15-11-2012, 02:32 PM
I'm happy with lots of vocal reverb on a track like this, but I think you could get an airier result for this song if you EQ'd the reverb return a bit more -- there's a low mid-range resonance in one of your vocal effects that's adding an unwelcome trace of woolliness to the tone, and pulling Jay away from the listener, especially later in the song.
The vocal levels probably need a bit of extra work too, in that vein. Get hold of something like and Auratone and listen in mono to really nail this down. Everything hangs on the vocal in a pop ballad like this, so you can't afford to let the listener lose anything.
Another thing that strikes me is that I think you're relying a bit too heavily on the pads for warmth here, rather than working hard enough to pull warmth and fullness out of the guitar parts. Apart from anything, too much pad synth quickly dates a song to the 80s most of the time. Get busy with EQ and automation to keep the pads to the level when they can be felt rather than heard -- that's usually my rule of thumb.
The vocal levels probably need a bit of extra work too, in that vein. Get hold of something like and Auratone and listen in mono to really nail this down. Everything hangs on the vocal in a pop ballad like this, so you can't afford to let the listener lose anything.
Another thing that strikes me is that I think you're relying a bit too heavily on the pads for warmth here, rather than working hard enough to pull warmth and fullness out of the guitar parts. Apart from anything, too much pad synth quickly dates a song to the 80s most of the time. Get busy with EQ and automation to keep the pads to the level when they can be felt rather than heard -- that's usually my rule of thumb.