Acoustic Rock Album, Please Critique

[kokain]

Here is my new album called HandCrafted. Please offer some feedback on anything you like and don't like. This is a completely one-manned effort. I did everything from writing to recording to mixing to upload.

The album is supposed to be a raw acoustic rock type album. Tracks 1-4 are pretty straight forward. Track 6 and 11 took me a lot of time to learn midi and virtual instruments. There are some woodwinds and strings in there. Tracks 8 and 9 also took a lot of time because I have never played the piano before. I hate track 12. It was rushed and not very well done, but it is one of my favorite songs from that period of writing so I left it in there. I hope to re-track and re-mix soon. Any ideas on how I can add some distinction to 12? After re-tracking what are some "different" approaches I can take in the mix stage to make it stand out?

Anyway, I'm looking for feedback of any kind... just don't insult my mother (that has nothing to do with the music!!).

01. Playing Dead
02. Hide
03. By Myself
04. One More Time
05. Disagree
06. Quiet Walk Home
07. Plain As Day
08. Privilege Strike
09. Dry
10. Dirty Will
11. Throwing Stones
12. At Night

 

[ido1957]

You're overwhelming us with that many tracks. Why not spread it out - say a tune every week or two. In line with that I listened to the first track only.
As you're redoing these anyway I would for this track...
EQ some of the highs off the microphone
Tune that guitar break in the middle
Work on the vocal pitch as it's off is a lot of spots
You remind me instantly of Tom Petty - it's a combination of the rhythmic style and the way you sing.

 

[DM60]

I have to agree, that many tracks at once. I suggest get one, lets us give you some tips and they may apply to all of them.

Listened to the first song. Good start, has some issues. Drum seems to be working something strange and making it sound off. If you could go back and check your timing on everything, if it is off, you may be trying to correct on the mix (I've done this before) and that could screw up everything.

Good start on the first song.

 

[kokain]

I didn't mean to be overwhelming. I figured people could listen to a song they liked the name of and then skip around a little bit, offer up some thoughts and go about their merry way. I don't expect everyone to listen to everything and write meaningful responses for all of the songs. It might be cool if there is this one thread where people are talking about different songs, the one that interested them the most, or the one they hated the most, or whatever. The album is sort of one cohesive unit anyway. Plus, the embedded soundcloud players make this super easy. Sorry.

 

[DM60]

I didn't mean to be overwhelming. I figured people could listen to a song they liked the name of and then skip around a little bit, offer up some thoughts and go about their merry way. I don't expect everyone to listen to everything and write meaningful responses for all of the songs. It might be cool if there is this one thread where people are talking about different songs, the one that interested them the most, or the one they hated the most, or whatever. The album is sort of one cohesive unit anyway. Plus, the embedded soundcloud players make this super easy. Sorry.

Most, if any, will not tell you if a song is good or bad. What we try to do here is tell you if a mix is good or bad. Make adjustments here, change some things here. You may want to go and look at other threads to see what type of feedback to expect. We are mainly here to help the amateur to become better.

 

[kokain]

Well I certainly am an amateur!

 

[robgreen]

Hey, I skipped around a little bit and listened a couple of times to some. Not being contrarian, but I actually thought track 12 was the best song and mix that I heard - the simplicity works and it has enough energy to hold the interest throughout.

The vocals are the strongest point. I think you've got an interesting and unusual voice - sometimes the pitch wavers a bit, but it fits with the raw style and I like that twin vocal approach. I'm guessing that Nirvana and particularly the Live Unplugged album are big reference points for you?

These were a few thoughts that I had as I listened:
1. The basslines are often quite high in the mix. You tend to play quite melodic basslines rather than just four strikes to the bar & following the chords type lines, which makes for more interest, but I think they're still a little high. I often find that basslines need to be mixed lower than you initially think, even when they're intrinsic to the arrangement - it's like a little goes a long way, you don't need a huge amount of bass to still be picked up subconsciously by the listener. Not sure if I've communicated that well, but hopefully you get my general meaning?

2. The drums do seem to knock the mixes off in quite a few spots. How did you do them? My feeling is that maybe you did the guitars and bass first without a click track and then added the drums? I might well be wrong, but there are fills and hits that don't fit into the timing in spots and I wonder whether it's the guitars that are loose rather than the drums?

3. The piano on songs 8 and 9 sounds very quantised. You say you haven't played piano before - I'm guessing you clicked the notes on a midi grid, rather than physically played them on the keyboard. The tendency when you do that is often to make parts more ornate than what could practically be played, so you've got some pretty complex lines there that would be very difficult to actually play, but all perfectly aligned to each note, 1/4 note, 1/2 note etc timing wise and with the same dynamic on every note. It gives it more of a music box type feel or one of those gimmicky pianos that play themselves - it can be an interesting effect in some types of song, but when you're going for a raw acoustic feel, it juts out a little and sounds unnatural. I think more would be less in this instance and you could get the textural change you're after with a much simpler part. If you've a midi keyboard (and if not, you can pick up a basic one dirt cheap), then I think you'd get a more satisfying result from practicing a basic part until you can record it. The variations in timing will get you off that rigid midi grid and make it more natural.

I was thinking of a song called Apple Blossom by the White Stripes when I listened to Privilege Strike. It has the same kind of piano break idea brought in part way through quite a raw song - and I thought it might be quite an interesting reference point for you.

4. The virtual instruments. Get them dirtied up a bit so that they sound less 'out of the box'. Mess around with some saturation, EQ and reverb and they'll bed in better with the raw feel of the vocals and guitar.

Hope the above helps and doesn't come across like I'm ripping into you - just some thoughts that you'll hopefully find useful

 

[kokain]

Hey, I skipped around a little bit and listened a couple of times to some.

Thank you!!

Not being contrarian, but I actually thought track 12 was the best song and mix that I heard - the simplicity works and it has enough energy to hold the interest throughout.

I guess I don’t hate the song. I hate the way the vocals are so weak and off at the start. I like it better when it gets to the middle more. It was the last thing I mixed and I know I rushed it. I guess I’m biased.

The vocals are the strongest point. I think you've got an interesting and unusual voice - sometimes the pitch wavers a bit, but it fits with the raw style and I like that twin vocal approach. I'm guessing that Nirvana and particularly the Live Unplugged album are big reference points for you?

Thank you. I figured a long time ago that I can’t be a good singer. So I try to be unusual and honest.

I grew up with Nirvana so any mention of them is a huge compliment. I usually play some form of dirty, sloppy, punky, gritty rock music like Aneurysm. And the Unplugged album was my first real exposure to a rock band with acoustic guitars. It blew me away at the time (and still does).

1. The basslines are often quite high in the mix. You tend to play quite melodic basslines rather than just four strikes to the bar & following the chords type lines, which makes for more interest, but I think they're still a little high. I often find that basslines need to be mixed lower than you initially think, even when they're intrinsic to the arrangement - it's like a little goes a long way, you don't need a huge amount of bass to still be picked up subconsciously by the listener. Not sure if I've communicated that well, but hopefully you get my general meaning?

I hear you. I really don’t know how to mix. I have read so much in the last couple months but still have no experience. This is my first attempt at it. My intent was to have the bass own an equal importance as the guitars. I was playing 3 acoustics at least once for each track and then two bass lines to pick my favorites from. So when I was mixing I didn’t treat the bass line as a bass line, just another guitar. I don’t know if that makes sense but that’s what I was doing. Hopefully in my next project I can work on levels and where things sit.

2. The drums do seem to knock the mixes off in quite a few spots. How did you do them? My feeling is that maybe you did the guitars and bass first without a click track and then added the drums? I might well be wrong, but there are fills and hits that don't fit into the timing in spots and I wonder whether it's the guitars that are loose rather than the drums?

The guitars are super sloppy, I agree. I did the guitars then the bass. I did use the click track, but what can I say. I got impatient. I probably could have redone more. Then I played the drums over the guitars with the click up higher. I am an even worse drummer than guitarist, so I then spent hours tweaking the drum tracks in the editor. I tried to find a compromise between lining the drums with the beat and the guitars. Sometimes the guitars were on, sometimes they were off. So I split the difference or left the drums on beat.

3. The piano on songs 8 and 9 sounds very quantised. You say you haven't played piano before - I'm guessing you clicked the notes on a midi grid, rather than physically played them on the keyboard. The tendency when you do that is often to make parts more ornate than what could practically be played, so you've got some pretty complex lines there that would be very difficult to actually play, but all perfectly aligned to each note, 1/4 note, 1/2 note etc timing wise and with the same dynamic on every note. It gives it more of a music box type feel or one of those gimmicky pianos that play themselves - it can be an interesting effect in some types of song, but when you're going for a raw acoustic feel, it juts out a little and sounds unnatural. I think more would be less in this instance and you could get the textural change you're after with a much simpler part. If you've a midi keyboard (and if not, you can pick up a basic one dirt cheap), then I think you'd get a more satisfying result from practicing a basic part until you can record it. The variations in timing will get you off that rigid midi grid and make it more natural.

Exactly. I had originally intended all of the songs to be acoustic guitars and never even considered adding pianos. But track 9 was really giving me a hard time with the guitars being too sloppy and a little out of tune (more than usual). So instead of re-tracking the guitars I started playing around with some free vsti pianos. I like the concept of how it turned out, but like you said, too unnatural. I doubt I’m going to delve into the piano on that scale again, but I will follow your advice. Track 8 piano was an afterthought too. Once I did 9, I went back and added piano to 8 just to try and prepare the listener for the unexpected sound of 9.

I was thinking of a song called Apple Blossom by the White Stripes when I listened to Privilege Strike. It has the same kind of piano break idea brought in part way through quite a raw song - and I thought it might be quite an interesting reference point for you.

Yes sir, I know that song. That’s from one of my six favoritest White Stripes albums.

4. The virtual instruments. Get them dirtied up a bit so that they sound less 'out of the box'. Mess around with some saturation, EQ and reverb and they'll bed in better with the raw feel of the vocals and guitar.

I agree, and I’ll try it out.

Hope the above helps and doesn't come across like I'm ripping into you - just some thoughts that you'll hopefully find useful

robgreen, this was amazing feedback. I can’t thank you enough for the time and consideration you gave to this reply. Especially since I have been listening to your stuff for most of the day, and I have a lot of respect for your opinion. It is really cool to get a couple compliments and some helpful tips from someone making music I want to listen to. I sincerely appreciate it. Thank you.

 

[robgreen]

robgreen, this was amazing feedback. I can’t thank you enough for the time and consideration you gave to this reply. Especially since I have been listening to your stuff for most of the day, and I have a lot of respect for your opinion. It is really cool to get a couple compliments and some helpful tips from someone making music I want to listen to. I sincerely appreciate it. Thank you.

Hey, you're very welcome kokain - glad I could be of help. This place is great for helping people improve who give as well as take and it's often quite inspiring to hear how good some regular posters are in terms of the results they get from home recorded/mixed work.

Thanks for your nice compliments about my stuff too!

Yes sir, I know that song. That’s from one of my six favoritest White Stripes albums.

Yeah, De-Stijl's my favourite album of theirs too - excellent all the way through. That one through to and including Elephant are all great imo, and then they started to drop off.

 

[SteveAlton]

Playing Dead is what I listened to....

I would can the high pitched airplane? sound.....drums are off in timing....need to be replaced...

Guitar is out of tune....

Did you know it took Bruce Springsteen 5 years to get a recording of "BORN TO RUN" to get to his liking?

I would give this one another whirl....Keep learning and trudging on