this song is Free!!

Well....




ok....





*sigh*




I guess I'll check it oat...



:rolleyes:







but I just know it's gonna suck.


















:D



WATYF








***WATYF skips off with glee to hear the latest macle song....



:p
 
Groovy stuff man....



I don't think I've ever asked this, but how do you record your drums? They're such a perfect sound for your style.




(finally jumping on the NWR bandwagon, eh? :D)



WATYF
 
macle....goddamnit ....why do you do this ....


LOVE THAT HARD STOP AT :49....
the bass is ....it sounds good is it all washy -ish..like it fades in and out....1:44AWESOME..........man those harmonies are awfull....why would you even put this out for us to hear??!?!?
:D the off to theside vocals on the outtro....man thats cool.
do you do this as a hobby????....lol...i mean do you do this AND have a regular job??..thats just not right...who do i need to write to to get this straightened out?!?!...


awesome...

jamal
*****
 
Excellent my friend.

Good tune, great break, GREAT vocals, a hit for sure.


Sean


Fucking ending is great !!!!
 
yeah, ... yes.

I liked the break, too. I don't know if anybody else is as deaf as I am, but I'm having quite a bit of trouble making out the lyric in the first couple of verses...seems a lot more "blurry" than other stuff I've heard from you.

Hey man, fuck critiqueing...how's life treating you these days? Good, I hope. Good to see you around these parts.

-The Deaf Guy
 
Hey, thanks for checking it out the tune already!

WATYF-Thanks. Hope you weren't too let down after all that skipping. As far as the drums, it's weird, I always approach em sort of differently, and they always come out sounding sort of the same. This time, I used an NTK and an AT4033 overhead, and an sm57 on the snare, and a D112 in the kick. And I EQ them for days trying to make them sound good. I'm really an idiot, cuz I don't ever put on new heads or anything. Thanks for checking it oat.

Jamal-Thanks! I wonder what you mean about the bass, I mean, that washyness is good? Hmmm. As far as who to write, you could write my parents. They think I'm a loser.

smellyfuzz-What can I say, but thanks! I really appreciate it. The vocal thing means a lot. Thanks very much for checking it out.

chris-Fuck critiqueing?! Dood! I need to know what's up! Blurry? I, uh, I think you're right. I think I'm gonna need to remix (ugh). I try and do things different, to up the ante, and I think I either lower the ante, or it's the same ante I had in the first place. Seriously, thanks for pointing that out. As far as life goes, ummm, well, hey, I don't know, sort of could be better. But fuck life, I need critiqueing! Thanks Chris.

Macle
 
WoW.This is excellent Macle.Man that is a COOL break at 1:44!Even cooler breakdown beginnig at 2:27!Great vocal work dude/s.Max is doing some cool stuff in the background and on the harmonies....killer ending!

This is great Macle.You guys should be doing this professionally.If you never get a record deal it wont be for lack of talent.You've got more than enough talent.


*****
 
I listened to the opening note a couple of times, and I can't decide if the song was "clipped" via editing or not.. The attack of the first note seems gone. The break with the "total silence edit" (0:48) seems a little like it is tromping on some music a tad too. The break at 2:05 was MUCH better... perfectly trimmed out.

otherwise....top notch mix, song and recording....oh and performing too! You serve up the perfect amount of ear candy in your stuff to keep it interesting and just unpredictable enough. Great ending!!
 
Hi Macle--Once again, you deliver the goods on the song. You write and put things together real well. I'm never disappointed.

Things I like: everything seems to have its own spot. The bass is very cool. I like that tremelo guitar too. Love your vocal performance. Nice shaker thing in the bridge. Good guitar tones too.

Things that could be better: Like ol' deaf boy Harris, I'm having trouble with the vocal SOUND--not the performance. It sounds like you put a huge high end cut on the lead and BG's. I'd like a vocal mix with more lead vocal and less harmony--until you get to the bridge--there, everything seems right, and strangely clearer. The whole ending section sounds great--just a hair too much synth.

Also, my guess is the whole midrange of the song is occupied by guitars and synth playing in the same register. Its creating a muddiness there. I'd pull that synth out wherever theres a vocal. I'd strip the verses down to a point where each instrument is clear. Right now, theres, piano, acoustic, electric and synth and its way overkill. I'd pan the acoustic and electric apart and probably knock out the piano altogether. I'd add more presence on the drums overall and give them a bit more spaciousness, except the shakers--those sound incredible.

I know all this sounds like too much nitpicking, but I don't mean to detract from the overall song and concept, which is wonderful. AS it is, I love it, OK?!:D I just think it could be better still. Thanks for putting up with me. Much respect!
 
Kramer-Hi, how are you, hope you're good! Thanks a lot, I sure do appreciate it. Oh, and Max says hi and thanks, too.

mixmkr-Yeah, I noticed that at the beginning, too, easy enough to fix, don't know what happened?!. The silence edit at :48, I just sort of chopped it in the middle of a roll, I think can make it a bit cleaner. Thank you very much for checking it out, really appreciate it!

crawdad-I appreciate greatly your nitpicking! Do you ever do a song/mix, and almost right when you're done, you realize where you went wrong (after a couple people tell you ;) )? I agree completely with your comments (mostly :) ).

But, you're right, there's just too much crap in there. And the main culprit, I think, are the electric guitars. I had this problem once before (well, I have this problem a lot, really, cuz I tend to always put lots of crap in there), but this problem where I just can't seem to get the clarity. And the other time, I used the POD. This time, I used a Vox Valvetronix (or whatever it's called) modeling amp. I thought it was okay at first, but it just creates a tinny annoying mess.

And the funny thing is, I try to fix it by having more of it. "How's the guitar sound? Like shit? Then double it!!" I am done forever with amp modeling.

Anyway, I just went and cleared the mix, and turning off the electrics, the whole thing opened up completely.

Well....I'm bummed cuz I thought I was done with this piece of garbage, but I'm excited cuz I think I can do a way better mix now. At least the shakers kick ass! :p

You deaf guys sure can hear.

Thanks very much,
Macle
 
as usual, this sounds so much more pro than what i'll ever be capable of it's sick.

i really like the high end on this. there's a certain lack of 'hey that's very digital' in this. those open hihats sound great. i also dig the shakers, very beatles if you know what i mean. ever listen to the percussion on stuff like obla di obla da?

the bass is also very nice. not overpowering but you can definitely feel it at the same time.

only gripe is that i, like the others, couldn't really make out the words in some of the verses. the vocal needs something more without moving the faders up. i've never run into that before on one of your recordings.

as a matter of personal taste, i wanted the drums to be just a tad more crisp, but you seem to like them a bit mellower than i do i've noticed.

anyway, thanks for sharing. i'm gonna go take out a loan now.

oh.....one more thing. the overall stereo separation on this sounds perfect to me. the balance is amazing.
 
Nice music. Great feel to the song. Nice Beatlesy Sgt. Pepperish sound. Nice feel to the song. Liked the transition to a "stripped down" sound during the bridge.

I think the vox are getting just little covered mostly by one of the keyboard parts (panned slightly to the right) and a clean guitar part (panned slightly left).
 
I'm loving this one! Definitely up my alley. I love those de-tuned guitars during the breaks. The arrangement on this is monsterous! You got a very big sound and the vocals are excellent!

Don't have anything bad to say about this. It is an excellent recording and a great song!

And that ending is killer!

:)
 
This is really up my alley. I dig the Beatle boogie on the major 7th chord. Lennon was a big proponent of the major 7th chord and thats why most people think Beatle when they hear it. This song is loaded with them. Great stuff, great arrangement. Can't thing of a critique, sorry. Is this a home recording? If so then bravo! Stunning results.
 
Macle--I hear you on the amp modeling. It doesn't usually work for me either. And I wish it would. Might have to try a piece totally modeled and see if I can learn how its done.

A long time ago, I used to do a bunch of sessions at the old Holland Dozier Holland studio in Detroit. It was after Motown moved to LA, so I didn't play on anything famous or anything. Anyway, the producer got me hip to the concept of putting things in registers. Whenever things sounded muddy, he'd say--play an octave higher on the piano, or an octave lower on the guitar. It always opened up the track and made it more clear. If you think of your whole musical structure as being one keyboard, the idea is to not have two instruments playing in the same place on that keyboard, because that is what creates muddiness. Thats what I mean by register. Keeping things all in different ranges prevents frequency masking.

Also, re-reading my comments, it sounds like I am making mountains out of molehills, lol! Those were all very subtle things, actually. The song stands as is just fine. I just thought I heard a few ways to get it even stronger. I want to hear the new mix of this, when its done. Hope I wasn't over indulgent with my comments.
 
Chris-Alright, thanks. And thanks again for your deafness.

ericenryus-Thanks. You're right about the vocals. I really screwed this mix up. As I said in a reply to Crawdad, when I clear out the electrics, the whole song opens up, especially the vocals. I was really bummed how thin and annoying the vocals were. And the fact that this is sort of a duet makes it more difficult. The drums I think I would like more crisp and punchy, really. I try crushing em with compression, and all sorts of EQ, but I think it's just not there. Got any ideas? Thanks a lot.

TripleM-Thanks. The bridge does seem more open. Not really any electrics there. Less stuff in general. Makes me wanna strip the whole thing down, maybe do a 'naked" mix. Thanks for checking it out, appreciate it!

boydrj-Alright, glad you like it. Thanks!!

ashulman-Thanks a lot. Lennon is my fave. The seventh chord Beatle sound is a bit of a cliche I guess, but I like it. Home recording is where it's at! Thanks.

Crawdad-I do have a lot of trouble with that register thing. Something that always puzzles me is, what do you do when the instrument covers the whole range, like piano or strings? I know you can do it to a great degree with registers, or just have the strings in holes, but I do hear tracks where the strings are full, and the piano is full, and there are heavy guitars, too. A big sound, but still clear.

You were not over indulgent at all!! This sort of stuff is what I yearn for. (I think we all do, that's why we're posting here, right?) I really appreciate your advice, and everyone's. I don't mind negative criticism at all, and I thank you for taking the time!!

Macle
 
I like this mix. I dont mean this in a bad way but when i listen to
it on my monitors it almost sounds like im listening to some thing
coming from my radio in the car. If that makes any sense.

Just the way it is mixed and recorded sounds like it just meshes
together.

None digital Not that high definition stuff I keep hearing that is
so popular, This is easy on the ears.
 
Macle--Thats an excellent question. I can offer two possible answers, niether one definitive. The first answer is: even though there are parts all over the place, I bet the great tracks usually have each player sticking basically to a region or register--also creating the occasional hole for another instrument to stand out. I think about those old Elton John tracks--drums, bass, piano electric guitar and sometimes strings. The band seemed to find parts that worked around Eltons piano and voice.

The second answer is: panning and EQ. Just as there are musical note registers, there are also frequency registers or bands. As for the panning, my rule of thumb is to pan similar registered parts opposite each other to preserve definition. The EQ thing, as we all know to some degree, is to find useless bands of mud in an instrument and dip those, while possibly accentuating the band that defines the instruments tonality. I notice a lot of rock piano really has the low end scooped, because the bass fills up the bottom, for instance. And often the bass will have little mids or highs--especially if a piano or acoustic is filling up the middle register. Since strings have such a unique timbre, they seem to cut through just about anything. I have mixed high strings in a track sooooo low that I thought they were useless, only to come back later and be startled at how they still cut through!

There is one other thing too, and that is note duration and timing. Staccato guitar parts in the same register as a sustaining piano can work fine. They become like drums almost. Ever notice how you can turn drums up and still hear all the instruments? Its when everything is sustaining that the register thing is most useful.

I relearn this stuff every time I go to mix--every time its different. My rule of thumb has always been that a band track should basically be full with bass, drums, a keyboard and a guitar. Or sub the piano for a second guitar. If I can get the track to gel with those parts, I'll add a vocal. From there, I see how much of what I hear in my head can actually fit over the top of that. Think about a record like Steve Miller's Jet Airliner. He may have doubled or tripled everything on it, but its like--one guitar, bass, drums and vocals. Sounds huge.

Well, those are answers of sorts. Nothing definitive, but its the place where I start out. Becoming an expert at all this is another thing--I mean, its enough to be able to write a great song--like you can. Now we all have to be studio cats, producers, and engineers as well! Whew! Ah, its a cakewalk, right? :D
 
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