New Tune...It's Been a While!

CMiller

CMiller

New member
Okay, here is the new tune. It's called "Better Days" and it's at...

www.mp3.com/alphadog

A few quick notes...the drum loops came from a disc a got with Cubase a few years ago. They were REX files that I popped into the song AFTER I had everything else recorded. I actually recorded everything else first to a click and then for the hell of it added the REX files. I haven't cleared the files, but I don't care since its not like I'm going to make any money from them. I wanted real drums, but that's been easier said than done. Hopefully soon I'll be able to change my situation, as I might have access to a couple different drummers and have finally collected enough mics to do a proper job.

Another note...this is the first tune I've put up that I recorded completely in Cubase. This means I can change anything and everything within the song, so don't hold back in your comments! Also, there's something else about the song that wasn't planned (I swear) that maybe you'll notice, and then maybe you won't. I want to see how obvious it is before I let the cat out of the bag.

Please check it out and let me know what you think!
 
Crappy-ass office speaker review:

I like this song and the mix. The only thing that I would point out is the 3rd chord of the chorus, the clean guitar seems to jump way up in the mix.

Queue
 
Pretty cool overall! Nice guitar work.

It did sound like most of the mix was set too far back to make room for the vocals though. Maybe some compression or remixing could give the entire mix more "oomf".

I really enjoyed listening. Good work!

Slackmaster 2000
 
I liked the vocal. Very good.

The song reminds me of something that sting would sing. I think sting has less reverb on his vocal though.

The guitar sounds rather thin.

Bass sounds good.
I think the distorted guitar sounds a tad too loud in relation to the rest of the music. Nice solo you had there.

Good warm mix. Peace.
 
Nice job!

Kind of a "crispy" mix but appropriate for the style of the tune.
Liked your alternating panning on the one track....gave it an interesting effect.
 
Thanks for the listen guys!

Queue: Yeah, I intended for the chord to be a little louder in the mix just to create a kind of textural change. Of course I didn't intend for it to be overpowering, so point well taken. Thanks for listening & your comments!

Slack: I thought the same thing. I think I have the hardest problem with the level of vocals. I used to bury my vocals because I hated my voice. I still do, but now I overcompensate to make up for the fear I have. Thanks for the compliment on the guitar work. I'm pretty happy with it overall.

Cyan: Thanks for checking it out! I intentionally wanted a deep verb on the vox (also with some delay and I think a little chorus too if I remember right) because it seemed to set a mood I was looking for. I agree that it's a bit too much. Another problem I have is finding "my" reverb setting. You know, something that I like on my voice. Since I don't like my voice, its harder to do! lol Thanks for the compliment though. I really did work hard on this vocal part.

The guitar is thin, and I originally wanted a little more beef, but I kind of grew to like the thiness of it. It's pretty "poppy" and I thought it needed it. That was also why I added that chord. I must admit, I wouldn't use this type of tone on much else.

Mac: Thanks, man! Which track were you referring to? I make a concentrated effort to make my panning in a mix fairly interesting (when I can). I used to have a real pattern to what I did, but I'm leaning more toward letting the song tell me where it wants to be. Does that make sense? For instance...the little synth deal in the middle section during the clean guitar solo I wanted filler, but more important I wanted an artificial feel to contrast with the natural flowing guitar work. At least, that was what I had in my head. So I added a really fake synth sound and bounced it in an unnatural fashion from ear to ear. It just sounded like it should do that. Anyway, thanks for taking the time to download it!
 
hoo-hooooooo! Exciting, exciting, wonderful stuff.

Radio ready song. Flog this one, dude. Life won't hold while you sit on the shelf.

Excellent lyrics. Wonderful music. The reverb on voice and lead guitar work a treat.

That first liquid guitar break goes into the hall of fame.

That second buzzy guitar break was tastefully short.

The singing's right on.

Name the album after this one. Really. This is pro-level music. I'm not talking about the recording and sound - I'll leave that to better ears (although it sounds really good over my headphones).

How you gonna end it? On my empeethree download, it just looped to the beginning again.

This one's not just really well done, Miller, this one's a great song. Makes me glad to be here.
 
Damn Dobro...thanks! I might print out your comments and shove them in the face of anyone who says I have no talent! :D

Seriously, thanks. I'm glad you liked it. I think the last verse is pretty relevant today.

I'm not sure what to do at the end. I was just going to have it end suddenly, that's probably why it loops on you. To be honest, I'm worse at ending songs than anything else. I never now what to do.

Thanks for listening!
 
CMiller,
I was listening again today and was thinking that there could be some current event relevance in there too.

Queue
 
"better days"

Just listened, and first impressions are as follows

The vocals could use something to make them sit more comfortably. I don't think it was the mix (that was decent), maybe try something trippy like harsh e.q or delay or something cosmic and sasy.

I dug on the J.Beckish guitar, maybe give it more time to take hold and more of the spotlight.

The arrangment was sparse and the exit was a non-exit.
I'd say, let the whole song breath more and give that lead/arial guitar a chance to shine and captivate.
define the song more.

Great core and ambiance. And, what the hell do I know.
Thanks for letting me listen and share what my head and heart had to say.

Theron
 
Yep....it was the synth thing I was referring to....that section sounds really good to me....good stuff!
 
Theron: Thanks for listening, man! I'm not exactly sure what I could do to make the vocals trippy and still fit within the confines of the song, but it's something to think about anyway.

Thanks for the compliment on the guitar. I actually tried extending the guitar solo a little more, but it didn't sound like it fit well. It could've been my playing, but it seemed like I was trying to fit more guitar in the song than it wanted, so I rerecorded it with what you heard.

I agree that the arrangement is sparse. The end is a little hectic, but most of the tune is pretty sparse. I also tries some backing vocals in there, but it just didn't sound right to me, so I cut them. All in all I don't know what else I could've added to the song.

I do think that the "breathing" thing you mentioned is a great idea. I think I can do that by backing off of the verb a little and letting the instruments place themselves a little better. That would really make it sound sparse though, so I don't know. I'll have to play with it a little more.

Thanks for giving me your opinions, they're much appreciated!
 
Hey Cmiller.

Like the way it loops in winamp, almost seamless, nary a beat dropped.

I think the guitars could come up a bit. I like the bass, always like your bass sounds though. Same with the leads, need to come up and eq'd a bit they sound a little muffly(the one at 00:45) The shaker thing is interesting as well.

Very nice song.
 
Yeah, i like it, the vocals have a kind of 80's Simple Minds feel, don't know if you've heard of them. Well recorded and mixed. Cool bassline, it all fits well.

Jags
 
C-
Loved the whole darned thing! Gives me something to shoot for in my recordings- I'm a long way off! Keep up the good work. I agree with Dobro- this one is ready to shop!

Bob
 
Thanks guys, its always great to hear constructive criticism, and I really appreciate your input!

Emeric: Yeah, I guess that's one of the great things about using loops, if they're done right there is no cutoff. I wish I could take credit for anything related to the loops, but I just can't. They're done by a guy named Dave Ruffy and can be found on a disc called "Ruff Cutz". I got them from my Cubase/Guitar Center disc. My versions were .rex files. Although I don't have Recycle, as you know Cubase can still import .rex files.

Thanks for the complement on the bass. This one sounds pretty good, I think. I usually am the least happy with my bass tone, but this one isn't bad. If I'm remembering right (and I'll check for sure), I recorded it right into the board and added a bit of a tube overdrive plugin (Fraser's Valve Overdrive or something), a little bit of chorus and some reverb. I used the overdrive thing to give it a more amplified sound and it worked pretty well.

Are you talking about the background leads? I had a lot of trouble with them, but that's because I wasn't sure I liked them just making noise in the background. I ended up just leaving them because it filled a void. It was one of those things that you ask, "What should I do with this? I guess I'll just leave it alone." I'll have to rethink that position. ;)

Jags: Yeah, Simple Minds...I remember them. I can see that. It wasn't on my mind, but I can see how you'd hear that. I'm real critical of my vocal performances, and for this one I was determined to belt it out. I think Simple Minds does that...just belt them out.

The bassline was actually recorded before anything else was. It's one of the few times I wrote a bass line before guitar. I recorded to a click all the way through, and added stuff to that track.

Buffalo Bob: Thanks man! I appreciate the compliment! I think the drum loops really add life to the tune, and credit should go were credit is due. These are some pretty cool and interesting loops I used, and abused. lol

Thanks again guys!
 
Took me a few listens to put this into perspective with the other stuff you've done. The work you've invested in this one was more subtle but still there. While seemingly a bit quiet at the start, the need for dynamic range made itself apparent later on.
 
Fantastic job CMiller! I don't understand why you don't like your voice, you are very talented. The song would make a big hit right now as it does seem to have some relevence, as Queue said, to current events.

t
 
Good hearing new stuff from you CMiller! This tune grabs me. I dig the bass sound - all of it just works. Gotta say those REX files added alot; you don't need a live drummer on this tune. :) I may have reached for something a bit different for vox effects, maybe even a dry in-yer face approach, but then, I'm a minimalist anyway.
Great work & keep the tunes coming!:D
 
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