New song, Untitled, No Vocals

[philbagg]

Just wrote, recorded and mixed this one today.

There's no vocals, because I don't have lyrics and I can't sing

Any thoughts?

Cheers

http://www.lightningmp3.com/live/file.php?id=22428

 

[joeym]

Really like this Phil.
Very well constructed and recorded. Would love to hear some vocals on it.
Everything sounds balanced and i especially liked the drums.

Joey

 

[MMensch]

Very competent technically, nice guitar tone(s) and very tight playing. Even the drums are convincing - if you humanised them slightly and then say that you'd recorded it with your band over the weekend, I think you'd have most people fooled. As a song though, it's rather generic, even though none of the riffs feel like a direct rehash. It's just too polished and ... well, nice I think, there's nothing there for me that would provide character.

 

[Barr2674]

This is really good. About as professional sounding as you can get, really. I'm also a non-singer most of the time, so I don't mind listening to instrumentals at all. The drums are particularly good.

 

[philbagg]

Really like this Phil.
Very well constructed and recorded. Would love to hear some vocals on it.
Everything sounds balanced and i especially liked the drums.

Joey

Thanks Joey I'd love to hear some vocals on it too , not mine though

Very competent technically, nice guitar tone(s) and very tight playing. Even the drums are convincing - if you humanised them slightly and then say that you'd recorded it with your band over the weekend, I think you'd have most people fooled. As a song though, it's rather generic, even though none of the riffs feel like a direct rehash. It's just too polished and ... well, nice I think, there's nothing there for me that would provide character.

Thanks MMensch I'm not entirely happy with the guitar tones, I just picked
any old preset in guitar rig, and I'm using a crappy guitar. I was really going
for that "polished" Paramore-y (yes, Im afraid to admit I'm a bit of a fan),
kind of sound. I guess I'm just selling out I still need to record real bass
for it, the bass in this is actually "Full Finger Bass" from Xpand!2.
Hopefully when I get around to doing vocals, it'll add some character

This is really good. About as professional sounding as you can get, really. I'm also a non-singer most of the time, so I don't mind listening to instrumentals at all. The drums are particularly good.

Thanks Barr, I didn't think people would tag this as "Professional-sounding"
at all

 

[MMensch]

Thanks MMensch I'm not entirely happy with the guitar tones, I just picked
any old preset in guitar rig, and I'm using a crappy guitar. I was really going
for that "polished" Paramore-y (yes, Im afraid to admit I'm a bit of a fan),
kind of sound. I guess I'm just selling out I still need to record real bass
for it, the bass in this is actually "Full Finger Bass" from Xpand!2.
Hopefully when I get around to doing vocals, it'll add some character

You definitely know how to programme your backing tracks - I never even noticed the bass, which qualifies as an automatic success in this department, too. I'm not sure if you can get to Paramore from here though, I think the vibe of your track is on a totally different tangent - it sounds much "older&wiser" (for a lack of a better description), something a 40-year old guy might write and record, closer to Satriani and Vai stuff believe it or not.

And also in terms of sound, I mean, their sound is polished, but it's also layered and compressed to death (very competently, but still), and tends to be faster and more aggressive, too. Mind you, I don't know too many of their songs, but I've always really liked "Misery Business", from the first time I heard it, and even the newer stuff still sounds like they mean it. Much more importantly though, I'm not criticising you because you *don't* sound like someone else, I'm just saying that it sounds to me like you may have a hard time bringing out that particular vibe.

 

[philbagg]

You definitely know how to programme your backing tracks - I never even noticed the bass, which qualifies as an automatic success in this department, too. I'm not sure if you can get to Paramore from here though, I think the vibe of your track is on a totally different tangent - it sounds much "older&wiser" (for a lack of a better description), something a 40-year old guy might write and record, closer to Satriani and Vai stuff believe it or not.

And also in terms of sound, I mean, their sound is polished, but it's also layered and compressed to death (very competently, but still), and tends to be faster and more aggressive, too. Mind you, I don't know too many of their songs, but I've always really liked "Misery Business", from the first time I heard it, and even the newer stuff still sounds like they mean it. Much more importantly though, I'm not criticising you because you *don't* sound like someone else, I'm just saying that it sounds to me like you may have a hard time bringing out that particular vibe.

Cheers man. It was nothing more than just entering notes with the pencil
tool and editing velocities. Well I wasn't necessarily try to sound like them,
just reminded me of that kind of style.

I agree with you about Misery Business, I love that track. That, and "That's
What You Get" are the only songs I know by them. They do a good acoustic
version of Misery Business too, you can find it on youtube.

I still have a fair bit of work to do on that track anyway. The snare pops a
little too much, the toms click loudly in some parts, clean up the guitar tones,
real bass, vocals, and the mix as a whole needs brightening. Just thought I'd
throw it up and see what people thought of the direction I was going in

 

[Bulls Hit]

Hangs together well, quite hooky and yeah vocals would be good

 

[philbagg]

Hangs together well, quite hooky and yeah vocals would be good

Thanks man

 

[FoulPhil]

Sounds good dude. It's got that alternative radio rock sound.

 

[studioplayer]

Lead has a nice hook to it. A song like this really needs vocals. Nice bridge. Perfect for some cool vocals in there. The drums bug me a bit. They seem a bit unnatural especially when they get loud in a few spots. Drums need work. Vocals for sure. Bass can work. A real bass would take it to another level though. Tight playing bro!

Dave

 

[philbagg]

Sounds good dude. It's got that alternative radio rock sound.

Cheers d00d That's the kind of sound I was aiming for

Lead has a nice hook to it. A song like this really needs vocals. Nice bridge. Perfect for some cool vocals in there. The drums bug me a bit. They seem a bit unnatural especially when they get loud in a few spots. Drums need work. Vocals for sure. Bass can work. A real bass would take it to another level though. Tight playing bro!

Dave

Thanks for the kind words I agree with you about the drums needing some work,
and having a real bass in there. I don't own one, I'll need a loan I don't
mind waiting til I have a few more tracks (if I want to continue this style as
a project) to get a singer for it.

I'm gonna work on taking some click out of those toms (either via gate or EQ,
or maybe the envelope control), and pull back the compression on the snare.
They're whats making it seem unnatural to me anyway. Any other tips?

 

[Greg_L]

Yeah it sounds good. I'm not crazy about that snare sound, but it works. Nice work so far.

 

[philbagg]

Yeah it sounds good. I'm not crazy about that snare sound, but it works. Nice work so far.

The snare sound isn't crazy about you either... I don't wanna get caught in
the middle of this

I kid, cheers for listenin Gerg

 

[jeffmaher]

That's nice!

I listened, and played the "what if it were mine" game....

1- 0:38 bass plays a melodic riff using mixed 8th notes, instead of following the chords with whole notes. You play a chunk of melody in the bass later that's real close to what I heard. More of that! The section needs something more...the melodic , busier bass, I think.

2- in the same section [B part], there's a gap in the floor....'and-of-4' is missing on certain measures. I'd use a grace snare hit andor a bass note, an octave or fifth up, on that beat to keep the race car rolling, and anticipate the following following measure. That anticipation beat is real important, I think: leaving the gap without something there saps energy from the part.

3- coming out of that section, the guits play two chords on 3 and 4. I would have the bass play the root also, and bassdrum/crash the two beats to drive the thing into the next section.....more effective. 'schmak!! schmak!!'

4- At the breakdown at 1:50, I add some tensions to the guitar chords...or add synth or something. Like A-maj7/9 to spook it out, and to take advantage of the harmonic minor that the previous progression hints at......it'd really open it up....like stepping out the hatch of the spaceship and floating off into space....and more effective cuz the previous chords are very triadic....nice change-up texture thingie.

4- also in the b'down.....I'd have the bass playing the root, beats 1-& ."DU DUM"........... every other measure. A little impact and menace.

5- at 2:14...building out of the b'down, I'd add high root octaves on the quarter notes...guitar or synth...there's nothing in the upper freq range....to add to the weave of the other parts....like a machine, meshing gears.

6-at 2:38, I'd have the bass walk away from the roots of the chords...play some 5ths and 3rds....to set up the rock-out ending where it plunges back to the roots and pushes the energy up.

A nice piece of work, fer sherrrr. The recording sounds good.

 

[philbagg]

That's nice!

I listened, and played the "what if it were mine" game....

1- 0:38 bass plays a melodic riff using mixed 8th notes, instead of following the chords with whole notes. You play a chunk of melody in the bass later that's real close to what I heard. More of that! The section needs something more...the melodic , busier bass, I think.

2- in the same section [B part], there's a gap in the floor....'and-of-4' is missing on certain measures. I'd use a grace snare hit andor a bass note, an octave or fifth up, on that beat to keep the race car rolling, and anticipate the following following measure. That anticipation beat is real important, I think: leaving the gap without something there saps energy from the part.

3- coming out of that section, the guits play two chords on 3 and 4. I would have the bass play the root also, and bassdrum/crash the two beats to drive the thing into the next section.....more effective. 'schmak!! schmak!!'

4- At the breakdown at 1:50, I add some tensions to the guitar chords...or add synth or something. Like A-maj7/9 to spook it out, and to take advantage of the harmonic minor that the previous progression hints at......it'd really open it up....like stepping out the hatch of the spaceship and floating off into space....and more effective cuz the previous chords are very triadic....nice change-up texture thingie.

4- also in the b'down.....I'd have the bass playing the root, beats 1-& ."DU DUM"........... every other measure. A little impact and menace.

5- at 2:14...building out of the b'down, I'd add high root octaves on the quarter notes...guitar or synth...there's nothing in the upper freq range....to add to the weave of the other parts....like a machine, meshing gears.

6-at 2:38, I'd have the bass walk away from the roots of the chords...play some 5ths and 3rds....to set up the rock-out ending where it plunges back to the roots and pushes the energy up.

A nice piece of work, fer sherrrr. The recording sounds good.

Wow, you really get into production, I like it

I'm going to be working on this over the weekend, I may be in touch to get
a clearer idea of some of your points. I really like the idea of number 6. I'm
getting ideas of maybe going an octave higher and doing some messing around
on the bass to add tension and drop out some low-end, only to drop back down
low with a full-sub bass to "explode" back into the main riff outro.

Also, I'm pondering in the idea of pushing up the reverb/delay on the vocals
coming into the breakdown to add a completely new sense of space, which
kind of ties in with your number 4.

Nice work man, appreciate the pointers

Edit: Gotta spread