Desperado - Eagles(Please comment on the mix also)

[aravindmadis]

Hi Folks.. This is my "Go-to" song whenever I go to a Karaoke bar.. This is not the toughest song I have attempted, but I just had to record a version of this song since I love this song so much!!

Ronws, I found your tips on mixing very useful. I have followed your guidelines.. Think this is a better mix.. Let me know if you spot something..

[Clint Torres]

I liked this. I've heard a couple of your recordings in the last few days and I have to say you have a pleasant voice and sing well. However there is something I noticed in all of your recordings and I can't quite put my finger on what it is. I want to say that the sound is sort of pinched (?). Somehow it isn't full sounding. Maybe bring the note down more? (sorry....I lack the ability to explain it on text). Open the throat? Allow more sound out of the mouth? A rounder note perhaps. I want to hear a fuller more ringing sound. Right now I am forced to think you just got an inhale of helium and are just barely starting to feel the effects. You are bordering on moving to a mickey mouse sound. Does it make sense? It's very little. but to my ears it's there. But the singing is still very good :)

[ronws]

I think you did fine, Aravind. I think it is as good as the original. And that is not easy to say. Don Henley, who sang so much for the Eagles, including this song is local to me, from Dallas, Texas. And the north Texas accent is so difficult to replicate that even trained actors have a problem with it. Because it is not as deep as most people think it is.

Anyway, no, you don't have the accent of Don, here, but most of it, you sound american. The american sound, especially Don's, is a bit lazy on the consonants and yours are a bit defined. As are mine.

I was born in California and lived there until I was 10, before moving to Texas. Even though I have been here in Texas for 40 years, this month, people can listen to me and say "You're not from Texas, are you?" Or, "Where are you from?"

So, don't feel bad. Feel good. You did really well on this song and I think you conveyed the emotion and story of the song, just fine.

[aravindmadis]

I liked this. I've heard a couple of your recordings in the last few days and I have to say you have a pleasant voice and sing well. However there is something I noticed in all of your recordings and I can't quite put my finger on what it is. I want to say that the sound is sort of pinched (?). Somehow it isn't full sounding. Maybe bring the note down more? (sorry....I lack the ability to explain it on text). Open the throat? Allow more sound out of the mouth? A rounder note perhaps. I want to hear a fuller more ringing sound. Right now I am forced to think you just got an inhale of helium and are just barely starting to feel the effects. You are bordering on moving to a mickey mouse sound. Does it make sense? It's very little. but to my ears it's there. But the singing is still very good

Hi Clint, Thank you for the detailed note.. Does it sound like a mixing or EQ error or is it singing technique? Do you see this in this song for example?

It has a more full throaty effort which is different from "Desperado"

I am a newbie to mixing and I tend to use a high pass filter and perhaps I cut too much of the lower end maybe? To me if I don't, they sound muddy.. I personally hate my low voice and notes(feel it lacks definition).

Or if it is a singing technique, maybe somebody here can point out! I will try to record a video and post here..

[Clint Torres]

I didn't hear it as much in this recording. But at the start, my first reaction was that is sounded the same. Than at about 28 seconds (I think it was the word MISTAKES) it filled out nicely. This song was much better however there were still a couple of areas where it was a little pinched. Overall it was not as much as the others though.

Once again, I have to stress, that your singing is good. And this may just be a personal thing for me that I hear and isn't noticed by anyone. But for me there is just that one thing that I can't quite put my finger on that would make it a bit better. And perhaps its the recording. :)

[aravindmadis]

I think you did fine, Aravind. I think it is as good as the original. And that is not easy to say. Don Henley, who sang so much for the Eagles, including this song is local to me, from Dallas, Texas. And the north Texas accent is so difficult to replicate that even trained actors have a problem with it. Because it is not as deep as most people think it is.

Anyway, no, you don't have the accent of Don, here, but most of it, you sound american. The american sound, especially Don's, is a bit lazy on the consonants and yours are a bit defined. As are mine.

I was born in California and lived there until I was 10, before moving to Texas. Even though I have been here in Texas for 40 years, this month, people can listen to me and say "You're not from Texas, are you?" Or, "Where are you from?"

So, don't feel bad. Feel good. You did really well on this song and I think you conveyed the emotion and story of the song, just fine.

Thanks Ron, am humbled.. Don Henley is one of my favorite singers..

[Felipe Carvalho]

Did not like this man.

Airy, lacking energy and nasal. Take simpler songs, nail it down first and start from a more solid foundation. Try to use more volume when singing, and stick to the lower range first.

Hope it helps!

[aravindmadis]

@Felipe... I can sing this song at a higher volume and address the airy and energy issues. The problem for me is that I do not know how to sing with a higher volume in the passagio. In this song for instance, where there is a slide on the line "Now it seems to me-eeeee", I don't know how to sing that portion loud. Usually I start from the toughest parts of the song and work backwards on the overall song volume level and calibrate it accordingly. There are two choices

1. Skip singing the highest note and sing at a louder volume which I can do comfortably OR

2. Sing all the notes with an overall lower volume

I can do what you are saying provided I am able to keep a consistent "one voice" in a volume that will have more energy and less airy feel in all the ranges.. I am not sure I am good enough right now to be able to accomplish that. So yes, there is a lot of scope for improvement..

How does one get strength while singing in the passagio? Is it a matter of practice or support? What can help here??