High in the Sky - Blues original - 1st draft

Bruthish

Hair Metal Roxx!
Hey Guys, been a while since I posted. Been working on this song last few days between studying for exams.
***FIRST DRAFT***
I know this will need a ton of work including retracking most parts to get it "tighter" and probably add a bridge of some type. But just wanted to hear your thoughts on sound levels, composition, and general comments. Especially the bass which I sometimes struggle with.

Lyrics:
Found a note that said your gone
I know I never did you wrong
But how can I live without you now?
Gonna live my last days high in the sky

Round and round and round we go
Spittin' hate as the wind blows
But how can I live without you now?
Gonna live my last days high in the sky


I work and work to fill your needs
No respect, no love for me
But how can I live without you now?
Gonna live my last days high in the sky

***I already notice that soundcloud is messing with my high end***

 
Pretty raw sounding, but not in a bad way. Bass sounds pretty good to me so far. Cool harmonies in the chorus.

Might be a tad to much reverb, not sure on what exactly, maybe the leads.

Snare could maybe lose a tad of high-mids.

Sometimes some of the vocal harmonies seem too hard-panned, I'd bring them in a bit.

These are nits though, all in all it sounds pretty cool.

Guitars sound good overall, are those strats? Mic'd amps or sims?
 
Thanks for the comments Johnny!

All the guitars are Les Pauls going through a Marshall DSL40C mic'd.

Yeah everything is raw at this point. One thing I like about the blues is how it usually sounds raw and live. I was attempting to capture that feel with some reverb(which I usually don't use much). There is a ton of stuff I want to go back and fix and do better takes of especially the solo. I just doubled it half-assed just to have something there. As far as the chorus, I was having a hard time getting them to come through and not be overbearing. I do have a high part that is only panned to one side, maybe I can record a second and but it to the other side and then bring them all in a little and maybe that will help.
Thanks again!
 
Sounding good man. That DSL40c tone is pretty nice. I should use mine more often. The drums seems a little erratic in terms of volume levels, placement of crash, stuff like that.

The number one thing I'd work on is getting the timing tighter. I'm hearing places where the bass and drums aren't quite locked in. With a shuffle, you want it sounding super tight. Personally, I would just do a little manual editing. An hour spent snipping and sliding things into place would be time well spent.
 
I think the reverb on the VOX fits this song perfect....Cold last line. Basically life will end High in the sky
 
Sounding good man. That DSL40c tone is pretty nice. I should use mine more often. The drums seems a little erratic in terms of volume levels, placement of crash, stuff like that.

The number one thing I'd work on is getting the timing tighter. I'm hearing places where the bass and drums aren't quite locked in. With a shuffle, you want it sounding super tight. Personally, I would just do a little manual editing. An hour spent snipping and sliding things into place would be time well spent.

Absolutely agree with going in and doing some surgery on it to get things in line the way they should. The way I typically write is come up with a riff, then verse 1 and chorus and build around that. Once everything is in place then go back and do any editing to make it tight. So I still have lots of work ahead of me on it. Just wanted to see where I stand at this point.

Yes I love the DSL40C...very good purchase for me. I have pretty much just found a good tone from it and I leave it alone and don't try to adjust settings too much.

Thanks for the comments!
 
I think the reverb on the VOX fits this song perfect....Cold last line. Basically life will end High in the sky


Thanks for listening and commenting Steve. The lead vocal is a single track with some delay and verb. It was too stagnant sounding though so I used a stereo imager on it to try and spread it out. It really brought out the delay and its almost too much but I will probably have to adjust it a little. I did same thing with the backing vocals(which there are 4 tracks). I struggled getting them to cut through the mix and using the stereo imager really helped.
 
For the 1st couple of bars I thought this was a cover of Cold Shot. I like the vibe, vocals are a good level with not too much reverb. Guitars sound great esp the slide. You did good on drums too, just a little tweak needed here & there. I always find it tricky locking in a consistent shuffle groove but if you can get that watertight everything else falls into place
 
Good start man, the drums seem to lag at times, the snare is a little loose sounding, maybe tighten up the snares and the top head. kick could come up a bit, toms could go down and they sound a little boomy. Maybe gate them a bit. love the vocal tone. guitars sound good, in the solo maybe a bit too much verb. I really have to watch it myself as I am a verb and delay hound.
 
For the 1st couple of bars I thought this was a cover of Cold Shot. I like the vibe, vocals are a good level with not too much reverb. Guitars sound great esp the slide. You did good on drums too, just a little tweak needed here & there. I always find it tricky locking in a consistent shuffle groove but if you can get that watertight everything else falls into place

Cold shot- great song. And funny I was subconsciously thinking about it when I was coming up with the beginning and thats why there is more distortion on the guitars there, but yes I hear it too. Yes I am going to have to get drums leveled and tighter with rest of rhythm section. Thanks for the comments!
 
Good start man, the drums seem to lag at times, the snare is a little loose sounding, maybe tighten up the snares and the top head. kick could come up a bit, toms could go down and they sound a little boomy. Maybe gate them a bit. love the vocal tone. guitars sound good, in the solo maybe a bit too much verb. I really have to watch it myself as I am a verb and delay hound.

Thanks for the listen! "tighten up the top head of the snare" though...no can do. They are programmed lol. But I can adjust some. Personally I like the loose snare though, but I think its too loud in parts which may solve what your hearing. And I agree with Toms, sometimes they boom out and I need to tame them. Thanks again!
 
Great song man!
I'm listening in the car on the way to work, so I can't not pick the mix. that being said it sound good on my car system. I agree that there are a few spots that need tightening up. but that to be expected on a first draft.
Great work man!
 
I like all the guitar sounds. Very cool.

I would pull back the overhead level and boost the snare a bit. The cymbals are getting the SoundCLoud swirl treatment.

I didn't care for the heavy reverb/delay on the vocal.

I thought the bass was a bit cold and sterile sounding. Too much low end boost and not enough low-midrange. It's a little rumbly too.
 
Thanks Triple. I appreciate your technical input! haven't had much time yet to get back on this but going to deal with the issues you pointed out and the timing. I haven't used reference tracks so I am having a hard time getting the bass powerful yet not too overpowering and rumbly.
 
Only thing for me was that the snare seemed to pop too much. It seemed like it was popping out of the track, and distracted me from everything else going on a few times. Nice tones dude
 
Only thing for me was that the snare seemed to pop too much. It seemed like it was popping out of the track, and distracted me from everything else going on a few times. Nice tones dude

Hey Brother! Long time no hear. I 100% agree with your comments. The more I listen to it the more I hear them jumping way out there. Gotta tame them for sure. Thanks on the tone comment too. Its straight mic'd amp with only reverb/delay added in through my DAW. I have next two weeks off from school and hoping to get this one edited and then upload a couple more I have been working on.
 
Sounds great to me. Great vocal track and i like the place in the mix. Guitars sound very good and good playing. The drums sound a bit loose-they are doing the job but could probably use a few fills or tightening up in a couple of spots. You're using addictive 2? What snare is that? the green ludwig? Your song is coming across very well i think, enjoyed the listen, cool song!
 
Sounds great to me. Great vocal track and i like the place in the mix. Guitars sound very good and good playing. The drums sound a bit loose-they are doing the job but could probably use a few fills or tightening up in a couple of spots. You're using addictive 2? What snare is that? the green ludwig? Your song is coming across very well i think, enjoyed the listen, cool song!

No its the 14"x6.5" Pearl Signature Ferrona. I like how it sounds loose and buzzy but doesn't work for every song. Thanks for the listen and comments. Still trying to dial some of this stuff in when I have time.
 
I hear what you're going after with the snare and I love that snare sound, but it needs a little more tweeking to make it sizzle -- maybe less mid-highs. also maybe use just the second half of the snare intro fill to give it punch. Actually, the snare got better as the song went on, at least for me.. are you mixing starting with drums and bass. nice guitar interplay. But I want to hear the vocals sooner, perhaps shorten intro by editing it to just 8 bars and combine your ideas.
 
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