new song - "air guitar" - critique please

[Greg_L]

okay just finished up a new one using some of the techniques and info ive learned in here so far. (thanks everyone). id like some feedback please. its from one of my favorite new bands - the towers of london. hope yall like it.

 

[NYMorningstar]

It's got a great punk sound overall but is a little heavy on the verb. It started out sounding great but at about 15 secs it was hit with the compression and verb a little too hard( I think I'm even hearing it breath). I'd like to hear it opened up a little from that point on to keep the presence you had to start with. Good job!

 

[Greg_L]

It's got a great punk sound overall but is a little heavy on the verb. It started out sounding great but at about 15 secs it was hit with the compression and verb a little too hard( I think I'm even hearing it breath). I'd like to hear it opened up a little from that point on to keep the presence you had to start with. Good job!

hmmm okay. thanks for your input.

im not really hearing what youre hearing. if you or anyone else could elaborate, that would be great.

 

[rayc]

Tenpole Tudor Mach 2?
The Swords of a thousand men. Vocals are too loud for neo suburban punk pop.
Everything sounds ok, the verb & comp are what I expected.
Good playing but it needs a little energy. Listen to a couple of the 1st Buzzcocks LPs or X Ray Spex for the edge.
The lyrics need a bit more bite or cliche distorting tongue in cheekness to.

 

[Greg_L]

Tenpole Tudor Mach 2?
The Swords of a thousand men. Vocals are too loud for neo suburban punk pop.
Everything sounds ok, the verb & comp are what I expected.
Good playing but it needs a little energy. Listen to a couple of the 1st Buzzcocks LPs or X Ray Spex for the edge.
The lyrics need a bit more bite or cliche distorting tongue in cheekness to.

lol @ tenpole tudor.

thank you for your input. i dont know why it sounds so reverb-y. i dont have hardly any added to it on any track or over the whole thing. seems that all of my stuff is sounding too 'roomy' to everyone, but im not hearing it. what could be causing this?

 

[XLR]

Good performance. I think it's the doubled vocals that make it sound verby. I like the guitars' recorded sound. Drumset sounds good, maybe a little buried by the guitars. Vocals are too compressed IMO.

Tim

 

[Bartman]

I think I know what's happening

seems that all of my stuff is sounding too 'roomy' to everyone, but im not hearing it. what could be causing this?

Hi Greg,

BTW....we're practically neighbors. I'm in Sugar Land, TX.

Your overall recorded sound is familiar to me....because my recordings had that sound to them a few years ago. I don't hear excessive reverb or compression, I hear a "veiled" sound. Someone once told me my first few recordings sounded like they were recorded through a sock. They were correct. It was painful feedback indeed, but it motivated me to identify and fix the problem.

I'd bet any amount that the problem is your room. I'm hearing a boxy, bad room sound. So what to do? If you're like many of us, you're recording in your upstairs game room or spare bedroom and probably can't do much acoustic treatment to correct the room.

You need to do lots of experimentation with mic placement and placement of your amps, singing positions within the room. There are spots in my upstairs game room that simply don't work for miking an amp and spots that are acceptable (still not great, but acceptable). Also think about high passing some tracks to eliminate some of the low end. Sometimes I track my guitars downstairs where I have hardwood floors and an overall better acoustic environment. Makes a huge difference.

Sounds to me like the talent is there and the core sounds are probably there but they are being masked by a bad room for recording.

Good luck man.

Gary

 

[NYMorningstar]

I'd agree Bartman except his sound is fine for the first 15 secs or so and then something is being slapped on it.

Greg_L try listening at a lower volume. When the volume is cranked it masks what I'm talking about.

 

[queepy]

Love the energy on this...great vibe!It does have a bit of a funny overall sound to it...I don't know if its verby to my ears...just kinda muffled sounding...like its lacking some upper range sparkle or something.
Really dug this song...cool lyrics!

 

[Bartman]

I'd agree Bartman except his sound is fine for the first 15 secs or so and then something is being slapped on it.

Greg_L try listening at a lower volume. When the volume is cranked it masks what I'm talking about.

The negative implications of a bad room increase as you add tracks that were recorded in the bad room.

The 1st 15 seconds don't include drums, vocals and other instrumentation that are present when things get veiled. One or two tracks in a substandard room won't always shroud the mix. As you add tracks, things get worse.

I'm wondering how many drum mikes were used? Overheads obviously pick up a lot of room and if he used any room mics.....you get the picture.

Gary

 

[Greg_L]

cool. this is the type of discussion im looking for.

bartman: my room totally sucks acoustically, but i dont think thats the whole problem since i record all the guitar parts direct through my processor. i know thats not the best way to do it and i should mic my amp, but i do a lot of it late at night when the family goes to sleep. the only things the room will affect are the drums and vocals - and that may very well be where the problem lies. im never happy with my overall drum sound, but i try to do the best i can. i just ordered new mics and more stands and stuff, so we'll see. another likely problem with my drums is that since i use a tascam us-122 with only 2 inputs i have to run the drum mics into a mixer and then run them as 1 or 2 inputs so i can only record the drum tracks as a unit instead of having a track for each drum or mic. i just got the blessing from the old lady to convert my study into a dedicated 'studio' so hopefully that will improve my overall sound.

nymorningstar: ill look more into what youre saying. im still totally new at this, so i listen to all suggestions. ill fiddle with it more tomorrow and see what happens.

 

[Greg_L]

okay, after reading everyones critiques (thans everyone that replied), ive fiddled with this song some more. heres another stab at it. please tell me if it appears that ive addressed the roominess and compression issues properly.

 

[RAMI]

I didn't hear the first version, so I can't compare. Personally, I think this is cool. Of course there might be a few issues that keep it from being a pro sounding recording, but it's a damn good demo to my ears. I hear everything clearly. Sorry, I'd love to be of more help, but I'm usually more concerned with the performance and feel of a song, and if the tune moves me, I can overlook an imperfect sound. I like it.

 

[Greg_L]

I didn't hear the first version, so I can't compare. Personally, I think this is cool. Of course there might be a few issues that keep it from being a pro sounding recording, but it's a damn good demo to my ears. I hear everything clearly. Sorry, I'd love to be of more help, but I'm usually more concerned with the performance and feel of a song, and if the tune moves me, I can overlook an imperfect sound. I like it.

thanks a lot. i appreciate it. my original version is at the top of this thread in the first post if you care to compare.