steve@psbnoe.wanadoo
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I may regret this, but here's my first song(please check my new mix)
I've just written and produced my first song, I've also tried to master it myself. I know the vocal is not good, I'm no singer! Think I may just do instrumentals in future, but I do like writing lyrics just wish I could sing! Anyway here goes. Cheers Steve. http://soundcloud.com/digital-dream-division/how-can-we-ever-understand
post edited by steve@psbnoe.wanadoo - 2011/06/28 18:17:01
I was faced with a choice at a difficult age Would I write a book? Or should I take to the stage? But in the back of my head I heard distant feet Che Guevara and Debussy to a disco beat
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philz
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Re:I may regret this, but here's my first song
2011/06/19 13:30:17
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Hey Steve, and welcome to Songs. You should never regret it. Creating good music is an ongoing process that never ends. I posted my first song just over a year ago.
IMO the main thing is to feel good about what you've done. There are some really great folks here on the forum, and you'll get good advice and critiques that will help you along.
My $.02 on this song is that it could benefit from some more variation in the backing and percussion. As far as the vocals go, the best way to improve is to keep singing, and feel the song rather than think it. If you took a more 'punk' approach to this tune, that vocal would sound fine. The track had some clever and interesting synth work with the dissonance and especially the piece towards the end.
Keep 'em comin' mate...
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steve@psbnoe.wanadoo
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Re:I may regret this, but here's my first song
2011/06/19 13:49:11
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philz
Hey Steve, and welcome to Songs. You should never regret it. Creating good music is an ongoing process that never ends. I posted my first song just over a year ago.
IMO the main thing is to feel good about what you've done. There are some really great folks here on the forum, and you'll get good advice and critiques that will help you along.
My $.02 on this song is that it could benefit from some more variation in the backing and percussion. As far as the vocals go, the best way to improve is to keep singing, and feel the song rather than think it. If you took a more 'punk' approach to this tune, that vocal would sound fine. The track had some clever and interesting synth work with the dissonance and especially the piece towards the end.
Keep 'em comin' mate...
Thanks, I kept the backing to a minimum to make it easier to mix as those synth's took a lot of room up.I wanted them loud and proud to take attention off the vocals and their from my first proper synth, a Roland juno 106 which I love. Cheers Steve.
I was faced with a choice at a difficult age Would I write a book? Or should I take to the stage? But in the back of my head I heard distant feet Che Guevara and Debussy to a disco beat
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paulo
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Re:I may regret this, but here's my first song
2011/06/19 14:13:10
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Hey Steve
First off - welcome aboard - always nice to hear someone new. I remember that it took me a while to pluck up the courage to post my music, especially given the high standard of some of the folks on here, but I can honestly say that I've never regretted doing so and learnt plenty in the process, both from comments made and by listening to the work of others.
So, your tune......... can't say too much about the mix as I'm only listening on laptop, but I like the direction your headed in here - kind of early human league thing going on there. The vocal delivery sounds a little clumsy in places - you might want to consider rephrasing or re-writing some of the lyric - the bit ...."people under pressure" is an example of what I mean.
Nice to hear the vintage synth sounds - my dream used to be to own a Jupiter 8 - never got there, but I've always been fond of the Roland sounds of that era.
Anyway, keep at it and keep posting - based on my experience, this forum will only help you to improve.
BTW, as you're new I'll just add my usual disclaimer that I don't claim to be any kind of expert and all my comments are just those of a listener.
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steve@psbnoe.wanadoo
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Re:I may regret this, but here's my first song
2011/06/19 14:21:37
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Thanks for the info, your right about the Human League, i saw them at Christmas and there still awesome.
It's nice to have a warm welcome thanks.
Steve.
I was faced with a choice at a difficult age Would I write a book? Or should I take to the stage? But in the back of my head I heard distant feet Che Guevara and Debussy to a disco beat
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Jumbicat
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Re:I may regret this, but here's my first song
2011/06/19 14:45:17
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Welcome. After listening to it....I think it's fine the way it is. Not my type of music but it sounded like a lot of work went into it. I was expecting some harmonies during one part that was repeated but the electronic voice filled that void. Interesting. Were you saying Oprah's shoes?
Win7Pro64Bit-AMD-1090t -4 GIG OC DDR3-2k-GTX-465-C300 SATA6-SSD 64G-Sonar 8.5,X2a - Pro Tools Digi-001, a few Axon controllers http://soundcloud.com/jumbicat
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steve@psbnoe.wanadoo
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Re:I may regret this, but here's my first song
2011/06/19 15:25:14
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Jumbicat
Welcome. After listening to it....I think it's fine the way it is. Not my type of music but it sounded like a lot of work went into it. I was expecting some harmonies during one part that was repeated but the electronic voice filled that void. Interesting. Were you saying Oprah's shoes?
Thanks for posting, I have to say I was dreading this, you know making music is always on my mind, how can i make it work or make it better.
Then the time comes when you got to let other people listen and hope for the best.
So far i'm enjoying it, everyone's been very kind.
I wasn't saying Oprah's shoes but they could make for some interesting lyrics.
Cheers
Steve.
I was faced with a choice at a difficult age Would I write a book? Or should I take to the stage? But in the back of my head I heard distant feet Che Guevara and Debussy to a disco beat
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gcolbert
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Re:I may regret this, but here's my first song
2011/06/19 21:47:23
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Steve,
I think you are building on a good base. I think the vocals could go a little more for melody and a bit less for machine. I'm not sure if this makes sense - it is an impression. It could be that you were trying for the mechanical robot sounding lyrics, but I think the song has a lot more potential with a bit more of a singing lilt to it. The only thing that I realy didn't like about the composition was that I thought it was lacking an ending. These are, however, artistic things and your opiion is the only one that counts on them. Don't change your artistic efforts because of criticisim.
I think that the vocals should have been a bit louder, but I always have to turn up the volume on British television programs to understand the English. Can you sing in American or Canadian (Just joking)?. I did like the balance of the rest of the mix. I think you will find that the words are never finished.
Thanks for sharing
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steve@psbnoe.wanadoo
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Re:I may regret this, but here's my first song
2011/06/20 16:03:38
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Thanks for your advice i appreciate it. I may go full blown robot! I was trying to be dead pan. I hadn't listened to the mix in my Van until this morning and realized it needs more deep bass on the kicks. What i did was turn them down to get the mix louder but they were providing the deep bass, oh well here i go again, think the wife is going to hang me i keep telling her this songs finished!
Cheers
Steve.
I was faced with a choice at a difficult age Would I write a book? Or should I take to the stage? But in the back of my head I heard distant feet Che Guevara and Debussy to a disco beat
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lostandconfused
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Re:I may regret this, but here's my first song
2011/06/21 11:01:06
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[size=2 font="times new roman"]Hi Steve,
[size=2 font="times new roman"]
[size=2 font="times new roman"]Dylan, Cohen, Morrisey [add your own] are not 'singers' but are content to say "but this is me doing it anyway" - has have you. And we can only say 'I like it, I don't or I'm saying nowt' as the 'read/reply count indicates. I'm not technically competent enough to offer a critique so generally listen to the stuff on here and "say nowt".
[size=2 font="times new roman"]
[size=2 font="times new roman"]But.
[size=2 font="times new roman"]
[size=2 font="times new roman"]I read your initial post and while listening I recalled that a producer [in the olden days] was renowned for making his clients sing into a biscuit tin, cardboard box or stand in a stairwell to add a minimal reverb/echo to vocal track. I would think that this can be done electronically now. However, that's not saying it should be done [that's my 'get out of jail card' if your wife reads this].
[size=2 font="times new roman"]
[size=2 font="times new roman"]Whatever you decide to do you next someone on here will give it a listen and help if they can - as the previous comments show.
[size=2 font="times new roman"]
[size=2 font="times new roman"]Best of Luck [with the wife]
[size=2 font="times new roman"]
[size=2 font="times new roman"]Vincent.
[size=2 font="times new roman"]
[size=2 font="times new roman"]
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No How
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Re:I may regret this, but here's my first song
2011/06/21 11:20:19
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Howdie Steve,
I enjoyed your song. You gave your voice harder press than it deserved. I thought it worked well.
Those synths definately give the song a retro feel. Mix is quite good for a maiden voyage.
Keep'em coming.
s o n g s – Beauty lodged in a bad hotel has no value. Raymond Lull
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SteveStrummerUK
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Re:I may regret this, but here's my first song
2011/06/21 11:33:17
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Hi there Steve, welcome aboard.
Cool song, I love the interplay between the synths, and the mix is excellent, very crisp and clear.
I think your voice works fine with this genre, but if you're not happy with it, there's no reason whatsoever to think you can only move forward by creating instrumentals. Why not ask around to see if any of the wonderful singers who frequent this forum would like to collaborate with you?
It could be the start of something much bigger, and with the file-sharing and transferring the internet offers, you can work on a project with anyone, anywhere in the world.
Steve
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steve@psbnoe.wanadoo
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Re:I may regret this, but here's my first song
2011/06/21 17:29:13
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Thanks for your great idea's, I would love to have a proper singer on my tunes, as I do write the music for non singers if you know what I mean. I've just remixed it as I wasn't happy with the kick, and ended up changing everything else too! It's hard mixing in a small square room, I'll check it in the Van tomorrow and hopefully it will be OK. http://soundcloud.com/digital-dream-division/how-can-we-ever-understand-1 Cheers Steve.
post edited by steve@psbnoe.wanadoo - 2011/06/21 17:30:40
I was faced with a choice at a difficult age Would I write a book? Or should I take to the stage? But in the back of my head I heard distant feet Che Guevara and Debussy to a disco beat
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Maxprizm
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Re:I may regret this, but here's my first song
2011/06/21 17:41:54
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Jumbicat
Welcome. After listening to it....I think it's fine the way it is. Not my type of music but it sounded like a lot of work went into it. I was expecting some harmonies during one part that was repeated but the electronic voice filled that void. Interesting. Were you saying Oprah's shoes?
it's "Oppress you and depress you".  Mix 2 is better, more kick and more robot! This quirky kinda tune would lend itself to that well I believe. Great start!
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steve@psbnoe.wanadoo
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Re:I may regret this, but here's my first song
2011/06/21 17:49:51
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Maxprizm
Jumbicat
Welcome. After listening to it....I think it's fine the way it is. Not my type of music but it sounded like a lot of work went into it. I was expecting some harmonies during one part that was repeated but the electronic voice filled that void. Interesting. Were you saying Oprah's shoes?
it's "Oppress you and depress you". Mix 2 is better, more kick and more robot! This quirky kinda tune would lend itself to that well I believe. Great start!
Thanks, I'll know in the morning if i got it right when i've reset my ears. It's a great feeling when you turn it on and it sounds quite good. Cheers Steve.
I was faced with a choice at a difficult age Would I write a book? Or should I take to the stage? But in the back of my head I heard distant feet Che Guevara and Debussy to a disco beat
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geeare1
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Re:I may regret this, but here's my first song
2011/06/21 18:28:20
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Hi Steve, Cool song! The synths sound great and I think your voice is perfect for the song. Although I have to admit I kinda prefer "Oprah's shoes forever"... haha...just kiddin'
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lostandconfused
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Re:I may regret this, but here's my first song
2011/06/22 03:12:05
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Hi Steve,
If you want an example of the collaboration possible here as Steve pointed out, have a look at page 3 [songs] posted 18 June by Philz, Bapu et al 'Rough Patch'.
Regards,
Vincent.
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steve@psbnoe.wanadoo
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Re:I may regret this, but here's my first song
2011/06/22 13:06:22
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Thanks for the info, that collaboration sounds awesome, i'm still not quite happy with my mix.
I think the bass needs to be thicker or darker if you know what i mean.
Cheers
Steve.
I was faced with a choice at a difficult age Would I write a book? Or should I take to the stage? But in the back of my head I heard distant feet Che Guevara and Debussy to a disco beat
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steve@psbnoe.wanadoo
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Re:I may regret this, but here's my first song
2011/06/25 16:32:52
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Hi, I've done a new mix, will you please check it out. What I'd like to know is it good enough to be sent for mastering without them laughing at me. At the moment it's just got a Limiter on with very slight gain reduction. I also posted my song on Gear Slutz but not one person has replied to my post in a week, so thanks to everyone here. http://soundcloud.com/digital-dream-division/how-can-we-ever-understand-1 Cheers Steve.
post edited by steve@psbnoe.wanadoo - 2011/06/26 09:16:38
I was faced with a choice at a difficult age Would I write a book? Or should I take to the stage? But in the back of my head I heard distant feet Che Guevara and Debussy to a disco beat
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steve@psbnoe.wanadoo
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Re:I may regret this, but here's my first song
2011/06/26 09:19:32
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Can anyone recommend a good online mastering studio.
I've been warned about cowboys.
Cheers
Steve.
I was faced with a choice at a difficult age Would I write a book? Or should I take to the stage? But in the back of my head I heard distant feet Che Guevara and Debussy to a disco beat
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Janet
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Re:I may regret this, but here's my first song
2011/06/26 16:06:28
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This is pretty cool--great synths. :) I agree that your voice is fine for this song. There were some times when the beat gets lost...or maybe it's me that's lost and maybe that's intended. :) May I ask what your intention is for mastering? Are you doing a whole CD? Just curious.
And I can't believe this is your first song. I'm quite impressed!
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steve@psbnoe.wanadoo
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Re:I may regret this, but here's my first song
2011/06/27 16:31:00
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Janet
This is pretty cool--great synths. :) I agree that your voice is fine for this song. There were some times when the beat gets lost...or maybe it's me that's lost and maybe that's intended. :) May I ask what your intention is for mastering? Are you doing a whole CD? Just curious.
And I can't believe this is your first song. I'm quite impressed!
Hi, Janet thanks for your post. Just to let you know I'm just going to sort a few things I'm not quite happy with, mainly the drums. To tell the truth this is my first song but I've been practicing mixing it for ages. I want to try and get it mastered so I know if i'm doing things right and if one of my mixes can actually be mastered! There's no album yet, but I can't wait to start a new song. Cheers Steve.
I was faced with a choice at a difficult age Would I write a book? Or should I take to the stage? But in the back of my head I heard distant feet Che Guevara and Debussy to a disco beat
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StudioCat57
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Re:I may regret this, but here's my first song
2011/06/27 17:13:48
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Not my kind of music but it I like the beat and flow!!! ( I do however prefer real drums to a machine!!) As a drummer, first thing I listen for is the flow of the music.... Very pop oriented!!!
My only critique would be the vocals....Some pitchy points here and there with some flat spots... Cakewalk has pitch correction available... Works well when you get to know how to use it...Took me forever to figure it out even with the demo vids!!! LOL!
All in all, very cool tune!!
Peace!!
P-4 3.0ghz- 3 gigs ram Sonar 6.021 Producer DM-3200 Motu 2408mk3 Lots of VST's
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Scottytunes
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Re:I may regret this, but here's my first song
2011/06/27 17:18:10
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I like it! The vocal is just right. You CAN sing! Like the heavy punchiness of the drums. I can't think of anything that I woud change.
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steve@psbnoe.wanadoo
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Re:I may regret this, but here's my first song
2011/06/27 17:27:04
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Wow, Thanks very much. I think it's an acquired taste  Cheers Steve.
I was faced with a choice at a difficult age Would I write a book? Or should I take to the stage? But in the back of my head I heard distant feet Che Guevara and Debussy to a disco beat
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vechung
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Re:I may regret this, but here's my first song
2011/06/27 17:37:14
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Nice synth choices and arrangement. Nice beat and a cheerful song. Now the singing sounds like a children song because the low timbre. It is ok if that is what you intended.
The intro in no way give us a good preview of the rest of the song. Anyways, great that you join this group and welcome.
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steve@psbnoe.wanadoo
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Re:I may regret this, but here's my first song
2011/06/28 18:15:10
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I was faced with a choice at a difficult age Would I write a book? Or should I take to the stage? But in the back of my head I heard distant feet Che Guevara and Debussy to a disco beat
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