Mix isn't bad. I don't love the sound of the kick.

On a production note, when you hit that theremin sounding section, kind of disconnects with the rest of the song from a sound perspective. I can't tell you what, but it feels like there is something missing, maybe adding a bass to support the section, not sure. I like the section, I think it is cool, just not quite connecting.

Good tune.

Thx DM60,
Ok I'll look into that. you're talking about the keyboard in intro and end right? I think the kick is too loud

new mix https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/ps6fjmpqrrleol4/Vanish.mp3?dl=0

Sounds great. I could use a bit more vocals. Or maybe just some leveling. In spots vocals are fine but in others a little quiet.

which spots?

vocals seem pretty consistent to me. Final mix candidate https://www.dropbox.com/s/ps6fjmpqrrleol4/Vanish.mp3?dl=0

OK, flow sounds good to me. On a production note, the keyboard sounds a little loud to me (0:10-024). The second time it comes in 1:29 doesn't seem as loud. Increasing the bass really makes the section work in my ears.

I really like the song. Really good job overall.

I like it, it has a catchy hook to it. You multi-tracked the vocal in the chorus yes? - not a harmony effect??

yah that's a lead a double harmony multitracked.

pretty much final mix
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/ps6fjmpqrrleol4/Vanish.mp3?dl=0
48/24 wav for ppl that wanna listen on monitors
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/2u5p2coy0kivdhl/Vanish.wav?dl=0

decided to replace samples with real drums

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/ps6fjmpqrrleol4/Vanish.mp3?dl=0

Much better mix. It breathes nicer, is more open and dynamic. I'd still like to hear more of the lead vocals in the chorus, but that's only a personal preference thing, and not a deal breaker.

Were you using stock royalty free footage for the video? I mention it because the shots look to be professionally done ...
Although the video seems kinda random, in that it looks like you've just sort of thrown a bunch of stock clips together.

I think you should storyboard and shoot your own video, something that supports the song, and gives a visual of what the song is about.
Even if the footage wouldn't perhaps look as high quality in a "commercial" sense, you could do a lot of cool stuff, even using the camera in an iPhone, and you could still throw in some of these stock clips for "accent".

You could probably have a lot of fun doing so. ;)

Just sayin'.

IMHO of course.

Thx Danny. I appreciate all the help you've given me over the years. Mix has come along way. I think the video supports the song all the scenes tie into the lyrics if you know what the song is about.

packrobottom, post: 433963, member: 25321 wrote: I think the video supports the song all the scenes tie into the lyrics if you know what the song is about.

Well, that's kinda the thing... the video is supposed to tell the listener/viewer what the song is about. You know what it's about, because you wrote it - it came from you.

But the rest of us - not so much. So a video that would at least hint to the subject, is better than one that sums it up entirely for you.

I'm not suggesting that you spoon-feed the subject of the song to the viewer; it's good to leave some mystery, some question as to what you mean; but speaking as someone who doesn't know what the song is about, or what motivated you, the video you made using those random clips didn't really clear anything up for me, or really even suggest what the song is about.

Remember, a music video is for other people to "get". You're not the right demographic for that, because you already know what the song is about.

;)

FWIW

DonnyThompson, post: 433996, member: 46114 wrote: Well, that's kinda the thing... the video is supposed to tell the listener/viewer what the song is about. You know what it's about, because you wrote it - it came from you.

But the rest of us - not so much. So a video that would at least hint to the subject, is better than one that sums it up entirely for you.

I'm not suggesting that you spoon-feed the subject of the song to the viewer; it's good to leave some mystery, some question as to what you mean; but speaking as someone who doesn't know what the song is about, or what motivated you, the video you made using those random clips didn't really clear anything up for me, or really even suggest what the song is about.

Remember, a music video is for other people to "get". You're not the right demographic for that, because you already know what the song is about.

;)

FWIW

I will add to this Donny (because it's an excellent point) that the same thing happens in mixing/recording. Our ears hear what they hear, but they also hear what we think or feel to the point of fiction. Your brain fills in the blanks for your ear - this happens lots in lyrics in mixes. I find my brain anticipates or fills in the detail so I think I "heard" the line clearly - but then a friend or someone unfamiliar with the lyric can't hear it at all. Even my mixes in general -- you are in a session and as the mix evolves you hear and feel that it sounds fantastic ---- several days later, disconnected from the emotions of the moment it sounds like shit and you find yourself going "how did I think that was so fantastic yesterday?".

DogsoverLava, post: 434000, member: 48175 wrote: I will add to this Donny (because it's an excellent point) that the same thing happens in mixing/recording. Our ears hear what they hear, but they also hear what we think or feel to the point of fiction. Your brain fills in the blanks for your ear - this happens lots in lyrics in mixes. I find my brain anticipates or fills in the detail so I think I "heard" the line clearly - but then a friend or someone unfamiliar with the lyric can't hear it at all. Even my mixes in general -- you are in a session and as the mix evolves you hear and feel that it sounds fantastic ---- several days later, disconnected from the emotions of the moment it sounds like $*^t and you find yourself going "how did I think that was so fantastic yesterday?".

Agreed. That's always been a problem for people who record and mix their own stuff - I think it falls under the "Objectivity" issues that we all face after hearing a song so many times - that along with the familiarity, comes a more difficult sense of what will work for listeners other than yourself. The more you hear a song, the less objectivity you have, and it decreases with each play; sometimes just a little, sometimes by a lot. I've faced it many, many times myself.

Lyrics are a big part of that, I think... as the writers and performers, and mix engineers, we already know what the words are. To us, they are as plain as day, and because of that familiarity, it can cause us to pull vocals back into a mix, because to our ears, the vocal can sound too hot when it's really not for listeners other than ourselves.

I think that this has been less of a problem in more recent years, because modern mixing trends have not only brought lead vocals more forward in mixes a lot more than what used to be "popular" in mixing patterns, they've also dried up quite a bit, too, allowing for greater definition, and far less difficult to discern.

Take a listen to something from John Mayer, with his vocal tight and up front, and then listen to a Barry Manilow track from the 70's, or almost anything from the 80's, when Lexi reverb ruled the roost, and vocals ( and everything else, too) were swamped with reverb and delay...

It's become more "hip" to leave little to no doubt about what the singer is saying. The lyrics don't always make sense, but you can almost always understand what they're singing. LOL

Oh... and FWIW, I don't think that Pack's song had that issue. Lyrics were very legible, vocals nicely mixed.

great insights guys. Thanks. especially this
"I think that this has been less of a problem in more recent years, because modern mixing trends have not only brought lead vocals more forward in mixes a lot more than what used to be "popular" in mixing patterns, they've also dried up quite a bit, too, allowing for greater definition, and far less difficult to discern."