This month’s Spotlight is a slow, slinky ballad that forges minimal instrumentation and equipment, creative arrangement, panning and great ambiance into a winning package.

Going with a less is more approach, Sanchit put together a simple but solid music bed to support and showcase his superb vocals. We love the super realistic nylon string guitar sound. It’s got an awesome presence and sits proudly in the mix. The guitar and vocals are juxtaposed with cool finger snaps, synth bass and a nicely syncopated kick drum with a well-defined beater against the drum head tone—a great platform to build on. 

Tracked using an amazingly affordable BM 800 USB mic (along with a Focusrite interface), the vocals are beautifully recorded and presented. We hear no plosives, sibilance or other artifacts. Some well-chosen reverb enhances this fine, tight performance. Adding to the vocals’ success is the panning we mentioned previously. The backing voices seem to dart around in a way that adds energy and movement throughout the song, a perfect foil for the steady, basic instrumental bed. Lastly, kudos to Sanchit for a full-bodied, perfectly balanced final mix. Nice!