CMiller's 1st contribution

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CMiller

CMiller

New member
Alright guys, it's time for me to put up or shut up. I've been downloading your tunes for a while now and finally got the nerve (and MP3 encoding ability) to share my music with people whose opinion I can trust. It's a harmless little ditty recorded on my analog 16 track before I entered the digital world. I'm not going to list any disclaimers...so have at it!
 
Duh...I was so nervous I forgot to add the url...http://mp3.com/artists/72/alpha_dog.html

Enjoy!
 
Kinda a reminds me of Freedesign stuff (early 70,s). Your vocals seem to take up the same freq. as your guitar. The harmonics interfer with each other. Maybe try micing the guitar differently also the volume seemed uneven on the guitar, maybe a bit of compression on it as you record would help.

Nice start, sounds twice as good as my first try.

There is a lot more experience out there then me though. I'm sure you'll hear soon.
 
Thanks for the comments Layth! I agree with everything you said. One of the problems with this particular tune is that I...uh, I hate to say it, was forced to mix it to cassette a couple of years ago, which muddied everything. I'm also not a fan of my own voice, so I burried that in the mix as well. The guitar track (done with a 57 on a beat to hell Kramer Ferrington) was intended to sound kind of nylonish, and was recorded before I had a compressor. By the way, who is Freedesign?
 
Thanks for the input Slackmaster! My connection is slow too, so I haven't actually tried downloading my own stuff. Hopefully it's just a temporary problem.

The tune was originally a guitar instrumental, but once I committed it to tape I started playing around with different arrangements and harmonies. I've always loved the sound of the Beatles harmonies, so I tried to add a little of that flavor. The synth parts would have been strings if I had the equipment.

I think that you might be right about trampling some of the melodies with the synth. This was one of those cases where everytime I heard the guitar track I thought of another part to throw in. I need to use more restraint at times. Music isn't just the arrangement of sound, but silence as well.

By the way, I think you're a little too hard on your own voice. I like what you did in "Hindsight", I felt it really voiced the sentiment of the tune. My wife, who can be extremely wicked when it comes to criticizing vocals, agreed. I'm the same way about my voice though, I love singing harmonies in the background, but I just don't like to hear my voice in the forefront. I also can't stand my lyrics most of the time...but that's another subject!

I've got a ton of stuff in various stages of developement, some similiar to this, some more rock oriented that I've been having a hard time writing lyrics for (or can't stand my voice on). I'll be posting more from time to time. Thanks for the listen!
 
CMiller:

I downloaded your tune the other day but I only got to hear it once. "SOMETHING" happened...I don't know what...but it just doesn't exist on my HD. My connection is worse than slow so I haven't had a chance to download it again.

Anyway, my first impression was that it was well recorded and mixed. Since you did this years ago I'd be interested in hearing what you've been doing lately.

I really enjoyed the vocal harmonies. Reminded me of Crosby Stills & Nash to some degree. It actually prompted me to try this technique...at which point I realized that having three variations of my crappy voice didn't help anything :)

One thing I'm curious about though...did you use the synthesized instruments intentionally? Well, I know it wasn't accidental...but were you going for something else? There were a couple real pretty guitar/vocal movements in there that I felt were sort of overshadowed by the synth. That's a personal taste issue though.

Good work!

Slackmaster 2000
 
Don't be ashamed of your voice. That was a great job of background vocals with the quiet lead vocal out front (as long as the sum of the vocals stays out front, that's acceptable vocal volume in the mix). Have you ever heard what CS&N sounded like at Woodstock?
Nothing like what they sounded like on that first album. Your vocals come in between those two performance points, but closer to the album... :)
Not much point recording a vocal if you're just gonna bury it or hide it.
And that is a really cute hound. Is that the "Alpha Dog"?
 
C:
Great, another cheesehead :)

I gave your song a listen and it's good. I like the guitar especially. The vocals are excellent; your voice works well for the song and the lyrics fit the mood of the song. Nice job.

Well, I'm fixin' to go watch the Packers and actually pull for them. The Bucs may need their help after that embarassment in Oakland yesterday.

dmc
 
Hey Nice Job!

I have to agree with the other guys, your voice is pretty good so bring it up more in the mix. You should here me try to sing. Wow, lots of cool layering in the song.

I'm up north of you near Wausau, I'm not going to bring up last nights game though!

Well ok, #$$%! %#$%$#$! #&$^@#!

Keep your stick on the ice
 
cmiller- Excellent vocals and guitar work. Lyrics are there. As good as, if not better than CS&N (screw Young).....gibs
 
Hey thanks for all the posts! I appreciate all of your comments. It's so helpful to be able to bounce a mix off of you guys.

It's interesting that you guys mention CSN, because I'm not particularly familiar with their music (outside of the obvious), but I'm familiar enough to admire their vocal harmonies. A great sound out of three (four when Young is there) voices.

Football...hmmm, where do I start...although I'm living in LaCrosse, I'm actually a Cardinals fan. One of the few you'll find, even in my home state of Arizona! I do root for the Packers though (except January 2nd), my wife was born in Iron Mtn, MI. and raised just south in northern Wisconsin. So I guess I'm kind of a "nacho cheese head". The worst part of losing to the Vikes is having to listen to all of the Viking fans that suddenly pop up around here!

Thanks again to everyone for the comments! I really appreciate your input and I'll be sure to comment on everyone elses' projects!

By the way, that is my dog but she's no alpha dog!
 
Miller:

You should really check out CSN&Y Deja Vu. It's the best album that any of them have ever done. Incredible...except for "Our House"....yick.

Ah it's great to be amongst so many cheeseheads! Almost makes me homesick!

Slackmaster 2000
 
Aw f*ck. You finally found my weakness. No more Boston bashing for me I guess.

Now what the hell is wrong with Neil Young? Guess I'm a little partial since my mother liked him so much that my middle name is Neil.

Maybe the reason I like him so much is that he's not a great guitar player so he just makes a whole lotta noise....which is very much what I do. If you can't sing, scream.
Not to mention the fact that he's a brilliant songwriter.

Crosby Stills & Nash's best stuff was done with Neil Young. Not suprising really. David Crosby and Neil Young should've teamed up and ditched Stills & Nash. Deja Vu was an incredible accomplishment from Almost Cut My Hair to Country Girl...

Slackmaster 2000
 
Slack - What's wrong with Neil? 1. His voice. 2. His playing. 3. Cinnamon Girl

HOWEVER, two old songs of his were excellent, some other old ones were pretty good. The 2 excellent ones are BROKEN ARROW and I AM A CHILD. HEART OF GOLD is one of the pretty good ones....gibs
 
Damn, that's one hell of an achilles heel you got there S2K. Neil Young singing sounds like shaggy from Scooby Doo singing on a vibrating bed with a clothes pin on his nose. :) And the whole Neil Young/Pearl Jam thing was whack.

But as long as we're exposing ourselves to flaming, I gotta say one of my favorites is Lionel Ritchie, especially Easy Like a Sunday Morning.

dmc
 
Well I'll definately admit that much of Young's latest stuff is crap. Especially that Downtown song...what the hell?

I really like his voice. It's kind of a Bob Dylan thing....yeah his voice sucks but it's intriguing and instantly recognizable.

I think that anything off of Harvest is incredible except for "man needs a maid" which is just silly.

Slackmaster 2000
 
Now Slack,, A man does need a maid(at least I do) CMiller really liked that tune, and just like everybody else csn&y yea its there.keep up the good work!!
 
Pretty good tune man. That synth had me picturing Laser lights, fog, and Geddy Lee. There were times when I thought his synth was a little out front but hell, I guess that's fine if you dig synth right? It's amazing how many people have got their musical rocks off to songs containing synth lines and still claim not to listen to synth music. I was a metalhead in the 80's and now am amazed when I go back and listen and sure enough, synth everywhere. I liked the guitar sound although I also agree about the freq's.
That's something I'm gonna start working on thanks to dmcsilva's excellant post in the Recording forum! Thanks again for that one dmc.
I think you've got an interesting lilt in your singing and a great voice. I'm interested in hearing some more. I thought the backing vocals came up a little too much when they swell in but maybe it's just my speakers. Thanks for posting.
 
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