Okay.....I was going to refrain from jumping in here, but alas I have been gone missing for some months here due to my busy schedule between work and trying to record Imagineer Record's latest album......

First of all, I am kind of like you Bill, because I too have very limited funds to work with for my studio, yeah..I would love to have about $30,000 to spend on this and that in my studio to bring it up to par, but if most people found out what I am usually recording on, they probably would give me a double take as to how I am getting good cd's out there to promote(I am still using a kurzweil K2000 sythn, a delta 44 PCI card and a M-audio Omnio I/O breakout box with a M-audio 1X1 USB midi device all connected to my P4 3.0ghz custom built machine with 1gig of ram running sonar 4 producer, all this recording an acoustic guitar, etc) but due to these money limits within one's personal studio, unless you want to dole out and pay for a engineer, promoter, etc....you have to wear 3 or so hats when recording a cd...

1st hat is of course the creative musician and my rule of thumb is just record it and be creative with one's music (of course, record your music with enough practice so it just doesn't sound like someone that just picked up an instrument)...

Then, after you are happy with the creative results of one's music and the songs, the flow of them, etc...then time to switch hats....now comes the mixing engineer hat out to make your songs and your album sound professional like a cd out there in the store...This is where all of the tweaking, mixing, Eqing, compression, etc take place to bring your cd/album up to professional level quality.
Thanks to Spheris and many others here this is where one can learn, research and really hone your engineers hat to make professional sounding songs to at least compete with the major cd's out in the market today. If one decided to skip this step and burn your songs onto a cd and pop it into your truck cd player or home player and it doesn't come out exactly the way you heard it in your studio, sounds muddy, too thin, like crap:)....then this is where the mixing engineer needs to critically listen to each invidual song and figure out what is going on within the song itself and to make it sound better, fuller, etc...
Then of course, again, if you don't have the money to take it to a mastering engineer, then the mixing engineering hat comes off and the mastering engineer hat comes on to finalize the songs on the cd, bring the volumes to professional levels and have the songs sound consistent throughout the cd.
Then after you are satisfied, esp if you post your songs here and let other people listen to them and make constructive advice on how to fix things(Thanks again Spheris)...

Then time to take off the other hats and put your promoter hat on and promote the hell out of your album to the masses and yes, it was lots and lots of hard work, but sit back now to a point and by submitting your album to radio stations, reviewers, etc, the feedback will come back on what people thought or think of your cd, etc and even possibly money by promoting your album across the world....


Well..sorry for long post and I will now step off of soapbox:)

P.S. forgot to mention in that like the previous posts have said, it comes down to at least having a 'professional' sound for it matters not if you have a $10,000 studio or just a $1,000 studio...if you take the example of Buddy Holly here in Lubbock when he went into a local studio here back in the early 50's,(esp known the local studios back then here in Lubbock) they really didn't have top notch equipment but they did what they could work with and recorded him a demo album from his creative music and as the rest of the story goes, Rock & Roll history..

There is such a thing as appreciation. Speaking for myself, I feel a need to have my music appreciated, that's why I do it, and I think a lot of other artists feel the same,

Since my name was mentioned at least 3 times that I saw, I thought it good to at least throw something in. As far as the above statement, I would imagine Bill we all feel the same-we want to be appreciated-this is one of the basic necessities of life-just as important as food, clothing, and shelter. The only difference being without water you die within a few days, without food in a little longer time, shelter-depending on if you live in the tropics or not, and lack of appreciation takes a little longer-but people die of it everyday just as sure as any other disease. So, I am 100% in agreement with you.

A few other things.

Yesterday and today I have had computer trojan problems and wrote to the “pro’s” on the forum. I have gotten numerous replies on how to fix this problem. I am so thankful for the attention, and “love” is basically how I see it. Everybody could have chimed in with, “hey, you aren’t so dumb Michael. You actually know a lot about computers” etc. But though it might have made me feel a little better, it wouldn’t have fixed the problem. And the first step to finding a solution to anything in life is to admit you have a problem and need help. I got specifics. When I give people suggestions about their music it is because I love them, and it’s because of this I take time out of my schedule. I get paid well for critiquing music professionally and I offer my services for free on the forum. As a matter of fact, I have paid for hours in phone calls to the U.S. to help out forum members in distress, and have played on quite a few songs for free. (I’m pretty full up now. <g>.) I have yet to charge a forum member for any of my services. I actually don’t think you were talking to me because I haven’t critiqued any of your songs Bill, but I wanted to put in a plug for the other guys that have. I know they are only trying to help. I’ve mentioned this a few times and will include at least one of the threads, but all of my songs are checked at the composition stage and at the mixing stage (which includes content-not just levels) by a team of at least 4 people. This is invaluable to me. You should have heard the songs before I got the input-sometimes I hit it pretty good-“Leave It Up To You” is a demo I did without outside help, but as I am in the process of re-recording it more acoustic, it will then go through the process and I am confident will come out better. 2 of the cats are in their 20’s and they listen for a certain thing. 2 of them are composers only, and listen to structure/content and if they get moved. Another guy listens with what I believe are some of the best ears in the business-he does my mastering. You haven’t heard of him because he is almost totally pro-bono-basically lives off of expenses and donations. (Sometimes he gets some pretty big donations and has some pretty big expenses-Apogee products, etc. <g>.-plus he is in my band and we get paid ok for large events.) I think the main difference here is the level that one is at and please don’t take this offensively. As someone mentioned earlier in the thread the more they get into it and the more criticisms they get, the more they learn and the more they know what to listen for. In some ways music has gone into a different mode for them. You can say they have lost their innocence in some ways. But so has any professional in any field. It then becomes up to us to retain the “heart” in what we do, just as a doctor, nurse, or craftsmen must. “Where love and skill work together, expect a masterpiece.” We all have a choice when criticisms come our way to learn all we can from them, forget the ego, and apply the new found knowledge, or to stick to our guns because we think our way is better and our pride is wounded. I do not speak to you personally now Bill as I have read your posts and know you are a very sweet humble man, but am using this thread to make a point. I remember all throughout my life hearing people say, “who the hell is he to be telling me that?” I see it differently. I believe I can learn from anyone. I don’t let the fact that I am a better player than someone, have some big names under my belt, or make a living out of doing this keep me from learning from anyone and everyone. If the point has validity, I try to see it objectively and move on. Which is more important-the preserved ego, or the final product. One of my closest colleagues once told me how it use to work with Babyface, L. A. Reid and their songwriting team. If someone had an idea to make the song better, then their contribution led to their name being on the credits. They said that they would rather have 50% credit for a hit than 100% credit for a flop. I see things the same way.

Back to main thread. I agree with others. Make it clear what you want people to comment on, but also spend more time on it. Try to find someone around you that will be objective. We are all emotional about our own kids and songs. We often call the songs in our auditioning committee our “babies”. Just happened this Christmas when we were putting together our Christmas shows. One couple in particular wanted 2 of their girls in the show, but sometimes you have to go with the best, especially when you are charging $100 to get in (dinner show) and it’s on a large stage. Has nothing to do with love and appreciation. They are some of my closest friends and I love the little girl like she was my own-but she wasn’t going on that stage. Her sister (4 years old) as a soloist is a crowd grabber-add the other girl and they were “less than captivating” (was that politically correct?). I know it can sound cruel. It does have a happy ending. She did sing at some of the other shows. (tears.)
The song forum is open to anyone, just make your intentions clear. Something like, “this is my new hobby. Please let me know if I have potential. I know nothing about mixing and don’t plan on releasing this, but please listen anyway because your comments could make my day.” Or, “I want to send these songs to a label. Could someone with experience doing this please contact me and let me know your opinion?” And a thousand steps in between.

God bless.

Don’t feel bad everyone if you don’t make it through this.

Michael

http://www.cakewalk.com/forum/fb.asp?m=268379&key=honesty%2Cflattery

Sorry, Steve ... this forum is "songs", so it's about songsmithstry, not eq and panning and where to put your microphones ... some of us songwriters / players don't have that stuff.

Yes Muddy,I do undetstand that this section of the forumns is "Songs",and it states "Post links to your latest songs or projects".The links that you have provided are recordings.The recordings are of songs,and the recording is a project.So its not just for songs[songsmithstry],but also projects[which do include eq,panning,and where to put your microphones].

EQs,and Panning is in all the latest Cakewalk Recording Software,and if your singing,you obviously have a microphone.

Yes, that is a great post, michael japan. I agree with all of it.
I'm new here and have posted a few songs, got a few
critiques etc. I feel that great musicianship means nothing
if the song's sound quality is poor. You can write the best song
in the world but if it sounds terrible people won't buy it or
listen to it. So to have your song critiqued is a privilage to
be respected. I have very limited equipment and am
wondering if you or Chaz would critique my song
on sound quality. Am i doing ok? What needs to be improved?
Acceptable overall sound level for radio airplay, before
hitting the mixdown button? Should i get every instrument
between 1-2 (Hz)?... I am just starting to familiarize myself
with this feature as i now know that between 3-4 is ear fatigue
levels. None of my songs instruments have been adjusted for the
Hz levels so i don't know which are over the acceptable amount.
If you or Chaz could listen to "Highway 93" and offer some
advice on what needs to be improved I'd appreciate it.
Thanks.

HIGHWAY 93

ORIGINAL: michael japan

will try to get to it later today pluto. If you visit the forum again within the next few hours, could you please let us know what the audience is-personal pleasure, wife, close friends, to sell at your live gigs, to send to label? That would help.

Michael

Personal pleasure on this one, to gain knowledge and experience
in the mixing, recording, engineering fields.

lot of distored and/or crunch gtrs in it.

did you hear it yet? Anyway, yes agreed-2 to 4 is the range. Ist listen-general comments.

1. great riff. Well named. Good song for a show for Harley Davidson or you could possibly pitch it for a commercial. Nice wide sound. Probably well performed but since it is what is commonly known in musical circles as "overproduced" it'shard to make things out
2. nice tone on main riff-but, I could get the same tone out of my Triton. If you want it to be more generic, take a little of the effect off so yo can tell it is a guitar. However, is it a guitar?
3. Non-existent high hat. Typical to the genre would be a 1/4 note open hat punching away.
4. Nice the fact that it has different motifs, and that you keep the main riff going and add the others on top. But transitions need work-you can't tell when one stops and one starts. You are already into the new motif before you know what hit you. Surprise is wonderful, but this is a little different. Also the bottom falls out at the transition points. Should at least have a cymbal at the end of the phrase such as at the end of the snare rolls-kind pf like ending a sentence with a period or exclamation point, and sometimes a pick up kick.
5. Everything is so effected, nothing is effected. I would leave the main riff nice and big and chorusey like that with a bit of reverb but cut the echo some. It's so big which is wonderful when that is all that is going on like in the beginning of the song. But when everything else comes in, the leads etc., they suffer.
6. Snare is very big, so kick sounds like a little "puff" in the background. Pull everything out except the kick and bass and see if the excitement is there. See if they are really working together and pumping together. A good solid bass player and drummer with a good guitarist will create more excitement and tension than a great guitarist with a mediocre drummer bass player. Why do you think Eric Clapton has Steve Gadd and Nathan East on his live videos. I'm sure it's not because they had nothing else to do or he was on a budget. <g>. Fleetwood Mac has been through about ten guitarists, but Mick (Fleetwood) and John (Mac) McVie are still around.

Would like to hear it as a "song" and not as a "production". Cut back on almost everything. Too many effects all around.

Keep in touch.

Michael

I love you Pluto.

Hmmm..... Where to begin?

For now , let me just say that Michael hit most everything, so I will not add too much more to that.

I would suggest starting over on the mix. Strip away all of the effects and EQing and build everything up again starting with placement (i.e., panning) and volume and then working up from there.

Yes they are all guitars

love that riff. Just work on the sound a bit of everything and you got yourself a cool tune.

Michael