Pop / Rock Mastered Polished Turd - Want Some?

[PoeticIntensity]

Alright... Here's my attempt at a listenable pop / rock song. This pretty much represents the best I can do right now in my studio. Let me know how I did, and what I can do to make it better.

Thanks, peeps.

Back To 337

PS - I know direct links to mp3s generally suck, and I've tried multiple times to upload to soundclick, but they just won't have any of it. No idea what's going on there. Maybe it's because I use Linux. Who knows.

[zero00]

Sounds great man... great job, sounds like a song from those big studios... That's just the kind of sound that i'm looking for to my songs... i will keep your website in my favorites for the time when we send it to mix and master.

Awesome !!!

[onestu3]

I thought the two crashes were a bit bright but overall the drums were great. The guitars had great tone and space. The riff was maybe a bit monotonous but still had a nice groove to it. Although I would have made a few choices differently songwriting wise, I feel like you have a good song and a better mix. Great Job!

[PoeticIntensity]

Originally Posted by zero00

Sounds great man... great job, sounds like a song from those big studios... That's just the kind of sound that i'm looking for to my songs... i will keep your website in my favorites for the time when we send it to mix and master.

Awesome !!!

Wow... Man... I'm not quite sure what to say... That's a pretty high compliment. Thank you. If ya wanna send me some tracks, I'd love to mix and master your stuff!

Again, thank you.

Originally Posted by onestu3

I thought the two crashes were a bit bright but overall the drums were great. The guitars had great tone and space. The riff was maybe a bit monotonous but still had a nice groove to it. Although I would have made a few choices differently songwriting wise, I feel like you have a good song and a better mix. Great Job!

Thanks for the kudos, man... As far as the song goes, I didn't write it, but I did play the drums and sing backups for it. The guitars sound great, don't they? That's about the only thing I didn't process with effects. The guitars were all recorded and mixed completely dry using a Trion 7000 ribbon mic. That thing works miracles on guitar cabs.

Thanks loads for listening and commenting - it means a lot to me, especially with this song.

[WhiteStrat]

Yep, I'd be proud if this came out of my studio. Great job!

[PoeticIntensity]

Originally Posted by WhiteStrat

Yep, I'd be proud if this came out of my studio. Great job!

Wow... I had no idea I'd get this type of response from people who *know* their stuff about the recording process...

Thank you.

[WhiteStrat]

Originally Posted by PoeticIntensity

Wow... I had no idea I'd get this type of response from people who *know* their stuff about the recording process...

Thank you.

Honestly, you'll get plenty of folks who'll say it sounds too "radio" or loud--to much compression--whatever. I happen to go for that polished, radio sound in my stuff. Doesn't help a crappy song, but it takes a good song to the next level, and this is a good song. Keep it up!

[PoeticIntensity]

Thanks again, Whitestrat. I clicked on your "Tunes 'n' Crap" link, and watched your Needless Noodling video... Holy crud, man.. You make me wanna blow my guitar into lots of tiny particles.... I'd ask the impulsive question, "How did you get so good", but already know the answer... "LOTS of practice!" hehe...

Wow..

[shortedaman]

so whats the band name? you cant have such a "radio ready" song and not throw in some commercialization. lol. great mix man. enjoyed it thoroughly!

[PoeticIntensity]

Originally Posted by shortedaman

so whats the band name? you cant have such a "radio ready" song and not throw in some commercialization. lol. great mix man. enjoyed it thoroughly!

Much appreciated, man. Thanks for the kudos... I'm still blown away by the response so far... Reputation for everyone!

As far as the band goes, it's actually just a quick collaboration project between me and a friend. The band is called "Herod The Fink", and it all started in October of last year. My friend contacted me and wondered if I wanted to record some Christmas songs he wrote. I agreed, and with just two months before Christmas, we cranked out 5 songs. (The Herod The Fink debut is on CDBaby).

We enjoyed the project so much that this year, we vowed to start early and record 1-2 songs each month, so we could have a full-fledged album by Christmas this year. "Back To 337" is the first song we recorded.

Heh.... How's that for some "commercialization" for ya?

So far, it's been a blast. We're recording the next set of tunes in a couple of weeks, and I can't wait.

So... There ya have it. Now go and buy the previous album so my friend won't go into a deep depression because nobody likes his songs...

[Thurgood]

Nice. First music I heard this A.M. good way to start the day. I'll give it a listen on real monitors once all are awake. First impression cymbal crashes a little hot. Sorry I am not awake enough to say more but it sounded good. I'll get back later. Keep up the good work.

[Greg_L]

Sounds fantastic. No nits from me. Whatever you did to your drums, keep doing it. The drums are a 10000000000% improvement over other drum tracks I've heard from you. Great job.

[PoeticIntensity]

Originally Posted by Thurgood

Nice. First music I heard this A.M. good way to start the day. I'll give it a listen on real monitors once all are awake. First impression cymbal crashes a little hot. Sorry I am not awake enough to say more but it sounded good. I'll get back later. Keep up the good work.

Thanks for listening! I'll keep an eye out for your official report.

Originally Posted by Greg_L

Sounds fantastic. No nits from me. Whatever you did to your drums, keep doing it. The drums are a 10000000000% improvement over other drum tracks I've heard from you. Great job.

I can die now. I have arrived at Gergle Nirvana.

Drums sound differently for 3 reasons. 1 - Snare mic placement. 2 - Bass mic placement (and bass EQ-ing). 3 - Snare tuning with new heads and snare chain (a-la Greg L.)

Thanks for the comment, Greg. Means quite a bit coming from you.

[mattdee1]

I must agree, this is pretty good. Normally if I heard that chord progression I'd think "meh" but you managed to work it into a cool song. No nits from me, great work.

Cheers
Matt

[PoeticIntensity]

Originally Posted by mattdee1

I must agree, this is pretty good. Normally if I heard that chord progression I'd think "meh" but you managed to work it into a cool song. No nits from me, great work.

Cheers
Matt

The song is pretty basic, isn't it... Still, it was a heckuva good trial for mixing...

Thanks for listening, Matt!

[ido1957]

Hey Jason, great recording and mix! I hate to to disagree with the other poster, but I don't find the cymbals too loud... Nice snap to the snare and crunch on the guitars. Reminds me of a blend of Green Day and Simple Plan, vocally and melody wise. Great Job!

[PoeticIntensity]

Originally Posted by ido1957

Hey Jason, great recording and mix! I hate to to disagree with the other poster, but I don't find the cymbals too loud... Nice snap to the snare and crunch on the guitars. Reminds me of a blend of Green Day and Simple Plan, vocally and melody wise. Great Job!

Thanks for the kudos, Gerry. Always good to hear the opinions of people I respect. Hopefully I can keep this up and improve upon it during the next recording.

[joeym]

This sounds great Jason!
Everything is in its place, performance is great, what more could one ask for.
Agree with Greg, that drum sound is good, man!
Well done and keep it going!

Joey

[Atom Bomb]

Sounds great. And the drums do sound awesome. Snare is damn near perfect. Good friggin job.

Who is signing? IS that you? Dude sounds like the guy from weezer. Pretty much a perfect match for his voice.

[bassdweller]

Hey. . . it does kinda sound like the guy from Weezer. Like them alright, too.
Not to echo what everyone else is sayin - but those drums do sound great.
A very listenable song; I enjoyed it more than many songs I have heard on the radio recently.

Good work!

[moohead]

Holy Shite. This is primo. Really good. The prod is pristine and the song is solid. How long have you been doing this?

Moo

[PoeticIntensity]

Originally Posted by joeym

This sounds great Jason!
Everything is in its place, performance is great, what more could one ask for.
Agree with Greg, that drum sound is good, man!
Well done and keep it going!

Dude... Thanks so much. I'd give ya more repute, but the site won't let me.

Originally Posted by Atom Bomb

Sounds great. And the drums do sound awesome. Snare is damn near perfect. Good friggin job.

Who is signing? IS that you? Dude sounds like the guy from weezer. Pretty much a perfect match for his voice.

Thanks, Mr. Bomb! Nah.. My friend is singing - and he's a pretty huge Weezer fan. And thank you for your comment on my snare. That's been a huge learning curve for me.... (as well as the kick drum) Getting that kick and snare to sound right has been tough, and I still think they can sound better. The road has just been following advice given to me by Greg L. - slowly and steadily it's been getting better.

Originally Posted by bassdweller

Hey. . . it does kinda sound like the guy from Weezer. Like them alright, too.
Not to echo what everyone else is sayin - but those drums do sound great.
A very listenable song; I enjoyed it more than many songs I have heard on the radio recently. Good work!

Thanks - and don't worry about echoing the sentiment... It never gets old hearing that you've finally done something right. Really - thank you.

Originally Posted by moohead

Holy Shite. This is primo. Really good. The prod is pristine and the song is solid. How long have you been doing this?

moohead! Thanks for listening and commenting! I've been recording stuff for only a few years, but I had no idea how badly I was doing it, until I joined this forum. I heard a fellow forum-mate's recording and was absolutely dumbfounded, flabberghasted, and in all other ways astonished at the sound he was getting from sub-professional equipment. The song was "On My Own" by Greg L., and from then on, I've read everything I can find by him as far as recording drums, and I've just tried to put his words to good use, and this is the result thus far. I think I joined this forum less than a year ago... Yeah.. Probably August of last year.

This forum is a solid-gold mine. Lots of really, really good advice going on in here.

[nzausrec]

Yeah, lots of oomph coming out. Kick is pretty awesome actually. It has a lot of depth. No bass guitar though to compete with it?

[PoeticIntensity]

Originally Posted by nzausrec

Yeah, lots of oomph coming out. Kick is pretty awesome actually. It has a lot of depth. No bass guitar though to compete with it?

Thanks for the compliment on my kick, nzausrec. There's almost a full 30 second spot in the song which really brings out the contrast between the bass and the kick. The first section 1:12-1:25 has no kick with the bass and vocals emphasized - and then the 2nd section brings in the kick only (with ticking hi-hat) from 1:25 - 1:35.

So yeah... The song definitely has bass, but I tried to keep them in their own space as much as I could.

Thanks for listening!

[TheChikenMaster]

Great mix. I dont know something about the esses in the vocals are getting to me.