue in the beginning. Otherwise, it’s off to the races after that!
Lastly, everything sounds pretty pristine… maybe adding some tape saturation (like JX37 or RC20) could add some nice analog-ol-timey warmth for the vibe.
Thanks for sharing!
J
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Thanks, Dana! All good! Hope those sessions are going swimmingly.
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Thanks for the airpod walk-n-listen, Dana! That’s kinda the ultimate test, right?
And I love that tip. I mean, I do my best to make sure the vocal is loud enough broadly, but after hearing something a million times one can lose site of the trees for the forest.
I’ve never thought to qc the entrances. And it needed it! So I went back and added a touch of gain here and there in some of the sections so the vocals popped. Woohoo! 🙏
Really appreciate your guidance and support on this one. Feels good to finally let this track fly with confidence.
Thanks everybody!
Jeremy
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Paul, haha, yes. I of course appreciate the notes, encouragement, and pop-centric muses. But, man, in addition to making music, you might consider getting into reviewing music or writing publicly (if you don’t already), love the surreal turns with a touch of Vonnegut humor. Thanks as always for the listen and suggestions. I have been listening to this song for a quarter of my life and decided to leave the oh oh count as is (mostly due to exasperation), but glad that you enjoyed them happening more. Kept those!
🙏