New jazz-rock guitar tune (concert opener)

  • Thread starter Thread starter jeffree
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jeffree

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Hi all,

My first visit to the clinic...

I'd be glad to have anyone give my newest tune a listen, and if you have the time, do send me any feedback you might have. Please keep in mind that this is one of my solo efforts--all writing, performance, and recording by me alone with lots of instruments and about 50 tracks total. A lot of hats to wear, too many really, so go easy on me! I do hope you enjoy the tune, though. I basically tracked each instrument live, one at a time, and then threw together a simple mix. I'd really appreciate hearing your thoughts, pro or con, since I'm still rather new to this self-recording gig. With sincere thanks and best wishes~ Jeff

TUNE: "Uptown, Downtown, All Around the Damn Town"
ARTIST: JL Hanson Solo Band
www.mp3.com/JLH
 
jeffree said:
Hi all,

My first visit to the clinic...

I'd be glad to have anyone give my newest tune a listen, and if you have the time, do send me any feedback you might have. Please keep in mind that this is one of my solo efforts--all writing, performance, and recording by me alone with lots of instruments and about 50 tracks total. A lot of hats to wear, too many really, so go easy on me! I do hope you enjoy the tune, though. I basically tracked each instrument live, one at a time, and then threw together a simple mix. I'd really appreciate hearing your thoughts, pro or con, since I'm still rather new to this self-recording gig. With sincere thanks and best wishes~ Jeff

TUNE: "Uptown, Downtown, All Around the Damn Town"
ARTIST: JL Hanson Solo Band
www.mp3.com/JLH
Click to expand...

It's all a bit crispy... most especially the drums. Oddly, the lead guitar voice is spot on where it should be, EQ-wise, but it's almost the only track that is... Not a lot of low end where it matters, but I think it's just one of those "so many tracks, so little room" things, and some mix inexperience. Certainly, few nits on your playing or composition. The hi-hat is emphasized, and therefore exposes a certain nervousness to the drumming, it's a bit upright, not nearly as loose as the guitars, pull em back in the mix...Very interesting piece, good tension points, the meter changes keep the interest level high too. Interesting changeup at 2:50.... Keep doing these, as you get more experienced these will have more "flesh".

Cheers,
Phil
www.llarion.com
 
Thanks, Phil and Chazba. I really appreciate your taking the time to listen and comment. I'm still pretty new to this home recording stuff, so I'm soaking up whatever I can from good folks like you.

Best,
J.
 
The cymbals in particular need some high end attention. I'd give the bass a bit more presence, which should give it quite a bit more of the groove that this song needs. The acoustic guitars are a little scratchy in the highs after a while, it's fatiguing.

Timing issues aside (mostly in the synths), this is a great tune that takes some interesting turns at the right times. Nice job!
 
I agree about the low end lacking...and show that bass off a bit more...:D

I like the way it changes directions throughout.. is cool stuff...nice tune...love the guitar playing too.

I'm not much help.
 
Thanks, Iron and True. Helpful feedback!

I think I'll give the mix another go, based on everyone's tips. Maybe some of you guys are like me--a musician who worries more about the writing and perfomance and less about the recording side of things. I know I should spend more time on that, and your suggestions remind me of that. I just wish I had better technical/mixing know-how.

Based on the feedback above, here's what I'm going to try improving during my next pass at mixing the tune...

+Cut back on the high end of the cymbals, hi-hat, and acoustic guit backing parts.
+Add some presence to the bass guit, and raise the gain in some of the later parts.
+Drop the hi-hat gain a bit in the later parts.

It'll still be far from great, but better, I hope. Thanks again, all, for lending a hand.
Jeff
 
jeffree said:
Maybe some of you guys are like me--a musician who worries more about the writing and perfomance and less about the recording side of things. I know I should spend more time on that, and your suggestions remind me of that. I just wish I had better technical/mixing know-how.
Click to expand...

I'm actually sort of the opposite; I can hide my more marginal chops and songwriting acumen with fairly decent arranging/mixing/mastering ability. :D:D
 
IronFlippy said:
The cymbals in particular need some high end attention. I'd give the bass a bit more presence, which should give it quite a bit more of the groove that this song needs. The acoustic guitars are a little scratchy in the highs after a while, it's fatiguing.

Timing issues aside (mostly in the synths), this is a great tune that takes some interesting turns at the right times. Nice job!
Click to expand...

I agree with everything that guy said. But for me, it's really mostly the "ride" cymbal that needs the most amount of work...mostly with a downward fader.

The kick could actually come up quite a bit, to help accentuate the bass.

I mean, let's be honest here...the drums sound like canned dogshit, but I totally respect what you're doing...I wish you could get a drummer for this track.

One more thing, and I hope I'm not stepping over the line here, but since your bio pops up when the song plays, I have a minor tip. You might consider writing your bio in the first person instead of the third. Even if your wife wrote your bio, people are going to assume that you wrote it, and it always comes off a little weird (to me) when people write their bios as if a press agent were doing it, lol. Everybody seems to do it, so please don't think I'm being overly critical...just thinking out loud here.
 
Definitely jack up the bass and kick. Definitely tame the sizzle on the ride, acoustics, and persussion. The rest sounds okay. 50 tracks is a bunch. Lotta weird changes and stuff. Makes me feel nervous. Overall pretty good though.
 
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