New song, acoustic and uBass

msnickybee

msnickybee

Member
Hi folks, appreciate all your advice! You guys here know what you're talking about, I'm trying to write more songs now my sons are growing up (why get old!?) and I really just use Mixcraft (which works ok for me), so thanks for taking the time to listen.
I wrote this a couple of weeks ago and recorded last week, complete with a cheesy smartphone video.
In all seriousness, I'm still working on getting better recorded acoustic sound (Shure beta 57A). It's my first ever song trying to play my new Mahalo uBass (which I'm finding unbelievably hard to play! but to be fair that's where multiple takes/edits came in...)

It's called "Blue Sky" :
YouTube

I really should post more here, I go away and hide for months, do nothing, eat cakes, then write a song. Hmmm.
Will be back.
Thanks guys
 
I thought it was MOR style but pleasant. It could use more bass for sure. I'd use a shaker or alternative percussion b/c the drums aren't doing much as is, so you might as well make the sounds interesting.
 
Electric guitar and bass sounded good to me. The acoustic guitar seemed to have a lot of 'room' (or added reverb?) The drums are really low in the mix, but the kick is louder than the rest of them (and the sidestick is echoey), really noticeable during the lead part around 2:15.
 
Nola said:
I thought it was MOR style but pleasant. It could use more bass for sure. I'd use a shaker or alternative percussion b/c the drums aren't doing much as is, so you might as well make the sounds interesting.
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thanks for taking the time to listen! ok, hear what you're saying on the bass and shaker... I guess I was aiming for the dated/60s feel also... MOR, smooth, these things are compliments to me ;-)

Manslick said:
Sounds pretty good to me. The electric guitar sound great.
Vocals and harmonies sound real good.
Nice work.
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thanks so so much, and for listening!
it helps to get feedback, it really does
I don't have an electric guitar anymore to be honest, that solo (and the jangly bits) was me on my Taylor GS-Mini (I love it)

mjbphotos said:
Electric guitar and bass sounded good to me. The acoustic guitar seemed to have a lot of 'room' (or added reverb?) The drums are really low in the mix, but the kick is louder than the rest of them (and the sidestick is echoey), really noticeable during the lead part around 2:15.
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hmmm, see what you're saying about the drums being low... it's a tough one, isn't it? I guess I tried to prioritise on being able to hear the acoustic all the way through, you're right though, they're quite low
the acoustic is a funny one, I couldn't get it quite right... there's some real double-tracking going on, and some short reverb too
I always take shortcuts with drum loops I guess (everything else is me lol), and I suppose this is the consequence...hard to get right!
thanks for taking the time to listen and to comment, it means a lot!
 
msnickybee said:
the acoustic is a funny one, I couldn't get it quite right... there's some real double-tracking going on, and some short reverb too
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Oh then it might have been the doubletracking I was hearing. I've found that when tracking acoustic, you just can't get the strumming the same each time you track, so you can end up with a reverby or echoey sound, or a swirly phase issue.
 
mjbphotos said:
Oh then it might have been the doubletracking I was hearing. I've found that when tracking acoustic, you just can't get the strumming the same each time you track, so you can end up with a reverby or echoey sound, or a swirly phase issue.
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you're right, I thought I'd got away with it, obviously not :-(
thanks again
 
Your lead vocal sounds a bit naked until the :46 mark, where more instruments drop in and then your voice fills out and blends in very nicely.

At the 1:22 mark your lead vocal suddenly sounds way better. Something you tweaked there?

Nice song! Bass sounds good. Taylor sounds good. I really like your voice.

Eat more cakes! :D
 
spantini said:
Your lead vocal sounds a bit naked until the :46 mark, where more instruments drop in and then your voice fills out and blends in very nicely.
At the 1:22 mark your lead vocal suddenly sounds way better. Something you tweaked there?
Nice song! Bass sounds good. Taylor sounds good. I really like your voice.
Eat more cakes! :D
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I think...I just sung the Bridge section better! It's one of the big lessons of this for me, I don't plan enough time to give a good enough performance. When it's all just me (writing, producing, tracking, mixing) - you know how it is - it's easy to forget "hey, remember to give a good, consistent performance throughout!". You make an excellent point, and thanks for taking the time to listen and to write positive things!
No cake in the house, but we HAVE got chocolate in abundance..... :-)

EDIT
I lied! (well, forgot)
I just checked, and the Bridge is double tracked, well, triple-tracked, 2 very quiet differently auto-tuned copies 65% left and 65% right... I suppose it's all about the build up of the song. But, if my vocal doesn't stand so well alone, maybe I *need* this all the way through (I'm not a great vocalist, obviously)
 
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Aha! :) I do something similar with my vocal. I actually clone it and slap a 1ms delay on one. It's not as rich and full sounding as double-tracking, but it does smooth it out some.

Is your main vocal autotuned at all in the beginning? I can't tell. Your voice is so clear and crisp, when you're speaking the lyrics it produces some hard notes at the start and end of some words. When you begin to sing the lyrics it's less apparent.

I've been trying to figure out what this song, especially your singing, reminds me of. I just got it : Cowboy Junkies' Margo Timmins singing Sweet Jane :listeningmusic: :guitar:

youtu.be/LS3yUwFnVGQ
 
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spantini said:
Is your main vocal autotuned at all in the beginning?......
I just got it : Cowboy Junkies' Margo Timmins singing Sweet Jane :listeningmusic: :guitar:
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No autotuning of the lead vocal, but any quieter doubled vocal tracks have some minor pitch correction (Melodyne) of certain notes, and some BV's have slightly more aggressive retuning.
Cowboy Junkies! Used to love them!
But also I think you might've had a little too much cake yourself lol ?
Thanks so so much again!
 
I thought it was a pretty song. Instrument bed was pretty decent.

I thought the vocal performance was good. But the vocal sound was a little harsh and seemed to have a bunch of high end. It's a pretty, soothing song. Yet the vocal kind of puts my ear on edge. I'd work on that.

Someone mentioned the electric guitar sound. I agree - the electric gutiar tracks sounded nice and were perfect for the song.

I thought the bass had too strong of a low end. If it has a boost anywhere below 180hz or so, I'd remove it. Or I'd cut there. Then I'd probably raise its overall level. Just too much low end for a light-ish type of song.
 
TripleM said:
I thought it was a pretty song. Instrument bed was pretty decent.
I thought the vocal performance was good. But the vocal sound was a little harsh and seemed to have a bunch of high end. It's a pretty, soothing song. Yet the vocal kind of puts my ear on edge. I'd work on that.
Someone mentioned the electric guitar sound. I agree - the electric gutiar tracks sounded nice and were perfect for the song.
I thought the bass had too strong of a low end. If it has a boost anywhere below 180hz or so, I'd remove it. Or I'd cut there. Then I'd probably raise its overall level. Just too much low end for a light-ish type of song.
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very fair points
I think articulation is kind of my vocal style, but you may be right, it can jar a bit... maybe my ears don't hear it
the bass is my uBass which tends to have a bit of that double-bass sound, so yes maybe a tweak
the "electric guitar" was my Taylor GS-mini acoustic
thanks for taking the time to listen and to give this feedback, thank you very much!! :-)
 
Instruments seem pretty balanced with each other. Bass is subtle, which is probably what you want for something like this.

The big thing that stuck out to me is that there's a lot of mouth noise on the vocals, especially in the beginning with the sparse instrumentation. You might need to back off your microphone a bit more (or try a different vocal chain)
 
VomitHatSteve said:
The big thing that stuck out to me is that there's a lot of mouth noise on the vocals, especially in the beginning with the sparse instrumentation. You might need to back off your microphone a bit more (or try a different vocal chain)
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That's a fair point, and it's something I've been trying to get better at, although crispness is somewhat my thing maybe.
Thanks for taking the time to listen and to comment, that's important and well appreciated!
 
This sounds great-maybe too much compression on the vocals for my taste sounds slightly harsh and too detailed for the vibe of the song. Nice balance and good sounds all around-you've managed to bury the drums enough to where you're not bothered by the slightly mechanical sound. During the guitar solo though those double kick drums sound a bit out of place to me. Good song and good vibe-nice job with the video as well-that's a whole other small mountain to climb and looks like you took the time to keep it interesting.
 
Stratomaster said:
This sounds great-maybe too much compression on the vocals for my taste sounds slightly harsh and too detailed for the vibe of the song. Nice balance and good sounds all around-you've managed to bury the drums enough to where you're not bothered by the slightly mechanical sound. During the guitar solo though those double kick drums sound a bit out of place to me. Good song and good vibe-nice job with the video as well-that's a whole other small mountain to climb and looks like you took the time to keep it interesting.
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I take your point about the double-kick, I took a bit of a chance with that one.... Yes, the video was only rough, but I actually enjoyed making it I think, but you're right! It's a whole other ball game, and I only created one because I think everyone wants one...and I don't like the sound quality on SoundCloud (terrible). Thanks so so much for taking the time to listen & to comment! ??
 
maxbe said:
Lyrics are meaningful. I am really impressed with your music. Nice music video you have shared with us.
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Thank you, that's a very nice thing to say, and I appreciate it very much! Thanks for taking the time to listen & to comment! ??
 
I really like the song. Catchy melody and meaningful lyrics. The arrangement is interesting as well, with a lot of development from one section to the next. I love the electric guitars that come in just before the two minute mark. Very nice, minimalist solo. That uBass sounds great (I need to get myself one).

You come across as quite humble, but you're actually rather accomplished. There's not much that I would change. The drums sound low and bland. I assume they are programmed? The vocal processing sounds odd, especially in the beginning. Are you using a lot of compression? You sound a little hoarse in the opening as well. What would happen if you were to rehearse the vocal another twenty times, and then retrack?

But all said, this is pretty good.
 
Robus said:
I really like the song. Catchy melody and meaningful lyrics. The arrangement is interesting as well, with a lot of development from one section to the next. I love the electric guitars that come in just before the two minute mark. Very nice, minimalist solo. That uBass sounds great (I need to get myself one).

You come across as quite humble, but you're actually rather accomplished. There's not much that I would change. The drums sound low and bland. I assume they are programmed? The vocal processing sounds odd, especially in the beginning. Are you using a lot of compression? You sound a little hoarse in the opening as well. What would happen if you were to rehearse the vocal another twenty times, and then retrack?

But all said, this is pretty good.
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These are brilliant comments, and I appreciate them!
The "electric" guitar is actually my Taylor acoustic, and the drums are various loops, a bit lazy I know...but I like to think I get better quality that way than programming, and I haven't got the patience for eg EZdrummer!
I always struggle with vocals to be honest (a bit of asthma) but I've always been trying to improve, I'm not much of a vocalist lol! I think I struggled a bit with how to have a quieter section at the start, and how to get the reverb right. My technique is such that I tend to need a bit of compression on the way in too.... But also, you've encouraged me to improve more, all of these kind comments have, and the next one will be better eh? That's all that all of us can say with our songs I think!
Thanks so much again ?
 
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