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[MEDIA=soundcloud]our-peace/we-need-you-wo-tr[/MEDIA]

I'm still growing as a musician and I will gladly welcome advice on this song and how to master it.

https://recording.o…

We need the message from up above
we need the message from God
We need the message from somewhere else
because we can’t do this by ourselves
praise your grace
praise your ways
always
Now that we have the seed
of faith
open up our hearts
now that we have the strength
of Him
shine bright like starts
praise your grace
praise your ways
always
always we can come to you
your listening
Yeweh It’s your ways
I’m praising
every day’s a chance for redemption yeah
yesterdays mistakes don’t need
to matter nah
Take the weight off your back
no man can take that
no way to get back
this street is one track
to get there
and Jesus made it fair
x2
We need the message from up above
we need the message from God
We need the message from somewhere else
because we can’t do this by ourselves
praise your grace
praise your ways
always
x2
Now that we have the seed
of faith
open up our hearts
now that we have the strength
of Him
shine bright like stars
praise your grace
praise your ways
always

Attached files We need You W:O TR.mp3 (3.9 MB) 

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Comments

Colin Mon, 01/13/2020 - 12:28

We need the message from up above
we need the message from God
We need the message from somewhere else
because we can’t do this by ourselves
praise your grace
praise your ways
always
Now that we have the seed
of faith
open up our hearts
now that we have the strength
of Him
shine bright like starts
praise your grace
praise your ways
always
always we can come to you
your listening
Yeweh It’s your ways
I’m praising
every day’s a chance for redemption yeah
yesterdays mistakes don’t need
to matter nah
Take the weight off your back
no man can take that
no way to get back
this street is one track
to get there
and Jesus made it fair
x2
We need the message from up above
we need the message from God
We need the message from somewhere else
because we can’t do this by ourselves
praise your grace
praise your ways
always
x2
Now that we have the seed
of faith
open up our hearts
now that we have the strength
of Him
shine bright like starts
praise your grace
praise your ways
always

DogsoverLava Tue, 01/14/2020 - 01:19

I'd call this mix - "experimental" and it reminds me of some stuff coming out of the UK in around 79 (like The Specials). It's also got some Fishbone elements with those crazy horns....

Those left and right panned vocals are hard to listen to though - and the center guitar doesn't float on top like you want -- it's weighed down quite a bit....I'd try to lighten it up - carve out some of the lower frequencies in the EQ and maybe add a bit more of a delay or even subtle phasing to get it to float more - I dunno - what do you think?. It's also very hot for a mix so I had to really dial it back in my studio.

You could clean it up if you were serious about this and see it through. I think you might get some pushback on the culture side of things if you were hoping to release this to an audience - you're singing in character here which is borderline "blackface" although as a creator I get that you are basically trying on clothes and playing dress-up a bit with musical forms - which from a creative side can be fun and experimental - but those kinds of experiments are not so well received these days - considered cultural appropriation.

Pretty cool and wacky though -- the Chili Peppers have done stuff like this too. Good luck with it.

DogsoverLava Tue, 01/14/2020 - 14:41

It's mixed too hot and the guitar is too loud and abrasive - and there's just no cohesion tying together.... it's a mess in many different regards - like a carnival --- but the song itself and the idea of it isn't bad - there's are some cool things here but it's hard to know if you are seriously trying to put this together as a mix or a song or if you are just back door proselytizing.

You are in no way ready to "Master" this -- you need to tame it and get control of it first. At this point I think you should mute the vocals and work on the mix without them - they are an enormous distraction... you need to sort your levels out - get some semblance of control (and develop a strategy) over your gain staging -- get this thing sounding good and interesting as an instrumental first --- you might even need to do some re-tracking. Build the mix starting with the drum and bass....

bouldersound Tue, 01/14/2020 - 16:11

It does seem a bit disjointed from timing and tonal perspectives.

I listened on my Sennheiser HD280 Pro headphones, which aren't perfectly flat, but my impression was that the kick seems super scooped and clicky and things were kind of jangly. The reverb/delay was very garage-y on the vocal and to a lesser extent on the guitar while the horns seemed dry (or the reverb is just too short on them). The snare and hihats are buried, which is probably not right if you're going for a classic reggae sound. The bass seems a bit low.

Get the kick/snare/hihats/vocal all working together like a machine. I think the kick would be better with a bit less of that deep low end and with the click subdued. If it's scooped at 200Hz or so, dial that back up a bit. Snare and hihats should be present, barely behind the vocal. The snare seems to need more crack, perhaps a bit of reverb. The vocal in your mix sounds a bit lacking in meat, low mids. Are you doubling it? Turn one take down, or compress it harder or low pass it around 2kHz, perhaps a combination.

Once those are done, add the bass. Bring it up so it and the kick work together, with the kick being the attack and the bass being the sustain. I'd consider giving the bass a bit more definition. That could be anywhere from 400Hz to 2kHz.

Now bring in the other instruments. In your mix that dark rhythm guitar sort of steps on things. I feel like you could scoop out a little midrange, on the lower end, but not so much that it thins out too much. The jangly guitar just needs to go back in the mix, maybe get that jangly stuff toned down. Once it's back in the mix it might be a good candidate for more reverb.

With that done, bring in the horns and keys. They don't have to be on top of the mix when they come in, just present enough so the listener knows they're there. I'd drop them back whenever there are lyrics, with the possible exception of repetitions.

But that just addresses mixing. I'd think about retracking to tighten up the timing and clean up the arrangement. It might be worth putting more skank into the guitar part. I mean, if you're going to go reggae you might as well go all the way.

LarryQualm2 Sat, 01/18/2020 - 00:46

My first guess is that you are using an amp modeler for the guitar - it's harsh and artificial sounding. Also, too loud. To me everything else is just a matter of taste - not anything glaring out needing serious "correction". The stereo guitar is killing it though. You need a real amp (maybe tube).

This is based on the SoundCloud track.