My first MP3 - your inputs welcome

Nice vocals. Lovely voice. The vocals were right where I like them.

How were the instruments recorded? What kind of amp and fx on the electric?

There doesn't seem to be much of a stereo spread. It's almost like it's extra wide mono. Maybe try panning the acoustic to one side a little and some subtle electric rhythem and the leads on the other side. That would also help the drums and bass have more presence. I'll let the drum guru's comment on the drums.

Welcome to the world of home recording!
 
"being gentle"..... the singer has a decent enough voice, and some nifty echo on it too.

the players need some practice to give the tune some "feel" and the percussion is waaaaaay back there.

For a first tune recorded, it shines. After a couple more, you'll start to see for yourself on ways to improve.
 
Wow mixmkr.....that was gentle...you must be in a good mood.
Mr. Keeper.....the song is nice for a first time recording. I think the recording itself does have a few issues and chief among them is that the only thing you hear clearly is the vocals. They're fine but everything else is missing in action. Mixmkr mentioned the percussion being too soft......well it's so soft that I'm not sure there is any percussion. Is there?
The bass is also way, way down. The guitars are a little better but they need to be present a little more.
OK...that's all I got.....nice singing, nice tune....look forward to hearing more from you.
 
Hey CovenantKeeper,

I'll reiterate mixmkr's comments on the percusion. Wayyyyyyyy Wayyyy too low.

The mix illustrates an ability to track, play and write. You've a knowlege base that will serve well.

I'd try and build the rhythm section by finding a balance with the drums and bass as the core. The percusion is so low, it is hard to say what to do.........

The rythm git could stand to take a load off it's shoulders via a more aggresive pan to the left and a counterpart to the right.

I'd mix the lead git even with the lead vox as far as levels and I'd add some lead fills for accents.

That ending is kinda abrupt. Draw the thing out more with repeat vocals and continued git fills leading up to that storm of an exit.

Rough thoughts on a rough mix :) :)

Nice start!!

Peace,

Theron.
 
Very nice for a first recording. Congratulate yourself. You have a future.

Shes a decent singer. Work on the stereo spread. Each track in the software your using should have a pan knob or fader. Gently push it from right to left and youll notice the sound move from one side tothe other. :D

I would talk about the phase issues in the percussion but they are barely audible as are the drums as was said above. Pay attention to the drum mics. Listen to make sure everything is clear through your monitors before doing takes.

Lose the thunder at the end.

Jehovahs witnesses??
 
And now ... a breakdown

Thanks, everyone! I really do appreciate all the input. I knew this wasn't the "final" mix but had messed with this song for so long that I wanted to get some constructive feedback.

On listening back to the song - again - I see what you all mean about the stereo/mono sound. Looks like I need to spring for a pair of decent studio monitors. This was all done ... dare I say it? ... on a home PC with standard Altec-Lansing PC speakers and a subwoofer. I know, I know ... It sounded much more "stereo" to me.

For those who are interested, here's a breakdown of how I got what I got:

I sketched out the song structure in Band-in-a-Box, imported the MIDI into PowerTracks Pro Audio, then recorded the acoustic guitar, bass, vocals, and lead guitar parts individually. The only thing I kept from the BIAB file were the drums. For the drum sounds, I used Soundfont Session drums from Sonic Implants, rendered that onto a pair of digital audio tracks in PT and panned them hard right and left to get stereo drums. (Yes, they actually WERE intended to be stereo). ;)

The vocals and acoustic guitar were recorded dry, then sent through an Alesis Microverb unit I borrowed from someone. The bass was recorded direct, then EQ'd to give it a little more treble punch. Obviously, I'll need to boost that in the mix. The lead guitar is a Kramer Striker through a DigiTech RP-6 digital effects processor, then fed direct into my SB LiveDrive. I might have also run that track back through the Microverb, although it was a while back and I'm not positive on that.

JR#97, Theron: I was considering re-doing the acoustic guitar, panning that to one side then recording another rhythm part on electric and panning it to the other. I was also thinking about taking each 4-bar section of the guitar solo and splitting them (first 4 bars panned to one side, next four to the other, etc.). What do you think? Theron, thanks for the input on adding some lead guitar fills... might be just what the doctor ordered.

Everyone: Again, thanks so much! This forum is awesome!

JuSumPilgrim: No, NOT JWs. Just Messianic believers who are doing are best to follow our Hebrew Messiah. If you're curious, here's our website: http://home.hiwaay.net/~german
 
Real nice,she has a fine voice.
Good writing too.

If your going to redo it,why don't you try playing the acoustic part twice,and paning it stereo.
If you get it close,sounds really full.
I usually pan it at 9&3 o'clock.

Excellent job for your first try,hope to hear more.

Best to you,
Pete
 
Hey, we all start somewhere, right??

Not a bad first effort at all! I'll echo the other comments about the drums; they are so far back as to be non-existent. Everything is run pretty much down the middle. Don't be afraid to open up the stereo field more... The lead vox are good quality, but substantially upfront in the mix. Also, there were one or two melodic phrasing clunkers; where the lyrical phrasing forced a rhythm that felt a tad unnatural.

Gosh, this sounds like a lot worse criticism than is merited, don't think that though; it's actually a very nice song. the guitar playing is interesting and solid, the bass is doing it's job. Most of the problems are mix-related, and can be easily repaired. One other thing; the thunderclap could come down a bit and I'd have triggered it about 3/4 of a second later, it drew my attention away from the last note...


Cheers!
Phil "Llarion: The Jazzinator" Traynor
www.llarion.com
 
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