guitar instrumental

[shredfit]

I just finished a new guitar instrumental thingy... I'm gonna replay a few parts but I'm about 90% happy with the performance now. This is my first mix so, I'm wondering what you guys think? What I could change???

It's called, "Roll Up the Sidewalk"

http://www.nowhereradio.com/artists/...d=2885&alid=-1

Shred

[A1A2]

Nice playing, I would bring the guitar up a bit since it's the main focus. The rock piano is a little too bright, which is masking the guitar's tone and taking away the listener's attention, I think. Oh, some panned short delay on the guitar will give it a bigger impression.

Al

[JasonBird]

dang, that is some fine guitar playing! Awesome performance! I have to agree with Al, treat the guitar just like you would the lead vocals. they need to be out in front. Tone down the piano and you're there. The delay will help too. Again....awesome playing! How long have you been playing?
thanks for sharing that!
Jason

[shredfit]

I've been playing for almost 20 years now... and after another critical listen a agree that the guitar needs to be out more in the mix...

This is a funny thing, since I played the parts they always seem real up front sounding when I do my first mixes... in reality they are somewhat masked (something I'm gonna have to work on)

Thanks for the listen... and Kind words about my playing

Shred

[Kelly5150]

Nice guitar work man!!

Very tasty indeed..

I agree the guitar needs to come up more...



Damn nice!!

[GT]

Great guitar play, worthy of real drums, hint hint!

Nice tone too!!

GT

[Guernica]

Hey Shred,
Nice man! Nice git playing in this, I like the tone too. What are you using for an amp/modeller? I agree w/ the above comments about dropping the piano a tad. Also about the drums, a nicer kit sound (especially the hi hat) would take a little of that drum machine feel off of it.
Nice brudda!!

[Wireneck]

those are some pretty nice chops youve got. My only complaint is the backing tracks. They seem pretty sterile and take away from the playing. When the guitar builds up the backing tracks stay the same, it seems like they should build up with the guitar but thats just me. It still sounds good overall. nice job man

[shredfit]

Yes guys I agree, The drum sounds do stink... and the cymbals sounds are even worse... I would love to find a real drummer to record but, where I live makes it really tough... I've been looking at some of the loop building software w/some of the real drum samples...

any suggestions? Reason? Acid?

I used the POD Pro w/ a tube and and cab... then I reamp it and blend them... so your really hearing a real mic and a modeler at the same time... just using them modeler by itself doesn't quite cut it tone wise for me...

Thanks for the listen guys, and all the kind words

Shred

[M.Brane]

Nice riffin' dude! You got that Joe vibe goin' on.

If you listen to Joe's early stuff close you'll notice that because he used canned backing tracks his guitar was always front & center. He also used a lot of short, subtle parts that would break up the monotony of the canned drums a bit. Dynamics can play a role in that too. Even the cheapest digital stuff has more dynamic range than good analog. Use it to your advantage! Don't get caught up in the loudness wars.

Your mix is mid heavy. The guitar should rule the mids on something like this. Like was mentioned already the piano is taking up some of the space that should belong to the guitar. Thin it out a bit. The drum sounds (mainy the snare & cymbals) are very dark sounding, and add to the cloud. The bottom on this is not bad though. Kick/ bass balance is always a tough one for me.

[shredfit]

Yeah, I'll have to pull some mids out when I master... I look into changing the snare and cymbal eqing... perhaps I''ll also try just eqing the piano different without changing the volume...that may help the guitar stand out in the mix

Shred

[Doug Diggler]

...And he said unto Adam "LET THE GUITARS BE HEARD!!"

Excellent song, excellent playing. WOuld be better if the guitar was standing up and saying hello.

I agree, it's a little mid-heavy and the drums could be improved. Maybe even a good soundfont on a soundblaster might get those drums to rock.

[shredfit]

Yup guys...

I'm gonna try to cut an eq hole for my guitar out of the piano track...as suggested (thin out that piano)... I think It will bring out the guitar much better... I did do some rather harsh things eqing the drums (mostly because I don't like the sounds)... so If a lay off that a bit I think I can get them sounding better...

Thanks for the advice everyone...

Shred

[Wireneck]

some edits/remix going.

[Doug H]

the bad,
the ride cymbal could use some humanizing

the good
pretty much everything else. Nice overcompressed guitar tone , smooth with lot's of bite. Gotta love it. Makes me want to go get a decent comp pedal. Wicked playing. Steve Vai fan?

Musically, I would suggest having the main theme stick out more to keep the overall flow of the tune from wondering.

Good listen.

[FattMusiek]

The guitar tone is quite good I say, excellent playing too. Try experimenting with some panning, it's all too centered in my opinion. The drum samples sound very fake, but I'm sure you're aware of this.

Nice job, shredfit.

[dragonworks]

Nice playing.
I felt the guitar tone and style was a bit over the top for the tune.
Thought it might be nicer if cleaner and more of a jazz flavor for the chord progression being played.
Just my 2 cents.

[shredfit]

Yup, I'm a big Steve Vai fan... Love all his stuff!

The tune was intended to be jazz/rock fusion that is why I picked the guitar tone I did.

I was going for a sort of Robin Ford(melodically speaking) Meets Steve Vai(the shred factor) if you know what I mean...

I have not had a lot of time to work on the mix but plan to work on it more this weekend (I've been playing live almost every weekend and working long hours in the week) I'll post what a have as soon as I can get to it.

Shred