Mixing soft Piano+Vocal (Norah Jones - like)

[Reset85]

Up!

[alexvdbroek]

NIce. A good start. I would try a different EQ approach on both instruments. I think they could both be better.

A.

[Aint Nobody]

Too thin (too much eq) on the vocal. With a more natural vocal sound, it can be louder without biting. As it is, vocal has bite, but overall level taken over by piano.

A lot of that old stuff had the vocal MUCH louder in comparison.

[Led Music]

Dude I thought it sounded pretty good. I liked the piano.
I did find though that they didn't sit well with each other.
Maybe this has to do with the fx.
Maybe try putting them through the same reverb. Not a lot but just something that can make them sound like they are together.
I found the vocals a little unnatural sounding as well. Possibly a little too much eq. I thought the vocals as well could be automated a little better. There's a few parts where her vocal just snuck back a little too far and i had to go searching for her voice.

[Reset85]

Great info guys, thank you all!
So, I suppose the problem with the over-EQ on the vocals is in the 5k-10k range, right? Too bright?

I will try to put the piano and the vocals through the same reverb for sure.

My dilemma is always the same: how can I achieve a pleasant and smooth mix with very little reverb as the reference track that I put in my first post without sounding harsh and biting?

A technical question: when mixing a duo as in this case, is it wise to spread the piano completely wide open +100/-100 on the stereofield? Or would it make more sense (would it sound more natural) to "focus" the piano for example +80/-80 and leave the extremes for the reverbs?

[Led Music]

Hey,
As far as which frequencies on her vocal it jut seems like too much low end was cut from her vocals.
And the mid range seems a little funky at times. 5-10k may need a little tweaking too, but I'd say it's more givin her some low end back in her vocals.
As far as how wide the keys should be, try out both. See what works.
As far as reverb, I liked how your track wasn't swimming in verb.
I think maybe just like a slight emt 250 style might work, but fiddle around. Not a lot, just enough to give them a sense of unity