opinion on this rap track (mixing)

[beatzz]

Hey guys, could i have some mix and production tips on this track?

It seems ok, but not really "there yet". I can't put my finger on it but it just

seems something is lacking. Can anyone give me specific mix or prodcution tips on this one?


Thanks!

[heathen]

It was mono,apart from that it sounds pretty good.

[Big 3rd]

Vocals are a tad bit too low.

IMHO I think you got to tighten up on the flow and delivery.

Really, it just sounds like that first song that good artists don't like anyone to hear because it kinda has a novice quality about it.

I'm not trying to tear you down or anything, I just want to be perfectly honest with you.
I mean.... are you making music with the intensions of selling it or are you doing it for just hobbie? I'm not asking this to be funny either. I just truly feel that you have a couple more years before you will be ready. I only say that because if you are letting possibly thousands of people hear your production, then you must feel you are fairly close to coming up with a competitive product. And if you do feel that way, then I would suggest you to wait til you get a little more mature in your production.

But, before you do that, you have to have the ear for what is competitive and what is not and most importantly, why. If you don't have this gift, then you will never produce, write, rap, or engineer at a level that can compete.

I truly wish the best of luck to you. Remember, time and ambition usually dissolves these issues, anyway.

[beatzz]

Hey! I agree 100% with everything you said.

I'm the mixer, so there's not too much i can do about his flow or delivery. But in-terms of the mixing did you think that i did the song justice?

I would really, really hate to give a song to this artist, who put their faith in me to mix, and if the public does not think it is mixed right....... I will mix it until i get it right.

I will try and fix up the low-end and will definetly bring the vocals up.

Thank you for being honest about the production! You are right!

[Lawrence]

I like the concept. The sample is really cool.

Like was already said vocals need more to be more intelligible. Not necesarily turned up but just heard better. That could be done by cutting some eq in the vocal range of the track and boosting some mids in the vocals. It's hard to say though.

Nice.

Lawrence

[heathen]

To improve vocal delivery usually i'll keep pulling down the vocal rtn track in the headphones mix until the singer/rapper is starting to bring thier vocal level up because they can't hear themselves properly,then I stop bringing it down when i"m satisfied with the level of thier vox and give them just enough level to work with.Usually that will make them have a better delivery because they won't feel nervous hearing thier vox slamming back at them,people will usually open up if they are quieter in the headphone mix. There is heaps an engineer can do to improve a performance.Cause and effect.It's worth a go.

[Stoneface]

Originally Posted by heathen

To improve vocal delivery usually i'll keep pulling down the vocal rtn track in the headphones mix until the singer/rapper is starting to bring thier vocal level up because they can't hear themselves properly,then I stop bringing it down when i"m satisfied with the level of thier vox and give them just enough level to work with.Usually that will make them have a better delivery because they won't feel nervous hearing thier vox slamming back at them,people will usually open up if they are quieter in the headphone mix. There is heaps an engineer can do to improve a performance.Cause and effect.It's worth a go.

This trick has worked numerous times on artists I've recorded.

[blayz2002]

Ok the hook is nice, I would add some more Piano or Strings to it at the next octave up to add more tension to the Hook.

The Rap vocal needs quite heavy comp (low threshold, slow attack and release, but high ratio) so you can pull it up more in the mix. either that or strip the mix back to the Drums Bass and Vox bring the Vox out (maybe cutting lower mids) and then add in the other instruments but making sure the Vox is the lead sound at the mo.. it's the Piano's in the verses that take the lead. Other than that yeah not sure if there is no stereo image on the track or it's just the MP3 is Mono?