Working Hard & Wanting some ideas!

[guitarhunny]

I have been working really hard to make my mixes better. Here are a couple of songs I have been working on. Any constructive critisism would be greatly appreciated! The two songs are Little Miss Nowhere & Seasons With You. I think I've posted these songs before but would like some comments on the mix.

Here's the link:

www.ruthsharpmusic.com/mp3.htm

[mcolling]

On the first track, the doubled guitar track is not very accurately done, and this is distracting since they are nearly the same. I'd say either double it exactly the same, or just have one stereo guitar track. Also, the production is sort of in the akward intermediate space between "sparse" and "full." I'd suggest picking one- so either strip it down to one guitar and vocals, or add percussion and bass. The second track is better in this regard.

Recording wise, the guitars lack a little high end definition and are a little boomy. Maybe a mic placement issue? Is the mic at the sound hole?

Other than this, the songwriting and singindg is superb!

[guitarhunny]

I'd like to add some bass and percussion but I don't have it available. I also don't want to have just one guitar track and a vocal. SOOOO, is there any way to come to a happy medium?

I don't have a subwoofer so I am finding my mixes come out a little boomy. I think my EQ abilities are to blame. I'll try to tone it down a bit and train my ears to compensate without the woofer.

[Blue Bear Sound]

I listened to the first cut - the mix is very thin and reedy sounding. And there's depth/air missing around the tracks to give them the context of playing in a natural space.

I can very easily see it being only a single guitar & vocal track - with the right mix and ambient texturing, it would sound quite good!

[guitarhunny]

I'll give it a listen without the extras, work on the ambience and tone down my EQ. I'll post a new mix sometime tomorrow. I'd appreciate some follow up from anyone who cares to give it. Thanks.

[BentRabbit]

Originally Posted by guitarhunny

I'd like to add some bass and percussion but I don't have it available. I also don't want to have just one guitar track and a vocal. SOOOO, is there any way to come to a happy medium?

Hi Ruth,

I enjoyed helping you out with drum tracks on one of your earlier test songs... Let me know if you'd like me to do more with some of these... ?

[guitarhunny]

BentRabbit--The next song that I will be recording will definetly need some percussion. I would love your help, if you don't mind. It may be a week or so.

I have posted a new version of Little Miss Nowhere. If you guys don't mind, I'd love to know if the direction I am heading is a little better. It still needs more work but hopefully I am getting slightly closer. I took out some of the corny extras and used some slight delay instead of heavier reverb. I also changed the EQ a bit with a cut at about 270 and another at about 70-80 ish so it is not so boomy. Maybe I just made it worse? The vocal seems a little buried maybe.

File Name: Little Miss4

www.ruthsharpmusic.com/mp3.htm

[shookiejones]

The first song -
The guitar is boomy during the chorus but it's not as bad during the verses - obviously has to do with the chords you're using at those points.

The solo guitar in the background can come up a bit. It sounds nice in some spots and I'd like to hear more.

The second song -
I like this one alot. Especially that haunting background vocal...I think this can come on the oohh and ahhh parts.. I think it's at a nice volume sits nice when you're just backing the verses. I like the reverb you're using.

I like the compostion and vocal performance alot.

good work.

[guitarhunny]

Thank you ShookieJones! I always appreciate a compliment and thanks for noticing that little vocal spot. Right now I don't have any compression on the vocal but it might clean it up a bit if I added some.

[BentRabbit]

Originally Posted by guitarhunny

BentRabbit--The next song that I will be recording will definetly need some percussion. I would love your help, if you don't mind. It may be a week or so.

Just shoot me a PM when you're ready... My schedule should hopefully be a bit calmer by then

[guitarhunny]

That sounds fantastic! Thank You! If you are curious about the song, there is a really old recording of it here:

http://www.ruthsharpmusic.com/my%20music.htm

It's called "Again"

[DC-XPL]

I agree with the rest of the comments for Little Miss Nowhere - the acoustic guitars sounded a bit distant and out of phase. A little compression will allow you to bring it up in the mix without it overpowering the vocals. I wasn't too crazy about the song as it tended to ramble on a bit. That's always the danger of having just guitar and voice. The song really has to sustain the listener on its own merits. Nice voice though......

Seasons With You I liked better. Interesting chords, nice melody and the background vocals add much needed depth and color. The recording is more effective too. The arpeggio guitars work nicely, but are a little boomy. The vocal track is very good. Your voice sounds present and wistful, full of energy and emotion. Nice job!

[guitarhunny]

Little Miss Nowhere was my first attempt at writing so I agree that it tends to ramble on. I just want to get it on a CD & give it the respect it deserves as it was the start of my songwriting.

I like the recording of Seasons With You better too. The guitar on Little miss Nowhere seems a little distant because I was further from the microphone. It was the best I could get because I experienced a lot of clipping trying to record it and believe me, I tried recording it numerous times.

Thanks for the input!

[guitarhunny]

Here is the link to the newest mix version. I've added a little more compression to vocals and guitar and tried to warm up the vocals a touch. Let me know what you think?

Link is: little miss5
www.ruthsharpmusic.com/mp3.htm

Thank You!

[Rokket]

Originally Posted by guitarhunny

Here is the link to the newest mix version. I've added a little more compression to vocals and guitar and tried to warm up the vocals a touch. Let me know what you think?

Link is: little miss5
www.ruthsharpmusic.com/mp3.htm

Thank You!

Oops, dead link...

Hey I will have some free time and I play bass....

[Rokket]

Ok, Little Miss #5 wouldn't play for me, so I listened to #4. I can't comment on the mix, because I am listening on my pc at work... But I like the song! It's well sang and good lyrics.

Let me know if want some bass lines. If BentRabbit is doing drums for you, I'd like to help out too!

[BentRabbit]

Originally Posted by Rokket

Hey I will have some free time and I play bass....

If you weren't gonna volunteer I was gonna come looking for you...

[Rokket]

Originally Posted by BentRabbit

If you weren't gonna volunteer I was gonna come looking for you...

all she has to do is ask...

[Rokket]

Actually, I downloaded "Again" and I am going to take a look at it... I like where it's going and I can see some possibilities there.
I'll check in here and see what she thinks..

[13th_Omen]

guitarhunny,

I like your guitar playing and love your voice, not to mention you are etremely sexy oops, hope I didn't upset the lineman husband! Anyhow, the latest mix is pretty good but I know what Bruce was saying about the ambiance. Maybe some stereo imaging would help. Did you by any chance record to a click track? I only ask because if so adding percussion would be much easier and I think would be to your benefit. Good luck with your venture and if you could, check out my first MP3 post, just put it up today!

[guitarhunny]

Originally Posted by 13th_Omen

guitarhunny,

I like your guitar playing and love your voice, not to mention you are etremely sexy oops, hope I didn't upset the lineman husband! Anyhow, the latest mix is pretty good but I know what Bruce was saying about the ambiance. Maybe some stereo imaging would help. Did you by any chance record to a click track? I only ask because if so adding percussion would be much easier and I think would be to your benefit. Good luck with your venture and if you could, check out my first MP3 post, just put it up today!

It's good to be thought of as somewhat sexy I guess. And my hubby thanks you, even if he doesn't know it & I thank you for the compliments. I didn't use a click track cause my MR8 doesn't have one so I do my best. The timing may be a little sloppy on "Little Miss Nowhere" but not too bad I hope.

Rokkett & BentRabbit, thanks for the interest, sorry I didn't comment sooner. I had a gig last night that got cancelled when I got there so I was away for the better part of the evening. For the song "Again", I am thinking about going in the direction of something like "Crazy on You" by Heart(just simpler since I can't wail on a guitar like they do yet). I've been wanting to experiment with my Electric for a while and I think this song is the perfect start. What do you think?

[BentRabbit]

Originally Posted by guitarhunny

Rokkett & BentRabbit, thanks for the interest, sorry I didn't comment sooner. I had a gig last night that got cancelled when I got there so I was away for the better part of the evening. For the song "Again", I am thinking about going in the direction of something like "Crazy on You" by Heart(just simpler since I can't wail on a guitar like they do yet). I've been wanting to experiment with my Electric for a while and I think this song is the perfect start. What do you think?

Well... first off, you have an MR8 so we HAVE to jam with you...

I listened to 'Again' a bit at work yesterday and definitely was able to feel a direction to it... My last few weeks have been nutz but spare time should be right around the corner... Not to mention the 'other' collab project Rokket roped me into contributing to by promising me a date with Shania Twain... (The drum tracks are posted bud... you can give her my number now...)

Are you planning on recording directly into your MR8 with the Electric or do you have an amp?

Also... you DO have click track capabilities with your MR8... You can set the click level under MENU-->System-->Click Level (Gotta scroll down to find it).
You set the tempo at MENU-->Song-->Tempo Map

It's good to have a constant click when we're spread all over the world trying to record... Or, when we get the ball rolling, I can use your original recording as a sort of roadmap and just send you the drum tracks for you to play to...

[guitarhunny]

I'm going to change the arrangement of that song slightly and add a few more bells and whistles. I want a small lead guitar section between the third and final stanzas. I started work on it today. I'm working on mic placement and timing. I will post atleast a test version as soon as I can just so you can be familiar with it.

I have a PA system and a Digitech or I can plug into digitech then MR8 (by the way, it's nice to know I have a clicker on the MR8, Guess I should have known that after 2.5 years of ownership,duh). I'll decide which route to go after I get a good acoustic guitar rhythm track down.

[Rokket]

Originally Posted by BentRabbit

Well... first off, you have an MR8 so we HAVE to jam with you...

Not to mention the 'other' collab project Rokket roped me into contributing to by promising me a date with Shania Twain... (The drum tracks are posted bud... you can give her my number now...)

I thought I gave you here number already... it's 911

Actually, I like the idea of a "crazy on you vibe. A nice rolling bassline (maybe an F# pedal tone feel?) would sit well under the guitar tracks. Simplifying it would be better. Right now the chord changes are so fast that adding a bass line to it would just muddy it up.

[Rokket]

Originally Posted by guitarhunny

I'm going to change the arrangement of that song slightly and add a few more bells and whistles. I want a small lead guitar section between the third and final stanzas. I started work on it today. I'm working on mic placement and timing. I will post atleast a test version as soon as I can just so you can be familiar with it.

I have a PA system and a Digitech or I can plug into digitech then MR8 (by the way, it's nice to know I have a clicker on the MR8, Guess I should have known that after 2.5 years of ownership,duh). I'll decide which route to go after I get a good acoustic guitar rhythm track down.

If you want help with the electric guitar parts, I can do some of that too. And I know a guy who can shred pretty good. I could ask him if he is interested. I have the MR-8 too, so this will be easier than the last collab...