My Latest, Need A Little Input

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powderfinger

powderfinger

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Well, I did a solo acoustic thing a while back and took in some suggestions and am at it again with a new tune and a slightly altered approach.........for one, this time I stereo miced the acoustic for the first time....i think it sound better, but I think it would be even better with matching mics (as the ones I used are different)

My goal here is to make a sellable demo-type product....so I would love some input here. I'm not equating "sellable" to "professional" necissarily, but rather a product that people would enjoy (ie. not be disapointed by the sound quality ) if they liked the songs.......input here would be great. Is this a reasonable recording for this said goal?

Also, as for the song.......is the production too sparse? My goal in the project is to use as little extra as possible in terms of double tracking and overdubs....so, that being said, when possible, I'm going to try and have just guitar and voice.....if there are extra guitar parts or harmonies in my head that need to be there, I'm probably going to overdub them, but I don't want extra stuff just to have extra stuff.........so , as is, does it hold your attention, or too sparse?


All comments and suggestions would be appreciated, It's called 'Cry Baby Cry'...........

http://www.nowhereradio.com/artists/album.php?aid=1642&alid=154
 
the recording quality is fine for a demo. I'm not jumping up and down about the music, as I feel that IS a tad sparce, but you've accomplished your stated goal of not wanting something overdubbed, just for overdubbbbbing sake. I feel you are getting a little 'dramatic' on the vocal end. The guitar playing is adequate for a backdrop, but you won't get any "wows" for the solo guitar playing either. So.....in this context, you'll probably want a realllly strong song to hold things together....
 
the guitar tone is a little hollow?..is that the right word...but i llike the vibe..kind ben harper-ish......some of the vocals.."thats why i cant ."..the up and down part is a litlle off....slightly..im being really picky ..:D ....and the "by the way...i never.."..screams red hot chilli peppers.......to me anyway....but the mix vocals annd guitar wise is good.......dont get me wrong...i like the song...but its those off key vocals that are hindering you here.....

thanks
jamal
 
real good song and good performace powder-I can hear the stereo effect on the acoustic-sounds cool-sounds like your hand was a bit tired eh? The vocal sounds good-you use that one trick-with the cracked voice kind of alot-and usually on the first word of a line....As far as sparseness-I was hearing all sorts of things that could be happening-but the tune was strong enough to work as is-except...I would really like something else to come in during the chorus's-another guitar a mandolin some backup voices a keyboard(hammond?whos got one of those though) a trumpet a cello ? a string quartet? some percussion? Anyway good tune-brutal lyrics heh.
 
Man, solo acoustic is a ballzy thing to do for sure. For a solo performance this is great. I don't know how to describe what I'm thinking about the guitar, it sounds "squeaky to me". I like your singing, but agree there are a few points where it's a bit off, just a bit . ;) I'd like to hear a little more melody inside the chording if it's gonna stay solo, otherwise I think it's an awesome base for a nice song. Go for it powderfinger! :D
 
Gee, I wish I could think like you do. Like, don't put extra stuff for the sake of putting it :D I'm guilty of doing this. I always get the feel that the mix gets too thing but I'm trying to do less tracks nowadays (yeah, right). But...

The mix is definitely good enough for a demo. I'm sure the demo standards have raised somewhat but I guess they (who?) don't care about your mixing capabilities. The song sounds like an alright song that might mutate into pretty much any genre, since it's so minimalistic at this point. And it may well be your strength.
 
alright guys, thanks for listening......i re-mixed the song and here's what i've done

1) re-sang the whole thing.....hoping for 1. better pitch (jamal) 2. less creak (Stratomaster) (i have to make a contious effort to not do this and always forget until people start to mention it) 3. less 'dramatic' (mixmkr)....hopefully it improved some........i also double tracked the vocal at the pre-courus

2) added more guitars

as much as I'm trying to stay away from added production, i think this keeps true to the original but is a little more listenable........my main goal is to have the song be easily pulled off solo and still sound very similar on the CD

I left the old file there as well incase anyone wants to listen back, and the new mix is called 'Cry Baby Cry (New Mix)'

http://www.nowhereradio.com/artists...d=1642&alid=154
 
dropping by

Hey PowderFingerMan...

I didn't comment after listening to the first mix, because you always change everything based on the comments you receive, so I figured I'd wait a bit.

Your first word (before music starts) sounds like "fuck." I feel your pain, my brother.

Okay...I like the extra git, but your intro licks are a little behind...are you high? :D Really, just fix those 2 intro licks. If I remember correctly, you use cakewalk, so just slide 'em a little to the left, and your there.

The gits together sound really good. You're singing it about 1000 times better. Seriously, how did you do that so quick?

Songwriting tip: I totally HATE to say this, b/c I like your writing so much, but you'd better change the "By The Way..." line...sounds like a total ripoff of that Chili Peppers song...how's it go? "By the way I....somethin'..somethin' I'm Sorry." Same melody, and you start with the same 3 words. Probably subliminal, because it sounds SO close to me, that I don't think you would have posted it if you'd done it on purpose.

ALL IN ALL, I LOVE THE SONG... seriously; I just make these comments b/c I know you're one of the few who actually LISTENS and incorporates suggestions.

(speaking of, I added some clean electric to my little tune, per you).

Later,
Chris
 
lovin the acoustic

Really enjoyed this song. I dig the acoustic demo sound because it sounds really real. Did you record and sing at the same time, if so, great stuff!

"By the way" does give me a little red hot chilli but I really liked this. Cheers

Erland
 
chris, thanks for the comments.......thanks for the note on the intro guitar lick. i think i'm going to just remove that part, the first couple licks. i'm glad you think the singing's better......i actually used your suggestion for monitoring (turning the overall final mix output down) and it worked great.....i need to practice on getting the creak out of my voice cause my pitch sounds much better when i can refrain from doing it.......it's weird because i only do that on acoustic songs..........anyhow, i need to listen to your clean guitars now...........

erland, well you're the third person to say the red hot chili peppers, so i think i need to do a little rewrite so people don't think i'm just riping off stuff......

....do you guys think the same melody with different words for that first line of the chorus would help?
 
Hey Pullmyfinger... nice job on the remix. I listened to both versions, liked bother versions. I'm very into sparse/minimilism.

the remix sounded great, but I maybe lose the left lead guitar until the chorus kicks in. there were a few timing issues, but nothing drastic.

what's your signal chain for vox and guitars? sounded good to me.
 
JR, thanks for the listen, i'm kinda glad at least someone liked the first version more , i like the minimalist stuff too, i just don't think there are many of us out there, thus the second mix.......
for my signal chain...marshal mxl v93 for vocals into a behringer mixer for the pre into my m-audio delta into sonar, going in with a flat eq setting.....all compression eq and r-verb is software base.....for the main acoustic i used another marshall for the furthest mic and an audiotechnica condensor that clips on the sound hole and records inside (the more i hear this mic in comparison to the marshall, the less i think it is adequate )

i posted a newest version with the main intro lick cut out......same link and song
 
This is a good song. I think the Chili Peppers comparison may be mostly because your vocal sound is very similar ... They are good throughout and so is the guitar.

I can't really comment on the quality since I can only listen in lo-fi, but even in lo-fi it sounded good so I'm assuming that in hi-fi it kicks ass.

Nice recording and good performance! :)
 
Nice tune and nice performance....I've only listened to the second one so I didn't hear too many pitch problems......I think the vocal is a little bit midrangey sounding...I'd work on the EQ on the vocals....also I'd like to hear a bit more body on the guitar. Since it is all there is....it needs to fill in those bass frequencies some.

Nice tune .....
 
boydrj, thanks for listening, glad you liked it

Lt. Bob, any suggestions as to where to cut eq on the vocals? i'm not really good at determining when something is mid-rangey.....how do you go about judging something like that?......any suggestions here would be great
 
Well it varies but you can look at anywhere from 1k to as high as 2.5k. In your case I think it'll be in the lower part of that range. Change one freq at a time and If that doesn't help, move it back and try another....that way you'll know for sure which freq did the trick. Also.....this is the area where ears are the most sensitive so pretty small changes can make a large difference. I think if you cut about 11/2db to 3db at say 1.6k (or close to that), it would be a good place to start.
 
Hey Powder,
Im listening to the re-mix. I dig the vocals. The guits parts need a little work yet though, imo (they could use a little tightening up too) . I think you either need to stick to one guit part (i havent heard the first mix yet) or you need to fatten up the song w/ more instrumentation. This mix sounds too spread out and thin. The added guit parts dont help to make the original sound solid...... does that make sense?

This is a great song. ......very well written, and as i mentioned, I like the vocals....... nice performance and well recorded. In terms of a fitting production for the song though, I hear either a single guit./vocal performance or full out instrmentation. .......I think in-betweenin it is sellin your song short.

Great stuff man,:) G
 
Guernica, thanks for the input man.......that's the line that is hard for me to decide upon.....the question of whether solo acoustic will sound too sparse.........i know what you mean about the second recording being kind of too in between solo and full production.......i can't make up my mind..........full band is probably the obvious answer, that being said, i've always hated buying a cd of some guy doing acoustic shit i love and then find out the cd has him playing with a band........i don't know
 
Sounds good Powder,I dig your voice!
The writing is excellent.

The only thing I heard was,the guitar was slightly out of tune.

If you want to fatten it up,definitly double it.
Pain in the neck,but it will do it I think.
Just my humble opinion!:D

Sounds cool!

Pete
 
muze, thanks for listening, i'm glad you liked the vocals because i did retrack them a bit and am much happier with the result.......i'll check out the guitar.............thanks man
 
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