gtrpastor
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Some Songs I've Made
I've been listening to a few songs others have done, and I've been really impressed (I just listened to "Twilight Rain" by BatsBrew--great song...sounds great! My recordings don't sound anywhere near that good). I'm a little intimidated. But I'm also interested in feedback to find out what's working and how to improve my songs and recordings. Here's the link: https://soundcloud.com/sean-peifer Thanks
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Walt Collins
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Re: Some Songs I've Made
2013/09/23 14:40:09
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Sounds like you've got good recording techniques, and decent mixing as well. Your vocals and instruments are also good (sometimes quite good actually), but I think you're not quite hitting the rhythms right on some of your performances. I think you just need a bit more practice playing along with a click track. It's not in sync. You are "jumping the beat" a bit, rushing ahead of the rhythm. Not so much now on the 2nd track ("I Fall Short"), but the first one ("Someday") there were some definitely some rhythmic issues.
Walt Collins - Downtempo & AmbientBandcamp: https://waltcollins.bandcamp.com (FREE downloads), SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/arcanor blog: "Seeking Enlightenment Through Electronic Music" - http://waltcollins.com/musicI use Ableton, NI, AAS, Arturia, Spectrasonics, Cakewalk, Akai, Yamaha, Fender, Sony, WavesWindows 10, Tannoy, KRK, dbx DriveRack
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gtrpastor
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Re: Some Songs I've Made
2013/09/23 15:52:06
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Thanks for the input. I know exactly what you're talking about with things being out of sync. That's something I need improve with future recordings. I think that "You Lift Me Up" is the most in sync of these.
It seems that my vocals are too out front or something...either too loud or midrangy. It almost sounds to me like they're not part of the mix. Any advice on that?
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Walt Collins
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Re: Some Songs I've Made
2013/09/23 21:50:37
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As for bringing the vocals back into the mix a bit more, maybe try some of these ideas: - use EQ (on the vocals as well as the rhythm tracks) to give the vocals their own unique space, then drop the vocal track volume a bit - if you do it right they will still be heard
- reduce the amount of compression on your backing tracks (especially the drums & bass) to let them come forward when they have something to contribute, but fall back at other times - this will give them more presence so they can compete with the vocals in the mix
- use reverb when you master, over the whole mix - this can help glue things together
Walt Collins - Downtempo & AmbientBandcamp: https://waltcollins.bandcamp.com (FREE downloads), SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/arcanor blog: "Seeking Enlightenment Through Electronic Music" - http://waltcollins.com/musicI use Ableton, NI, AAS, Arturia, Spectrasonics, Cakewalk, Akai, Yamaha, Fender, Sony, WavesWindows 10, Tannoy, KRK, dbx DriveRack
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gtrpastor
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Re: Some Songs I've Made
2013/09/23 23:12:34
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Thanks for the ideas! I can't wait to try them in my next mix.
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Guitarhacker
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Re: Some Songs I've Made
2013/09/24 07:34:17
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What you have sounds good. Nice and clean.
I also heard sync issues. There is no need to rush with home recording. Take your time and record as many takes as is needed to nail it. (or edit it)
I'm listening on some cheap speakers and don't hear much on the bottom end but the bottom sounds a bit lite.
Some nice chops on the guitar.
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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gtrpastor
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Re: Some Songs I've Made
2013/09/24 11:02:53
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Guitarhacker: Thanks for the comments.
You hit the nail on the head. It's a combination of rushing and laziness, I think. I also think I should record and set it aside for awhile. Often, I don't hear problems unless I listen with fresh ears. But I usually try to get it done too quickly.
One of my problems is that I'm using cheap speakers as well. I can't afford a good set of monitors. I have a subwoofer. So I pull some out of the low end so it won't sound so "boomy"-- I probably pull out too much.
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Guitarhacker
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Re: Some Songs I've Made
2013/09/24 13:46:43
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Using a sub woofer that is not set up properly will tend to make your mixes exactly like they are.... light on the bass end since you hear massive bass in your room, you turn it down until it sounds right to you and as a result, the mix is not balanced. Check the mix on some fairly decent headphones that give good response. You don't need high dollar speakers to mix right, you just need to learn the ones you have and know what they are capable of....strengths and weaknesses. I have some small 5" speakers and a sub, however, I took great pains to get the levels of both balanced so what I hear is what the reality is on the DAW mix. Don't shut off the sub, but do turn it down several DB and try another mix. Both my speakers and sub are down. Speakers at 50% and sub is set to be properly balanced at that level. Once set, I don't touch the levels again.
post edited by Guitarhacker - 2013/09/24 13:48:46
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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theguitarplayer
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Re: Some Songs I've Made
2013/09/26 01:08:36
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Well, Walt and Herb have pretty much covered any thing I was going to add, so I will let you run with that. There is some nice guitar and vocals going on in your songs, so I would encourage you to stick with it and even re-record those that are out of sync and try to keep them in sync and then work on mastering skills a little at a time. Remember this though, everything in a song needs to have it own personal space and there is plenty of space for doing this, 0-100 Left and 0-100 right, and you get to decide what and where in the mix you want to place them. It is panning each part in or out, left or right. Just go slow and it all comes together with time. Just like the sound sometimes need to go up or down. A lot of this can be done prior to recording, depending on the equipment you are using and working together with your DAW settings and presets. Good Luck. Looking forward to your new mixes.
Peace and 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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theguitarplayer
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Re: Some Songs I've Made
2013/09/26 01:08:43
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Double post, sorry about that. Keep them coming. Peace and Blessings, John
post edited by theguitarplayer - 2013/09/26 01:10:04
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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Lynn
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Re: Some Songs I've Made
2013/09/26 13:54:47
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You've gotten some good advice here that should help you. I just want to say that your songwriting is solid, and the songs are catchy. You've come to the right place to help you take them to the next level. Welcome to the forum.
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gtrpastor
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Re: Some Songs I've Made
2013/09/28 17:12:51
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theguitarplayer: Thanks for the extra advice. I haven't been using my entire space--only about 50% of it I think. My equipment is modest, but I try to do the best with what I have. I may re-record some of these songs after a while. I think it helps me to put them aside for awhile. Thanks for the comments on the guitar and vocals. I hear all my mistakes, so sometimes it's difficult to be objective.
Lynn: Thanks for the comments, and for your kind words. I've already received a lot of help here that I haven't gotten elsewhere.
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