Skyscraper

A

auburncatfish

New member
A quick song/tribute to old dilapidated skyscrapers. I originally tried to make it this analogy in the song to how these buildings are like people, but it never quite took in the lyrics. Regardless - I like this song and wanted to share it and get some mix ideas. My thought is that the bass may be too high or intense. I also went on a bit of a limb with a more "chorusy" vox to give a somewhat synthetic feel contrasted with the more natural feel of the guitars.

I'm using Cakewalk, an E-MU 0202, and what amounts to be a shure sm58 for a mic, though I do have a condensor I didn't use. I appreciate the listens!

Hopefully this link works:

http://soundclick.com/share?songid=9350731
 
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I think you should ditch the chorus.
The mix is OK...strong guitar sound...nice.

Do you want comments on the tune?
 
I got nothing man. I liked it the first time I listened and I liked it again. Sounds good to me. If I force myself I'd say a bit heavy on the low end but I tend to like that. Voice is really good, guitar sounds nice and warm. You could do with variation, a bridge, something like that. The theme is great but it kind of asks for a departure from it. It's what I would do. And maybe add some layers, but that's just me.
 
Sounds pretty good man. I share the desire for more variation on this, but I thought what you had here was fine. I liked the effect on the vocal and thought that contrast you were going for worked. I might have liked for the vocals to come up some or be processed further in some way that might make them more distinct...I had trouble getting the words at times. I liked what I could hear of them though.

I did think there was too much low end in general...particuarly the guitars. The percussive part of the strumming has this subtle boom to it that I didn't care for. I would brighten them up considerably if it were me, but they do have a natural sound to them which seemed to be your intent.
 
singlespeak said:
The theme is great but it kind of asks for a departure from it. It's what I would do. And maybe add some layers, but that's just me.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I had been trying to conceive something for a bridge but never came up with anything, and finally just recorded it as is. I'll keep thinking/trying for a bridge or some other expansion.

What kind of layers were you thinking of? Would love to hear your thoughts...
 
heatmiser said:
Sounds pretty good man. I share the desire for more variation on this, but I thought what you had here was fine. I liked the effect on the vocal and thought that contrast you were going for worked. I might have liked for the vocals to come up some or be processed further in some way that might make them more distinct...I had trouble getting the words at times. I liked what I could hear of them though.

I did think there was too much low end in general...particuarly the guitars. The percussive part of the strumming has this subtle boom to it that I didn't care for. I would brighten them up considerably if it were me, but they do have a natural sound to them which seemed to be your intent.
Click to expand...

Roger on the variations as above. And I'll bring the vox up on mix #2. Seems like I'm always bringing the vox up on mix #2, haha - it must be universally unnatural to hear yourself sing at the proper volume.

How would you suggest brightening up the guitars? Just through EQ or via plugin/effects? There is a bass guitar in there too which might be the culprit. I thought it was on the low end and liked it, but perhaps too low.
 
See in my head it keeps going to what I think amounts to G# Major and it has a piano (which would fit the whole song well), a fragile violin that plays a semi-sad melody as the voice takes a break, and maybe a xylophone, a small one to add to the "driving alone at night" atmosphere. Which might be a different atmosphere than you intended but that's what it sounds like to me. But seriously, maybe you shouldn't take arrangement advice from me :o
 
Is that a thump in the strumming or drum? It almost hurts with headphones on. If it's a drum it needs definition if it's your strum tryto EQ some of it away.
I like singlespeaks idea for arrangement but I'd opt for a cello. OR finger pick an simple arpeggio for a couple of bars.
The combination of the rhythm and that thump becomes relentless after a while so you need to ring in a change of some sort before returning to it.
Either ditch or dial back the chorus - you know the drill: wind it back until you can only just hear it & then back a tiny bit more.
There's a bass in tehre? Really?
Essentially, on 2nd listen, you need to give the bass some definition and the percussive thing too.
Try panning everything dead centre, then do some EQing so you can make out each instrument & then pan them back to a stereo image.
THis can be good!
 
rayc said:
Is that a thump in the strumming or drum? It almost hurts with headphones on. If it's a drum it needs definition if it's your strum tryto EQ some of it away.
I like singlespeaks idea for arrangement but I'd opt for a cello. OR finger pick an simple arpeggio for a couple of bars.
The combination of the rhythm and that thump becomes relentless after a while so you need to ring in a change of some sort before returning to it.
Either ditch or dial back the chorus - you know the drill: wind it back until you can only just hear it & then back a tiny bit more.
There's a bass in tehre? Really?
Essentially, on 2nd listen, you need to give the bass some definition and the percussive thing too.
Try panning everything dead centre, then do some EQing so you can make out each instrument & then pan them back to a stereo image.
THis can be good!
Click to expand...

I think that's the strumming from the acoustics that's thumping, but it might be part bass as well. Love the arpeggio concept maybe on the chorus or something.

I might also try a shaker or something rythmic on the chorus to break pattern.

Thanks a million for the advice on panning everything center, eq'ing, then panning again, wouldn't have know to do that. Any advice on how to eq to reduce the boom or define the bass?
 
Ray covered everything nicely.

The tune needs a breakout. Find the bridge!!

[has anybody seen the bridge?]
 
Interesting recording. The guitar seemed to have a high-cut filter on it. Not sure if that's a good thing or not, because a nice crystalline acoustic guitar always seems to trump the alternative.

Interesting FX on the voc track, too.. Seemed to work for me.. Maybe get more high-end on the overall mix?
 
If you want the bass even & a little top end of proggy definition combine the Motown bass system & the proggy bass tweak:
at 100 Hz cut the bass by 6db with a Q of 4. At 200Hz put a boost of 5db with a Q of 4. At 3Khz put a peak of 6 with a Q of 6.
The 1st pair move the energy from really low to low & was developed at Motown. The last makes the bass stand out a little.
Mind you this will only work if there's room in your mix at 200 & 3000. You may have to reduce a couple of things at 200 & 3K for it to be apparent as well as real.
The above doesn't always work BUT it's worth a try.
 
auburncatfish said:
How would you suggest brightening up the guitars? Just through EQ or via plugin/effects? There is a bass guitar in there too which might be the culprit. I thought it was on the low end and liked it, but perhaps too low.
Click to expand...

I'm listening again and I really can't make out a bass guitar at all...odd.

It really sounds almost like the thump of the acoustic being lightly struck by your palm as you strum or something...not sure...there is a thump there to be sure though.

As for the guitar sound, there are too many ways to list to achieve different sounds while tracking, but as far as brightening these exisitng tracks you might:
Simply roll off some of the low and with EQ, or slide the frequency on the EQ up and down until you hear any remotely unpleasant tones, and then bring that specific area down a bit. Not saying you have unpleasant tones...but you know what I mean. Too much reduction and you lose any natural quality to the sound and you might as well start over. Generally I would avoid boosting highs and rather remove any unwanted lows - but don't take this to the bank...just offering some ideas :)
 
Thanks for the eq'ing tips everyone, invaluable.

I'm thinking I'm going to write a bridge and possibly go back to scratch. If the bridge works out I definately will have to. If not, I may pick this mix back up. Always a dangerous proposition starting from scratch though, sometimes I find you can't recreate anything near the original sound.
 
Hey! How many songs have you written??

Sometimes, inspiration lacking, a really good bridge can be had from another tune..related content...or an uptick in dynamics....

A bridge is mostly another related, short song. Maybe help you break out of a box by altering perception??
 
nice stuff, I think everyones covered anything i would have noticed...especially the strum thud....nice performance, I like your vocals
 
Sounded OK.

Every guitar stab has a low end thud that goes along with it. Guitar lacks a little high end - lacking just a bit of sparkle. I liked how you used a second guitar on just a few strums.

The vocals could come up just a bit. Or perhaps you could compress them a little more. Words at the end of phrases tend to get buried.
 
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