15-01-2019, 02:56 PM
Hi davearrowgtr -- nicely open, ambient presentation here. Some issues that occurred to me:
Hopefully those will be some use. Thanks for posting your mix!
- Overall there's seems a little too much lower midrange around 300Hz.
- I like the way the Outro opens up from the final chorus -- nice long-term dynamics there.
- The vocal tone is very scooped, with lots of low end and lots of extreme high-end. A little more true midrange around 1Hz would make it translate better on different systems. The HF fizz also makes the vocal sibilance rather overbearing. Plus there's something amiss with the vocal rhythm at 0:56-1:03.
- I like the tempo delay on the solo guitar, as it adds subtle interest during the sparse arrangement of the verses.
- The kick seems underplayed and lightweight, which makes the Reintro and Outro feel a bit lacking in rhythmic drive. The hi-hat is rather bright too, which brings it a bit too far upfront, and makes some moments a bit spitty.
- Shortening the intro as you have makes good pop sense, in terms of getting to the vocal as early as possible. But the implementation feels disconcerting, because you don't really know where the downbeat is as a listener until well after the vocal's entered. It's almost like the singer's missed his entry, and should have come in with the cymbal hit.
- Those whistles work quite well in the choruses, but it seems like it's unnecessarily gilding the lily a little, because the Hammond and BVs already create plenty of impact at those moments. It's nice to hear those whistles before the Outro, but I'm not sure that's the best place to fly them in.
- I like the Chorus 3 drop-down, especially the tempo-delay guitar and bass interjections, but it does seem to lose momentum when it goes on for so long, so it almost feels like the song's ending early.
Hopefully those will be some use. Thanks for posting your mix!