Manslick and the ManHammer

M

Manslick

Road


This is an old song with a new recording, mix etc. Been on this for 6 weeks now and figured I'd post it for critical review.

The ManHammer is my pet name for a synth inside of Reason they call Thor. Makes for a striking title too. Pun intended.

Decided it needed more production so I added the Thor and punched buttons till I got a sound that was sitting in the mix correctly to my ears.

All comments welcome

Thanks :)
 
Would that be a tele or a strat by any chance on the solos? The intro actually alludes to something more musically dramatic right up to where the vocals begin. Don't get me wrong, I didn't feel completely cheated at that point but I did have to adjust my expectations. I know it's trendy to go somewhere unexpected as one progresses into a tune, and this is a bit catchy after a few plays and there are almost Eaglesque transitions throughout the track. The mix sounds pretty good, jangle rich and the sound like two coconut halves coming together at 1.10 onward seem to fit and add to the rhythm. The solo guitar parts vary in what they deliver and I guess going forward it might be a case of deciding which phrases are worth repeating to get a more tangible melodic theme running through the track. The vocal is warm and engaging with this listener. Personally I'd like a more defined structure, obviously that's subjective as is most of what I have to offer. Everything seems to sit reasonably well, though for me the high mid elements of the percussion could strike through a little more.

Enjoyed

regards

Tim
 
Sounds great man,

Very catchy country rock tune. Nice changes, all works together. Mix sounds great here.

Really enjoying this one. I'll play it a few times more.

Pete
 
Sounds cool. I like it!
The timing of the drums took my ear away from enjoying a few times. Is the kick/snare a little sketchy in the first half?
I'm talking about the odd beat here and there...Not the whole thing by any stretch.

I get the feeling this might be addictive drums, so maybe it's actually the bass or something else straying off slightly?

Overall it does sound cool though! Nice vocals. :)

Thanks for sharing.
 
Sounds pretty good. The vocal harmonies are good and full.
Got an interesting variety of noises. Though, I'd have liked more of the synth. It was kind of buried.
The noodly lead guitar got a bit old after a while though.

Also... I was a little disappointed that this didn't sound anything like "Mommy Said."
 
Nice tune! Agree with the timing thing on the drums, mostly the kick is a tiny bit late (or everything else is jumping the beat a tiny bit). I could use a bit more arse in that kick as well; it's more of a "pip" than a "thump". The groove would drive a good bit fatter with some better low end in the drums. The rest is cool. nifty guitar work, solid vocals, a clean and on-the-bright-side mix, and a very catchy (if mildly repetitive) hook.
 
Phrasemaker said:
Would that be a tele or a strat by any chance on the solos? The intro actually alludes to something more musically dramatic right up to where the vocals begin. Don't get me wrong, I didn't feel completely cheated at that point but I did have to adjust my expectations. I know it's trendy to go somewhere unexpected as one progresses into a tune, and this is a bit catchy after a few plays and there are almost Eaglesque transitions throughout the track. The mix sounds pretty good, jangle rich and the sound like two coconut halves coming together at 1.10 onward seem to fit and add to the rhythm. The solo guitar parts vary in what they deliver and I guess going forward it might be a case of deciding which phrases are worth repeating to get a more tangible melodic theme running through the track. The vocal is warm and engaging with this listener. Personally I'd like a more defined structure, obviously that's subjective as is most of what I have to offer. Everything seems to sit reasonably well, though for me the high mid elements of the percussion could strike through a little more.

Enjoyed

regards

Tim
Click to expand...
Thanks for the feedback Tim.
For a long time this was just the two chord cycle, then one day a new chord came by, then the intro came out of another song. I never thought of it in terms of a tease though. That's kind of cool.
The guitar is a Strat straight into Reason with a Line 6 amp and a thing called a pulverizer. I noodled around for days until I got one take that was not too boring or too busy. It always surprises me how hard it is to do 3 minutes over simple changes.
Good ear on the percussion track. I forgot to actually eq that one so yeah it needs a bit of sparkle.
 
PDP said:
Sounds great man,

Very catchy country rock tune. Nice changes, all works together. Mix sounds great here.

Really enjoying this one. I'll play it a few times more.

Pete
Click to expand...

Thanks for the spin Pete, glad you liked this one.
 
Steenamaroo said:
Sounds cool. I like it!
The timing of the drums took my ear away from enjoying a few times. Is the kick/snare a little sketchy in the first half?
I'm talking about the odd beat here and there...Not the whole thing by any stretch.

I get the feeling this might be addictive drums, so maybe it's actually the bass or something else straying off slightly?

Overall it does sound cool though! Nice vocals. :)

Thanks for sharing.
Click to expand...

There is a groove modifier I guess you call it on the percussion tracks but I had not noticed anything distracting. I am sure I did it with the bass probably. The drums are Reason drum machine as is the percussion. The HH and cymbals are recorded. Ah - there's the problem :)
Thanks for the feedback.
 
VomitHatSteve said:
Sounds pretty good. The vocal harmonies are good and full.
Got an interesting variety of noises. Though, I'd have liked more of the synth. It was kind of buried.
The noodly lead guitar got a bit old after a while though.

Also... I was a little disappointed that this didn't sound anything like "Mommy Said."
Click to expand...

Mommy said LOL.
The synth is not my thing so I err'd on the side of almost not there.
Hell I was happy just to figure out how to even get the thing going.
Yeah the lead guitar part was a challenge and I knew some would pan it.
Thanks for the spin :)
 
Llarion said:
Nice tune! Agree with the timing thing on the drums, mostly the kick is a tiny bit late (or everything else is jumping the beat a tiny bit). I could use a bit more arse in that kick as well; it's more of a "pip" than a thump. The groove would drive a good bit fatter with some better low end in the drums. The rest is cool. nifty guitar work, solid vocals, a clean and on-the-bright-side mix, and a very catchy (if mildly repetitive) hook.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the feedback Llarion. I can pump that kick till it shakes the house. It's a Ryan Greene sample from Alt Drums. I didn't want to blow your head off. I'm sure I will fatter it up now.
:)
 
The kick's pretty bright. You want it that way? The bass is a bit light, too. You scared of low end?

Lovely stuff. Big success the way you made an entire song out of a chorus, too. :D I like it.

Yeah, I think it could use a bit more low end. I think a tune like this could support a pretty big bass guitar sound.
 
My listening room is totally untreated so I my input may not be all that valuable, but I wanted to hear more low end too. Bass guitar, kick, and maybe a little low-mids from somewhere. It seemed weighted towards the upper end of the spectrum to me.

Great catchy tune, and I'm always a fan of guitar noodling. Kind of a Jerry Garcia guitar tone going there, but with a little more body, more focus, and much less opium.
 
dobro said:
The kick's pretty bright. You want it that way? The bass is a bit light, too. You scared of low end?

Lovely stuff. Big success the way you made an entire song out of a chorus, too. :D I like it.

Yeah, I think it could use a bit more low end. I think a tune like this could support a pretty big bass guitar sound.
Click to expand...

Yes I am deathly afraid of low end. I have nightmares of being chased by big woofers.
You are not the first person to mention this is all chorus. Kudos to your astute assertion of the material.
:)
 
Tadpui said:
My listening room is totally untreated so I my input may not be all that valuable, but I wanted to hear more low end too. Bass guitar, kick, and maybe a little low-mids from somewhere. It seemed weighted towards the upper end of the spectrum to me.

Great catchy tune, and I'm always a fan of guitar noodling. Kind of a Jerry Garcia guitar tone going there, but with a little more body, more focus, and much less opium.
Click to expand...

Thanks Tadpui, I bet I spent most of those weeks turning the EQ on the guitar channel.

The guitar channel – how come that’s not on cable?
:)
 
Manslick said:
Yes I am deathly afraid of low end. I have nightmares of being chased by big woofers.
Click to expand...

Woof, woof!

I listened again (and why wouldn't I? - this one's great) and this time I heard a bit more low end in the kick, but there's all that high end on the kick. How about an experiment? Ease back the high end on the kick by just as much as you drop the cutoff point on the lowcut on the kick. And...uh...maybe the guitar's a bit bright, too. :)


Manslick said:
You are not the first person to mention this is all chorus. Kudos to your astute assertion of the material.
:)
Click to expand...

The reason it works for this tune is because of the sentiment of the song. 'Say it again, say it again, say it again - say I love you'. What more is there to add to that sentiment?

If Paul MacCartney were luckier, he'd have thought of this one.
 
Oh dobro - I love you man. Thanks.

New mix from the OP.

Ran the kick thru a separate mix channel and it like tore my head off.

Rolled off some highs there and pushed the bass guitar up a bit.

Since I can never judge bass in this room, it's a crap shot.

Tried to put some presence on the percussion and of course The Manhammer.

Oh and I found an error on the drum track that I think is the timing glitch you guys mentioned - mucho appreciato.

Thanks for all your input guys. :)
 
Yeah, it was better before. lol Now there's way too much low end. Small adjustments. Tastes. Smidgens. Did you save the previous version before you changed it?
 
Love the vocals and harmonies Manslick, but hard to comment on the mix itself at the moment with the bass so dominant on your new version.

I heard your first mix, but didn't get chance to comment - that one definitely needed some more low end. So yeah, somewhere between the two and I look forward to playing it again. Play it again, play it again, play it again, say I love you...
 
Love the song - well written man. Well worth the re-record. The vocals are fabulous. Backing instruments are all good level, but guitar bends could use some work in spots as they don't quite hit the mark. Sounds like fat strings. Bass is as mentioned pretty loud and tends to mask things a bit.
 
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