Jamie
Baron/Baroness of EvThreads
Posts: 58
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Post by Jamie on Aug 19, 2017 18:02:57 GMT -5
Earlier today I was messing around with this song, I layered the Fallen vocals over the Synthesis version and then the Synthesis vocals over the Fallen version and it pretty much confirmed how I feel about the new vocals. I don't like them. It's not how it's sung, but more to do with how it was mixed/recorded etc. I ADORE the Fallen vocals with this version, but the new vocals fell flat with both. It really is a shame. I'm just hoping the vocals are better for the rest of the album.
Fallen through to Ev3 vocals were recorded with Neumann U47s, very famous and lovely microphones. (No idea about Origin or before, there are no photos from back then lol). Lots and lots of warmth there.
However, Synthesis vocals were recorded with a different mic (a Neumann U87, I think, from photos). That, and a different chain of complex processing. Engineering crap aside, it really made a huge difference to the recorded outcome.
The new vocals sounds really cold/flat and harsh (you lose a lot of the warmth that the other mic gave). BUT, in this case, it really provides a different creative angle on the song which I actually really enjoyed. The different style of recording actually really suits the character of the song I think, and takes the darkness to a new level entirely.
I don't think the style is that much due to Amy's voice maturing. If you listen to the Even In Death (2016), the new solo stuff, or even a live show you don't hear the same darkness as in Synthesis.
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roy
Baron/Baroness of EvThreads
Posts: 50
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Post by roy on Aug 19, 2017 21:50:33 GMT -5
Not sure if this is the place to share it, I just figured some might be interested. The ones that said they like the vocals but they really didn't like the instrumentation. I put the Fallen instrumentation to the synthesis vocals. I kept one little part from synthesis that I liked and also kept the ending of synthesis drive.google.com/file/d/0B44wuHnFA1ATSl9LZlBpb0JvbkE/view?usp=drivesdkWow, I really like it. Where did you get an acapella of the Synthesis version that clean?
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dekker87
Baron/Baroness of EvThreads
Posts: 109
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Post by dekker87 on Aug 19, 2017 23:12:53 GMT -5
Not sure if this is the place to share it, I just figured some might be interested. The ones that said they like the vocals but they really didn't like the instrumentation. I put the Fallen instrumentation to the synthesis vocals. I kept one little part from synthesis that I liked and also kept the ending of synthesis drive.google.com/file/d/0B44wuHnFA1ATSl9LZlBpb0JvbkE/view?usp=drivesdkWow, I really like it. Where did you get an acapella of the Synthesis version that clean? Thanks. It took some time because of the tempo change. And I got the a capella from YouTube.
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Post by Rarkphoenix on Aug 20, 2017 2:45:04 GMT -5
Jamie I think you've nailed it with it being mostly due to the mics. To my untrained ear it did just sound thinner and 'strained', but listening to it back with what you and Danny said in mind that makes a lot more sense. It's a colder, more clinical kind of metallic sound than I'm used to hearing from Amy's voice. With that in mind and money being no object I think it would have been really cool to have the choruses done with the original, warmer sounding mic and the verses with the one they did use. I think with this version being a lot more stripped down than the original in places, a bit of warmth in the vocals wouldn't go amiss to round out the sound a bit more when it builds and the colder sound on the vocals in the verses adding to the fragility and subtely here (as it does brilliantly). I guess the risk would be that it would sound too different between each section/mic so it would sound miss-matched, but theoretically speaking I feel like this may have been better (no idea how you'd go about mixing it though). All in all though I love it. I just sometimes wish I could listen to things innocently without taking them apart in my head. The first listen was amazing because I wasn't thinking too much about it or overanalysing the components, it was just a beautiful experience.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Aug 20, 2017 4:49:25 GMT -5
Just my two cents:
1. I love Amy's vocals and the orchestra. It gives a new look to the song we all know for a long time. 2. I hope they put the piano intro there and I don't know what to feel about the electronic parts. Maybe I'm gonna adjust a bit for it when time comes.
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Post by FallenEvArmy on Aug 20, 2017 7:13:37 GMT -5
Not sure if this is the place to share it, I just figured some might be interested. The ones that said they like the vocals but they really didn't like the instrumentation. I put the Fallen instrumentation to the synthesis vocals. I kept one little part from synthesis that I liked and also kept the ending of synthesis drive.google.com/file/d/0B44wuHnFA1ATSl9LZlBpb0JvbkE/view?usp=drivesdkWow, I really like it. Where did you get an acapella of the Synthesis version that clean? I was the person that made that acapella, it's on my YT channel FallenEvArmy. But if it's blocked in your country, let me know and I'll add to another site so you can listen. (No downloads involved, Mods, I promise!)
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Post by fartheraway on Aug 20, 2017 8:57:06 GMT -5
Wow, I really like it. Where did you get an acapella of the Synthesis version that clean? I was the person that made that acapella, it's on my YT channel FallenEvArmy. But if it's blocked in your country, let me know and I'll add to another site so you can listen. (No downloads involved, Mods, I promise!) Can I ask how you made the acapella version? I consider myself very well versed in music production but didn't know you could do it so cleanly!
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Post by FallenEvArmy on Aug 20, 2017 9:19:25 GMT -5
I was the person that made that acapella, it's on my YT channel FallenEvArmy. But if it's blocked in your country, let me know and I'll add to another site so you can listen. (No downloads involved, Mods, I promise!) Can I ask how you made the acapella version? I consider myself very well versed in music production but didn't know you could do it so cleanly! Neither am I really, it was just luck. I already knew the theory behind how to do it, but I've never had the opportunity to try it because the tracks have never been available to do so. Basically, you need the song and the instrumental (in their original format, they cannot be converted in any other way, they need to be completely untouched) so I took them both straight from iTunes and loaded them into an audio editing software. If they're truly the same, they will line up perfectly. Then you invert the instrumental and that cancels out all the music in the song except for the vocals because they aren't present in the instrumental. It worked but it came out crackly, so by luck I tried using the built in vocal isolation tool and that removed the crackling sound and that gave me the acapella that put on YT. Believe me, I was just as surprised as you!
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Post by fartheraway on Aug 20, 2017 11:44:44 GMT -5
Ahhh of course, I forgot there was the instrumental version haha. That's helpful, thanks. I hope there are instrumentals released of the entire album!
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Jamie
Baron/Baroness of EvThreads
Posts: 58
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Post by Jamie on Aug 20, 2017 11:48:14 GMT -5
Jamie I think you've nailed it with it being mostly due to the mics. To my untrained ear it did just sound thinner and 'strained', but listening to it back with what you and Danny said in mind that makes a lot more sense. It's a colder, more clinical kind of metallic sound than I'm used to hearing from Amy's voice. With that in mind and money being no object I think it would have been really cool to have the choruses done with the original, warmer sounding mic and the verses with the one they did use. I think with this version being a lot more stripped down than the original in places, a bit of warmth in the vocals wouldn't go amiss to round out the sound a bit more when it builds and the colder sound on the vocals in the verses adding to the fragility and subtely here (as it does brilliantly). I guess the risk would be that it would sound too different between each section/mic so it would sound miss-matched, but theoretically speaking I feel like this may have been better (no idea how you'd go about mixing it though). All in all though I love it. I just sometimes wish I could listen to things innocently without taking them apart in my head. The first listen was amazing because I wasn't thinking too much about it or overanalysing the components, it was just a beautiful experience. That's the curse of having trained ears! I've also gotten to the point where I can hear microphone gating on practically every TV show/film, and the hiss is the most distracting thing ever...
You're right about a bit of warmth, even if just in the chorus. Most people wouldn't notice it too much - if they double mic'd when recording the vocals then the transitional change could be much smoother. The backing vocals around 2:10 onwards seem to have a bit more warmth.
You could probably EQ and reverb the vocals post-recording to get a somewhat similar effect.
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Post by FallenEvArmy on Aug 20, 2017 12:08:14 GMT -5
Ahhh of course, I forgot there was the instrumental version haha. That's helpful, thanks. I hope there are instrumentals released of the entire album! I do too, especially since Amy herself has spoken so fondly of the music. It would be a shame not to allow us the option of hearing the arrangements without the vocals. That's how I was able to fully appreciate it. I wasn't able to do so with the vocals obstructing the music. And selfishly, it will allow us to make acapellas of all the songs too
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Post by Lycrymosa on Aug 21, 2017 15:08:38 GMT -5
Just my two cents: 1. I love Amy's vocals and the orchestra. It gives a new look to the song we all know for a long time. 2. I hope they put the piano intro there and I don't know what to feel about the electronic parts. Maybe I'm gonna adjust a bit for it when time comes. I've noticed a few people mention about the piano part. The demo version of BMTL does not have the piano part, it has a more electronic intro which you can kind of hear in the Synthesis version which makes me believe that Amy is using this opportunity to release the songs the way she's always wanted to release them without someone telling her what to do or that it needs to sound a certain way. Some of the Ev3 songs are probably going to sound similar to the way they intended to sound on the Lillywhite record and I wouldn't be surprised if one or both of the new songs are songs from the Lillywhite record.
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Post by fatality789 on Aug 21, 2017 16:26:49 GMT -5
The fact that I like the most about it (and about any song that I heard multiple versions from) is that she sings some parts slightly differently, and this refreshes the song completely. For example, I am in love with the part of the bridge where she sings "Only you..." These things feel good on my brain.
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Psypher
Baron/Baroness of EvThreads
Posts: 301
Gender: Male
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Post by Psypher on Aug 21, 2017 16:29:25 GMT -5
Just my two cents: 1. I love Amy's vocals and the orchestra. It gives a new look to the song we all know for a long time. 2. I hope they put the piano intro there and I don't know what to feel about the electronic parts. Maybe I'm gonna adjust a bit for it when time comes. I've noticed a few people mention about the piano part. The demo version of BMTL does not have the piano part, it has a more electronic intro which you can kind of hear in the Synthesis version which makes me believe that Amy is using this opportunity to release the songs the way she's always wanted to release them without someone telling her what to do or that it needs to sound a certain way. Some of the Ev3 songs are probably going to sound similar to the way they intended to sound on the Lillywhite record and I wouldn't be surprised if one or both of the new songs are songs from the Lillywhite record. I think it would be really cool if we got to hear 1 or 2 more of those songs. I still wish that this evolved into something. It's short but I love it.
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My Last Breath
Baron/Baroness of EvThreads
As much as it hurts, ain’t it wonderful to feel?
Posts: 124
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Post by My Last Breath on Aug 22, 2017 1:23:24 GMT -5
Imagine if she dropped Perfect dream on us next month as the new single!
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