First tune with new drums...

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Sennheiser

Sennheiser

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I'd be grateful for a critique. I know the lead guitar sucks because I can't really play lead guitar. I gotta find a guitar player to help out.

All the patterns were programmed in real-time. 14 different patterns were used. Let me know how this new machine sounds and the overall mix.

Thanks a lot.
 
That all flows together well.

Odd bit of distortion in parts. Toms have that fake sound to them, but the programming was good.

I guess this is country, rockish/poppish as well though in a retro way. Well done either case.

I find nothing wrong with your lead guitar, fits the song perfect.

I'd like to hear more panning on the guitars, and maybe bring the cymbals down a few dB.

Nice stuff.
 
Thanks for the comments. I was hoping someone would listen soon. I've never been this apprehensive about a tune before.

There is a bad note in the lead near the end before the second verse. It's a half-step out. It took me four hours to get that lead to tape and I wasn't going to try and punch on one note.

I guess I got a little carried away on the cymbals. I've never heard cymbals this good out of a box before.

The acoustic guitar was double tracked and panned at 10 and 2. Should I have them a little wider? I made a mistake tracking the guitars. One track is compressed and one isn't. I forgot to take the compressor out of standby before tracking. It sounded OK so I kept it.
 
Yeah I noticed that note. Don't worry about it, probably 1 in 10 people will notice it anyway.

Punch in's are easy on digital. :D

I'm a big tape fan myself. As soon as I can afford to I'm going back. Hybrid. Tape for tracking parts, computer for editing.
 
sounds like a jimmy buffet tune.........

i'm getting some distortion on some of the drum fills.........i'm not sure if it's my system, but i don't think so........look at the levels on the drums.......they might have been recorded too hot........

guitars sound fine man.......good song......good job
 
Thanks man. I used CoolEdit200X to get it into the computer before uploading to the net.

The drums are definately saturating the tape but not to the point of distortion. It was probably in the computer mix-down. I saw on the recording report or whatever it's called that there was some possible clipping at two different points. One on the left track and one on the right. The program wasn't sure though.

You guys have good ears for digital. I didn't hear a thing when I played it back on hi-fi from my loaded copy. I'll go back and check the two points that the computer said might be clipping and see if it will allow me to bring those levels below zero.

Thanks for listening.
 
Great tune,nicely written.
Sure does sound like Jimmy Buffet.

I don't have much to say aside from that.

Keep on recording!:D
 
Thanks for the listen.

Ya know, I like Jimmy Buffet, but I'm really not trying to emulate his style. I just think up these words to songs and write the music and it comes out sounding like something he would have written.

Maybe I ought to contact him about a job.

I don't seem to be able to get away from that and I don't know why. I just write about something that I've done, or not done, or something that happened to me, and it comes out sounding like Jimmy Buffet ought to be doing it on his next album or something.

????????:confused: ?????????
 
Great tune. Love the sound you're getting from the drum machine. 'Specially dig the slight distorted sound of the drums (analog rulez!!!).

My only gripe with the drums is in the hihat pattern, the bit on the 3 1/2th beat where it becomes 16th notes (instead of 8ths). Maybe you can reduce the velocity with respect to the rest of the 8th notes so that it sounds like how a human drummer wld do it. Just my opinion! :)

The rest sounds great. What is your signal chain for vocals? It sounds great for this genre of music!

Cheers!
 
Thanks for the kind words.

Your the third person who has noticed distortion in the drums. You guys must have some nice computer speakers and golden ears 'cause I can't hear it on mine and it's non-existant on the master eight track.

The highest peak observed on the VU meters was +3db on the drums. Now I know that analog VU is slower to react to peak than LED ladders, but it really sounds great on tape. I must have some clipping on the computer mix-down.

My only gripe with the drums is in the hihat pattern, the bit on the 3 1/2th beat where it becomes 16th notes (instead of 8ths). Maybe you can reduce the velocity with respect to the rest of the 8th notes so that it sounds like how a human drummer wld do it. Just my opinion!
Click to expand...
Would you explain this a bit more for me? Do you mean the transition from the second verse to the bridge or the bridge to the second chorus? Where does the velocity need to be adjusted?

My signal chain for the vocal starts with a Sennheiser MD-441U with a screen about two inches from the grill to a TASCAM M-1516 console to a TASCAM 38-8 1/2" recorder. I also used an Alesis MidiVerb IV chorus and room reverb preset modified to taste. Compression is through the insert via a DBX262 in soft-knee mode, 3.5:1 ratio with threshold set at -5dbu and output gain at zero.

I appreciate the listen.;)
 
Like it or not....it's Jimmy Buffet sounding for sure. Nice tune and good performance........the mix; hmmmm. Everything kinda mushes together. The instruments don't have enough definition to them.

Excellent avatar BTW

I agree with kartikbala about your hi-hat pattern. A drummer would never do those three 16th notes on the 4 of the measure consistantly like that. He'd only do it occasionally if at all.
I found the drums and bass to be a little loud in the mix for this genre of music. And I'd like a more acoustic sorta sound on that rhythm guitar.
The distortion everyone is pointing out is fairly subtle. It's not quite a full-blown distortion but more of a distorted quality to the sound if that makes sense.
A nice piece of work.....I'd like to hear it when you've worked on the mix some more.
The playing and singing is good and that's the hard part.
 
Sennheiser said:
I don't seem to be able to get away from that and I don't know why. I just write about something that I've done, or not done, or something that happened to me, and it comes out sounding like Jimmy Buffet ought to be doing it on his next album or something.

????????:confused: ?????????
Click to expand...

maybe jimmy buffet sounds like you........passive listeners (such as myself) tend to associate new things to things they've heard before for a frame of reference.......even if the similarities aren't spot on............you're definitely not coping his style and it's nothing to 'get away from'.............
 
Yeah, what powderfinger said. I really liked the words to this, and thought the recording was very good.
 
Very cool my friend. It's got that vintage sound to it. I know your not trying to be Buffet but between the style of the tune and the timber of your voice, it just has that sound. Hey, I can think of much worse things to be compared to. Did you program the fills and such? They sound pretty good. As in all things drum machine, I don't care for the cymbals but what the hell. Are you mixing to tape too or into the computer?
 
Yes, I programmed the fill patterns in real-time and arranged everything together. First time I've had a machine that would do that. it's so much easier to do that instead of playing fills while the tape is rolling. Drums are hard enough for me to play without having to play them on a piano keyboard.

It's too late to change the HH pattern without re-tracking the whole mix. I don't have synch capability and all tracks are used. I used that HH pattern to kind of give the tune a little "shake". I don't know what else to call it. I'd have used a tambourine if I had one.

I'm mixing to the computer, but not mixing in the computer. I'm also mixing to cassette as I don't yet have a CD burner. I have to get one before the HR compilation tunes are due.

I listed to that tune alot last night and the acoustic guitars definately do need more definition. I think it's the chorus effect that is going that to them. Kind of washing both guitar tracks together. I also noticed that I could use a little more top end on the vocal. Not much, just just a tad more.

Track, I love those cymbals. Best I've ever heard out of a box. I really should pull the faders a bit on them though. What don't
you like about the cymbals? Or what sounds strange about them?

I guess I shouldn't worry about the Buffet thing. I just write what I write. I like it, so what the heck.

Thanks for listening and the comments. I can't fix it if I don't know what's wrong.:D
 
sounds like Jimmy Buffet.. good tune..


I'm hearing some distortion.. the type you get when you limit or compress the drums too hard, or something.. it's not too bad, but I would fix it..
 
Thanks. I'm remixing right now. Actually I'm listening right now. I finished a remix.

Pulled the drum kit back a little, rolled just a bit of high into the lead vocal, and pulled the bass back a bit, panned the guitars harder toward the 3-9 line, and changed the chorus setting.

Sounding better now. I still can't hear the distortion in the drums, but it must be there if everyone else hears it.

I'm going to listen again tomorrow after my ears have rested, or maybe later tonight.
 
Dude,

Actually I like the cymbals so loud! Kinda like the drummer is bashing the hell out of the kit! :D

Pity yu cldnt change the HH pattern coz that wld have added much more realism to the drum machine. Almost to the point of making pple believe that it was a real drummer!

It's not necessary to change the panning of the guitars i feel, though unless you want to give the whole song more stereo spread.

cheers!
 
I didn't pull the drums back too far. Yeah it does kind of sound like he's bashing the hell out of the cymbals. I never thought of it that way. I did hit the pads pretty hard when I programmed the patterns.

The guitars were already at 10-2, I just pushed 'em a tad wider. I think the change in the chorus has made the biggest difference.

I might upload the re-mix tomorrow night if it still sounds OK tomorrow. God I hate dickin' with this damn computer to upload a song.
 
I can't get a good drum sound out of my machines so I really don't feel right griping about the drums but they are clipping on my monitors. clipping a lot actually.

don't like deep woody sounding snare drums but that's personal taste.

i'm still working on my fake drum sound also(taking it out on Lt. Bob's collab) ...so i have no help to give but i do remember your last drum sound was a lot worse so there is definite progress here. keep it up, but keep that fader down just a tad.
 
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