Always a great tune from you Bob, great one here. Awesome vocals and guitar. Only thing IMO bass needs to come up tad.

Really cool Bob, as usual!  I agree the drums need some work with the timing in some places.  I could hear the bass fine on my system.  Great guitar sound and vocals

great stuff Bob, as always!  no crits at all, just praise!  always a pleasure listening to your excellent guitar and vox!  fantastic!

I don't know how you just crank 'em out, Bob.  Nice and solid.
I agree on all the notes above about the drums and need to boost the bass a tad but overall another fine job.

Bob,

Missed the original mix but this update sounds great.   Guitars sound really big, can hear the bass fine..   Couple places the drums sound like they go out of the pocket with the rest of the song (like around :48-:55)  and again later... like they are too precise or something..  Vocals are awesome, lead and background vocals.   Love it...

Regards

philz:

Hey, Phil,

How are you, buddy?  Hope you had a great Memorial Day holiday out on the island!

Thank you for checking in on this one for me, and for your great ears and keen insights.  Your observations got me thinking that I may have run my high pass filters up a bit too high on all of the rhythm tracks in the interest of sweeping away low end mud, but in the process I sucked all the punch out of the mix.  After a little EQ surgery in this new mix, hopefully I was able to get some of the "oomph" back in without flooding the bottom end.  Let me know what you think, I may still need to punch it up a bit.

I also tried to warm up the vocals a little, because unfortunately, I know exactly what I did wrong while recording them.  I usually sing about 6 inches away from the mic when recording, but when I did this song I guess my years of habitual live vocal mic technique kicked in.  When I was starting to mix what I recorded, I realized I had sung the whole song about a foot or more away from the mic.  I guess old habits die hard, because singing on stage, I was always used to moving in on the mic for quieter parts and pulling back when the powerful vocal parts kicked in.  It was truly a dumb mistake, and I didn't think it would be that noticeable until I heard it in contrast with the thick guitars.  I hope the new mix put a little depth back into the vox.

Thanks again, Phil, your ears and clear observations are always a big help to me.  Have a great night!
Bob
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rockinrobby:

Hey, Robby,

How's it goin' bro?  Hope all is great for you!

Thanks, man, I always look forward to and appreciate your comments and input.  Your comments were 100 percent right on the money, just as I mentioned up above to Phil.  For this new mix I redid the eq for the drums and bass, and as per your suggestion, tried to warm up the vocals because of the stupid mistake I made while recording them that I mentioned above.  Let me know if you think they're back in the ballpark, or if I should "twice-bake" them like a potato again! 

Thanks, Robby, have a good one!
Bob
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timidi:

Hi, Tim,

Thank you, sir, for giving this a listen and for your very kind words!

I took your advice and pulled the drum bus down about 2 dBs, I'm hoping that reigned them in a little bit.

Thanks again for taking time to check this out and offer your opinion and advice, I really appreciate it.

Have a great night!
Bob
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james 1213:

Hi, James,

How are you, my friend?  Hope all is going great for you!

Thanks so much for stopping by on this song for me, and for your observations and kind words of encouragement!

This one is tuned to Drop C# minor because I was shooting for that deep "growly" rhythm tone.  As I noted to Phil up above, I think that in this new mix, I was able to put a little more thump back into the kick drum without smearing the bass and guitars.  Let me know if you think I should try to push it a little bit more.

Thanks again, James, the input and advice that I receive from you and Larry always means a great deal to me!

Have a good one!
Bob
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drumstixkev:

Hey, Kev,

It's great to hear from you, buddy!  Thanks for checking in on this one for me, and for your kind words!

I hope the kick is a little better on this new mix, I added back some of the thump that I removed and made a couple other eq adjustments to beef up the punch a bit.

Thanks for your input, I always appreciate the advice of excellent "real drummers" like yourself, because the drums are always the hardest part for me.  I always look forward to your insight and advice.

Have a great night!
Bob
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Janet:

Hi, Janet,

How are things out in the Great Midwest?  I hope you and your family had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!

Thanks so much for giving this a listen and also your very kind comments.  I truly appreciate you checking this out for me, and I'm very happy that you enjoyed it.  

Have a great night!
Bob
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guitartrek:

Hey, Geno,

How are you, buddy?  Doing great, I hope!

Thanks for stopping in on this one and also for your encouraging comments!  Your input really means a lot to me because of the amazing quality of your productions.  Your new song "You Can Be Free" is absolutely fantastic from start to finish!

Thanks again, Geno, I really appreciate it!
Bob
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Taylor_514C

Hi, Doug,

Thank you, sir, for the listen and your kind words!  I've always been a big Judas Priest fan and did quite a few Priest classics in my cover bands over the years, so maybe that sneaks in once in a while.

You were right on the money about the bass, I went a little crazy with my high pass filters on the first mix and sucked all of the punch out of the song.  I think the new mix eq tweaks beefed things back up again.  Let me know if you think I should bump it up another notch.

I really appreciate your input, Doug, have a great night!
Bob
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Thatsastrat:

Hi, Bruce,

How are you, buddy?  Hope you're doing well!

Thanks so much for stopping by on this one and for your very kind words!  I always look forward to and greatly appreciate your input and observations.  Your very good ears were 100% correct, and I hope in this new mix that I fixed up the little timing issues that you heard, also I re-eq'd the bass guitar and kick drum, so let me know if your think it's back in the ballpark this time.

Thanks again, Bruce, for your input!
Bob
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bapu:

Hey, Ed,

What's happenin' my good friend?  I hope you're gearing up for a rockin' weekend!

Thank you, kind sir, for giving this a listen and for your input, it's always great to hear from the portal to Grzylyrg! 

Have a good one, buddy!
Bob
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radio:

Hi, James,

Thanks, for the listen and your kind words, buddy, I really appreciate you checking it out for me!  It means a lot to me that you take the time to listen and comment.

Have a great weekend, James!
Bob

Philip:

Hi, Philip,

Thanks very much for giving "Hearts on Fire" a listen, and for your kind words of encouragement!  I really appreciate your and input and wonderful comments. I'm humbly thankful for your opinion, and I've very happy that you enjoyed it.

Have a great night, my friend!
Bob
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Tap:

Hi, James,

How are you?  Doing well, I hope!

Thanks so much for for checking in on this one for me, and also for your kind words and good observations!  You're right about the vocals (see about my dumb mistake above), but, I'm hoping I was able to "warm" them up a bit in this new mix.

I'm very happy for the Richie Blackmore reference, because I literally grew up on the "Machine Head" and "Made in Japan" albums.

Thanks again James!

Bob
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GuitarBob:

Bobby,

Thanks very much for your first post, as always, I greatly appreciate it.  As for your second, really weird post, ehhhhhh, not so much. 

Don't know what's up, but I hope you feel better, and that things get better for you!

Sincere best wishes,
Bob
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SteveStrummerUK:

Hey Steve,

How's my good buddy doing?  Hope you had a great weekend!

Thank you, kind sir for lending your good ears to this song, and also for your very much appreciated encouragement!  You were one of the first people to welcome me to the forum when I first joined, and your generous input, advice and friendship truly means a lot to me.

By the way, I just thought that I'd mention that I was exploring a bit on your SoundClick page, and that "Ready and Chilling" was a truly a dynamite work of very classy "guitar art".  It really blew me away, with an early Santana "Abraxas" type vibe floating over a crisp modern rock sounding mix.  Really cool song, Steve, eight minutes of tasty playing and sweet tone!

It's really great to hear from you, and thanks again for your input and support!
Bob
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mixmkr:

Hi, mixmkr,

Thanks for giving this a listen and for your input and kind comments!  In this new mix, I think I was able to correct the timing anomalies, and also warm up the vocals with some eq touchups.  Hopefully, it's getting closer to where it should be.

Thanks again for listening and commenting, that's what makes this forum so great!
Bob
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vechung:

Hi, Vicente,

Thank you very much for checking this out for me and for your kind words!  I really appreciate your input.

Your new jazz instrumental, "Still in Love" is really fantastic, wonderful work, my friend!

Have a great night,
Bob
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Dirtyharry53:

Hi, Harry,

Thanks for giving this a listen, and for your very nice comments!  I really appreciate you taking time to check it out, and I'm very happy that you enjoyed it.

Have a great night!
Bob

Bob Oister


SteveStrummerUK:

Hey Steve,

How's my good buddy doing?  Hope you had a great weekend!

Thank you, kind sir for lending your good ears to this song, and also for your very much appreciated encouragement!  You were one of the first people to welcome me to the forum when I first joined, and your generous input, advice and friendship truly means a lot to me. 

It's really great to hear from you, and thanks again for your input and support!
Bob

 
 
Thanks for the kind words there Bob - I always look forward to a new song from you brother.
 

By the way, I just thought that I'd mention that I was exploring a bit on your SoundClick page, and that "Ready and Chilling" was a truly a dynamite work of very classy "guitar art".  It really blew me away, with an early Santana "Abraxas" type vibe floating over a crisp modern rock sounding mix.  Really cool song, Steve, eight minutes of tasty playing and sweet tone!

 
I'm glad you liked my bit of 'improv' mate
 
I'd just recorded a basic backing track with a view to turning it into a full song at some stage - I just jammed that solo over it after coming back from the pub one night
 
Generally speaking, I'm pretty useless at pre-planning solos so for most tunes I just loop the solo backing part and record over and over until I play something I like! And as I don't play live, I have the luxury of only having to get it right once, and even then, I don't have to learn it.
 
My other main problem (as you can see from a lot of the stuff on my SC site) is I rarely finish anything!
 
Catch you soon Bob, take care buddy
 
 

Sounds great. Everything. Great production.

Holy toledo, Bob! I would kill (figuratively speaking) to get your guitar tone. Fantastic, especially the lead guitar. Vox sound great with the harmony. Drums and bass sound good, and a well balanced clean mix. There is simply nothing negative to say about this one. Excellent work!

Hi Bob,

Wow, killer guitar sound!

Great song and production. Outstanding vocal!

Pro sounding mix. Great job.

chasmcg:

Hey, Chas,

Thank you, sir, for giving this a listen, and also for your very kind comments!  I really appreciate your time and your input.

By the way you did a fantastic job on your song post of "Years & Years Ago", that's really a great song, very nice work!

Have a good one!
Bob
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mcourter:

Hey, Mark,

How's it going out on the West Coast, buddy?  Hope you're doing great!

Thanks very much for checking in on this one for me, and also for your encouraging words!

I really appreciate you giving this song a listen and commenting.  It's always great to hear from you, especially because you're one of my good old Line6 buddies, from the old, "original" Line6 forums.  That was the first online forum that I ever joined, and I was really nervous about posting my first ever DAW recorded song there, and you hopped right in to welcome me aboard.  I'll always remember that!

Thanks again, Mark, I'm always thankful to hear your opinions and ideas.  Have a good one, buddy!
Bob
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geeare1:

Hi, Gary,

Thanks, man, I really appreciate you giving this one a listen for me, and also your encouraging words!

I'm very thankful for your input and observations, it really means a lot to me.

Thanks again, and have a good one, Gary!
Bob
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darylcrowley:

Hey Daryl,

How are you buddy? Doing great, I hope!

Thanks so much for stopping by on this to give this a listen, and also for your kind words!

You're one hundred percent right about going DI.  Because usually I can only record between 2am and 5am, I'd definitely be taken out in handcuffs, (or quite possibly murdered by my wife! ) if I tried to use my stage amps.  So, I'm still going through my good old Line6 Toneport UX2 and into POD Farm for just about everything.

I think the major difference for my past few songs is that I've decided to try using a "minimalistic" approach to recording and mixing my newer stuff.  When I first started working with and learning Sonar, after switching from reel to reel tape, I went hog wild with the unlimited track capability.  Most of my older songs, up until about a year ago, usually had between twenty-five and forty tracks, (lots of cloning and doubling) just because they were available.  I remember one of the guys in the Techniques forum, quoting a famous producer or mix engineer from a book, saying, "When everything in a mix is big, everything in the song becomes small".  It really struck me as being that simple, and something clicked.  Since then, all of my new songs usually have only between nine and twelve tracks, which gives me a lot of new breathing room when I'm done tracking and it's time to mix.

And, as I mentioned in a couple previous posts in this thread, because I can usually only record a few hours every other week or so, I try to really utilize the time to the fullest by using custom project templates and trying to get the tracking recorded quickly, and as close as I can to how the song idea sounds in my head.  Then I just give it a fast ten or twenty minute mix and post it here to get the helpful opinions and observations of all of our fantastic forum members, so I can tweak things a little bit after getting the forum's input and advice.

I truly appreciate every comment, good, bad, encouraging or ugly, that anyone here makes on my songs, because to me, everyone's opinion helps me decide on what has to be done to improve the song or the mix.  I'm still working at learning this stuff, and I'm really thankful for all of the generous advice from everybody here.

Thanks again Daryl, I really appreciate your input, have a great week!
Bob