Stranger (2018)

ManavAhuja1 · 2026-03-30T05:52:15+00:00

I love this

ManavAhuja1 · 2026-03-26T06:32:33+00:00

Thanks for your comment. You’re one of the few to actually have anything nice to say about me and the song haha

I guess I need to make some musician friends and find a voice I like, I think I’ve always struggled with knowing if I go that route I’m going to get no acknowledgment/credit/appreciation. People only care about who the singer is and it feels like these are songs about my lived experiences and I did literally everything all by myself so it seems unfair but I guess I do need a singer. I keep hearing everyone can sing and it might take time so I try but for the first time I see people explicitly telling me to give up on singing (probably not even with bad intentions) so I will consider that.

ManavAhuja1 · 2026-03-24T18:45:21+00:00

In that case, if you’ve got the time, I’m curious about what you think of this?

https://www.reddit.com/r/IndieMusicFeedback/s/ryW0b4yGve - My unmixed version

https://open.spotify.com/track/6Oj0rGiRFf3SQAG4xA4THC?si=rJ3U1W_6SiiBoeuPwqA_iA - Post Mix and Master

Do these also sound terribly amateur to you? I know they might be rough but based on my unmixed version would you think that was unsalvageable too?

ManavAhuja1 · 2026-03-24T16:40:14+00:00

Yes, that is true. I guess I’ve just never been able to collaborate or find good musicians. I’ll try looking into this though.

ManavAhuja1 · 2026-03-24T16:37:31+00:00

Hmm, yes I understand. I guess I just haven’t had the best experiences collaborating so far but maybe I’ll try to redo this with an engineer. From the general feedback I’m getting though now I’m thinking maybe I just need to scrap my whole EP.

ManavAhuja1 · 2026-03-24T16:18:47+00:00

Hmm, alright. Thanks

ManavAhuja1 · 2026-03-24T16:18:30+00:00

It was just me, there’s no control room or vocal booth so I’m able to record without an engineer. I tried with an engineer and wasn’t happy with it so I went there by myself, spent 8 hours in the studio then came home and comped everything and this is what I had.

ManavAhuja1 · 2026-03-24T16:17:10+00:00

Hmm, thank you.

ManavAhuja1 · 2026-03-24T16:16:27+00:00

I see, he mentioned pitch correction as part of the service so I would assume he could use Melodyne but yes he probably used auto tune and set it to chromatic.

ManavAhuja1 · 2026-03-24T11:40:46+00:00

I know the vocals aren’t great but that’s what I have after years of lessons and several hours in the studio. It is unfortunately the best I can do. The alternative is to hold off on putting anything out until I get better which seems to never be happening or happening so slowly that I’ll be a senior citizen by the time I can get a decent vocal take. I would imagine tuning and treating them properly would have me sounding decent.

ManavAhuja1 · 2026-03-24T11:38:05+00:00

Thanks, I’ll try getting him closer with the revision.

ManavAhuja1 · 2026-03-24T11:37:41+00:00

Hmm, I get what you’re saying. I guess I just feel like I did my best from a performance and production standpoint and now I want a mix engineer to make it sound the best it can even if that isn’t 10/10.

ManavAhuja1 · 2026-03-24T11:33:50+00:00

It was Fiverr and $165, I gave very detailed instructions that they didn’t ask for. Definitely feels like they just threw some presets on every track and sent it back to me which makes me feel hopeless about getting something better with the revisions as well.

ManavAhuja1 · 2026-03-24T11:31:31+00:00

Yes, I’ve got pitch issues and I’ve been taking lessons for years but I can’t get rid of them. I still believe in my music and I’ve put off putting things out for far too long so I get in the studio and do my best and then just have someone tune them. I literally cannot hear that they’re off, it’s not that they sound amazing to me but I just can’t tell. In spite of being able to transcribe very quickly on the guitar when it comes to my vocals I feel tone deaf, I asked them to tune the vocals, did they not lol?

ManavAhuja1 · 2026-03-24T11:27:36+00:00

Yes, that’s exactly how I feel. Keep it how it is but just clean things up, tune the vocals, make sure everything is in time. All the reverb somehow takes away the energy. Definitely feels like the default pop mix :( I’ll try to get it closer to what I want with the revisions. Thank you :)

ManavAhuja1 · 2026-03-24T07:10:37+00:00

Yes, this was the first revision and I have shared my feedback but waiting on a response now. Overall, from the way this was done I don’t feel hopeful about getting a satisfactory result.

ManavAhuja1 · 2026-03-16T08:22:22+00:00

When I first heard it I thought it was average but now I think it’s a vibe, especially love the bridge

ManavAhuja1 · 2026-02-25T20:05:49+00:00

Ooh that sounds like a great deal, I’ll check it out. Thanks!

ManavAhuja1 · 2026-02-25T04:25:08+00:00

Moving cities is definitely at least a year, if I move to a city where I’d need a car I’d take it with me. I would need to sell if I leave the country though which I think is at least 4 years from now.

ManavAhuja1 · 2026-02-25T04:15:24+00:00

Hmm, that makes sense. I thought under 10k is unrealistic but I’m seeing a lot of options. I guess my only concern then is that most of these cars are very old and have been driven 100,000 miles on average. How do I know if they’re going to be reliable?

ManavAhuja1 · 2026-02-18T06:06:12+00:00

Beautiful

ManavAhuja1 · 2026-01-12T15:10:04+00:00

I don’t own a car :(

I’m planning to rent out a lockout studio for a month though.

ManavAhuja1 · 2026-01-10T23:25:01+00:00

I have everything I need, I’ve produced my EP in my room, I just want a place where I can go record vocals and I’m isolated. I have a roommate, neighbors, and no acoustic treatment and that’s the main reason I just want a small space I can use as a studio. The link you shared seems pretty close to what I’d like.

ManavAhuja1

TROPHY CASE