don't come here no more

[heatmiser]

Hey - here's something I more or less wrapped up this week. Something a bit different from me perhaps.

I am curious to know how it sounds for folks. As always, I have concerns but will not voice them as I prefer not to steer anyone in a particular direction.

I appreciate your criticism, suggestions, adulation and ridicule.

Original, 03/07 mix:



New, 03/08 mix:



Thanks,
Pete

 

[Greg_L]

I like the trashy drums. My problem with the drums though is they sound too small and distant. That hat bashing away seems really dry while the rest of the kit sounds as if it's in another room. Kick is MIA. The rest sounds real cool. Nice change-up. Real garagey rock. Has a cool 80s post-punk/new wave thing going on.

 

[antichef]

how did you get the guitar sound? It's cool. On the bridge, you might bring the high swooshy thing down a couple of dB - it was fighting with the lyrics. Nice song

 

[dobro]

I appreciate your criticism, suggestions, adulation and ridicule.

I should be able to find something to say, then. Nope, not much to say. More fun to listen.

 

[Armistice]

My only nit is in the very last bit of the intro... 23 to 26 seconds where the guitar figure disappears a bit. I'm only listening on small headphones so I can't really hear very far into the mix, but I did sort of get that the kick was a bit not quite there. Mebbe up the vocals a smidge too? ... the ending guitar stuff is tres awesome (that's French for ) and I thought I'd never do a volume swell again in my stuff, but now you've got me thunking..

Noice...

 

[rayc]

I can hear the kick but it def could use some ergs.
The end of the change section before the solo is VERY 1st album Floyd.
Generally it's more garagey that that - but def. psych garage.
Personally the majority of the slide bits seem out of place or too tame - good when they're drenched but tame when not. Something weirder would've been extra good.
As it stands I really like it and want a decent copy for my D.A.D.

 

[BR-1180Man]

I think you should practice more on writing to get a more creative approach if you want people to listen to your music.

 

[dobro]

I think he should, too. But not in order to get people to listen to his music. He's already got that. No, I think he should practise more on writing because if he does that, he'll write more songs. The creative sort he writes now, plus more. Simple, really. You seem to have seen some of that.

 

[heatmiser]

I like the trashy drums. My problem with the drums though is they sound too small and distant. That hat bashing away seems really dry while the rest of the kit sounds as if it's in another room. Kick is MIA. The rest sounds real cool. Nice change-up. Real garagey rock. Has a cool 80s post-punk/new wave thing going on.

Thanks Greg. Bummer about the drums. I'm using loops that I've used on many occasions before and wasn't going for anything too different this time, but they did come out sort of whacky for some reason. The close mic on the kick and snare are already registering far louder than anything else. Maybe the kick is being masked by other things rather than it being just a question of volume?

how did you get the guitar sound? It's cool. On the bridge, you might bring the high swooshy thing down a couple of dB - it was fighting with the lyrics. Nice song

Yeah, the bridge part is kind of shrill with a lot of stuff in the same general regions fighting with each other. I can imagine ways to fix that, but it would be kind of a PITA. I may try though, so thanks for catching that. The swooshy thing must be a guitar part...

The guitar sound of the main riff you mean? There's a fuzz bass and 2-3 pairs of tracks of the same guitar/amp combo playing the same riff...sometimes clean, and sometimes with fuzz and tremolo and stuff. Thanks for checking in chef!

 

[heatmiser]

My only nit is in the very last bit of the intro... 23 to 26 seconds where the guitar figure disappears a bit. I'm only listening on small headphones so I can't really hear very far into the mix, but I did sort of get that the kick was a bit not quite there. Mebbe up the vocals a smidge too? ... the ending guitar stuff is tres awesome (that's French for ) and I thought I'd never do a volume swell again in my stuff, but now you've got me thunking..

Noice...

Thanks Armi. Not sure about the kick yet, but looking into it. The ending is certainly my favorite part. In fact, most of my tunes are just an excuse to get to the outro. I should release a CD of just outros from the past 5 years or whatever. It would be awesome.

I can hear the kick but it def could use some ergs.
The end of the change section before the solo is VERY 1st album Floyd.
Generally it's more garagey that that - but def. psych garage.
Personally the majority of the slide bits seem out of place or too tame - good when they're drenched but tame when not. Something weirder would've been extra good.
As it stands I really like it and want a decent copy for my D.A.D.

Hey ray. Thanks for checking in. So, the slide bits...they have the same settings throughout, but they were meant for the change section when the drums cut out alone. I kept playing it though and left some bits in during the next verse and chorus and have wondered if that was a bit cheesy. That may be what you're referring to? The slide track is the same as the "lead" track - I just kept picking up the slide and putting it down throughout the song. Thanks for the ideas.

 

[heatmiser]

I think you should practice more on writing to get a more creative approach if you want people to listen to your music.

Fair enough. At this point, I think my technical abilities (such as they are ) have probably outstripped my musical abilities, both in terms of writing and performing. I mean, it's not like more people don't listen to and enjoy my music because the kick needs to come up 2db. I get that. Really good songs would shine through a production worse than what I'm capable of.

I really don't practice anything at this point. I don't want to. This is my practice I guess. Thankfully for me though, I really don't think I necessarily want people to listen to my music (other than selfishly to get pointers on how to make it sound better so that I can take greater satisfaction from it). I mean, listeners would be nice, but I do this primarily for myself, 'cause I'm selfish that way .

I think he should, too. But not in order to get people to listen to his music. He's already got that. No, I think he should practise more on writing because if he does that, he'll write more songs. The creative sort he writes now, plus more. Simple, really. You seem to have seen some of that.

Gawd, I hate the writing part of it though. I guess it shows ? My next song will have no chords nor any lyrics. I will leave the writing component completely out of it. That will be awesome .

 

[kcearl]

Forgot how much I like your stuff...theres a real mashup of styles I like in this

After listening to PI's radio ready mix this sounds super trashy, like 60s garage...love it

The cymbal is washy...but I like everything else. i take it this is your drum kit? It sounds small but it goes with the song

Good stuff Pete, you always sound cool without trying.

 

[kcearl]

I think you should practice more on writing to get a more creative approach if you want people to listen to your music.

Weeds been legalised in colorado...

 

[dobro]

Colorado, here I come
Right back where I started from
Where showers hit flowers kaboom with a ring
Each morning it's storming
Word is thunder word lightning
I know my brain's shot to hell
I know I can hardly tell
Things I used to know so well
Colorado, here I come!

 

[Greg_L]

Thanks Greg. Bummer about the drums. I'm using loops that I've used on many occasions before and wasn't going for anything too different this time, but they did come out sort of whacky for some reason. The close mic on the kick and snare are already registering far louder than anything else. Maybe the kick is being masked by other things rather than it being just a question of volume?

That could be. Or it could be a compression thing. Compression on the master bus or the mastering phase can sometimes kill the drums if all the transients get squashed down. It makes everything else seem way more up front. It can bring out the body of the drums, but also the room or whatever space you put on the kit making them seem distant. It really depends on how you want the mix to sound. Drums don't always have to be bashing your face in, but in this case, to me it's just more a matter of getting the drums balanced with everything else in the same virtual space.

 

[DM60]

My only feedback is the vocals don't fit the song. The song hums a long at a pretty nice little pace, but you seem to drag your words. I bet this song would kick even more a$$ if you timed the words in short bursts to match the instruments.

Good stuff.

 

[Mr Clean]

I listened to this late last night in headphones before I went to sleep and I really liked it.

I'm back now and I'm listening at a reasonable volume (my neighbours appreciate it) and I like it more than I did last night. I agree the kick needs to come up and personally I find the bass a bit boomy/washy but maybe that was the sound you were aiming for.

As for the songwriting, I don't see any problem with it. I think it's great personally. Good job HM. Just a few tweaks and it'll be 100% in my opinion.

 

[heatmiser]

Forgot how much I like your stuff...theres a real mashup of styles I like in this

After listening to PI's radio ready mix this sounds super trashy, like 60s garage...love it

The cymbal is washy...but I like everything else. i take it this is your drum kit? It sounds small but it goes with the song

Good stuff Pete, you always sound cool without trying.

Thanks Keith. No, these are loops. I wish I could play like that. The kit I had is gone I'm afraid.

I definitely am ok with trashy, garagey and roomy, in fact that is the drum sound I often strive for, but small and distant with no kick is not good. Not sure what happened here, but I'll be fiddling with it tonight and will repost if anything good comes of it. Thanks again.

Weeds been legalised in colorado...

It practically is here too - already ok for medicinal purposes and our largest city voted recently to legalize recreational use. It's only a matter of time .

 

[heatmiser]

Colorado, here I come
Right back where I started from
Where showers hit flowers kaboom with a ring
Each morning it's storming
Word is thunder word lightning
I know my brain's shot to hell
I know I can hardly tell
Things I used to know so well
Colorado, here I come!

wtf?

My only feedback is the vocals don't fit the song. The song hums a long at a pretty nice little pace, but you seem to drag your words. I bet this song would kick even more a$$ if you timed the words in short bursts to match the instruments.

Good stuff.

Thanks for listening DM. I think I get what you're saying in that a faster delivery might work, but I started out at the very beginning with these vocal lines and this riff, so I'm sticking with it here. I like that contrast, and I think this arrangement could really work with a better vocal delivery, you know? It doesn't help that I'm really flat during the 1st verse and at other times throughout. It doesn't seem like a tough part to sing, so maybe I'll do it over? Maybe it would fit better with a better performance. Thanks again .

I listened to this late last night in headphones before I went to sleep and I really liked it.

I'm back now and I'm listening at a reasonable volume (my neighbours appreciate it) and I like it more than I did last night. I agree the kick needs to come up and personally I find the bass a bit boomy/washy but maybe that was the sound you were aiming for.

As for the songwriting, I don't see any problem with it. I think it's great personally. Good job HM. Just a few tweaks and it'll be 100% in my opinion.

Hey Mr. C. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts. So weird, I hear the kick fine, but nearly everyone finds it low/absent. I must have some exaggerated frequencies in my room that are hyping it for me.

The bass guitar is totally fuzzed out, but it does sound the way I want it here. It sounds awesome solo, but gets pretty blurred with everything else going on.

 

[heatmiser]

That could be. Or it could be a compression thing. Compression on the master bus or the mastering phase can sometimes kill the drums if all the transients get squashed down. It makes everything else seem way more up front. It can bring out the body of the drums, but also the room or whatever space you put on the kit making them seem distant. It really depends on how you want the mix to sound. Drums don't always have to be bashing your face in, but in this case, to me it's just more a matter of getting the drums balanced with everything else in the same virtual space.

You may be on to something with the compression. I've taken to using it more heavily on drums the last few years to try to get that trashy sound, and usually it works well enough I think. Something must be different here. Ironically, the room and OH mics are down pretty low already compared to the close mics. Not sure what's up, but I intend to find out later!

I have to say that for me personally, open hats and crashes are the hardest sounds for me to mix. That's why I often use tracks that have almost none of that in them. I like a good wash, but it's hard to balance that with the tone of the drums without getting overwhelming. Thanks for the ideas Greg.