critique me

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shackrock

New member
ha.
http://www.mp3.com/fightorflight

either of the 2 songs,
let me know what you think.

recorded with:
terrible sound card (awe 16, 5 years old)
mx802a pre's
sm57 for guitars and snare and bass
kick drum = at pro 25
2 sm58's as overheads, panned a little bit
sm58 for vox

these 2 are the latest recordings i've done with my gear, but in a week my new stuff arrives (delta 44 + comp + some condensors (2 mxl603s)).
 
Not bad for the gear you've got. The guitars sound great. The drums would benefit from having condensors as overheads, though the 57 is a good choice for the snare. The vocals sound pretty good for being through dynamic mics. I probably would've mixed the drums a little higher. All in all, a nice job on limited gear.
 
:D critique me

Well... I like your smart-ass grin (:D) in the phrase
":D Critique me". Oh... you meant the song... just a sec...


Chad
 
jermania

dude , your set up is very similar to mine(i hate to say;) )
except i dont have new gear coming:( yet!!!!!:D

i'll let the better ear's critique the mix:rolleyes:

man i have new hope for my equiptment!!!!! to me, this is great for what ya got!!!!!!!! hard driving tune!! it sound's alot like weezer in the beginning.

i like's!!!!!!!!!!!

thank's man

peace

rick
 
JERMANIA...

I like the arrangement. Going to refrain from too many mix comments from now on -- when listening on MM speakers... AH... this' what they're calling "Emo". SCREAAAAAMIINNN! Really cool progressive-rock riffs and such. One mix comment: thin. Sounds thin. (well... thinner than a tight mix sounds on these speakers ;)) Love that bass. Did you play all instruments? Great energy. Have you heard of muh boys "The Used"? This reminds me of them, & they came from down the road 50 miles...

Everything is played well SR. Great performance. The guys listening on monitors could help more (I could, but then I'd have to network the mp3 over to the MAC, waddle (how does a 180lb guy "waddle") into the monitor room... GAH! Too much work ;))


Maybe I'll listen later in the monitoring room (actually, it's cause I'm trying to mix something in there now :)) It's a good song. You'll get your share of stars :)


Chad
 
Listening to "Fight or Flight."

Ahh sweet. Dude you must have had a blast with this!

Shit man, I like it the way it is actually. Sounds cool on my monitors.

Ok. Although I like this the way it is- :D beautifully raw :D- there are some things you might look into. You need a better snare sound I think. Do you have an available track you can get the drummer to just play his snare on? just a thought...

Maybe a more distinctive bass track too. But, like I said, I like it the way it is.

Nice use of your gear man.
 
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Listened to both songs.....tight rhythm section and solid guitars, bass and vocals.

I like the *spitting* venom vocals, and I don't hear any clipping.
Lights out, - snare sounds a bit dead, and the low end was muddy, needs some EQ.
Jermenia,- thought that the mids and highs were too dominant, so go figure....

Lots of energy, good job!

/DMM
 
cool song.. I guess it's a good job for limited gear.. the drums could sound a lot better.. the bass drum and snare drum got too low at times.. not the cymbals, just the drums.. I liked the tune..

I liked the screaming parts the best.:)


the song didn't kill me though! :eek:
 
hell yeah thanks guys.

this is my band, and we all play our shit seperately - with me recording all of it. me on drums, 2 guitars (also vocalists), and bass player (pig squeels at the end of lights out).

previously i've had to mix the drums BEFORE getting to the comp...now with my Delta 44 i'll be able to fix things like low snare/kick drum sounds. In addition, my snare was falling apart when we recorded this - i'm lucky it sounded as good as it did in the mix...lol. I've been borrowing snares for recording now ha.



we plan on redoing "jermania" (at least) with the new equipment, to see if it comes out a lot better. maybe that will be our "test" song?
 
shackrock,
I listened to "Jermania" and liked the energy of the song.

From a critical standpoint, what struck me is that the dynamic of the song is as lost as the vocal. No coincidence as the dymamic impact of the tune seems to rest in the verses and the arrangment is built to suit a proper impact.


The vocals are lost too much. The screaming comes through fine but, without the punch and emotional effect they would have if the verse vocals were up in the mix and the rhythm was lower and in place. Then when the song kicks up and gets really pissed off, the effect would be more prominent.

THe break at 1:02 or so, was way cool but, lost some spice due to the above reasons. Same with the screams at 2:37ish.

I'd review how I looked at the mix. You know the song is in your face and pissed. Lay off the "in your face" as far as the mix goes and let the dynamic of the arrangment let the "pissed off" element of the tune become more impactual.

I know, I know, this is all theory and opinion without any exact mixing advice:rolleyes: But, that is where I think the song could improve......I.E. the approach of the mix in terms of effect and message...

enough from me already,

Glad I listened. Cool tune and potentialy cutting vox.

Peace,

Theron.
 
shackrock,

Sounds pretty cool!
Can't wait to hear the new gear.
Great job with what you have!

The guitars are especially tasty!

Best to you,
Pete
 
Jermania - the monitors say:

(Well... considering you're upgrading equipment... this will just critique the mix and not the recording so much...)

-Hiss on vocal track (to be cured with new equipment)

-Low End missing below 120Hz (for the most part) Could barely hear the kick drum during the verses. It does get some more during the chorus and louder parts.

-Mix sounds heavy between about 400Hz and 4kHz, with the cymbals beating the crud out of anything between 4kHz-8kHz (including vox). The buildup of energy around 500Hz in the other tracks seems to bully the snare drum.

Anyhow, realizing this is just a prelim track (before the good stuff comes :)) that's all for now. I do love the energy in the track, the raw creativity in the changes - and I do see a bit where theron is coming from.... some quiet passage in there would set off the loud bits better.

Here's to the next version of "Jermania"!! :cool:


Chad
 
The recording is pretty good for the equipment you used, but what got me was the song

Jermania is a very enjoyable song.

Funk on!
 
A little heavy in the cymbals, and be sure your overheads are in phase. Vocals get buried a little at times.

Nice guitar mix; good doubling of the parts. Sounds very big.

You are going to love the mxl 603's. :D They will open a whole new world for you, trust me.
 
Pretty good for the gear you used.
My first rig was a soundblaster awe64 and one sm57. It was simple and fun and easy to use. Definately a good setup for anyone just getting into homerecording. Things can only get better from there.
 
"...the ones you hurt always come back for more..."

Ain't it the truth...cool lyric.
As for the music, a geezer like me isn't really your audience anyway...but I dug the energy and the lyric.

Who is it that says, "Funk on!"
Somebody in a funny-colored muscle car... :D
 
Hey Shackrock.......
EMOTION....... I dig that. Fuck the gear. Youve got something to say and you will be heard .............even if you do spit into the microphone.:D Nice job man....... looking forward to hearing more............ ............g
 
hexy yeah - thanks everyone who responded...when i get some more songs with new gear - i'll post em up once again.
 
I thought it was a pretty cool song. I loved the screaming. Couldn't understand a word of it - but it was cool. Screaming usually improves a song :D. Well, maybe not "Bridge Over Troubled Water". But it helped this one out.

I thought the vocals were a little loose here and there. The cymbals covered the vocals up in places.

I thought the guitars had a great sound and were well played.
 
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