1st major effort at a complete Garageband track; open for opinions and help

[TheThingOfItIs]

Here's "Manifest Destiny", attached as an mp3.

I'd tried recording this for years, mostly on an old TEAC 144. Finally I entered the digital age--but my favorite piano track for it was still the original 1987 one, which I edited/overdubbed. (Yeah, Jon Brion, I was "chasing the demo"!)

Still wrassling with the concepts of compression, EQ, and mastering--this sound pretty close to what was in my head, but I need some fresh ears! Thanks in advance.

 

[gecko zzed]

An interesting song, and marrying the old piano with new stuff is cool.

There is essence of Elton John about the whole piece which I like.

The drums sound a bit thin, and could be given more prominence.
At places the track goes into distortion, for example at 4.35.

 

[keith.rogers]

I also thought it was a bit hot - possibly starting with levels too high and then letting GarageBand "maximize" the volume when you did the "Share?"

That's the one thing about GarageBand that's really annoying - it maximizes to a peak of 0.0dB, and you cannot change that. I'd suggest unchecking that option, and get comfortable using a compressor and limiter on the master track, followed by a YouLean loudness meter, so you can dial in a finished level that's within your control.

Liked the song, and how you got to resurrect that old piano track.

 

[TheThingOfItIs]

Thanks, guys--I did use an automated mastering system on this--perhaps that's what accounts for some of those anomalies. I'll look into the drum thing too, and will remaster on my own this next round. Will repost soon!

 

[mcmac74]

Cool melody and song...I like your voice, aside from the section at 3.35 where you get a bit lost. Like Gecko said, drums need some beefing up. Nice work.