CD almost complete...

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Stratomaster

Stratomaster

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I dont even want to say how long we've been working on this project, but it's finally in the finishing touches phase. I've just gotta let the other band members, and you guys, critique a mix or 2-and we'll print some up-let em collect dust in the basement etc. etc.

Ok-I've got 2 tunes up here:

www.nowhereradio.com/ultra/singles

The biggest turd (mix wise) on the cd so far is "love and war"-I've been trying to polish this turd for months-rerecorded the drums, just redid the bass a few nights ago-mixed it a hundred times-I just can't make it sound good...I may even retrack guitars this week if I can get a mic out of storage...but this is probably one of the better mixes of this song I have-is it acceptable? I'm not sure-any specific critiques of this mix would be appreciated greatly.

The other song up is "twisting in the wind"-a little acoustic song which was (also) posted once before-which had serious mix problems-the guitars are retracked-and the mix is pretty much fixed I think.

So choose one both or neither whatever...and thanks a ton for the good advice I've gotten on all the mixes I've posted in the last year-the final product is much better for it. If anyone is interested in a free cd (who might actually listen to it)--I'll give a few away as finances and my slack ass permits---send me a pm.
 
First of all, great songs. And I certainly have a weak spot for your voice. Very beautiful.

Love And War: indeed, it sounds rather bassy and muddy. Cut some of the low mids (hey, why don't we start calling it 'muds?'), and some of the ultra lows in the bass (below 30Hz).

Twisting In The Wind: sounds good! I would personally cut some of the highs. Or use a de-esser/multiband compressor to control the silibance.

Check your PM
 
Love and War - Good song and, if that is you singing, Bravo. Vocals are perfect and recorded well. Maybe a hair out front for my taste but this might have more to do with the previously mentioned "muddiness" of the other instruments. I have PC speakers here so I can't tell.

I hear nothing wrong with the other tune. I especially liked the floating effect (synth?). My only mild suggestion would be to bring down the level on the reverb vocals that come in at the end to make them sound a little further away. Enhance the dreamy effect.
 
Great stuff as usual!

Twisting in the Wind sounds fine. The wind chimes (whatever it is that's shaking back there) are very subtle and could come up just a touch without getting in the way. Certainly not necessary though.

Love and War - Great tune, great playing, but as you know the mix needs work. The kick sounds really good but it's taking up a lot of space. I don't know what frequencies I'd cut, but that would be something to play with. Other than that, drums are great. The guitars seem to be the main problem. How did you mic them? It sounds like you miced the edge of the speaker. If you do retrack, I'd go dead center right on the grill to get a more punchy sound (if you haven't already). I get the feeling that the guitars sounded great while you were playing, but didn't quite get captured right. Still, the stuff I'm criticizing did not keep it from being a very enjoyable listen.

I look forward to the CD!
 
Really nice vocals on Love and War. Maybe a little over emphasized on the hi end. Just a little crispy sounding. I'm on phones, but I didn't like the kick sound. It had definition, but no real thump.

Twisting in the Wind- Nice sound on the guitars, but the vocals had that same crispiness that exaggerates the sibilance. I would try a little cut around 8-10 K. The ending was cut off. It could either fade, or let it ring a little longer for a more natural ending. Good stuff.


Twist
 
I listened to Love and War. I like the vocals. I don't mind them being up front. The drums on the other hand sound like they are in another room someplace. They just don't seem to sit right.
 
Stratoman

I don't need to repeat how much I like "Love and War"
First off, it is almost as though you could pull the vox back a bit and bring EVERYTHING else up a bit. Kinda even them out .
As the chorus at 3:00 plays the instruments (minus drums) seem better balanced with the voice but in the beginning there is a wider gap.
I don't have an answer on the drums for ya but they really lack snap and punch. The bass drum sounds weak. The entire kit needs to come up, or be compressed a tad, and maybe remove some mids and add a rolloff to the highs or something. The playing is there but the sounds lack that snap this tune needs.
Especially in the intro where everything is powerful.
I hope someone with experience can nail this down for you as I am betting on this one ;)

Gotta fly and I will spin the other later and weigh in.

Put me down for a copy when you get this CD done.
One less to dust off:D

Joel
 
Cool Tunes

Twisting in the wind is done in my opinion. It sounds great. On Love and war i would cut the lows on the guitar to make room for the lower frequencies. Sounds good, just needs a little clarity. Cool songs.
 
love and war - agreeed, baller ass voice. ha. my critisisms: voice is too out front, perhaps a little much on the reverb - just a really muddy mix, i blame guitars i think, if you do retrack, seems like it could help. not sure though...ha

twisting - this song owns....good musicians on this board man. ha.. guitar sounds pretty nice (disregaurding mp3!)ha, voice is perfect - maybe a little too loud still...i think its pretty out front for my taste, but i'm not always the best vocal producer...ha

anyway, harmonies rock on twisting too.

keep rockin.
 
Great song

I agree with a previous post in a way. The vox is very good but the guitars and drums need to come up a little and could use some definition. other wise good job and great song writing.
 
Stratomiester, your p.m. box is full.. Don't forget to clear out the sent messages too... I always forget to do that..
 
Yo people-Thnks alot for coming to my rescue again--I'm responding to most of you via pm's-I've decided to retrack the guitars on "love and War"--don't know why I've tried to work with these cruddy sounding guitars for so long in the first place...

Anyway-listen if you like-I may bump this again when the new guitars are done in a day or two---but I probably won't-I may ask a few of you to lend me your ears via pm. Thanks a bunch people!

---also-the sibilance in "twisting.." is noted as well-How I let that slip is beyond me...
 
B.SABBATH said:
Stratomiester, your p.m. box is full.. Don't forget to clear out the sent messages too... I always forget to do that..
Click to expand...
 
I listened to both and I think you nailed them. I really liked them. Being from the 70s generation, they reminded me of a contempory Seals and Croft. Great job all the way around. No criticisms to add.
 
I also like Love and War, although the song does meander a bit (as opposed to building toward a climax). I agree that is has a very good lead vocal; but it does sound like it's in the same room with the bass, with the guitars and drums somewhere else. I would pull back the vocal a tad but not with reverb, and also vote for more clarity on the guitar and more kick on the drums.
 
Twisting in the Wind

On the one hand, nothing's wrong with it, and on the other hand, it's really a nice song and well done. The jangly ghostly sounds in the background really add to the beauty of the tune. Nicely inspired, sir! This one's ready for the album, for sure. :)
 
Nice song - good structure. It had a real good pop-song feel to it. Real good harmonies. Good limited use of telephone voice.

The guitars were a little strong in midrange. A hint of abrasiveness.

The lead vocals were a little on the thin side. I think (like always :D) they'd sound better if they were double tracked. Also not sure how they were recorded. They weren't quite "rich" sounding. A bit of midrange on them too.

The little vocal thing at 3:04 didn't seem to work too well. You did the same thing at 3:12 and for some reason it came off smoother. Weird.

I'm focusing on negatives too much. I really liked the song. Dang, those harmonies are sweet sounding.

Good job. Liked it a bunch.

P.S. after a second listen the vocal thing at 3:04 seemed better.
 
LOL...I remember this ("Love And War")...in fact, I think I ran across it when you had something else posted... Love this song.

I know you're probably in desperate need of mix advice, and it looks like you've gotten some...I can't really help you with much specifically...I'll say that the vox at the end jump out a little bit more than I remember...

Dammit, this won't make sense, but can you make it "bigger?" Maybe the whole mix needs a rolloff below 50Hz, and the guits somehow spread out more, but honestly, this isn't as bad as you probably think it is right now. I understand how the final push gets sometimes, but maybe the best thing you can do is give it a couple of days... (and I haven't been here much lately, so if you posted this 2 weeks ago, well then...lol...I'll just look dumb).
 
strat,
i'm critiquing the turd.....love and war.

my suggestions....
- vocals are great, but too upfront....either bring the guitars up around them, or lay back a bit
- the guitars need more presence in the mix....bring them up instead of the vocal down

it sounds good man.....if this is the turd of the bunch, you're gonna have a nice bunch of songs
 
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