Four songs

[JasonB93117]

www.soundclick.com/BlankStare

I've posted four songs online if anyone is interested to have a listen. I recorded these in the middle of the night at the studio that I was interning at in Santa Barbara, a few months back.

The quality is pretty amateur to be honest, and what I'm mostly looking for is feedback on the songs, not so much the recording quality. Any comments are welcome however, so if something about the "mix" (or my voice or guitar) jumps out I would like to hear what you think.

These songs were recorded as rough sketches of ideas that I want to turn into "real" songs with additional instruments etc. Do you guys think drums would help the songs? Bass? Thanks for any ideas - Jason

www.soundclick.com/BlankStare

[mjr]

Originally Posted by JasonB93117

www.soundclick.com/BlankStare

I've posted four songs online if anyone is interested to have a listen. I recorded these in the middle of the night at the studio that I was interning at in Santa Barbara, a few months back.

The quality is pretty amateur to be honest, and what I'm mostly looking for is feedback on the songs, not so much the recording quality. Any comments are welcome however, so if something about the "mix" (or my voice or guitar) jumps out I would like to hear what you think.

These songs were recorded as rough sketches of ideas that I want to turn into "real" songs with additional instruments etc. Do you guys think drums would help the songs? Bass? Thanks for any ideas - Jason

www.soundclick.com/BlankStare

Well, I listened to your first two songs, and I've got these comments:

1. I like them.
2. The first song has a combination feel to it. It has a bluesy-country-acoustic rock feel. It sounds good, though!

2. This one sounds good, also! It doesn't have the "bluesy" feel to it, but you can definitely hear an acoustic-rock/country feel.

3. It seems to be mixed well. Neither the vocals nor the guitar overpowers the other.

Keep up the good work!

[up-fiddler]

I listened to the first two also.

For my taste I'd like to hear a bit more in the first one. The first one sounds like a million singer/songwriters. (ie. acoustic guitar/male vox) Not being harsh cuz I REALLY liked the song. You are able to articulate your lyrics perfectly and still keep a style/vibe of your own. It's a great tune. Just add something in a different register. Mandolin or bass?

The second one is a good tune but the fingerpicked guitar and your vox are nearly pitched together. For my ear it needs something below it in the mix. Bass comes to mind first but that needn't be your only choice.

Of course music is different to everyone is the caveat of all this. This is only my $.02 and you may disagree. I think your voice is great. Keep at it and good luck.

[mjr]

Originally Posted by up-fiddler

I listened to the first two also.

For my taste I'd like to hear a bit more in the first one. The first one sounds like a million singer/songwriters. (ie. acoustic guitar/male vox) Not being harsh cuz I REALLY liked the song. You are able to articulate your lyrics perfectly and still keep a style/vibe of your own. It's a great tune. Just add something in a different register. Mandolin or bass?

The second one is a good tune but the fingerpicked guitar and your vox are nearly pitched together. For my ear it needs something below it in the mix. Bass comes to mind first but that needn't be your only choice.

Of course music is different to everyone is the caveat of all this. This is only my $.02 and you may disagree. I think your voice is great. Keep at it and good luck.

Up-Fiddler: Love your quote!

[JeffLancaster]

I like your songs. Particularly "True Love". The only thing that didn't work for me was the way the vocal melody and guitar melody were exactly the same in your last song (although it might work if that melody were played as chords on an electric guitar instead). In general, however, I love your acoustic work, and if those first three tunes were augmented with other instruments but still featured your voice and acoustic guitar I think they'd be powerful songs.

[JasonB93117]

Thanks for the feedback, and for the kind words. I appreciate the constructive criticism as well:

I've been playing around with my electric on the first song (Happiest With You.) I think the electric with a lot of verb/delay sounds cool with the song, but haven't really committed to anything yet.

I'm considering investing some time/money in the studio that I am interning at in Santa Cruz and recording a "full length" album. This is one reason for seeking feedback about the songs. I've been working on some more tunes and am not sure I want to even bother with these older ones... There are several more from that late-night session but these four were standouts to me.

I see the point about "Blame." Does it annoy you guys or is just too simple when the vocal follows the guitar like that?

I think all the tunes would benefit from bass guitar after playing around in Logic with my midi keyboard. I brought in some bass in "True Love" after the first couple verses and thought it did a lot for the song.

Any other thoughts or comments?

[JasonB93117]

What about the pitch of the vocal? A few spots bother me (correctable with autotune?) - Do you hear it too? Bad sounding or "Natural"/"Organic" ? =)

[JeffLancaster]

Well Jason, I guess I did hear a few spots where the vocal was a bit "off", but knowing that these were just scratch recordings to get the ideas down, I really didn't pay it any mind. In general, I thought the vocals sounded very good, however, and although you could "autotune" some of the problem areas, I would think you'd want to be careful not to overdo it. You do have a very "natural" style of music and a few imperfections in the vocals actually make it sound more "real" or "emotional". I'd start by singing it over and over like 50 times in a row, however, and just use the best take - then maybe use just a bit of autotune as polish (like I said though, don't overdo it).

[JasonB93117]

Cool, thanks for the feedback Jeff!