Finding Faults

Where it's happening
What's happening
How it could've been fixed


0:00
If you listen to the very start of both tracks, you'll notice in the "Goodish" version that there's a bass hit as opposed to the "Worse" version where it sounds like a snippet of the start has been cut off, meaning you don't hear the first note of the song.

This is a sonic issue as I feel that the producer/engineer is possibly responsible for this issue. Chances are that one of the two accidentally cut off the first bit of the song when arranging the song. This could've been avoided by double checking the whole song before sending it off to an engineer and/or uploading/releasing it.


0:02
You can hear movement in the background (note: could potentially be a kick drum) and you can hear a cough right after. This can either be the singer clearing his throat preparing to sing or the drummer getting ready to play (the coughing could symbolize nervousness).

This is a sonic issue and could've been fixed by the engineer in many ways. For example, by using a plug-in like EQ to doing something as simple as chopping it out.


0:05
Besides the first instrument (Lute/Harp), most of the instrumentation is panned to the right (most notably the drums & vocals).

This is a sonic issue and can easily be fixed by panning tracks on the DAW/mixing desk.


0:06 - 0:24
If you compare the "Goodish" and "Worse" versions, you can instantly tell there's a huge difference in the vocals due to the mixing. In the "Goodish" version, the vocals are arguably better due to the panning (Refer to the point above, 0:05) and sounds like it went through some EQing. Relating to the point above (0:05), the vocals are panned more to the right and has a high pass filter which makes it sound "dull" and "empty".

This is a sonic issue and can firstly be solved with the use of good listening ears, mainly by EQing the vocals and the use of other plug-in's should the producer/engineer decides to do so.


0:16 - 0:20
In the "Worst" version, you can notice 2 errors within this time bracket. Firstly, you can hear an unnecessary sound when he pronounces the "P" when the singer says "performance". Secondly, it sounds like the singer's voice has been chopped up and the original word sounds like "comfortably" however you don't hear that word at all in the "Goodish" version.

This is a sonic issue and sounds like the engineer of the track was carelessly dragging audio files in the right place without properly editing the files.


0:19 - 0:25
Comparing both tracks, in the "Goodish" version the singer is actually singing the lyrics as opposed to the "Worst" version where it sounds like he's either singing without effort or simply rehearsing the "foundation" of the song (so he can listen to it over and over so he can drill the lyrics in his head, making the recording of the actual song much easier for him).

This is a recording issue as this is affected by the singer's performances. Such an issue can be avoided next time by the performer rehearsing over and over and over again until he feels ready to record a take.


0:24 - 0:29
Once again comparing the tracks, the bass guitar is (most notably) quieter in the "Worst" track within this time region.

This is a sonic issue because it sounds the bass guitar is directly from a DAW and doesn't sound like a live bass guitar. This could be solved by simply turning up the volume of the bass guitar.


0:30 - 0:48
When you listen to both tracks carefully, there are subtle differences but you can tell in the "Worst" track that the vocals (lead & backing) aren't mixed as well.

This is a sonic issue and can be solved by using an EQ, however adjusting the volume can also allow the engineer to have more accuracy because some aspects of the lead vocals and backing vocals can overpower the other.


0:52 - 1:13
In the "Worst" track, the singer's voice sounds like it went through a filter which makes it sound very flat and "depressing" in comparison to the "Goodish" version.

This is a sonic issue and was probably caused by the engineer simply choosing the wrong button on the plug-in (which is most likely a filter plug-in)


1:36
Comparing both tracks, the singer in the "Worst" track, once again, sounds dull due to the mixing and this has proven to be a constant issue in this song.

This is a sonic and can be solved by, again, using an EQ on the vocals.


1:42
This part of the song specifically separates what makes this song sound like a single and a song from an album. On the "Worst" version, it has an abrupt end while on the "Goodish" version, you can hear the reverberation of the synthesizer which makes the song sound much more complete and professional and you can almost anticipate another song coming straight after it.

This is a sonic issue and can be solved by adding a longer reverb effect on the synthesizer towards the end.