Debut release, first production attempt

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portugueseninja

New member
Hello! I'm new here so I'm going to have a proper look around in a minute but I thought I'd put a link so you can see what I've been doing so far.

My band The Ventura Project just released our debut album TVP, we did all recording and production in GarageBand. All the vocals were recorded using the built-in Macbook microphone as well (except for the male vocal on 'City Lights')

I think the production is a bit dodgy in places but for a first attempt I am pleased with it.

So if you fancy a listen most of the tracks are online at www.myspace.com/theventuraproject

Or if you'd like a free MP3 download you can at www.theventuraproject.com

I'd love to hear what you think!

Joey
 
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Hello there, i'm listening the Balcony, i like the girls voice but it sounds like a shy girl... with no confidence, i would re-track the vox to add that element. I'm listening Heroes, and the difference is huge...

Instrumentation is very good, everything sounds great to me, excellent mix.

Cheers.
 
Thanks for listening!

I find it interesting that you'd mention that. I'm the girl singer, and The Balcony is the only one I didn't write. It was written by the other band member, Matthew. And it was actually a little too low for me so it was a bit tricky to sing with a bit more oomph, yanno.
 
Maybe that's the problem... when the song is too low for your voice sometimes get that feeling, when that happens try to sing a 3rd up. It worth the try.

BTW, i tried to download the songs from the website, but i didn't find them. And many people here wont listen your songs because they are in Myspace. The quality is very low, try uploading the songs to Soundclick, lightningmp3 or dbox. Those have good quality to give you a better review.

Cheers.
 
I'm a fan. The songs are catchy, and move along with good transitions. Never felt bored. I like the instrumentation. Agree that the girl needs to belt it out a little more. Out with myspace. It truly sucks for showing off your music.
 
Thanks for the replies.

zero00, sorry I should have been more specific. The album is on a download basis so to get the songs for free you just need to enter a 0 in the donate box and it'll take you to the download link.

I agree, MySpace is horrible. But unfortunately it's just so accessible. I've definitely noticed a decrease in the amount of people using it, though. Facebook and Twitter are much more user friendly I find but are not as band-friendly or useful for displaying music.

I'll get on with uploading to one of those sites you recommended.

If anyone listens, I'd be really interested to know how it sounds through various speakers and headphones. I don't have any proper gear so all mixing and everything was done with a pair of £10 headphones from Argos... the thought that people are listening via a much better quality audio system kind of scares me!
 
Listening to Balcony here. It's a really catchy and well-written song.

Garageband and your onboard microphone really don't do it justice. The instrumentation all sounds cheesey and fake, especially the guitar.

Is there any way for you to get real instruments and better gear?
 
portugueseninja said:
If anyone listens, I'd be really interested to know how it sounds through various speakers and headphones. I don't have any proper gear so all mixing and everything was done with a pair of £10 headphones from Argos... the thought that people are listening via a much better quality audio system kind of scares me!
Click to expand...

I'm curious, why did you guys package the zip file with two directories, with duplicates of the songs? I realize one is labeled "mac OS" but most computers and devices read and play mp3 just fine - might save you some bandwidth.

On a couple of the songs, the bass drum is distorted, i.e. clipping.

Mixes are really good actually, and far past good taking into consideration you used headphones.

My favorite song of the bunch is "Dont Even Know".
 
Steve - My main problem was that I can't afford better gear and I also don't really know how to use it! I'm a total beginner at this and I know very little about recording. I wanted to use basic gear that I would be able to use by myself. But I am learning and getting better, so I know the next stuff we record will be better.

The electric guitars were recorded DI, but Matthew did those so I don't know exactly what he did. Guitars are real though. There are a lot of synths, mostly because that's something I can easily do with GarageBand.

Frederic - unless there's clipping that I missed somehow, the distorted drums are intentional. Just because I like distorted drums.

We're not sure what you mean about there being 2 zip files though? If you donate $2+ then there's two files, one for the main album and another for some extra tracks of demos and stuff. But otherwise I have no idea. I asked Matthew (cos he does the website, not me) and he doesn't know but will look into it.
 
I recognize the one lead guitar tone from Garageband. (I've got a friend who's got a similar "just me 'n my Mac" project.) There might have been real guitars that I didn't notice because that one stuck out so much.
 
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