Deep Inside

[mkg]

Love song. Listed under pop+rock because they didn't have a category for cheap wine reggae.
What do you like, what do you don't like?
Thanks for listening.

Mark

link to Deep Inside

[Matt303]

I like the song, for more of a Reggae feel I think the bass line needs more work and needs to drive harder, IMO an open Wah pedal doing the percusive click thing would work well. I like the laid back vocals that work with the style. I thought maybe the guitar sounded a bit boxy on the lead break

[Guernica]

Hey Mkg......
Cool song & vibe...... Im not gonna comment much on the mix 'cause im listening on my 'puter speakers at work and they suck. The guits sounded a little bright on these speakers, but again, that might just be me. What kind of compression are you using on the vocs..... IMHO, you might try a little more.... tame a bit more of the dynamic there. I enjoyed the song alot. ...nice writing bro.. looking forward to more. g

[B.SABBATH]

cool tune.. I agree with G about the vocals maybe needing some more compression or something.. Also the highs from the cymbals were a bit harsh imhop.. not so much the drums, but the cymbals.. and that guitar in the left was a bit bright. It's a good recording, but theres just something about the sound that is not smooth enough for this type of song.. needs to be warmer, perhaps a bit more gentle?.. I don't know..
nice job overall.. cool tune.. Seems like it ends premature..

[jeap]

another goodie!

i like the old r&b style rhythm guit. ive been trying to figure out how to put some in one of mine.

do you play your own drums? they sound pretty solid compared to mine. your overall timing is better.

your delivery on the last one kinda reminded me of joe walsh and this one does a little too, along with maybe a little captain beefheart. this goes well back to back with dreaming of you also. could there be a whole album of this stuff?

[TripleM]

I liked the song. Nice writing.

Working off what Sab said about the smoothness. I thought the same thing, and I think it might be the bass part. The bass plays stuccatto notes, but I think if it held the notes longer and played a smoother line it would smooth the whole song out. The bass had a nice punch to it.

I noticed the ride cymbal would come and go throughout the song (e.g., it goes away @ :29). I thought the transition was a bit abrupt.

The vocals were real up front. Maybe follow the advice on compression, and the vocal track will turn out real nice. Your voice had a real distinct tone to it on this one and I liked it .

I thought the lead guitar was a little "tinny."

I focused on too many negatives and not enough positives. Sorry. Good job.

[Kramer]

Cool tune mark.I think everybody else has already mentioned the few problems.The guitars maybe just a little too bright but then again this kinda of music calls for choppy/biting clean guitars.I like the song a lot.The vocals are warm but the musical tracks are Bright/sharp edged and that seems to be contrasting in a bad way.Maybe just eq those guitars a little bit to be less abrasive to let the vocal shine without distraction.

I like it a la'.

[Fed]

cool vibe to it... needs a keyboard part IMHO... and I agree with tripleM different bass part would be cool...

cheers

[chrisharris]

I'm a kind of a "words" guy. This had some really poetic language, but it never got sappy. Tough thing for me to do. Nice job.

-chris

[mkg]

Matt303: Total agreement on the bass part. I still need to get a real bass as opposed to using a sixstring and bass sims on this unit. A real bassplayer could have fun with this I think. Glad you dug the vocal, and the wah guitar is a great idea. I wasn't real crazy about the lead sound either, would like to re-cut it using a real amp (my '67 BFDR).
Thank you sir!

Guernica: Glad you dig the song. My focus here was to have everything support the vocal, and to make it sound like you just walked into a sleazy bar to hear a an old dog wail. The vocal at present has no compression. I had to record it very quietly, was nearly whispering because it was 3:00 a.m. and I didn't want to scare the wife and kids.
I'll probably remix and add some comp to vocal, and try to tame the bright guitars.
Much thanks, bro.

Sam: Thanks for the listen, my man. I wanted to vary the drums a bit so it wouldn't sound so canned, but you're right about the crashes, maybe I can find a way to tame them or use a different pattern. The fade is abrupt, something I can fix in remix.
Glad you dig the tune, and thanks for the feedback.

Jeap: Thanks very much. The drums are from the onboard rhythm patches of the 1180, not bad for canned imo. If I were really playing drums, you'd definitely hear some problems, as I do well to keep a straight four.
The rhythm guitar was played through the onboard "tremelo twin" patch.
Glad you dig the vocal...you've compared me to a couple of my favorites, especially Capt. Beefheart.
As far as an album of this stuff, I'm workin' on it...thanks for the encouragement.

TripleM: I can always count on you for a thoughtful listen and informed criticism, much appreciated. Glad you like the song. Others have mentioned some of the same points, like the tinny guitar. I'm hoping to fix that with eq, or maybe even redo the part. I don't think you focus on too many negatives at all. I post stuff here so I can learn, and criticism like yours is crucial to improvement.
Thanks very much!

Kramer: Thanks for the listen and suggestion, bro. Eq'ing is a good suggestion, there's almost none on this thing. Glad you dig the tune. The fact that you guys dig the tune in spite of some mix/performance problems is very encouraging.

Fed: Thank you sir...glad you like the song. Funny you mention keys, as a friend might add a B-3 part to the mp3, which I think would really help it. Good ear, as usual.

Chris: Thanks very much, the lyric was my main focus with this song. Good to know that you liked it. I wrote this for my wife. Our 25th anniversary is in December, it was supposed to be a surprise, but she found the words and I had to come clean.
I feel good about the words because it's been so long since I've been able to write anything worthwhile (about ten years of writer's block)
I hear you loud and clear about the fine line between poetic and sappy...your compliment is very much appreciated.

Thanks very much to all of you!

Mark

[participant]

Just one crit: Vocals have some sibilance and plosives... it's boomy too

Nice lyrics. There's an extremely familiar chord progression/song your song reminds me of... cept I can't name it Some 60's soul, or something... very similar. (The song name will come to mind at 1 AM when I'm dead asleep )

I like it. It sounds more like soul than reggae to me, tho. It has the lilt, but the beat isn't exactly the same (For the reason that both the 2 and 4 beat are not accentuated) If you're going for reggae, you can always add a guitar track where you do that upward pick on both the 2 and 4...

Nice toon.


Chad

[boydrj]

I wish I could listen in Hi-Fi ...

Saying that, this sounds good.

I dug the rhythm of this song...kind of a reggae / bluesy feel to it. Pretty cool. Nice playing throughout and I like the vocals on this.

The only feedback I have -- imho -- is that there were a few parts where the drums were a tad loud, but I think it might be my machine since I can only listen in lo-fi (just a minor thing).

Overall I like the feel of this!

Rock On!

[theron]

"she's a beacon in this tempest that I ride.......", I like the lyrics mkg. I also dig on the vocal delivery and you'd some nice playing as well. Nice flow. I think the mood could be delivered via the mix a tad better with some verb (maybe add a thin verb coat to the whole thang?1?).

The vox sounded kinda crispy to my ears. Is your tracking level pushing the limit?. The vocal mix level seems ok though.

I'm not a drum dude but, the ride cymbal sounded like it was too bleedy and flimsy. It also sounded like that ride cymbal was being played "Behind the kit", if that makes sence.

Very cool tune man......you could jam to this and trade solo's for a good while..

Peace,
Theron.

[powderfinger]

well done.........someone mentioned a joe walsh reference and i can't help but agree.

the guitars do sound thin, but i like that on this song. i think it fits well.

the drums were the only thing that threw me off a bit.....the snare seemed really punchy for lack of better word.....if that's what you're looking for, it's fine then........one thing i've learned about snares from being on this board...everyone has a personal preference as to how a snare should sound....so take this suggestion in stride.

good job.

[fenderlikingood]

this is good!!! nice groovy vibe!!

smoooooooooth, flow's well.

somthing different coming from you, i like'sssssssss

keep em coming!!!!!!!!!!

peace

rick

[mkg]

Chad: I love old soul music, glad this one put you in that frame of mind. You're right, this isn't reggae, I sort of had tongue in cheek in my original post. I did experiment with a reggae-type chunka guitar part, but couldn't get it to lay right.
The vocal was problematic, I had to mix it hot since the original level (almost a whisper) was so low. I'll try to fix it with some eq in remix.
Thanks for the listen and comments.

Boydrj: Thanks very much! Glad you dig the tune. I was afraid drums would get lost in the mix, guess I went overboard the other way. Thanks for the feedback.

Theron: Good ear...the vocal is pushing the limit, it needs to be tamed a bit. As mentioned earlier, I think I can alter the drum pattern to get rid of the ride, it does sound squishy and out of place.
It's gratifying to know that you dig the words, that means a lot coming from you...this song is all about the lyric.
Thanks, bro!

Powderfinger: Thanks very much. I think the drums are a bit hot, and need taming...suggestions like this are what help me improve, much appreciated!

Rick: Thanks very much for the encouragement, I'll keep 'em coming till I get it right!

Mark

[King Elvis]

I gotta say that this didnt really strike me as a reggae song. The first thing my wife said when it finished was.."I like that song" so...there ya go. I really like the vocal delivery. A good song for the lights down low and that kinda thing. Do you use a guitar with single coils because that is the vibe I got. I have always played with single coils...a more variety of sounds than humbuckers...anyway...it gets a thumbs up from us!!!

Ya mon
Rock On!!
The King

[mkg]

Single coils for sure...I used a MIM Classic 60s Strat, I love the way it plays.
Very glad that you and your wife dug the song, and yes, it's a lot more soul song than reggae.
Thanks for the four thumbs up.
New mix will be up soon, hopefully with B-3 added.

Mark

[King Elvis]

Yeah...some B3
definately looking forward to it. Yeah I would say it has a lot of soul.

[Flash]

I can't add nothin' to whats been said. Good stuff, keep it going.

[macle]

Mark, I won't comment on the mix cuz everyone has already said things I would say, but I really do think it's a really nice song, with a great feel, and your vocal is really effective. Kind of reminds me of Willie Nelson, that sort of casualness he has, but still very meaningful.

Your wife must have been happy (or will be happy), congratulations!

Macle

[petelait]

Wow what a great guitar sound,sounds like your in the room!
Really nice tones!
What unit did you use for it?

I'd say this is R&B,or soul definatly.
Really great sounding mix and vocal delivery.

Drums sound real,except for the triplets,they give it away.

Good song writing,enjoyed it very much!

Best to you,
Pete

[mkg]

King Elvis, thanks again sir...should have the vitamin B-3 mix up before too long. This is definitely a slowdance song.

Flash, thanks very much, and I'll keep going till they catch me!

Macle, thank you sir. The mix is borderline listenable (is that a word?) because of my poor skills in this area. That's one of the reasons I try to keep things as simple as possible...just four tracks on this one, plus the drum track. I can't imagine how you manage to make your complex mixes sound so good. If I hang around here long enough, maybe something will rub off.
My wife loves the song, and like she says concerning my other songs, "Honey, it's very good, but don't you think it would sound better with a real singer?" Of course, she's right.
So now my voice has been compared to Willie Nelson, Joe Walsh, and Capt. Beefheart...which suits me fine, and is much better than being compared to a sick duck.
Thank you very much for listening and commenting.

Pete, thank you very much sir. The guitar was a Strat, direct into the 1180 using the Tremolo Twin patch for rhythm and the Texas patch for lead. Very gratifying that you like the writing, that's really my main focus...trying to regain my writing chops after being dormant for so long.

Mark

[Axe4Yahweh]

I loved the vibe to this tune. But the bass was definately lacking and though the you sang the vocals very well, they sounded a bit distorted in places.

Keep up the good work, Mark!

Blessings;

CR

[mkg]

CR, thanks very much my friend. I definitely need to re-do the bass...one of many weaknesses, but I'm working on it. As mentioned in an earlier post, I sang (actually more like whispered) the vocal at around 3 a.m...and it shows. I plan to do another pass when nobody's home.
Very glad that you dig the vibe, that's the most important thing.

Mark