My first demo up!

[ImmortalSix]

Re: My first demo up!

I like the increased / perceived increase in the level of the snare hit on 2 and 4 --- the song needed that.

 

[Pink Unicorn Horsey]

Re: My first demo up!

This is a great song with loads of potential, Chris! Aside from the mix, which is probably the trickiest thing to get down, I'm not a fan of the keyboard solo. However, I love your vocals and the melody—for real. This is a song I'd keep playing if I heard it on the radio.

(We're talking about "Mr. Everything" here, right?)

Oh, and I'm with Louis: Open your voice a little more and get more aggressive, less polite.

You got talent, boy!

- Keith

 

[That90'sGuy]

Re: My first demo up!

I like the increased / perceived increase in the level of the snare hit on 2 and 4 --- the song needed that.

Thanks for mentioning that - it's exactly what I needed to hear. There's no way around it, the mix sounds so much better bringing the drums back up front. From now on, I think I'll go with my gut and just try to keep as much instrumentation I can in the front (relying on EQ to make sure levels can be decent and each instrument has its own space).

Your other opinions have not fallen on deaf ears. I will definitely be experimenting a bit more to get the most out of the strat into the Bogner (perhaps it was a bit too thin in this mix). Experimentation is key and I've got the time to do it!

This is a great song with loads of potential, Chris! Aside from the mix, which is probably the trickiest thing to get down, I'm not a fan of the keyboard solo. However, I love your vocals and the melody—for real. This is a song I'd keep playing if I heard it on the radio.

(We're talking about "Mr. Everything" here, right?)

Oh, and I'm with Louis: Open your voice a little more and get more aggressive, less polite.

You got talent, boy!

- Keith

Hey Keith, umm... Mr. Horsey... thanks you for the kind words I don't know about having talent, I'm just 24 years old and music is the only thing I really care about. I'm not a technical player, I rely on mostly melody to carry material, I couldn't play a fast or fancy riff to save my life. I think if anybody spent the near amount of time I've spent over the years wanking, they'd come up with much more interesting or better performed music.

The vocals are going to get very interesting because this is my first time ever trying it. It's going to be sharp, it's going to be flat (often), it's going to be bright in spots and dull in spots until I actually find a voice I use to hate how my voice would thin out when I pushed it, but as I'm actually getting to listen to it more and more in a mix and maybe holding back and trying to be too smooth is being more detrimental than anything. You aren't the first to mention that, you're actually the third person, so I think there's no question about it... I'll have to let it hang out flaws and all (I'm just concerned because there are obviously enough flaws shown when I hold back)

I appreciate the response on the keyboard solo. I've really been tired of guitar solos lately and wanted to start getting familiar with my piano, so I threw that one in by ear. It definitely shows where I'm coming from with instrumentation, I'm less about flash and more about finding something that just fits, no matter how simplistic it is. It's taken me a long time to learn to just relax and write simple riffs, I used to always be the kind of musician that wouldn't be happy unless things were complex.



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Thanks all for listening and giving me honest feedback, it's much, much appreciated Hopefully most of you guys enjoyed it, whether it was from entertainment value by how cheesy or out of tune it was or actually liked a part here or there. I'm a bit crazy when it comes to details, so I'm sure I'll have plenty more remixes of this song and more to be posted over time (I'll keep tweaking until I'm happy with every part ).

 

[Pink Unicorn Horsey]

Re: My first demo up!

I really wouldn't worry about things sounding simple. The Beatles wrote the simplest, yet most melodic music ever. That's a deceptively difficult thing to do. I think you're on the right track, man. I'm impressed.

- Keith

 

[innerdreamrecords.co]

Re: My first demo up!

I use to hate how my voice would thin out when I pushed it, but as I'm actually getting to listen to it more and more in a mix and maybe holding back and trying to be too smooth is being more detrimental than anything. You aren't the first to mention that, you're actually the third person, so I think there's no question about it... I'll have to let it hang out flaws and all (I'm just concerned because there are obviously enough flaws shown when I hold back)

This is why we use compressors and autotune. There is always a tendency to over analyze things initially, after a week the things you thought were annoying will have changed. There is no question producing yourself is a difficult thing to do and only with experience will you know what to do.

 

[That90'sGuy]

Re: My first demo up!

This is why we use compressors and autotune. There is always a tendency to over analyze things initially, after a week the things you thought were annoying will have changed. There is no question producing yourself is a difficult thing to do and only with experience will you know what to do.

I have been warned about this, but I actually like that aspect of doing it myself. The recording engineers I've worked with have missed (what seemed to me) to be blatant things before. There was always things I'd pick out that I hated in the mix and was too embarassed to show off the material to other people. My goal is to listen, take a break, re-listen and see if there is anything that's off and make sure to improve it. The beauty of it in my case is that at home the clock isn't ticking, my money is still in my wallet and I can take as much time as I need to make it as perfect as I feel it needs to be.

I've read enough to get down the basics of recording (the Bob Katz book "Mastering Audio" is like a bible to me), now I just need the time to experiment and really find out what works for me. Most of the time spent on the mix has been spent on re-tracking to get a better sound.

 

[innerdreamrecords.co]

Re: My first demo up!

I have been warned about this, but I actually like that aspect of doing it myself. The recording engineers I've worked with have missed (what seemed to me) to be blatant things before. There was always things I'd pick out that I hated in the mix and was too embarassed to show off the material to other people. My goal is to listen, take a break, re-listen and see if there is anything that's off and make sure to improve it. The beauty of it in my case is that at home the clock isn't ticking, my money is still in my wallet and I can take as much time as I need to make it as perfect as I feel it needs to be.

I've read enough to get down the basics of recording (the Bob Katz book "Mastering Audio" is like a bible to me), now I just need the time to experiment and really find out what works for me. Most of the time spent on the mix has been spent on re-tracking to get a better sound.

Too bad you have had a bad experience, there are a lot of people that call themselves engineers that are not qualified.

A good time to have a fresh set of ears is in the tracking, of course they have to be good ears. No doubt mixing can take years to learn for some and others take to it like a duck to water. I only listened to one of your songs but what I said before I still think is true.