Some input appreciated

M

Mr. F.

New member
I actually have 2 songs I would like you guys to listen to and provide some feedback on the song as a whole if compelled. Ie: lyrics, musical ability, arangement, mix. my style tends to be a little more popish. I don't know who I would compare myself to... Everything on these tracks is 100% me. eventually I would like to put out an album consisting of 5 or so songs title "Words Left Unsaid"

The first one "Corin" was written and recorded about 2-1/2 years ago. I know it's not done but somewhere between switching computers I lost all my Protools files. :( Trying to decide if there are any changes I would like to make before starting from scratch.

The second song "The Winner" (I'm not sold on the name) was just written and recorded 2 weeks ago. I got too busy and hadn't played or sang since the first song 2 years ago. So it is definitely a work in progress.

Mr. F. on PureVolume
Thanks for listening.
 
Corin:
Nice but the intro of guitar only one side threw me...a vapor of it on the other side would help even if it is just miniscule.
Is there Bass guitar? Drums (kick particularly) is a bit punchy for tha fact there does not seem to be a Bass guitar following in sync.
Good arrangements,well done.

The Winner:
Good production value, again..you said no Bass guitar yet, so I say it is a good start..no real nits.

Better than average for sure.
 
I put the intro guitar on one side on purpose just to throw people. I like surpises. lol But I can see what you mean. Maybe pan a little to the other side and throw some reverb only on that side to make it sound more life like to the ear? No there wasn't any bass in Corin either. I did get ahold of my dad's bass yesterday but I dont have a bass amp or mic. (I used an sm57 on everything I've recorded so far) Im thinking of plugging right into my m-audio 1814 and throwing it through some cab modeling. Drums were the first instrument I ever learned, the drums on both tracks were sampled using Beatcraft because my lack of mics, again. I see what you mean about the kick being to punchy, I could add some reverb to it to make it resonate more and sound lively like I did on The Winner. Like I said, I have to rerecord all of Corin anyways because I lost all the files. :(

Thanks for your input! The Winner is by far one of my favorite songs I have written, I can't wait to get it finished and polished up.
I do have a question about something I noticed. All of my mixes sound kind of dead and like they are lacking "liveliness" maybe? They just sound very blah to me compared to tracks my favorite artists record... The Maine, Rocket to the Moon, Fall Out Boy, and other bands. I know I dont have the tools and experience their producers and engineers have but I'm listening to other recordings people post on here and they sound great. Is it the fake drums? Merely the lack of bass guitar? Im actually going to work on that today. Also, my vocals sound a little thin to me, but if I boost the lows in my voice they sound muddy. Is it the sm57 or just my voice? I have never considered myself a great vocalist. In the mix I posted I duplicated the mix, panned left and right 30 degrees, and equed the duplicated track opposite the first. AS well as adding the 1/4 note one side, 1/2 note the other side stereo delay.

Anyone feel free to give me any constructive cristism. I won't get offended as long as you are trying to help and not "tear me down".

Thanks
Kris
 
The bass is really thin sounding, took me a while to find it in the mix...Great overall construction and it builds up nicely.
 
Are you talking about the bass in The Winner? Corin doesnt have any bass as I have to rerecord it. Corin was one of the first songs I ever fully recorded but I do think it is worth starting over from scratch. The Winner does have bass now, it might a little low in the mix because the headphones I am using (skullcandy) seem to have a little extra low end in them that others dont. If by thin you dont mean FULL sounding could that be because I plugged strait into my m-audio 1814? I tried to fatten it up with quite a bit of compression. I guess it didn't work? lol Any suggestions on a good free bass cab modeler plug in? How did the vocals sound to you? Destracting at all?

Thanks for your input, I am recording another one of my songs as we speak and am excited to hear feedback on that as well.
 
It's unrealistic to ask people to listen to more than one track with a thread. You ought to select the one that is currently causing you the most grief or is the most important.
Post that, supply info about your recording chain, the problem you think you might have etc.
A work in progress means what? What am I to expect if I drop in on that? If you've posted in the MP3 mixing clinic you want me to listen to & comment on the mix of just a backing track, a song sketch, something almost done but missing the bass?
I'm happy to listen and comment but you do need to make it easier for the forum members to do so.
 
When I first posted the link i used pure volume because that is what I am most familiar with. I see now there is an issue since it seems I can only post a link to the entire album. This was my first thread and then I added the bass to The Winner in another thread labeled "the winner". People just kept commenting on this thread instead.

As for the song. I am happy with the arrangement and basic mix unless somebody points out something that glares horribly. My concern now is that it doesn't sound full and high quality like something you would hear on a cd you just bought. Like I posted earlier, I'm running an m-audio 1814, using a sm57 strait into the preamp on everything except for the bass guitar which was plugged directly in and the drums which I sampled using beatcraft. I'm playing a Gibson SG special strait into a Peavey Classic 2x12 combo. Is there any other info you need to give me input to help me make this mix something great?
 
Let's focus on The Winner:
Well right after the intro, after the "We could be winners" line when it hits the instrumental, the volume actually dips down a little and the recording pans to the left a little... So the climactic pause sounds pretty bad. MUST be fixed... Dynamics are everything.

In terms of vocals... You're definitely not bad. But I can tell that you need to use your breath more efficiently and your "r"s need to be altered. In terms of breath, I can't really type out the solution. So you'll have to have a voice coach or someone help you out a little. Or just YouTube some stuff. There's great vocal tips on there. That's how I got started.
The thing about the "r"s (and I mean words ending in -er,-ar,-or, ex: winners, fingers, etc.) actually has an easy fix. You gotta sing those words with a British accent. Instead of "winner" you gotta sound more like "winnah". The reason why is because the "r" just makes the human voice naturally curl down and is easily susceptible to going flat fast.

Now... my friend, I can't tell you how important bass is. These recordings NEED GOOD BASS. Your recordings sound a little on the thin, empty side because your bass sounds gritty and isn't loud enough. I personally like deep thick bass, so it's your preference, but make it louder.

Also, HARMONIES. Those choruses definitely need some backup harmonies to make them sound full and lively.

And lastly, the ending cuts off pretty awkwardly. If you're gonna keep that echo on the voice, then make the recording end another few seconds lat

But hey, all things considered, damn good recording. Love the progressions. LOVE em. Especially the Pre-Chorus on Corin. Make sure you add some good bass to Corin too. And definitely lower the drums in the verse.

I know when I'm mixing, I'll probably end up listening to the track a couple hundred times over and over and over and OVER to fix the little things, make sure all the levels are blend together clearly. That's the difference between you and your favorite artist's recording.
 
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