C
Cheeky Monkey
New member
My songwriting is probably categorized as middle-of-the-road rock, with folk, country, and blues flavorings. I'm a guitarist (acoustic and electric). Some of my songs sound pretty-much middle-of-the-road rock, others a little more country, while others a little more blues -- you get the picture. Although I'm sure there is a consistency to "me" and my "sound" (that others who hear me can identify better than me), there are some things I'm wondering about when home producing a collection of songs for a particular CD project (once I get my recording/mixing/mastering skills up to par).
I speculate that the producers of successful recording artists encourage a particular, more-or-less consistent sound on a CD (or even all CDs through an artists career) because that's what the artists' listening public seems to want. Do you believe this to be true? I really have no commercial aspirations and therefore realize I can record whatever I want, but I'm curious about this and depending on the views expressed here, it may influence how I approach my planned project.
In my case, would you attempt to produce a middle-of-the-road rock song that has a "countryish" side, and make the "country" stand out a bit (perhaps adding certain instruments, such as a steel pedal guitar)? And on the same CD project use similar techniques with folkish and bluesish pieces? Or, would you let those influences sit in the mix so they're more subtle, so as to create "a" sound for the project? Alternatively, assuming you have enough material, would you "theme" the projects -- a more country CD, then a more bluesey CD. For example, Clapton is successful at this when he steps into a blues project.
Finally, I've read on this forum where certain instruments are best placed in the mix. For example, lead vocals centered and more upfront, rhythm guitar and keyboards panned away from each other. Would you apply pretty-much the same placements in all songs on a CD project to help with a consistent sound?
Anyhow, I'm interested to know your thoughts on all this. Cheers!
I speculate that the producers of successful recording artists encourage a particular, more-or-less consistent sound on a CD (or even all CDs through an artists career) because that's what the artists' listening public seems to want. Do you believe this to be true? I really have no commercial aspirations and therefore realize I can record whatever I want, but I'm curious about this and depending on the views expressed here, it may influence how I approach my planned project.
In my case, would you attempt to produce a middle-of-the-road rock song that has a "countryish" side, and make the "country" stand out a bit (perhaps adding certain instruments, such as a steel pedal guitar)? And on the same CD project use similar techniques with folkish and bluesish pieces? Or, would you let those influences sit in the mix so they're more subtle, so as to create "a" sound for the project? Alternatively, assuming you have enough material, would you "theme" the projects -- a more country CD, then a more bluesey CD. For example, Clapton is successful at this when he steps into a blues project.
Finally, I've read on this forum where certain instruments are best placed in the mix. For example, lead vocals centered and more upfront, rhythm guitar and keyboards panned away from each other. Would you apply pretty-much the same placements in all songs on a CD project to help with a consistent sound?
Anyhow, I'm interested to know your thoughts on all this. Cheers!