Showcase your best song!

[Whatmysay]

We just released this new stuff with our rock trio.

You got good sound going on sort of Maroon 5 meets The Who. Recording wise you need some compression on the bass it is filling the mix too much without clarity. The EQ on vocals seems muddy at times and this is exacerbated by I think a little too much reverb – but verb is a personal taste thing.

Material wise I really like the songs

TGTBTU – have you thought about uping the tempo in the first section – I know it could make the end really challenging, but it seems just a little laid back – also I love the claps but the first time seems to break the flow before it is fully established; maybe just the once.

Radio Crush – best mixed/rec – bass much better dynamics and good drum sound – this is the most single friendly

Without Love – great opening lyric – opening progression (and when it returns) I’d try and get a tighter back and forth between bass and guitar given them there own space in the arrangement rather than overlapping.

Whether Weather – you really hand the tempo changes well – your chops seem pretty tight and I am sure you would do this one live very well – I’m not convinced it is the right arrangement for a recording.

HTH

Burt

 

[Whatmysay]

www.soundclick.com/davidsilverstein my best song I think is "I am gong to hollywood" but you guys be the judge I finally uploaded these off my old compute

I’m going to Hollywood

Vocals reminiscent of Tom Petty – great indie rock sound. The structure does not immediately jump out could you try to vary dynamics – it just seems to hit a level straight off and stays there until the last few bars that suddenly build.

I run ‘School of Rock’ as an after-class activity and I get every band to play as loud as can – so they all turn up t 11 and strum, bash and scream the hell out of everything - it can be loud – it had an emotional impact but clarity is lost.

It’s the knock out punch, but with out the foot work that leading into its impact on an audience is lost. To labour the analogy: a street fight (Punk/Thrash) vs. The Rumble in the Jungle (Rock, Alt, etc)

I think the track deserves some variation in the arrangement (some sort of a riff) and dynamic (variation between sections of song) – the melody line works well, but need s some layering and counterpoint to really nail it.

My eyes Wonder

Nice opp panning of kit – love the gaps – I appreciated the drive so much more if I am denied it every so often – great pop/rock

Who – is quirky and catchy – I could see this on a Grey’s Anatomy or Brothers and Sisters sound track – it has such a strong melancholy quality but it counter by the pitch effect on your voice that it would sit so well as a ‘reflective outplay’ to a TV show as we get cutaways of the cast isolated in their worlds.

Great stuff

Burt

 

[Whatmysay]

http://www.lightningmp3.com/live/file.php?id=11403Hope you like... it's called Falling.

Very Matchbox 20 – great harp/guitar intro – great voice, harmonies working well – hooks straight away – I like you get to the chorus quick – nice dynamic drop for mid-8 into chorus – lead lick back into chorus (I’d probably would have gone more blues than metal, but it is only a taster not a full instrumental) and extra lead over final ch adds nice crescendo to this powerful rock tune. I would have loved to have heard the harp come back.

This is a great song that is radio ready – best of luck with it

Burt

 

[Whatmysay]

Here's the newest/best song I have on the internet.

www.myspace.com/danieljamessmall

The song is called Crazy.

There is a sort of Beach Boys thing going on with some of your tracks – perhaps it is your voice/harmonies

Honey/Crazy – Country/Cajun feel going on here, why not throw an accordion into the mix as well? Very witty lyric particular Mid-8 ‘rich man/fly honey’.

Brake of Dawn – has a very laid back vibe, but I think could be served with some editing – intro way too long for me – the lead isn’t dynamically interesting enough as a break and isn’t repetitive enough to be a riff. Think of establish a riff here that then acts as a counter point to the melody line later.

Montana – captures a kind of musical era really well – LA/folk (Mamas and Papas – maybe get some girls in there) – I loved the drop at the end as it adds a new dimension that redefines the mood of the rest of the song – suddenly ‘they don’t like hippies in Montana’ is more threatening – like the guys got no option to return, because he has set of on the ‘road’ to California long before he ever got on the Grey Hound!

Cool sounds

Burt

 

[danw]

FORBIDDEN Link for me - I'm quite aroused by what the content might be now!

Well, it's not as sexy as it sounds. Probably just a server error; it's a hometown music server run by a buddy of mine, and it's been down some lately. I can try to post someplace else temporarily. Thanks for looking, though.

 

[Whatmysay]

here's a link to the best song i've worked on yet.

http://soundclick.com/share?songid=6270551

Nicole this latest mix is spot on – I loved the words and now the arrangement really underpins the intention of the lyrics – the drums could be brought up a bit more in the final 2 Ch – what about some brass in the Mid 8 (I think it is a melody variation before the last Ch) – not James Brown’s Hollywood Horns, more like just single note (triad) drone or just a slightly rising figure.

Just a thought – sounds great

Burt

 

[Whatmysay]

hey, it wolnt let me post a URL here because I am a new member...

myspace.com/dannyFNtanner

copy and paste that stuff if you want to hear some DIY deathmetal and grindcore.

Amazing drumming and you guys are very tight with your chops. Really like the audio samples and all the songs are really well produced. I have no reference point to judge your actual material, but I know enough not to say your diction needs to improve.

I really liked That certain aspects – it really demonstrates your ability as musicians and arrangers – I could easily see it being the chase music in the next Bourne Identity film on another Marval comic film adaptation. Is that you playing piano in the outro to International Fried chicken? You are definitely pushing the genre with some of these tracks.

Full credit to quality musicians doing what ‘pumps their nads’ and doing it with class – good luck you’ve definitely got it going on in grindcore/death metal.

Burt

 

[Yonce N Mild]

This is a pretty crappy mix. The vocals and gutars were recorded "live" at practice the drums were programmed and bass was recorded later. We are planning on re-recording this on Sunday.

It's our favorite song and we have a lot of fun with it.

The song is called Perfect Demon.

http://www.lightningmp3.com/live/file.php?id=11525

 

[danw]

Nicole -- I like the song a lot. The only thing I would change would be to put a little more variation into the drums. The dynamics on the vocals and the guitar change perfectly from verse to chorus, but I feel like the drums are holding them back. To me, it still feels like it's building when it should be letting loose. Maybe that's what you were going for, I don't know. What I'm feeling for the chorus would be like a 3/4 version of the drums in the keyboard solo of the Zombies' "Time of the Season" -- use a ping on a ride cymbal instead of a high hat, and add a few crashes and few little rolls on the toms in between beats. Also, after the second chorus, at about the 4:15 mark (the oh oh part), I'd kill everything except the vocals and maybe an acoustic guitar, getting softer and softer until it's almost a capella the second time you go through that part. Then bring back all the instruments at one time, and tear into that chorus / guitar solo full force. I won't be offended if this is a different direction than you were going for, but that's how I'd do it if I were recording it.

 

[danw]

Yonce -- this song does sound like a lot of fun to play. I like the double vocal line -- there's something about this that feels very Faith No More to me. Granted, I'm listening on headphones, but I'm not hearing much of the bass. Is it just doubling the guitar line? I'd make it a little more defined. Also very nice double-bass-pedal work on the drums. That adds a lot to the sound.

 

[Yonce N Mild]

Yonce -- this song does sound like a lot of fun to play. I like the double vocal line -- there's something about this that feels very Faith No More to me. Granted, I'm listening on headphones, but I'm not hearing much of the bass. Is it just doubling the guitar line? I'd make it a little more defined. Also very nice double-bass-pedal work on the drums. That adds a lot to the sound.

Thanks! Faith No More is one of my favorite bands. I've been told my voice sounds a bit like Mike Patton so that might be what sounds FNMish.
The bass is almost non existent in this mix it is following the guitar lines for the most part. I agree it needs some work. We are going to re-record and double track the guitars on Sunday as well as redo the bass. Drums and vocals are pretty much set.

We are going to try and finalize Perfect Demon a song called Paper Thin http://www.lightningmp3.com/live/file.php?id=11493 and another song of ours called Rain so we can get our myspace/soundclick thing going.

Thanks for the listen.

 

[Yonce N Mild]

Nichole,

I've already commented on you song but just wanted to let you know that I listened again last night and I like it even more now.

I woke up with it stuck in my head this morning, and have been humming the melody all day long. Well done!

 

[Yonce N Mild]

hey, it wolnt let me post a URL here because I am a new member...

myspace.com/dannyFNtanner

copy and paste that stuff if you want to hear some DIY deathmetal and grindcore.

Very well done! I'm not a big fan of that vocal style but I'm always impressed by it. I could sing about 30 seconds like that and then I wouldn't be able to talk for a week!
Musically you guys are tight as hell, good stuff!

 

[Xeries]

This is a song I wrote about a year back and then pulled it out, changed a few things, threw it together, and took to a engineer to master.

Hope you like... it's called Falling.[/QUOTE]

This has a really nice sound to it. Love what you do with the reverb fluctuations. Wish I had the CPU for that stuff, but I'm getting mega dropouts already just trying to automate a volume envelope in Sonar. My computer sucks.

Great song, I'll spin it again soon, I'm sure.

 

[Xeries]

I don't know which one I would consider my best. This is a song where I got a lot of good feedback. It's the kind of song that wrote itself and I didn't really know how it was going to sound until I was done.




The song Stranded sounds pretty professional to me. Good recording. Sounds a bit like Neil Young, but a little more country. Enjoyed it.

 

[danw]

What am I hamming up? My songs or the peer review or both?

For the record, I don't think it's hamming, but I'm guessing he's referring to your vocal style. It seems to me that you're just aiming for something different than most of the rest of us, so you have a different kind of expression in your voice. A little less like the stuff I've been hearing on the radio lately and an little more Sam Cooke, or Nat King Cole. That's what I'm hearing. It's a little outside my usual genre, but I think you're doing a good job of what you're doing, especially if you really are mixing all this stuff in GarageBand. And I like your keyboard work a lot. That's why I haven't had much to say about your music; I can't so far think of anything useful to add.

 

[Xeries]

I'm a newbie at this forum and I'm surprised at how few songs are posted here in this thread. I'm assuming that people who do home recording actually have songs recorded. Maybe I'm missing something, but I count about a zillion members here and not too many songs.

 

[Nicole_Rose]

Nichole,

I've already commented on you song but just wanted to let you know that I listened again last night and I like it even more now.

I woke up with it stuck in my head this morning, and have been humming the melody all day long. Well done!

thanks a lot. again it gratifies me to know that you like it i appreciated the comments

 

[danw]

Well, finally this one's taking off a little; this thread was started weeks ago, as I recall. Most people post their new stuff down in the mp3 clinic a few topics down. You can hear a pretty decent cross section scrolling through there. I just haven't posted there because so many of my mixes are terrible and in formats where I can't really modify them without a lot of work. Whatever critique I could get on my mixes wouldn't do me much good as of right now, so I'm waiting until I get something new done. So far I've mostly concentrated on songcraft more than sound quality, so this seemed like the right forum to post in.

 

[DAS19]

I’m going to Hollywood

Vocals reminiscent of Tom Petty – great indie rock sound. The structure does not immediately jump out could you try to vary dynamics – it just seems to hit a level straight off and stays there until the last few bars that suddenly build.

I run ‘School of Rock’ as an after-class activity and I get every band to play as loud as can – so they all turn up t 11 and strum, bash and scream the hell out of everything - it can be loud – it had an emotional impact but clarity is lost.

It’s the knock out punch, but with out the foot work that leading into its impact on an audience is lost. To labour the analogy: a street fight (Punk/Thrash) vs. The Rumble in the Jungle (Rock, Alt, etc)

I think the track deserves some variation in the arrangement (some sort of a riff) and dynamic (variation between sections of song) – the melody line works well, but need s some layering and counterpoint to really nail it.

My eyes Wonder

Nice opp panning of kit – love the gaps – I appreciated the drive so much more if I am denied it every so often – great pop/rock

Who – is quirky and catchy – I could see this on a Grey’s Anatomy or Brothers and Sisters sound track – it has such a strong melancholy quality but it counter by the pitch effect on your voice that it would sit so well as a ‘reflective outplay’ to a TV show as we get cutaways of the cast isolated in their worlds.

Great stuff

Burt

Thank you so much burt definitly put a smile on my face to hear someone compliment my music like that. I am so glad this thread finally took off and I do thank you for helping.