Another song looking for approval!

Interesting tune. The beginning kind of reminded me of Steely Dan.

You have good vocals. I'm not sure I like the drum sound and they seemed to be mixed kind of low. Actually, the entire mix sounds a little bit low on my machine, but it is probably just on my end :)

Nice playing and I like the bass line you have on this.

Good job!
 
I'm getting some really weird noise on the cymbal's, which is probably just the MP3 encoding going nuts.

Man, this is definitely not your everyday fare. I like it from a songwriting standpoint, but the whole mix seems kinda' "dull," for lack of a better descriptor. Kind of like you sucked all the mids out of it or something. I'm not sure, and I'm not very good at fixing stuff, I just know how to complain.

I really like the guitar work. Melodic, not flashy...cool.

do more,
Chris
 
I like the song but the mix is not EQed well. I liked the guitar playing and the vocals but the drums sound too mechanical and the bass seems to have some timing issues....oops, and a pitch issue with the vox on that spot before the ride....;)........
a nice tune that need a bit more work......... some work
 
the vocals are the best part of the mix followed by the guitar. the drums sound a bit thin...the drum fill at 2:08 needs to be changed, it just sounds overly programmed.....the fundamentals of the song are set, it needs some more EQ work to fill it out more
 
Thanks for all the comments once again!

The drums were done using midi so that wld explain the mechanical nature of it. im finding it real difficult to make midi drums sound realistic.

the intention of the EQ was to make this song sound very spacey, dreamy and trippy so that it sort of like can fit in with the lyrics. :)

the levels are definitely way too low. i shld normalize it or something. normally what level do you guys normalize your songs to? -6 dB?

cheers!
kartikbala
 
Thanks for all the comments once again!

The drums were done using midi so that wld explain the mechanical nature of it. im finding it real difficult to make midi drums sound realistic.

the intention of the EQ was to make this song sound very spacey, dreamy and trippy so that it sort of like can fit in with the lyrics. :)

the levels are definitely way too low. i shld normalize it or something. normally what level do you guys normalize your songs to? -6 dB?

cheers!
kartikbala
 
Niiiice. Laidback. I see you like them organs too :D A bit eerie mood too. There's too much reverb on the guitar on the right. Or maybe the organ has that reverb, but some reverbs are messing with the sound there.

The midi drums are decent but not that great sounding on the fills. They could work better if the hi-hats weren't so even-volumed. I usually lower the hihat volumes between kick and snare beats a bit to make it sound more real. It usually works. You know, when a drummer hits a snare he may involuntary hit the hihat a bit harder too, so maybe that's the cause of it. And the same goes for the kick drum (maybe). The cymbal thing in the left sounds almost inaudible. I'd make it louder. And the crash cymbal sounds weird. Like it has some kind of phasing effect. Those were the drum problems I heard :D

There are a few things more that caught my ears too, but the drum thing was my main gripe. The song was nice, so you only have problems in the mix.
 
kartikbala said:
normally what level do you guys normalize your songs to? -6 dB?
Click to expand...
I don't even normalize anymore. I use hard-limiting, with an output of whtever it takes to squish the mix up to about -.1

(note the decimal point).

post lots,
Chris
 
Don't normalize!!! The only time you should normalize is when you're mastering a whole project.. not just one tune!! If your overall mix level is low, use that little funny thing called a master fader... if you're already maxed at the master fader, then raise the level some other way... in the DAW if you use one, via a compressor with all of the settings null except the output, etc. There is a difference between normalizing and raising the levels.

If you're peaking around 0 and you still aren't satisfied with the "impact", then you can add some compression/limiting to add a little punch. With your mix, I'd recommend some multi-band limiting and EQ. What does your wave form look like?

Oh yeah, comments about the tune... I dig it... nice groove.. a bit long and it feels long because it's pretty static, but I liked it. Nice geetar work and nice keys at the start. The vocals were good, but I think they could have used a little more dynamics in the verse sections. The chorus vocals were excellent... very ambient.
 
Has anyone referrenced The Doors yet? Similar mood IMO.

I like the song a lot....some good ideas and good performance. Nice chords too. But the mix is like a train when you're singing....you have the caboose that you can see clearly, but everything else is obscured.

Midi drums are a bitch. But for some of us it's the only option. I wouldn't necessarily bury them here though. They could come up about 2 dB methinks.

I think the organ should come up a few notches as well. And if that's a reverb I hear on it way out there in the back, I would take it off. Bring it forward. As it sits now, it's almost like more of a distraction. I think you mean for it to fill in some empty spaces.

The bass seems to be at a good level.

The lead guitar is in a good place I think.

I'm not sure if these suggestions will work, but it may be worth a shot. It's just that when the vocals are present (I like the vocals by the way) it seems like everything else becomes one instrument.
 
kartikbala said:
Hmmm...didn't know that normalizing was such a no no.

Thanks for all your help guys!

KB
Click to expand...

normalizing isn't really a major no no... there are just better ways to raise the levels... best of luck!
 
Very nice. Mellow, slightly trippy feel.

The singing is very good, and I love the guitar playing, especially the bit after around 4 minutes. Very fluid.

The bass playing is good, but the sound needs something - I'd like to hear it a bit "rounder" if that means anything?

The organ on the left should be brought in towards the centre a bit - it's off-putting over there!

The drums could be improved. The ride on the left is too quiet. The volume on the hat is about right, but all the rest of the kit should come up in level.

A good drum soundfont might help - there are some pretty good-sounding acoustic kits available pretty cheaply.

You'd get a lot of mileage from a limiter. I'd maybe leave a little more room than Chris: between -1 and -0.3 dB is what I usually go for. Looking at the waveform, you'd get a huge boost in level with no detrimental effects on your sound at all. Your average level is quite low, and you have a few isolated peaks that would mean that simply normalizing wouldn't give you the improvements you're looking for.

If you're interested I can run it through a limiter (the Izotope Ozone plugin is the one I use), and email you the MP3 (or post it on Nowhere). Let me know if this would be helpful.

Very nice stuff.

Cheers

AB
 
Nice tune!
I like the guitar work,sounds good.

Sounds like you could use some harmonies on the chorus.

I have the same problem with the drums,have to try SluiCe's suggestion too!:D

How are you recording?
Mabey someone can offer specific suggestions that way.

Pete

OH OH,just noticed this is my 666th post!:eek:
Better feel the top of my head.
Yup,definitly two little bumps pokin through!
Oh well,had to happen sooner or later!:D
 
Wow! Thanks guy! Really helpful and insightful comments!

alibish - I've got a directx limiter plugin. Lemme try that b4 anything else. That way I can learn what it's all abt too! thanks for ur offer anyways!

will be trying crankone's suggestion this weekend to inject more life into the midi drums. and regd the levels, since all the drum elements are on different tracks, im pretty lost as to how to set the levels. im used to have 4 tracks (K,S,2 OH) when recording real drums...so this is pretty overwhelming.

muzeman - used sm57/sm58 for everything. running thru an ART DIO DPS to audiophile 2496 to sonar.

cheers!
kartik
 
Decent tune. I liked the keyboard part. Between the keyboards and the voice, I got a Doors feel too.

Could use harmonies in spots - it would really help. Even if they're only "ahhh's". The bass seems slightly muddy. The guitar solos are a bit long.

The song is sung ok. But the vocals especially lack dynamics (my opinion).

I'm probably being too critical - the song probably derseves a more positive response. Just offering thoughts to improve it.

Trip...
 
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