brr
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"Something in the Engine" - comments welcome
Hi all It's been a while since I've been on the board - hope you are all well. Things are pretty exciting here - I've got a proper band together now, and we're gigging around Glasgow. The first couple have gone really well. We've also had some radio play both here in Scotland, and on BBC World Service, which was syndicated across America. We had a few sales from that which was great. Anyway, I've got a new song called "Something in the Engine". It's about love and cars. You can download it here: http://www.nowhereradio.com/artists/album.php?aid=3903&alid=-1 I'd be grateful for any and all comments: writing, arrangement, performance, mixing. Please be honest - I'm trying to learn to get better so don't hold back! Cheers Alastair
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brr
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RE: "Something in the Engine" - comments welcome
2005/05/20 12:36:36
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New version is at the same location. Lots of changes, especially reducing harshness, quieter vocal, and monologue in the middle section.
Cheers
AB
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ed_mcg
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RE: "Something in the Engine" - comments welcome
2005/05/20 14:22:33
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Alastair,
Nice song, very enjoyable.
Here's some comments/ideas-
- That's a very long intro, most folks go for about a 15 sec intro then into vocals, you have about 55 secs
- The distortion used at 1:28 - 1:42 is cause an odd interference pattern, might want to smooth that out
- The bass has a light tone and is playing rather high, so the song has a light foundation. An idea would be to have the bass drop down for some portions instead of following the guitar up. Also, add some additional eq in the sub 90Hz range and some compression.
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reallifer
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RE: "Something in the Engine" - comments welcome
2005/05/21 01:24:41
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Hi Alastair,
IMO, at 2:29 it needs a snare hit on four to come out of the silent part rather than just a breath. There are a few parts where the distorted guitar breaks up and it sounds the same on the vocals towards the end. Nice work overall.
Troy
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DarrylCoy
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RE: "Something in the Engine" - comments welcome
2005/05/21 09:27:25
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Alastair,
Fantastic tune. You might want to bring the vocals more out front at 1:55 where you talk; I had a hard time making out what you were saying.
Cool song. Darryl
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M
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RE: "Something in the Engine" - comments welcome
2005/05/21 11:53:15
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brr (is it cold in here?),
Like the track! The intro seems fine to me now. (You must've edited it since Ed's comments?)
On first listen, I thought you could've lost the theramin-sounding synth behind the spoken-bit; but that would've killed the contrast with the following section. Hmm. I was tired of that sound by the time the spoken part came around, though. . .
I didn't notice the bass stuff that Ed mentioned. Did you change that already, too? (I'm listening again, now.) I actually like that the bass is shifting registers in places. . . Okay, on that spoken part, I'd pull the synth back (not out, just back a bit) and push the drums up. Sounds like you pulled them back in this section, and they're actually playing nice stuff under there.
Like it, though. Nice work!
M
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brr
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RE: "Something in the Engine" - comments welcome
2005/05/21 17:24:35
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ed_mcg - thank you very much for taking the time to listen and post. Glad you liked the song.
The intro is actually 31 seconds long - I wonder if your download was corrupted? But yes, it's quite long. I usually go for vocals within 30 seconds, and chorus within 60. Close enough!
Re distortion - I didn't hear the problem, but I'll listen again.
Re bass - I deliberately kept the bass an octave up during the verses, then brought in the low notes for the choruses. Maybe it doesn't work? Thanks for the suggestions.
reallifer - thank you very much for listening. I considered a snare hit, but I felt the breath on its own was cool. :) I didn't notice the distortion problems, but I'l definitely listen again.
DarrylCoy - I'm really glad you liked the song. With the monologue I was going for "almost audible" but maybe it's just a little TOO quiet! :)
M - "is it cold in here?" - LOL, no but it's a long story!
Glad you liked the song. I'll think about using the Theremin less, and I'll try your suggestions for the spoken part for the next mix. Thank you for the excellent comments.
Cheers
AB
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ed_mcg
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RE: "Something in the Engine" - comments welcome
2005/05/21 17:30:56
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Alastair, Listened to it again today, and I decided I liked it the way you have the bass line, high and light on the verse, and that makes the chorus stand out more. Anyway, nice song. Carry on... 
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brr
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RE: "Something in the Engine" - comments welcome
2005/05/24 18:32:39
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ed_mcg - thanks!
There's a new mix (version 4) in the same location which has a few tweaks. Main one is to make the synth a bit quieter.
I think this one is as good as I can make it now. Thanks to everyone for your excellent suggestions.
Cheers
Alastair
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kenk
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RE: "Something in the Engine" - comments welcome
2005/05/25 03:40:41
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alastair... good to hear from you again. nice tune. love your voice as always man. like ed, i heard a bit of distortion around the 1:30 mark and again at the 2:40 (on the word "map"). i'm guessing it happened in the mp3 conversion. my only suggestions would be, like "M", to bring up the drums a bit in the spoken part and also have them build on the last few beats... into the break. of course, it stands well as is - just my opinion. nice job. when you touring the US?
Ken K http://www.kenk.com Intel Q6600::DP35DPM mobo::2Gb RAM::Radeon 1550::MOTU828 mk II::Sonar 7PE
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brr
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RE: "Something in the Engine" - comments welcome
2005/05/26 19:27:41
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kenk - hi Ken, great to hear from you. How are things?
Thanks for listening and posting, glad you like the song. I'll try some attention on the drums in the middle section.
I think the "distortion" you're hearing on the vocals is actually my voice giving up - I had a cold when I recorded it! Actually, I kind of liked it!
We actually got some radio play in the US which was very exciting, so you never know, a tour might happen. :)
Just back from a gig tonight - felt a bit rough and ready, but lots of energy and the crowd responded well. I'm trying to wind down now before I go to bed.
Cheers
AB
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