Folk song with an amazing voice

[luctellier]

Hey guys,

I know I usually post more pop, rock, pop/punk or metal projects but here's a song I produced, recorded, mixed and mastered for a young folk artist I've been developing for the past few years. I think it has an amazing voice and he's simply one of the best human being to work with. He released an EP on iTunes (link here) that we co-wrote last year but this time he's taking a new approach and he's going in a softer folk direction which fits perfectly with his voice I think. I'm really curious to know if you guys like it as much as I do so let me know your comments!

http://soundcloud.com/ltellier/jeffreypiton/s-BxIf7

Thanks
LT

[Craig Lackie]

Amazing mix; Reminds me of Ed Sheeran vocally, but far superior, as are the mixes. What did you use on the vocals in terms of software/hardware? Love the drums on this as well, you really do make some great mixes; Took a listen to the stuff on your site, really great work.

[luctellier]

Originally Posted by Craig Lackie

Amazing mix; Reminds me of Ed Sheeran vocally, but far superior, as are the mixes. What did you use on the vocals in terms of software/hardware? Love the drums on this as well, you really do make some great mixes; Took a listen to the stuff on your site, really great work.

Hey Craig,

For the vocals, I used a Groove Tubes GT67 microphone with a Vintech X73i and a Universal Audio 1176. During the mix, I used a SSL EQ.

I'll be recording his new album during the 2nd week of February!

Thank you very much for listening to my work!

LT

[Andreas Leonhard]

Originally Posted by luctellier

Hey guys,

I know I usually post more pop, rock, pop/punk or metal projects but here's a song I produced, recorded, mixed and mastered for a young folk artist I've been developing for the past few years. I think it has an amazing voice and he's simply one of the best human being to work with. He released an EP on iTunes (link here) that we co-wrote last year but this time he's taking a new approach and he's going in a softer folk direction which fits perfectly with his voice I think. I'm really curious to know if you guys like it as much as I do so let me know your comments!

http://soundcloud.com/ltellier/jeffreypiton/s-BxIf7

Thanks
LT

Hi...don´t want to hurt your feelings but to my ears the mix is far away from being a great one by now.

The are various issues. I miss clarity , depth and all in all it is sounding horrible disorted the most time (totally overuse of limiting). Sorry that´s my opinion.

[KGS]

The organ that comes in at 0:55 should be louder I think. It's almost annoying in how quiet it is at that point.

[luctellier]

Originally Posted by Andreas Leonhard

Hi...don´t want to hurt your feelings but to my ears the mix is far away from being a great one by now.

The are various issues. I miss clarity , depth and all in all it is sounding horrible disorted the most time (totally overuse of limiting). Sorry that´s my opinion.

Andreas, it takes much than that to hurt my feelings! Opinions are like tastes and people have different ones. I'm a longtime Gearslutz users and believe me, I've seen it all. It happened often that I posted some of my mixes and they was dozens of amazing comments and one person would chyme in and say that the mix was an "absolute mess" and that it doesn't sound great. I simply replied "thanks for listening" because that's what I honestly thought.

Everyone has its own opinion and totally respect that. The comment right above yours was basically saying the total opposite of what you were saying... Different stroke for different folks!

Originally Posted by KGS

The organ that comes in at 0:55 should be louder I think. It's almost annoying in how quiet it is at that point.

When I mixed the song with the artist, we wanted in the background just to add texture. We didn't want the organ to be a 'feature' of the song. I noticed that you're an organ player..

[luctellier]

By the way, you guys made me notice that the link I posted here was taken from Soundcloud which was a teaser made from a MP3 so I uploaded the full version of the song in high quality.

[couch11]

There is waaaaaay too much compression going on in this mix. And the vocal does sound like it is distorting. But it does have all the elements to be a really good mix.

[Andreas G]

Originally Posted by couch11

There is waaaaaay too much compression going on in this mix.

What specifically do you find over compressed? Just curious.

To me it sounds very good and it is really well done.
Luc, did you use a multiband compressor on the stereo buss? Again just curious.

Cheers,
Andreas

[luctellier]

Originally Posted by Andreas G

What specifically do you find over compressed? Just curious.

To me it sounds very good and it is really well done.
Luc, did you use a multiband compressor on the stereo buss? Again just curious.

Cheers,
Andreas

Andreas,

The only compression I used was on the way in:

Acoustic guitar: 2-3dB 1176 4:1
Upright bass: 4-6db Distressor 3:1
Vocals: 6-7dB 1176 4:1

In the mix, I only used SSL EQ and no further compression. On the mix buss, API 2500 with about 1-2dB at 2:1.

We wanted a gritty & saturated sound for this song. Some people will like it, some others won't. I'm fine with that and I respect everyone's opinion.

I must admit that the guitars and vocals might sound too compressed. I remember having a hard time recording the acoustic guitar because he was playing way too soft in finger picking, something he wasn't really used to do. We had to crank the preamp Vintech a lot and there was way too much dynamic in his playing... We tried different mics and different compressor settings and that's the best we could do.

[couch11]

Originally Posted by luctellier

I must admit that the guitars and vocals might sound too compressed. I remember having a hard time recording the acoustic guitar because he was playing way too soft in finger picking, something he wasn't really used to do. We had to crank the preamp Vintech a lot and there was way too much dynamic in his playing... We tried different mics and different compressor settings and that's the best we could do.

Recording acoustic guitar with a player who isn't use to a particular style can be a royal PITA. It's one of those moments in life that you question your recording skill. I've been through several of those moments. The player is so much of the sound that if they are not use to a playing style, it just makes life that much harder.

[Andreas G]

Thanks Luc for the run down!

The acoustics sounds definitely compressed but not in a bad way or over the top. A matter of taste thing I guess. More importantly the song and the production do have a certain vibe. Perhaps I'd would have gone even more dirty here and there but then I'm not in the position to give you any advices.

Hey, no risk no fun! It's all good :)

[luctellier]

Originally Posted by couch11

Recording acoustic guitar with a player who isn't use to a particular style can be a royal PITA. It's one of those moments in life that you question your recording skill. I've been through several of those moments. The player is so much of the sound that if they are not use to a playing style, it just makes life that much harder.

Well, I couldn't agree more. I usually need 5 min to set up an acoustic guitar.. That time, it took more than a hour and I was still unsastified because we were losing tons of details because of his uncontrolled dynamic playing.

Check out the song 'The Building' by artist Elliot Maginot on my website in the Music / Folk section. My best acoustic tone I ever recorded and it was all done in an hour and a half.

[brianellefson]

I'd like to make a few comments on this one ...

In no particular order of importance:

I like the mix a lot up to about 1:16 when the chorus starts. I agree with the other guy that talked of distortion in the mix. It kinda sounds like tape saturation, but "scratchier" if that makes any sense.

I think the choices on panning and general EQ are very nice. The song itself is good and the production and choice of instrumentation is very good, too. My only real peeve is that the chorus and louder parts of the song seem too pushed.

BUT ... at the end of the day ... our ears are much better and much more critical than the average listener ... who will listen to the mix and simply decide whether or not they like the song.

[luctellier]

Originally Posted by brianellefson

I'd like to make a few comments on this one ...

In no particular order of importance:

I like the mix a lot up to about 1:16 when the chorus starts. I agree with the other guy that talked of distortion in the mix. It kinda sounds like tape saturation, but "scratchier" if that makes any sense.

I think the choices on panning and general EQ are very nice. The song itself is good and the production and choice of instrumentation is very good, too. My only real peeve is that the chorus and louder parts of the song seem too pushed.

BUT ... at the end of the day ... our ears are much better and much more critical than the average listener ... who will listen to the mix and simply decide whether or not they like the song.

Thanks for your comments!

[krheatman]

Originally Posted by luctellier

We wanted a gritty & saturated sound for this song. Some people will like it, some others won't.

Sound's amazing.

Sounds great on headphones.

I get that gritty sound on my Nord for organ.Luv it.

What did you use to overdrive the whole mix?I know you can do it with the UAD Studer plugin.And I can do it with my Studer.

[JulianFernandez]

Good stuff man! Keep it coming!

[luctellier]

Originally Posted by krheatman

Sound's amazing.

Sounds great on headphones.

I get that gritty sound on my Nord for organ.Luv it.

What did you use to overdrive the whole mix?I know you can do it with the UAD Studer plugin.And I can do it with my Studer.

Thanks man! The saturation/overdrive you guys are hearing (that some like and other dislike) is coming from Vintech and the 1176 during the tracking AND the API 2500 during the mixing / mastering.

[luctellier]

Originally Posted by JulianFernandez

Good stuff man! Keep it coming!

Thanks man! Many new songs on my website in the music section and also on my Soundcloud!

[luctellier]

Hey guys,

Here's a video I made for a live acoustic performance of this same song!



It was recorded with a Shure SM7b and a Presonus Firebox in one take. Wanted to captured his performance in a natural way, without any further processing.

Hope you guys like it!

Thanks
LT
--
LucTellier.com – Producer / Mixer / Sound Engineer

[NYCruiser]

Is that the firebox pre hissing like that?

[luctellier]

Originally Posted by NYCruiser

Is that the firebox pre hissing like that?

Of course it is! haha! A SM7b needs so much gain and then record outside with a Presonus and that's what you get! We didn't care that much about the audio quality to be honest. We made that for fun but it turned out kinda good so we were happy with it! We didn't want to record the audio in studio because it wouldn't have made sense...

[NYCruiser]

You could hit it with Rx and take the hiss off. The performance is great otherwise.

[alexvdbroek]

The song could go up a major second or minor 3rd so the singer can get those low notes.

A.