In My Heart - feedback please

[ido1957]

Here is a song that I recently wrote and recorded. I posted this in the Songwriting forum a while back so it may be familiar to some...

This one is kind of different from my previous songs. I used my new Yamaha DGX-305 keyboard for backing tracks. It's still somewhat guitar oriented though.

I'll be revising this sometime to add some lead and get mjhamil to play some jazzier bass. I wanted to get some feedback on how it sounds in its basic state with the keyboard.

Any comments, suggestions on this would be greatly appreciated....

Here is the link - it should take you right to the song page.
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/songInfo.cfm?bandID=395006&songID=4598814

 

[Freudian Slip]

Sounds cool but the vocals are a little boxy and sound distorted in places at the begining.
Everything else sounds very, very nice A little more compression on the vocals might not hurt either just to even them aout in places. You could just as easily do it manualy.

All in all very cool! sound quality just doesn't match the last one where vocals are concerned and it's not the singer (that's still great!)


Another cool one Ido!

 

[DavidK]

Good song Gerry. I agree with Freudian, the vox doesnt sound right, it's distorted and doesnt sound like yor other stuff.

I wouldnt know there are any keyboards on this?? I assume "keyboards" means drums and bass?? They sound fine, simple but fine. Another quality song, nice lyrics.

 

[Greg_L]

Nice song. I'm just an old punkrocker at heart, but I always look forward to hearing your stuff. Musically it sounds great. Everything sounds right in place. Maybe bring the little snare rimshot thing up just a touch.

The vocals do seem a little harsh and loud in some areas and the quiets get a little too quiet. They're performed very well, but just aren't sitting in the mix yet. Like mentioned already, maybe hit it with some compression or volume envelopes.

Also, through the headphones everything seems to be sitting right in the middle like it was mixed down in mono or something. I can hear the snare reverb in stereo, but the rest just seems to sit dead-center. Maybe thats what you want. I think I'd like to hear the guitar in each ear. Maybe record another similar track through a different pickup or something and put a track on each side to surround the song with that nice guitar tone you always have. This is just my 2 cents. All in all a nice song done well. Good job.

 

[Dogman]

Yep...tame the vocals a little....they stand out some. Tune has a great vibe. I think getting the vocals to sit better will make it nice and smooth. Playing is good, and the music seems pretty even.

 

[XLR]

Nice song and vocal performance, though I hear the vocal distortion too. A lead line of some type filling behind the vocal would be nice.

 

[ido1957]

Freudian Slip - Thanks for listening F.S.....I think I can hear at the beginning where the distortion is on the vocals. Must have overloaded the signal into the tape deck. This is a two-track recording/mix from live into my Tascam 424 (no overdubs). Normally it's multitracked into my ADAT. Guess that's where the main difference originates.

DavidK - I didn't think it sounded too different - maybe a bit bassy because of the tape medium . But if the first two responses pick up on that right away maybe I need to retrack this using my ADAT. The keyboards are there - I promise . But they're low and the guitar might be masking them. The keyboard midi file shows several tracks besides bass and drums. I'll have to try and automate? the levels on the midi tracks so you can hear more keyboards. This keyboard is new to me - guess I need to learn to balance those tracks better. Thanks for the feedback - it's always appreciated and helps me improve.....

Greg_L - thanks for taking the time to listen Greg. I did use light compression on the vocals but I guess the threshold might have been too low. Gotta work on that some more.... Yes, I usually use two tracks of guitar on my tunes but I was hoping the keyboards would sort of take the place of one. Maybe when I revise this and bring the keyboard up it will work the way I had intended. They are stereo out so it might expand the image a bit...

Dogman - thanks for the positive vibe thing. Your observation on the vocals reiterates my need to compress a bit more and/or work on my delivery to balance them out. Great advice as always....

Timothy - thanks for listening, and glad you like the tune. I actually have a song in the can that has lead behind the vocals (got that advice from Gorty originally and finally put it in practice). But it's in need of a bit more work. I'll definitely try that....

 

[rayc]

Gerry,
A really, really nice lyric & melody. The backing is OK though the bass sound is taht very round attack free type keyboards often offer. I also think a few octave jumps in the bass line are in order.
I really reckon you should add another guitar playing a reggae rhythm as this is hinted at in the drum prog and would take this is an interesting direction even "lover's rock" reggae style.
As it sits, however, it's obvioulsy missing one of your excellent lead lines.

 

[Bulls Hit]

Nice tune ido. To me it still sounds like a work in progress. The arrangement is done but the bass and drums sound like backing tracks rather than being an integral part of the song. The vocal is good, just a little uneven as has been said already. The song is nice, just needs a gee up to take it to the next level

 

[Dogman]

Hey Gerry....Happy Birthday man....

 

[bigbubba]

Not fair, you posted something while I wasn't around.

OK, just saw it. Will have to check it out tonite from home.

I guess been playing to much AoE.

 

[ido1957]

Hey Gerry....Happy Birthday man....

Thanks Dogman!

 

[Nakatira]

I got a Chris DeBurgh feel from the start.

I think this sounds darn good, the soung is really classy, and catchy.

Sounds tight and well balanced.

Not many nits here.

Just compliments , great work mate

 

[Nick98338]

Musically wonderful. I wish I could produce a bass sound like that. Anyway, I agree with others. Vocal distortion, and everything in the middle. The vocal style is quite "bursty". Many words sung quickly. Fast attack, little sustain. Big volume changes. I'm not giggin' that, it just is. So, I think compression becomes very important.

 

[bigbubba]

So Nakatira already mentioned Chris DeBurgh and so I agree.

Very smooth and polished playing. Great tune and very nice lyrics. Vox-wise, I agree that maybe some compression. I'd like to maybe see some EQ added in 3kHz range or slightly higher with some compression so you can capture the little words between the bursts or words.

Don't change the style of singing at all. That will take away from the feeling. Just need to capture the words/syllable that are not audible because of the volume variance.

Man, the gutiar is really nice and has a very very smooth and cool tone.

Interesting choice of chords behind the tune.

 

[ido1957]

rayc - thanks for the listen. I've got to get a real bass guitar in there a la Mike sometime. I'm just playing around with one finger notes for now The strumming on the second guitar is something I'm struggling with in my mind as the current one is quite distinct. Not sure how I will approach that but it will come about. Any audible suggestions would be cool. A lead line is a definite add in the next version...

Bulls Hit - thanks for the feedback - you're right, this is a really looking like a work in progress. You are spot on about the bass and drums. They are backing tracks from my keyboard, so they tend to be simple. Work to do...

Nakatira - thanks for listening and the kind words.

Nick98338 - cool nick - Although fat, that bass sound will probably not last too long. I may build one more version using the keyboard bass (just for practice) but Mike will apply his bass chops later. Panning, compression, sustain - got it......thanks for the tips....

bigbubba - Another DeBurgh comparison is quite flattering....Glad you like the lyrics, arrangement and playing (it was a live take). Thanks for the eq setting advice. I'll also take a look at compression as suggested also....

 

[queepy]

Really cool laid back vibe to this...vocals are very soulful and smooth, but maybe just a bit strong in the mix.Nice chording /rhythm work on the guitar...good groove.Cool tune man

 

[Gorty]

Here is a song that I recently wrote and recorded. I posted this in the Songwriting forum a while back so it may be familiar to some...

This one is kind of different from my previous songs. I used my new Yamaha DGX-305 keyboard for backing tracks. It's still somewhat guitar oriented though.

I'll be revising this sometime to add some lead and get mjhamil to play some jazzier bass. I wanted to get some feedback on how it sounds in its basic state with the keyboard.

Any comments, suggestions on this would be greatly appreciated....

Here is the link - it should take you right to the song page.
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/songInfo.cfm?bandID=395006&songID=4598814

Hey Gerry,

Another great song lyrically, I am listening on my PC speakers at work so it is a little hard to make any calls on the mix. I look forward to hearing this tune of yours with the great melodious lead guitar solo I know you will come up with!

Gorty

 

[ido1957]

variaxman - thanks - glad you like the groove. Inspired by my new keyboard...

gorty - thanks to you too - I will work on some lead soon.......

 

[SnakeDog5050]

Hey Gerry! Very relaxing tune, i dig it The songwriting is really good, mixwise I think it's all been mentioned... I agree about the vox sound and maybe a little more brightness on the guitars. Cool song