Everybody Knows

Leonard Cohen cover

I knocked this out as a test of my new laptop home recording system. My friend Sharon sang the harmonies, I did the rest. This is my first time doing mix-down by myself. Please feel free to offer suggestions for improving the mix.

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posted by tdismukes (8 comments total)

Hey, right on, great song. On headphones the lead vocal sounded a bit high and bright, but on monitors while adding just a touch of bass, it sounded great! I can't wait to read more comments, but for a first go, this sounds really good to me.
posted by snsranch at 6:26 PM on November 28, 2007

Great choice. I love L. Cohen. My thoughts on the mix:

The guitar on the right sounds panned further than the one on the left, making the mix sound a little lopsided. I'd consider not panning so hard, or maybe putting a little delay or verb from the right guitar in the left channel.

The placement of the two vocals was a little odd, with the backing vocal sounding more upfront than the lead due to the relative dryness. I think I'd wet down the backing vocal, maybe compress it some more, and lower the level a little.

It sounded good though!
posted by ludwig_van at 10:52 PM on November 28, 2007

Thanks for the feedback. Ludwig_van, I tried doing a mix tweaked to your suggestions and it seemed to come out pretty well.
posted by tdismukes at 11:43 AM on November 29, 2007

One of my favorite songs ever, and you did it justice. This sounds a lot like how Leonard would have done it if he weren't in his synth phase at the time. And it kicks Rufus Wainwright's version's ass.
posted by Saellys at 12:49 PM on November 29, 2007

Poking my head in to say: lovely voice, and I'm excited to see where you go with it. When you've got your new repertoire sorted, post more!!
posted by Pallas Athena at 6:39 PM on November 30, 2007

It's got a late Beatles twinge to it, too, at times. Nicely done.
posted by ORthey at 9:43 PM on November 30, 2007

This is very clean and well-arranged -- you do Mr. Cohen fans proud. I agree about the vocals being a bit bright, and ludwig's advice about panning.
posted by spiderskull at 3:37 AM on December 1, 2007

I think this sounds wonderful with great harmonies. I agree that the lead vocals sound a little "out front" in some way but really it's very great and sparse.
posted by jessamyn at 3:18 PM on December 31, 2007