michaelhanson
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Magnet- Christian Rock
I have had this opening riff around for over a year and finally forced myself to do something about making it into a song. Please let me know what you think. Magnet: http://www.reverbnation.com/michaeljhanson
post edited by MakeShift - 2011/08/12 11:41:13
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Guitarhacker
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Re:Magnet- Christian Rock
2011/07/22 20:37:21
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Hey Mike.... I like it. There's a lot that's good about it.
It is not in the CCM genre that is so popular these days..... I could see this in a christian coffee house setting. My daughters might like it too....
Crits: the vox had a certain harshness to them ...eq issues.
I also did not especially like the tone of the guitar.. to me it had a hollow sound. It's all fixable.
I listened to You found me..... I remember that one too.
Good job over all.... just a few issues... mostly with vocal tuning and eq on the rest.
My website & music: www.herbhartley.com MC4/5/6/X1e.c, on a Custom DAW Focusrite Firewire Saffire Interface BMI/NSAI "Just as the blade chooses the warrior, so too, the song chooses the writer "
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michaelhanson
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Re:Magnet- Christian Rock
2011/07/22 23:52:50
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Hey Herb,
Thanks for the advise. I truly valued your imput on "You Found Me" and if you noticed while listening, I was able to cut out a lot of the breathiness that trailed off in the vocals of that song. A fresh set of ears is always good. I will listen for some of your suggestions on this one as well. Do you know where you are hearing some of the tuning isues, in the verses or chorus's. I treated them a little differently on seperate tracks.
Guitar was done with Pod Farm2. I didn't have a chance to fire up and mic the amp on this one. Maybe changing a few knobs around in PF2 will fix some of the harshness. I will sweep for EQ as well.
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Guitarhacker
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Re:Magnet- Christian Rock
2011/07/23 08:52:32
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Mike: A few thoughts on the issues.
The vocal tuning is very slightly flat in a few places. Not really what I would call "off tune" but something that if it was in my studio, I would fix.
I am drawn into your light.... (in the first verse) Holy, Holy, Holy is your name on high. (first chorus)
These notes are not totally flat.... in a few of them it sounds like they start or end flat. It might only be a few cent off but to me it is noticeable.
Question: Do you have melodyne? If you did/do... you could load the track in and MD will show you the notes and you can see what's not exactly on the frequency. Using MD to "autocorrect" the notes would likely fix this easily and transparently. You can also correct the note slurs that start or end flat.
On the guitar EQ: to my ears, it sounds like a high mid bump is in the mix. I would use EQ to lower the mid bands until you get a sound that you like..... having said that...I also understand that guitar tone is subjective and 100% a personal like or dislike. So many times I have heard a guitarist with crappy tone (to my ears) and they are loving the tone they get.... so the EQ thing is MY OPINION only.
My website & music: www.herbhartley.com MC4/5/6/X1e.c, on a Custom DAW Focusrite Firewire Saffire Interface BMI/NSAI "Just as the blade chooses the warrior, so too, the song chooses the writer "
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radio
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Re:Magnet- Christian Rock
2011/07/23 09:53:54
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Hey I like your style , the song I liked but I have to agree with Herb .
What did you use to record this song , just wondering ?
Nice song , alittle bit of fixing and it will be a great song !
Radio
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michaelhanson
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Re:Magnet- Christian Rock
2011/07/23 13:00:37
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Thanks guys. No, I don't have Melodyne. I have been thinking about getting it, though. I was really close to down loading the free trial, but realised that I better make sure I actually have some time to work with it when I do.
Thanks Radio. I feel like my song writing and producing is getting a little better all the time. I am starting to slow down and really work at it. Forums like this really help to have another set of ears. It is easy to get to close to them.
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Guitarhacker
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Re:Magnet- Christian Rock
2011/07/23 14:01:34
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One thing about the demo versions of Melodyne and Ozone.....
Before you download the demo, be sure you have the money to buy them because you're gonna love them and "have" to get them.....
My website & music: www.herbhartley.com MC4/5/6/X1e.c, on a Custom DAW Focusrite Firewire Saffire Interface BMI/NSAI "Just as the blade chooses the warrior, so too, the song chooses the writer "
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michaelhanson
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Re:Magnet- Christian Rock
2011/07/24 10:21:48
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LOL, yes, I have heard that Herb. I have enough saved for one or the other right now, but yes, I fear the demo of either would start burning a hole in my pocket.
@ Radio...I missed your question earlier about, "What did I use to record this project." If I am understanding your question correctly, I have used X1 Producer. Almost every track was compressed and EQ'd using Pro Channel.
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Janet
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Re:Magnet- Christian Rock
2011/07/24 11:30:58
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Great hook and good lyrics and very singable, all of which are important in this genre. :) Herb's got some great ideas.
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theguitarplayer
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Re:Magnet- Christian Rock
2011/07/24 22:08:56
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Mike, Nicely done and a wonderful message to share about the Lord. Nice simple guitar sound and beautiful lyrics. Praise the Lord. Blessings, John
Sonar X3 Studio, Acid Pro 7, Sound Forge Pro 9, Sonicfire Pro 5, Kinetic 2, Cinescore, HP Pavilion dv7, CORE i7, Q-740, 8gb Ram, Windows 7- 64 bit, 4 tb mem , Audiobox USB, Digitech GNX4, Gibson SG1 & SG3, Martin J65M, Washburn Custom Cumberland, 3 Marshall Amps, Casio 365 Keyboard, M-Audio Axiom AIR Mini 32, Behringer Truth Monitors, Garritan Aria, EWQLCC, Alloy 2, Ozone 6, Melodyne http://www.soundclick.com/JohnRKennedy
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No How
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Re:Magnet- Christian Rock
2011/07/25 01:21:21
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I thought the mix sounded very nice. It's got a fresh sound and not the same old.
Good song. I enjoyed a lot.
s o n g s – Beauty lodged in a bad hotel has no value. Raymond Lull
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Philip
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Re:Magnet- Christian Rock
2011/07/25 02:51:07
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A bit hyper-compressed for British psychedelia ... forcing me to slam down the volume (my crony ears hate 3.5 kHz and up and beg reduction at those freqs)
Power-Christian-Message and performances, however, are spectacular to my ears ... which makes this mix easily fixable.
My personal hopes and personal/tentative opinions:
Turn off the volume maximizer 6-10 dBs, ASAP. If multi-comp'd, turn down the comp in the mids and highs.
Melodyne the sweet vox for mainstream audiences. Bob Dylan is so dark-ages with his pitch issues.
If you are using Ozone, I'd follow the pink-line guide on the spectrum (EQ) module.
Can there be much more of a bassline effort (kicks and bass-guitar) to absorb/balance the highs ... even in this 60's genre style?
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michaelhanson
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Re:Magnet- Christian Rock
2011/07/25 07:35:56
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Janet, GuitarPlayer, No How...thanks for listening and the kind words. A good fellow songwriting friend of mine challenged me to put more lyrical effort into my songs and I guess it is paying off. He still feels like I bailed out a little bit on the "Holy, Holy, Holy's".
Philip, I have been following your posts for quite a long time and you always have some really good stuff to say. Honestly though, my simple mind sometimes has trouble decifering exactly what you are saying. I had to read your comments a couple of times over, but I think I am understanding. I did push a little bit of the highs from about 3.2 khz up; I can try lowing those again if that is bothersome. I don't have Melodye or Ozone....yet....but am working on that. Melodyne will probably be first. I think you are asking me to add more bass and kick, or at least EQ to stand out a little more??? Most of the time I am told that I am to bass heavy, so maybe on this one I under compensated. Bass is one of my favorite instruments, so I have a tendency to (usually) push it to high in the mix. Really glad that you overall liked this tune; I labored hard to force myself to make something out of this lick and mold it into a song.
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Philip
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Re:Magnet- Christian Rock
2011/07/25 17:31:26
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Mike,
My comments are 2 cents and my grammar is oft poor; I'm sorry! ... I exceedingly love both your psychedelia and awesome Christian message.
Yes sir, I think you hit it: its those 'urgent' 3.2-4.0 kHz levels and higher ... that must come back down to normal or lower; especially for your clear and excellent vox and guitars.
From 1kHz to about 15 kHz my ears are hypersensitive to everything (I'm 54)
Let me know (pm me so I'll remember) when you fix the upper mids, so I can re-listen.
My melodyne-paradigms may not apply to your excellent vibe as much as mine. I melodyne all vocs in my vox-centric mixes (after someone embarrassed me about being off-pitch), but as transparently as possible for psychedelia. So I'm a melodyne freak where vocs rule.
Many emotive singers dislike melodyne, and especially dislike my going overboard with it: Randy, Julianna, Danzi, Rick (NoHow), to name a few. But I suspect their views are changing.
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michaelhanson
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Re:Magnet- Christian Rock
2011/07/25 22:04:46
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Thanks for clarifying Philip. I will certainly PM you with a new mix when I get around to tweaking this one some more. LOL, I saw Danzi's comments about it has taken him his whole life to be able to sing this mediocre (I am paraphrasing here) and I had a good laugh out of that one. I can some what agree with him. I too am about to turn 50 though, so I may have to go the Melodyne route, I am not sure that I have another 30 years to perfect my vox.
I have found that V-Vocal has actually helped me to become a better singer, by showing me which notes I consistantly sing a tad flat. That helps me to concentrate more on those trouble areas. My only problem with V-Vocal is I get really mixed results using it. I have read all over the board that Melodyne is the way to go. I guess I am thinking about starting out with Melodyne Assistant.
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Guitarhacker
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Re:Magnet- Christian Rock
2011/07/26 07:17:12
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Using Melodyne has made me more aware of the nuances I use (intentional and not) in singing.... because I can see them and hear them. Some are fixable and some just need to be sung correctly to start with.
My website & music: www.herbhartley.com MC4/5/6/X1e.c, on a Custom DAW Focusrite Firewire Saffire Interface BMI/NSAI "Just as the blade chooses the warrior, so too, the song chooses the writer "
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michaelhanson
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Re:Magnet- Christian Rock
2011/08/12 09:44:17
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I have finally gotten around to reworking this one. Per a few of the comments on the upper mids, I have tweaked that area of the mix. I have also reworked some of the vocals, hopefully getting them closer to correct pitch. Follow the original link at the top. As always, I thank you for the feed back.
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Philip
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Re:Magnet- Christian Rock
2011/08/15 02:36:12
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Much better, I can hear the bass and the sweet strumming sounds much better now, too.
Solid song you pulled off extremely well; I love this!
There is a vinyl sound to this also (intentional?).
Christian Psychedelia is a fav for me, so I won't overly patronize here. I wish songs like yours were played instead of Lennon's Imagine and the whole 60's love-sick psychedelia.
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Guitarhacker
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Re:Magnet- Christian Rock
2011/08/15 08:06:58
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Sounds like you got the vox closer to pitch in this edition.
I like the easy country rock groove in this song.
My website & music: www.herbhartley.com MC4/5/6/X1e.c, on a Custom DAW Focusrite Firewire Saffire Interface BMI/NSAI "Just as the blade chooses the warrior, so too, the song chooses the writer "
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michaelhanson
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Re:Magnet- Christian Rock
2011/08/15 09:13:20
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@ Philip, I was going for more of an analog sound, but I will certainly take vinyl. I have been reading many of the pro producers comments over at Gear Slutz on analog vs digital. Some of the producers have started to close that gap in getting similar sounds and what they are finding is that tape does some things to sound, naturally, but in a way that we like and have become accustom too. For instance, there is a natural compression to tape and saturation when pushed. Another trait, they say, is that tape naturally rolls off some of the highs. Again, these are the guys over at GS speaking, but they claim that one of the reasons folks think digital sound’s harsh is because it captures all of those highs that tape naturally rolls off. So I have been experimenting with rolling off some of the highs on most tracks, other than a select few. For instance, I might leave the cymbals with all of the highs, intentionally so that it’s kind of the top accent color in my color pallet. Philip, I am currently working on another song that also has a real Lennon-like feel to it; they are just kind of coming out that way.
@ Herb, Thank you for your kind words. I like the country (laid back) rock feel of this one also. The last several of my songs have come out this way. Pitch-wise, I down loaded a trial run of Melodyne for 30 days. As you said, I am now going to have to buy a copy. What an incredible program. It just blows V-Vocal away in its sound and ease of use. More than anything, I could see very visually how I will hit the notes, but not always hold them for duration; kind of a step up to them and drop off, without holding the note. So, in that respect, it will help me to become a better vocalist as well.
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