3 New Songs For You - Fostex VF160

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Dave52

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Ok, so I have been playing with my new Fostex VF160, and here are some of the results. All songs written and performed by me, they're kinda hard edged I suppose...

Follow the link to my Home Page, the MP3s are on the front page.

My Home Page

Cheers in advance,

Dave.
 
Hey,

I listened to Crawling Inside.

Lots O' Elements in this one. The arrangment was dynamic enough but a tad "indugent" if you will IMHO. It lacked a certain continuity as well. The "crawling inside" hard eq'd vox didn't seem to fit and was low in the mix. It took a bit for me to realize it was a vocal track;)

You've a decent voice and your tracking sounds very solid. Almost like you were trying to cram too many ideas and angels into one song.

Keep in mind, these are just my no count impressions.

Nice tracking and a full vision.

peace,

Theron.
 
I am at work so I havent had the chance to hear the songs yet, but I will tonight and let you know. What do you think of the fostex unit?? do you like it?? is it easy to use and how does it sound?? what were you using before??:confused:
 
Thanks for the feedback...!

Keep it coming...!

Ok, Yes, I do tend to fit too much into my songs, it's a kind of wierd style that I find hard to shake. The other two songs aren't quite as "crammed" as the first one.

I am really enjoying the Fostex VF160, it's reasonably priced and very powerful with it. I used to use a Tascam 4-track, and more recently tried my hand at Cakewalk Pro Audio 9. But there's something special about having a proper solid lump of kit in front of you.

More oppinions welcome - cheers,

Dave.
 
...and on the 8th day God said, "let there be Sonar 2.0XL..."

Oh sorry. I'm listening to "Grain of sand." Styx. That's what I'm thinking right now. Very cool stuff. The vocals (particularly the harmonies) sound well performed, but to me they sounded kinda flat in the EQ deptartment. I'd start with the mids and go from there. And this one (Grain...) didn't sound crammed. Pretty cool 70's feel. Good job!
 
crawling.....
I kept waiting for the song to kick in. Very in the style of Styx...like a very long intro, looking for the song to begin.

grain of sand.
I found that at :57 seem to settle better, when a more solid beat is felt. The other sections are a little less "flowing". The acapella section is walking a thin line on keeping time. It's there, but right on the edge, that I should be a little tighter.

both songs seem a little on the dull side on the sound on your vocals...in other words...crank up a little more "crispy's" on them. You have some imagination, writing skills and a good singing voice. I think displaying them a little better will skip you up a couple notches in a hurry.

Looks like you have a solid family unit going there, evidenced by your home page. Two thumbs up there!!
 
Cheers...

Thanks again for the comments, yeah Styx - someone else said that the other day, I've also heard someone say Boston - both huge compliments and rather on the flattering side...

Ok, yes I agree that the vocals need to be brightened up a little, Crawling and Grain were the first two songs I recorded on the VF160, so there's some learning curve there. I think things are crisper on the third song, Entropic States.

Oh yeah, my family rules by the way, and they're very understanding when I disappear into the bedroom for hours on end... :D

Thanks again guys...

Dave.
 
Hey Dave,

Had a listen to Crawling.. (albeit through headphones at work)...

Not my style of music, so I wont comment other than to say well arranged....It is a little 'crammed' but I suffer from the same problem. This shouldnt be too big an issue, as long as you mix it well...I quite often end up with 16 tracks of bits and pieces in my songs, and start off putting it all the same level (cus I want to hear what Ive played :D) only te realize that some of the bits, although they add 'value' to the overall sound, really need to be back in the mix.....kinda like you 'miss them if they aint there', but you dont notice them when they are......

Vocals - definately need bring up in the mix and eq'ing....I guess we all suffer from this (it seems to be the first comment posted against every 'first mix' in this forum..lol) The whole mix seems to be in a 'V' ..i.e. all the instruments are nicely panned and loud, and the vocal is centred but quiet.... I'd start by whacking it right up slightly above where you need it, and then EQ it to take the harshness out of it, which should drop it back slightly in the mix. (feel I may be opening myself up to ridicule with that comment, but hey...thats how I mix my vocals!...lol)

All in all, a good start on your new kit....(damn It took me 3 months to get anything sounding half decent on my VS1680...bah)

Peace
Nick
 
I listened to the track Crawling. Let me comment on the vocals. It's very "dull" sounding. i geuss it needs a bit more around 2-3 kHz and around 8-10 kHz. Also you can cut anything below 80hz.

but even more, it needs some compression. Set it to 20 dB, and a ratio around 4:1 or even higher. Fast attack and fast release. play along with these settings and pump the gain up according to the input reduction

Also, another great tip i think, is to add two fast delays to the vocals. One 15ms panned hard right, and one 30 ms panned hard left. Set them where you think it sounds best, and then reduce them with 15 %. This will fatten your vocals and make them sit better in the mix

Another 2 cents from me :)

Vegar.
 
Entropic States - cool.. I like the riff.. I thought the song was begging for a heavier sound. I didnt really like the guitar sound but the song as a whole was good.. As I'm listening again, I'm not sure what it is but something doesnt sound right.. Maybe there isnt enough bass.. or maybe it's the drums making it sound a little thin.. It sounds like it needs some meat..

decent tune though.. and the family situation is cool too..:)



late
sam
 
On Crawling.

I thought that waiting until 1:28 was a bit late to kick things in. Up until that point, I thought the vocals could have been improved by EQing to make them sound a bit richer. That section of the song needs some nice rich vocals and it didn't really have it. But I think it could if EQ'd a bit better. After things kicked in, I liked it better. I thought the "radio voice" effects on the vocals were slightly over done. Just a little too muffled. As far as structure... Boy there were a lot of different sections.

On Grain.

I liked this one better. Nice melody and feel to it. Nice changeup at :55. I still think the lead vocals need to have an EQ boost in low-mids and a little cut in the mids. I think it would make them sound warmer and fit the music better. I thought the parts sat better together on this one.

On Entropic.

I thought the intro was a little too long considering what was going on. I thought the guitars sat pretty well together. The riff was a little strong. But musically the riff was a nice part - sounded cool. Again - a bunch of different sections.
 
Just listened to Crawling:

Let me say this is not my style of music at all.

You defitely need to do something with the Vocal, i agree with everybody who said the same, there have been some good tips given about this issue already.

The Drum Spectrum doesn`t sound right to me neither.

First off, the Kickdrum is sort of hidden, and has way to much bottom and not enough punch, the Hihat is a tad to loud compared to the rest and the Snare, well...try to add a really good Snare reverb and put the level of the snare a few db's down. Then group all your drum instruments and run them through a high quality room reverb, just add a tiny weeny bit of reverb though, just enough to make them live.

The most important part you'll have to work on though is the vocal...

Sorry i can't really say much about the Song itself, since im not "home" in this kind of genre, though i know how they sound. (sort off *grin*)

Also, another great tip i think, is to add two fast delays to the vocals. One 15ms panned hard right, and one 30 ms panned hard left. Set them where you think it sounds best, and then reduce them with 15 %. This will fatten your vocals and make them sit better in the mix
Click to expand...

This is a very good tip, you should really apply this to your vocal, sometimes it can be a lifesaver :)
 
Thanks...

Thanks again for all the tips and comments guys. I'm gonna print this thread out and run over the ideas when I have a little time.

Cheers to all who took the time to listen.

Dave.
 
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