New Song. Looking for some critique.

[elenore19]

This is probably one of my best recorded songs yet. Granted, it's not that great, but it sure captures a much better drumset sound.

www.myspace.com/theflashbackmanatees

The song is called "Red"

If you want to compare it to other songs I've recorded.
Any song from here:
www.myspace.com/freakerswithspeakers


Let me know what you think! Thanks!






Equipment etc.
Alesis Multimix 16 firewire mixer
a bunch of mics. I can specify if you want.
M-audio Studiophile LX4 with sub.
Macbook Pro (I can speficy stats if you want.)
Cubase LE

I did the vocals work, the guitar, and bass. My friend did the drums.
I produced the whole song.

 

[zazz]

yeah the drummer has got some interesting things going on...but

i just found the song structure to be a bit of a mess....like a cocktail of lots of ideas bolted together and done with attitiude.. but thats not going to be enough.

also the whole sound was quite boxy ....if the guitarist is going to do all that funky stuff without hiding behind any distortion then he needs to be spot on ...but he aint.


if you want to do the classic track you need to simplify and think of a hook line ect ect ...cause i think from what i heard you have the potential..you just need to keep at it.

forgive me if i veer away from merely commenting on the mix...i cant help it.

 

[elenore19]

yeah the drummer has got some interesting things going on...but

i just found the song structure to be a bit of a mess....like a cocktail of lots of ideas bolted together and done with attitiude.. but thats not going to be enough.

also the whole sound was quite boxy ....if the guitarist is going to do all that funky stuff without hiding behind any distortion then he needs to be spot on ...but he aint.


if you want to do the classic track you need to simplify and think of a hook line ect ect ...cause i think from what i heard you have the potential..you just need to keep at it.

forgive me if i veer away from merely commenting on the mix...i cant help it.

Not a problem. Input is input, even if it wasn't what I was looking for, it's still good to know.

Yeah. I was veering away from my usual styles of music. Sort of keep away from the classic track. But yeah. I wanted to take two ideas i had and combine it into a song. I like it, but everyone has their opinions. So how do you mean about boxy? Anything in particular? The guitar?

Thanks again for the input. Much appreciated.

 

[ido1957]

Very original - musically and vocally. Don't stop writing - I think you have something here!

The mix is not as great as the song though but it just needs a few tweaks.... I'm far from pro (as some are here) but I'll give you my opinion which may be helpful...

- Vocals - good performance/great tone but they seem a little distant like the vocalist is standing a foot or so away from the mic. The mix on the whole seems like this at times.
- Guitar - pretty good, I might bring it up just a bit, when the vocals get going it sort of disappears.
- Drums - need some compression to even out the levels. The snare is popping through too much (only in spots though).
- the hair is great!

You have a great vibe going here so keep up the good work!

 

[elenore19]

Very original - musically and vocally. Don't stop writing - I think you have something here!

The mix is not as great as the song though but it just needs a few tweaks.... I'm far from pro (as some are here) but I'll give you my opinion which may be helpful...

- Vocals - good performance/great tone but they seem a little distant like the vocalist is standing a foot or so away from the mic. The mix on the whole seems like this at times.
- Guitar - pretty good, I might bring it up just a bit, when the vocals get going it sort of disappears.
- Drums - need some compression to even out the levels. The snare is popping through too much (only in spots though).
- the hair is great!

You have a great vibe going here so keep up the good work!

Thanks man! Means a lot! Seriously.
I'll definitely keep in mind the whole sounding distant thing. I did have reverb on the guitar.

Yeah, this was my first time trying out compression on the drums, and in my opinion it made them sound a LOT better than my previous recordings. But yeah, I'll definitely work more on the leveling out.

Thanks again! VERY much appreciated.

 

[Greg_L]

The whole mix sounds low-fi and mono. There's little to no stereo image at all. The song is kind of a mess, but the performances seem pretty good to me. It sounds like a live band with one mic in the room. Nothing really has it's own space in the mix. It's all just crammed in the middle. How were the drums recorded? They don't sound terrible, but they're very one dimensional and raw sounding. Raw is good, but one dimensional isn't. The guitars and bass lack air and presence. They're just kind of there. There's no sizzle or power to them. I think you have the right ingredients to do some good recordings, you just need to refine your mixing technique.

 

[elenore19]

The whole mix sounds low-fi and mono. There's little to no stereo image at all. The song is kind of a mess, but the performances seem pretty good to me. It sounds like a live band with one mic in the room. Nothing really has it's own space in the mix. It's all just crammed in the middle. How were the drums recorded? They don't sound terrible, but they're very one dimensional and raw sounding. Raw is good, but one dimensional isn't. The guitars and bass lack air and presence. They're just kind of there. There's no sizzle or power to them. I think you have the right ingredients to do some good recordings, you just need to refine your mixing technique.

Alright, thanks.

Yeah. I realize now that I kept everything right in the middle. My fault. I really forgot about it.

I'll definitely re-do this song, or at least add a couple things and change some things to make it sound better. I could've spent a lot more time on this song than I did. I guess it shows.

Thanks for the input! Very much appreciated.

 

[amra]

Yea, I second what the others said. I realize that there are genres of music that this might fit into that have a lo-fi kind of vibe, but a nice stereo drum sound would go a long way towards making this more "lively"...

 

[elenore19]

Yea, I second what the others said. I realize that there are genres of music that this might fit into that have a lo-fi kind of vibe, but a nice stereo drum sound would go a long way towards making this more "lively"...

Yeah. Like I mentioned before, I really just forgot to do that. Yeah. Stupid mistake. But I'll definitely remember to do that in the future.

Thanks for the input

 

[SteveE9C6]

Concept... good.
Mix... not so good.

First... is it just me or the guitar out of tune or having some weird intonation problems.
The drums are played ok, with some minor meter issues, but the recording is pretty lifeless. New heads... tuned correctly... pay attention to the drums..

Stereo field is nonexistent as noted.

Now take this as it is meant. I'm an older dude and God knows I'm not perfect.
Just trying to point you in the right direction.

 

[elenore19]

Concept... good.
Mix... not so good.

First... is it just me or the guitar out of tune or having some weird intonation problems.
The drums are played ok, with some minor meter issues, but the recording is pretty lifeless. New heads... tuned correctly... pay attention to the drums..

Stereo field is nonexistent as noted.

Now take this as it is meant. I'm an older dude and God knows I'm not perfect.
Just trying to point you in the right direction.

Yeah, any input is helpful. The guitar out of tune? That's new. I'll have to listen to it. Yeah, the mix isn't the greatest. Drums being lifeless? ha, I thought I did decent on the drums, besides the whole no stereo presence. But I know I have work to do, that's for sure.

Thanks for the input. Just like everyone's input, it is greatly appreciated. Anything to help me advance my recording quality.