Listen to this song, review

[johndowis]

http://www.johndowis.com/Assets/musi...heMilkyway.mp3

Cover of the 80's song "Under the Milky Way". Recorded in my apartment. 3 layers of guitar (one acoustic, 2 electric), bass guitar (6-string with a split signal running through a pitch shifter, down one octave - it worked ), vocals, multiple layers of background vocals, and synthed drums (I live in an apartment, cut me some slack).

Let me know what you think. Feel free to check out the other stuff on the site too.

[jake-owa]

No thanks, do an original.

[johndowis]

There is also original music at the site, if you prefer

[Pinky]

Originally Posted by johndowis

There is also original music at the site, if you prefer

I tried out the cover (I'm okay with covers as long as they're done with your own flavor/style).

The recording isn't bad, it's definitely heavy on the lower end and lacking some crispness. The acoustic guitar sounds a bit plastic (if it's a nylon/classical guitar you can't change that but you can raise the <1K freq a touch). The vocals could use a little more treble as well to brighten up the song.

As for the playing, I couldn't find any serious flaws in one listen. The vocals worked very well initially, but you seem to lose focus as the song progressed (common problem I hear with home recording -- keeping the same energy throughout).

I'll check out some originals.

[Pinky]

Gave Antigone a listen. Again, the vocals seem to be the strong suit. Guitar playing isn't bad, but it does get repetative. Reminds me of acoustic Catherine Wheel or something.

It's suffering the same heavy low end weighing the recording down. What type of mic are you using? It may not be up for the task, or you're cutting it's nose off at some stage of mixing.

I hear some talent, keep up the good work!

[johndowis]

Thanks for the feedback. The acoustic I used on "Under the Milky Way" is a thin body electric acoustic that I really don't like, but it's the best acoustic I have at the moment. I recorded it with a mic in front of it, no amp. As bad as it sounds in air, it sounds worse in an amp - I need a new acoustic.

My mic is a Sennheiser 835, and I use an m-audio delta 1010 soundcard. I do pick up some background noise because of the room I record in. The computer gives off a small amount of hum, and I can't really do anything about it at this time, other than try to keep things as far apart as possible.

If it is heavy on the low end, it may be from my EQ. I mostly monitor on my Senheiser headphones, and tend to crank the low end too much to get the bass. I also test on my PA with Bose speakers, but the eq settings on that can throw off what I am hearing. Monitoring is one of my biggest problems. I guess I could try playing commercial songs through my PA and balance it right, then compare to my stuff.

Thanks for the tips!

[Pinky]

Monitoring's a bitch. Rather than repeat myself, here's alink to a post I made about what I use to monitor:

http://www.homerecording.com/bbs/sho...59&postcount=8

It's key in getting a decent sound. Otherwise it's a best-guess approach.

[johndowis]

I just redid the vocals and remixed everything. I lowered and smoothed out the bass guitar, brought the kick drum down a bit, and also brightened the vocals, among other things. This sounds like everything is balanced out better, but I am trusting my not-too-impressive monitor setup and mixing skills.

About the original songs: they are the oldest songs on the site, meaning they were done when I first started really getting into recording. When my skills get better, I will go back and redo them, plus record more of my original music. I just like to practice on cover songs, that way whoever listens and gives feedback knows what sound I am trying to get so I can see what to work on.

Edit: plus cover songs are fun, and that's why I do all this.

[Pinky]

I'm diggin it. There is some noticeable improvement. I'd still trim the kick and bass guitar a bit more (just lover the volume on each a few dbs). Did you add the harmonies? I don't remember hearing them before, nice touch either way. It's still heavy in the low end but not nearly as much as before.

There's been a lot of Cure covers lately, is there some Cure revolution going on I wasn't warned about??

[johndowis]

The harmonies were there but I brought the level up a slight bit. It is amazing to me how a 1db change can make something totally disappear or appear. Thanks for all the feedback!

[ecktronic]

kik drum sounds nice, but doesnt suit that style of music. Its just too much or not mixed in properly. Could do with a good bit of mastering to clean it up a bit.
Good effort.