another acoustic instrumental

patlang12

patlang12

New member
I posted a few acoustic instrumentals that I recorded a few weeks ago. This is another one. I'm having a little trouble with everything sitting right together so I am looking for some help. Any suggestions for mixing or any other comments on the song would be great.

 
I like the song. Seems like the guitars were played pretty hard, and maybe too fast in some parts, but you got a nice recorded sound from them.

It's the higher strings that sound kind of "ow"-ish when picked so hard.

Sounds a little sloppy in the beginning. But I really think it sounds good, if a little bright. I really like the melody.

Nice playing. :)
 
I like the piece, although the timing is off especially in the beginning. My own timing is uniquely horrible so I sympathize. It sounds like you are rushing the lead part. Maybe play to a click track or put a "dummy" vocal track down as a guide.

In terms of the mix, the lead sounds a little hard and metallic. You could try rolling off some treble or record with the mic pointed more toward the sound hole. Actually, I'd probably use a mellow, jazzy electric for the lead - the contrast with the acoustic instruments would sound really nice.

This reminds me a little of the Allman Brothers for some reason - which is a good thing!
 
Good playing :cool: I agree with the rushed feeling. The lead guitar part might use a bit of eq to reduce the twang, or if you're feeling adventurous, use an effect pedal/plug/amp to add some sustain and trim the highs a bit.
 
Hi patlang.
Yeah, definitely sounds rushed, which is making your timing off. Maybe you need to relax a bit with this sort of stuff to let the tune do its work. The lead guitar sounds quite tinny, while the rhythm sounded a bit muffled. I'd personally add some effects, but then I'm an effects junkie, so I would say that :rolleyes:.

Good tune though.
dreamer7 :)
 
Thanks for the replys. I agree that the lead needs some treble taken off. What part of the song would you say feels rushed, or is it just the whole song in general?
 
patlang12 said:
Thanks for the replys. I agree that the lead needs some treble taken off. What part of the song would you say feels rushed, or is it just the whole song in general?
Click to expand...

I'd say the majority of it does, there are some parts where it slows down/calms down and it sounds better.

I'd retrack it and play a little softer and slower, especially on the lead.

It doesn't sound bad at all how it is though, but I think slowing it down a little/not playing so hard on the lead will make it sound a lot better.
 
Hi again patlang.
Yeah, the whole track sounds a bit rushed to me. If you have the technology to slow this down a bit in varying degrees, you'll probably notice it starting to sound better and more relaxed. Then you could choose a speed at which it sounds best and use that, or re-record it with that speed in mind.

Just a thought anyway,
dreamer7 :)
 
It will be hard to re-record this anytime soon seeing that the I have no idea when I will see the guy I recorded this with again. I'm not sure if my software can slow it down or not. I think I'll have to live with the speed that it is at for now until I can find a time to get together and record it again. Thanks for the replys, any other comments?
 
patlang12 said:
I posted a few acoustic instrumentals that I recorded a few weeks ago. This is another one. I'm having a little trouble with everything sitting right together so I am looking for some help. Any suggestions for mixing or any other comments on the song would be great.

Click to expand...

Lovely tune! You're picking very aggressively though, so the main guitar part gets a jangly sound going on, it's harsher than I think you want here... There are also some minor meter issues, the aforementioned rushing. It's in the louder sections, and where there is syncopation. Definitely consider dropping a loop or click track down first, and playing to that through phones. I'm a firm believer that good musicianship is fundamentally based on good meter, no matter what the instrument. You have a nervousness that the rushed sections generate for the listener, and you really want this to sound relaxed and second-nature.

It almost sounds to me like if you simply pull back on the aggressive picking,m that some of the meter things will actually fix themselves, because the softer sections of the tune feel much more confident. Cool song though, it lodged in my head right away.

From your picking style, I think you'd like Robin Kessinger, and Pat Kirtley, they are two great flatpickers; look them up!

Cheers,
Phil
www.llarion.com
 
Really nice chord progression and playing style, reminds me of a backstage acoustic jam I saw of Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks on tour with The Allman Brothers. The overall feel I got was that sort of Allman's acoustic jam feel.

A bit rushed in some parts but I will keep listening to it as is... ;)

Keep em coming!
 
If you have the lead on a separate track, and you are using a DAW, you might try just sliding the lead track back a fraction of a second. Or even splitting the track into several sections, and sliding each back independently to bring them into meter.
 
Nice song!
I agree about slowing it down a bit in parts.I used to play in an acoustic duet and by the end of the night we sounded like the Chipmunks.:DWhen you're the only one holding things together it can be easy to do.

Sounds good.:cool:
 
Pretty cool song. I like it. I agree with the other comments.

THe part where the guitar is doing the hammer-ons and its in stereo-- it sounds like you recorded it and then recorded it again (which i'm assuming you did) and panned one left and the other to the right. i'm undecided as to whether or not i like it. it makes it sound a bit more full, but doing doubling (as its called, i think ) with lead can sometimes be tricky.

other than that its a cool song.
 
Nice playing on the track. I'll go out on the limb and say it doesn't seem all that rushed to me. Live tracks will always sound that way when two guitarists are playing. At least in my experience it is.

I wouldn't worry about the timing stuff either. It just makes it sound like two live musicians playing and having a good time. I do agree with the aggressiveness of the playing. But that is your technique and that's pretty hard to change. If you're using a heavy pick, you may try a lighter gauge pick to smooth things out a bit.
 
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