Ear Against the Wall (a quickie composition)

[mattdee1]

Would you guys mind having a listen to this track I recorded on Wednesday night?

The whole thing was written, recorded, and mixed in about 6 hours, and that includes writing the lyrics, so it's pretty basic.

I know the drums are not optimal, I made them by slowing down and looping a stereo drum track stolen from a recording with my previous band.

I've taken to heart all of the comments on here about the overuse of compression, so I tried to be careful, but maybe some will still think it's too squashed.

I'm mostly interested in comments on how the vocals sound, as I am really struggling getting them to sound clear and intelligible (proximity effect maybe?). My monitoring chain and environment both suck, which doesn't help.


"Ear Against the Wall"
www.soundclick.com/mattdee

Thanks in advance
MattDee

[intomusic]

I think this is great. Reminds me of Money Mark/Weezer. Really interesting melody and arrangement. If you were to develop the song a bit more, I'd like a guitar solo that the outro hints at - it's now my 3rd time listening and it's somehow too short to be satisfying

As for the vocals, I'd be interested to hear what people say...I like 'em but they do seem a little thin?

intomusic

[mattdee1]

Originally Posted by intomusic

I think this is great. Reminds me of Money Mark/Weezer. Really interesting melody and arrangement. If you were to develop the song a bit more, I'd like a guitar solo that the outro hints at - it's now my 3rd time listening and it's somehow too short to be satisfying

As for the vocals, I'd be interested to hear what people say...I like 'em but they do seem a little thin?

intomusic

Hey thanks for the feedback. I kind of agree with you about the song being too short. Maybe I'll embellish it a bit.

The vocals have a bit of compression on them, minimal reverb, and a low frequency roll-off to kill a bit of the bottom end (can't remember the cut off frequency off the top of my head). Maybe if they sound thin I cut too much.

[propman]

I really like this. Very good mix. As for the "thin" vocals, I think it sounds cool. I guess what I am hearing is the low cut you are talking about, and I think it sounds really cool in the context of this song. It works, and really brightens the song. I really like the hard panned doubled vocals you have going there too. Always been a fan of that. The hard panned vocals sound really cool with your voice. Very...metalic I guess is the only word I can think of. Clean sounding. I like this very much. Great job.

-Adam.

[greyharmonix]

the vocals are a bit thin. maybe you did cut too much low frequencies or maybe boosted to much in the high frequencies. Maybe both. everything else sound pretty good though.

[mattdee1]

Thanks so much for the comments everyone.

Dammit, one thing I forgot to ask in my original post: if any of you who have listened could let me know what you used to listen (stereo, studio monitors, computer speakers, headphones, etc.) that would be great.

Cheers
MattDee

[intomusic]

I listened on a new (cheapish) pair of Stagg headphones - quite bassy.

intomusic

[propman]

I used headphones as well. They also have a fair bass response.

-Adam.

[alex0203]

Nice, but the vocals are way too thin. Add some warmth to them with a little bass. WAY too thin. I like the litte ditty though. Very nice.

[propman]

Am I the only one who like the vocals the way they are?

-Adam.

[Detroitroadrage]

Am I the only one hearing the occasional flat note in the vocals??? Maybe Im just tired and have bad ears at the moment. Sorry if I am wrong.

[rayc]

I like the thin vocals - balances the beefy bass & guitar.
I'm not sure I like the hard panned vocals when they come in.
Lots of de-esssing needs to be done.
"lame excuse" is a bit lame but other wise the lyrics are ok.
outro guitar should be developed.
Bass could use a little thinning out as could the guitar - just chop the very bottom off them.
keep at it!

[mattdee1]

Originally Posted by rayc

I like the thin vocals - balances the beefy bass & guitar.
I'm not sure I like the hard panned vocals when they come in.
Lots of de-esssing needs to be done.
"lame excuse" is a bit lame but other wise the lyrics are ok.
outro guitar should be developed.
Bass could use a little thinning out as could the guitar - just chop the very bottom off them.
keep at it!

Regarding the de-essing, I was thinking that myself but I've never used a de-esser before.

Are there any good plugs I should try out for this purpose? Where does it usually go in the chain (insert, send, before or after reverb, compression, etc.)?

Thanks again
MattDee

[joeym]

This is really good, Matt.
Such a simple and effective arrangement. I don't find anything wrong with the vocals, I'm listening on studio monitors and a sub. Everything sounds balanced to me. There was one snare hit right at the start which sounded a little bit off. But otherwise, really liked this, voice is cool, guitars sound great.

Joe

[intomusic]

I liked the vocals and still do. Just wondered if they were too thin.

[rayc]

Spitfish is good & free for PCs.

[FadeToMuffins]

Hey, I'm a newbie, so bear with me here...

First of all, GREAT guitar sound, the tone is very full and well-bodied. The vocals sound good in the context of the mix. They are EQ'ed well and for the most part the performance is spot on. I hear an ocasional sour note every once in a while, but this is a VERY good job man.

Nice one

[mattdee1]

Originally Posted by FadeToMuffins

Hey, I'm a newbie, so bear with me here...

First of all, GREAT guitar sound, the tone is very full and well-bodied. The vocals sound good in the context of the mix. They are EQ'ed well and for the most part the performance is spot on. I hear an ocasional sour note every once in a while, but this is a VERY good job man.

Nice one

The guitar is just my Strat going through a Boss BD-2 blues driver right to my Stage 160 amp. It's double tracked, the delay effect was added in post processing on one of the two tracks. Weird thing is I used some old crappy Peavey dynamic mic on my amp, I also tried a 57 in the exact same setup but for whatever reason I preferred the sound of the Peavey for this song.

As for the vocals, fair comment... I guess it pays to warm up first, haha.

[heatmiser]

This one sounds very nice. I like it quite a bit. Does suggest weezer a bit or maybe built to spill?

Anyway, like your acoustic tune, I hear an excess of sibilance in the vocals. Other than that it sounds nice to me...good full guitar sound. Not overly squashed at all .

[ajmauburn]

Though it is not my style at all, I can respect it. You've got a good guitar sound, and the drums seem natural.

My only beef is the noise of you forming a word lol. Maybe a noise gate would do the trick?

I like the soft vocals too, the song doesn't need a full voice. Maybe some harmonies to spice it up?

[mattdee1]

Originally Posted by ajmauburn

My only beef is the noise of you forming a word lol. Maybe a noise gate would do the trick?

Hey, at least I wasn't chewing food!

Seriously though, thanks for the suggestion; that hadn't occurred to me but I see what you're referring to.