New song

[muzeman]

Hi all,

This is a new song I started working on.
If anyone would be kind enough to give a listen,I would really appreciate it!

It's a rough draft,no words or melody yet.
Any comments or suggestions on the instruments,mix,production ect.,would be great!

I'm really trying to learn to eq,especially to identify and fix any masking that might be going on.

It's called-Bethsaida(The healing pool)-

http://www.nowhereradio.com/artists/album.php?aid=1317&alid=-1

Thanks for any input!

Pete

 

[Joe Recorder]

This song has good potential. I can't give any mix advice, as I still have my cheapo PC speaker's and am just a newbie. But, the song sounds good with a nice guitar hook in it. The only criticism I could say is the fret sounds that come up often at :09, :15, :21, etc. Maybe it's intentional but could come down a bit. Just my preference anyway. I look forward to hearing what you will do with the vocal's and the melody.

 

[Kramer]

Dang Pete,this is gonna be good.I like the meolody the lead guitar is playing.It's gonna sound sweet when you get a vocal melody layin in there.

Acoustic guitars sound top notch on my speakers.Im sure some nit pickers will find something wrong with this mix but I cant....well,the drums may be just a tad too low and thats the only thing that I can pick at right now.

This chord progression opens up the door for some really good vocal melodies.

Im lookin forward to hearing what you end up doing with this.

This seems to have a little fuller sound than some of your other mixes.....that study of EQ must be paying off.

Sounds good man!

 

[jjtcorsair]

Nice tones throughout. I don't know what you're worried about regarding eq. I'm listening on Sony Pro headphones and it sounds good to me. There's a nice space in the center just begging for vocals so get to it.

BTW, I like the fret noise.

Jon

 

[Guernica]

Pete........damn,
Man this is really cool! ........very very nice. ....maybe some of your nicest work yet. I really like the acoustic parts. They really work nicely together.... I like their panning. Im not too sure about the harmonica.... I like the part but its sounds a little bright. The lead tone is worth a million bucks..... very cool. Very cool stuff man, I cant wait to hear this finished.


Very nice stuff man,



G

PS- I agree w/ Kramers comment on a fuller mix on this than other work in the past....... big thumbs up man!

 

[crawdad]

I think the musical idea is good, the drum parts work and I like the electric guitar and harmonica line too.

I do have to nitpick a little, but I hope its "positive nitpicking"! There is a big lump of low frequency I don't know what in this mix. I think its the acoustic rhythm guitar--the one playing on the bass strings. Anyway, its sort of masking the whole low end. All I can hear is the click on the kick and I can't tell if there is a bass guitar in this or not. So, I'd have a look and thin that out in the 150-200 range.

Here is another tip, which may not apply too much to this but might be useful in the future. To get clarity between instruments, its often valuable to place each part in its own register or octave. Using a piano keyboard as an example, the bass would play primarily in is own octave, the rhythm part would be up an octave and the melody stuff might be up another or even two octaves. If you had multiple pianos all playing those same parts in the same register, it would be hard to hear what was what. try it soemtime--it works! A guy from Motown taught me that...

 

[jamal buchet]

starts out real good......i like that guitar lick......nice.
do you have words yet....or is this as far as you got so far.?..man i got tons of those...chuck ful-o-cool music just waitnig for the right moment..man you have like 3 guitar parts goin on here that all complement each other.....nice job......now stop messin around and get the pen to paper !!!....this NEEDS words.........


thanks
jamal

 

[muzeman]

Thanks very much for listening guy's,I really appreciate it!

Joe Recorder,thanks for listening!
I appreciate your kind comments.
Glad you think it's got potential.

I have a set of Elixers I havn't put on yet,should help with the fret noise.
]
Kramer,thanks dude,your help on the eq was great.
Your the man!
Now I have to try some vocals!

Glad you liked the acoustics,I kept the chord progression to a minimum,1-5-4,so I could concentrate on the melody.

I ran everything through my mixer,pumped it up,and sent it to the BBE before hiting the disc.
Really seemed to beef it up.
Thanks again for your help!

jjtcorsair,thanks,I appreciate the kind comment's!
Glad you like the sound,just hope I don't get to it and ruin it with my voice!
The fret noise is pretty cool,mabey I'll just try to tone it down some.

Guernica,thanks bro I really appreciate your kind words!
I thought the same thing about the harmonica,definitly have to tone it down!

I changed my signal flow some,seems to sound a little better.

Iv'e been trying for weeks to get a decent lead sound out of my J station,finally wound up doubling the parts and sending it through my old BBE.
Guess I'm out of luck with any real lead!
Thanks!

crawdad,,thanks for taking the time to listen,means a lot that you think the idea's work.

Please feel free to nitpick my stuff anytime,I'm honored!

I have two acoustics playing,and they hit the same first chord in the same register,mabey that's it.
I'll definitly roll off at the 150-200 range.
There is a bass in there somewhere.

Thanks for the register tip,I'll keep it in mind.
Any more jems like that?
Those Motown guys definatly knew how to do the sound,didn't they?

jamal,thanks for taking the time!
Good advice,now down to the hard stuff!
Lucky for me I have a Good Book to get inspiration from!

Thanks,
Pete

 

[Barometer]

Sounds like a great start Pete, the music is nice, quite soothing. I like it. In the mix the snare was really muffled and weak, and I didn't notice a high hat, was there one? The kick sounded OK. I would have liked maybe a little stronger bass and more of that electric guitar, but these are my personal preferences. Going somewhere good I think, nice job so far

 

[crawdad]

I wanted to say one more thing. I think many of us are guilty of putting too much low end in our mixes--me included. Last night I had to buy a CD of Mellencamp for a guy who needs it for some meeting. I put on this tune called 'Paper in Fire' and was kind of shocked by the mix. The lead guitars, fiddle, etc had no real low end, but sounded real clear and present. The drums were lean too, but crackin' real nice.

My impression was that by EQing all the higher register instruments so that they were not overlapping (much) into the lower registers left this big hole for the bass and kick drum. Even those didn't have to have any boost in low frequency EQ to be heard. The overall effect was tight, cutting and very punchy with no mud and crystal clarity between all the parts. Yet it had a full sound overall.

I suppose this idea is an old trick, but its worth bringing up again because it can be so useful. I can't wait to record something new so I can mess with it to extremes and see what I can get away with!

 

[Kramer]

Kramer,thanks dude,your help on the eq was great.
Your the man!
Now I have to try some vocals!

I didnt help much Pete.I just supplied a link to a good eq site you did the work

You the man!

 

[erichenryus]

i really like the tone on that lead guitar. very nice.

sounds pretty smooth so far and i can't wait to hear the song when it's finished.

the only thing i'm gonna point out, which it sounds like you already know, is that fret squeak is really loud. sounds like you have a $15 solution though .

best of luck finishing this. i, for one, have trouble finishing anything that i write. so your finished product will give me hope as well as something nice to listen to.

 

[muzeman]

Barometer,thanks very much.
I kept the drums low,it's a drum machine,still trying to get a good sound,same with the bass.
No hi hat yet though,good ears.
I appreciate your listening!

Crawdad,thanks very much for the eq tip,I'm going to try it if I can!

You mean to cut all the lows on the upper register instruments,where they would overlap the lower one's?
The only problem I have is,identifiying what the exact eq settings for the lows on the upper register instruments would be.

Could I do it in reverse,just cut the fundamental frequences of the lower register instruments on the higher register ones?
(Does that make any sense at all?)

Any pointers in the right direction would be just great.

Thanks again for taking the time to help!

Kramer,
No YOU the man!

erichenryus,Thanks for the kind words!
I think the Elixers will really help.

I have the same problem,about four songs half done!
I decided I like it this way though,there all on my recorder,so if I get bored with one I can swith to another.
Or if I get on a roll playing one instrument,I can recored it on all of them.
Keeps it more interesting.

Thanks,

Pete

 

[JR#97]

kick ass... forget the words...i'll just loop this all day and solo over it!

I loved the interplay between the acoustics. You blended them into the mix well. For the string squeeks, maybe just go in and manually knock down the level as to not mess with your already fine eq/mix job on the guitar tone.

I too noticed the upper low chunk of energy. But I also noticed a lack of true bass. On the whole though, I wouldn't have normally noticed had someone not mentioned it. Great work! Can't wait to hear a finished product!

 

[powderfinger]

It sounds really good. Obviously, if you add vocals, you don't want the harmonica too loud while you're singing, but I'd bring it up more. It sounds great, and could me more effective up front...it would work great upfront on the intro and between verses or something like that............anyhow, good start.......

 

[Buffalo Bob]

I like it. Neil Young/Bob Dylanish walkin' down a country road song.


Goin' down
To Bethsaida
Healing water for my troubled mind
I'll be there
at Bethsaida
Seeking what I need to find.

 

[dobro]

When it started, I thought I was listening to an instrumental take of the chorus. Then it repeated, like Pachelbel's canon. I think you've got a stunning chorus on your hands here.

What you need now is the verse music.

Not to mention the lyrics.

Can you sing, BTW?

Okay, I've stated the piece's needs. Now, here's the strong point: this is a very, very nice sounding piece of music. Makes me wanna join in. Let's see, how's it go...?

you can ask me why my eye is on the pool
gonna get in and I aim to get me wet
there is no way that I will not get me healed
don't know why I ain't got in there yet

 

[muzeman]

JR#97,
Thanks very much!
Glad you like the acoustics,I really dig your slide work!
What settings do you think would catch the squeaks?
I have a 4 band software eq,with freq.and q settings.

I'm going to redo the bass and bring it up.
Looking foward to trying Crawdads eq suggestions.
Thanks.

powderfinger,
Thanks for listening,I wasn't sure about the harmonica,glad you liked it.
I put a lot of reverb on it,I'll back it off some.
Mabey add it in between the lyrics?

Buffalo Bob,Thanks bud,those two guys are definitly among my favorites!
I learned to play by copying Neil,(kinda!)

Your lyrics are great,thanks!

dobro,I really appreciate you taking the time to listen and comment!
I agree with you,I'll probably use the lead riff for the chorus,and just let the acoustics play for the verses.
I'm trying to keep the chording simple,and let the melody do the work,(when I write it!)

You asked if I can sing.
Well,let me put it this way.
Compared to Erland or Crawdad,it's a big NO!
But I can carry a tune,so I'm trying to make up for it with doubling and some fancy eq tricks.

I dig your words,thanks very much!
Thanks for the kind comments.

Pete

BTW-*Thanks to whoever gave me the stars,I never even got one before!

 

[mixmkr]

the music was the best part for me. However, I was in the camp where the fret noise did bother me a tad. ...and it seemed repetitive too..like a loop. Was kinda strange in that sense. Also, the mix seemed to have the fidelity of a cassette (without the hiss) for some reason, and the drums where kinda "lost" in there except for the 'sharpness' of the kick coming thru.

great harp and melodies. I'd like to see the recording quality improve a bit to really blast this one off the launchpad.

 

[chrisharris]

How'd I miss this??

You've gotten more help than I could muster, but I wanted to let you know that the electric really adds a whole new dimension to your tune. I've never heard any electric work from you. I love all of it. Keep us posted on the progress.

Thanks,
Chris