Latest recording...

ZV Yoda

Hi folks… wanted to get your opinions on this track. Based on attempting a more dance feel for one of our tracks a while back (this was a challenge put out on this very forum a few months back) we’ve gone for a slightly more ambient feel on this tune.

It was recorded in my 10' x 10' home studio/garage. You’ll have to bear with me on the less than inspired piano/guitar (given that I’m a drummer mainly).

The original version of this song was a more straightforward pop bass/drum/guitar vibe. We’ve halved the tempo & chilled out the music a bit more. This left the singer to do her thing on the vocals

A special thanks to boardsie DaDumTish who came out to my place a few weeks back – he’s really help me to improve the recorded drum sound. You definatley can get a decent sound in a home studio - but it takes time & patience. It’s all about mic placement!

dav nagle

Hellozeeeeeeezzzzz Mr Yoda

I am listening to the track for the 3rd time now so don't think I am just coming on here to blast your effort. Fair play to you for working hard on your music, in the words of Ali G 'Rrrrespect'!

Bass line is nice man good stuff for a non bass player keepin it simple!
Have you some kind of flanger on the snare? It sounds over processed.
There is a certain amount of groove or timing that is off.
The singers lead vocal gets lost 2/3rds in, it could be louder, just so her voice sits above the track.
The verb on her vocal is nice.
To me it could be way more produced in the editing shop but thats me maybe you want it to have a live feel.
Synth at the end is not automated volume wise at all it just sounds tacky!
Keep up the good work

danjokill

First of all well done for posting this. we all should be posting clips more to get feedback it will only make us better.

My ears say:

Drums:
Kick and bass guitar need seperation ....... the bass is eating up your kick
the kick could also do with more attack. snare sounds werid ......... maybe the MP3 but i'd say out of phase. Overheads are lost.

Bass
Too muddy and the source of sucking up to much of the low end.

Piano.
look at what type of VST you are using ...... it doesn't sound real enough ..... a nice roomverb might help but the i'd change the sample.

Vox.
The girl can sing just fine but its ment to be the main item in the mix and it gets lost in the mix. Ride the fader on the vox!!!!


Synth:
Agree with the last post needs to move.

I take it that this is being mixed in the box???? ......
Look at your monitors position and room acoustics ........ this may sound fine there but doesnt translate to other enviorments

Work to be done !!!! ........ On the right road ..... keep up the good work .

Rockshamrover

That's a lovely song so you are more than half way there. Go back and try out some of the suggestions the guys made above and you could have a great song on your hands.

Well done.

ZV Yoda

Cheers folks... as usual, great feedback...

dav nagle wrote: »

Hellozeeeeeeezzzzz Mr Yoda

I am listening to the track for the 3rd time now so don't think I am just coming on here to blast your effort. Fair play to you for working hard on your music, in the words of Ali G 'Rrrrespect'!

Bass line is nice man good stuff for a non bass player keepin it simple!
Have you some kind of flanger on the snare? It sounds over processed.
There is a certain amount of groove or timing that is off.
The singers lead vocal gets lost 2/3rds in, it could be louder, just so her voice sits above the track.
The verb on her vocal is nice.
To me it could be way more produced in the editing shop but thats me maybe you want it to have a live feel.
Synth at the end is not automated volume wise at all it just sounds tacky!
Keep up the good work

Cheers Dav... I'll check the phase on the snare/overheads... not sure if I actually flipped it on this version, so that could be it. Also, it's probably overcompressed now that I've listened to it on different speakers

Yip, vocal does get lost. I think some of it is that vocals need more volume, but the synths are probably a bit overpowering too, so I'll take them down a bit.

I haven't figured out how to use automation in Pro Tools, so I tend to just use gain in audiosuite. I know, that's not a good thing!... also, that's why the synths are not automated towards the end. I'll try to sort those with fades in PT

danjokill wrote: »

First of all well done for posting this. we all should be posting clips more to get feedback it will only make us better.

My ears say:

Drums:
Kick and bass guitar need seperation ....... the bass is eating up your kick
the kick could also do with more attack. snare sounds werid ......... maybe the MP3 but i'd say out of phase. Overheads are lost.

Bass
Too muddy and the source of sucking up to much of the low end.

Piano.
look at what type of VST you are using ...... it doesn't sound real enough ..... a nice roomverb might help but the i'd change the sample.

Vox.
The girl can sing just fine but its ment to be the main item in the mix and it gets lost in the mix. Ride the fader on the vox!!!!


Synth:
Agree with the last post needs to move.

I take it that this is being mixed in the box???? ......
Look at your monitors position and room acoustics ........ this may sound fine there but doesnt translate to other enviorments

Work to be done !!!! ........ On the right road ..... keep up the good work .

Thanks Danjokill... you're right on the bass/kick - once the bass comes in, the kick gets lost. What's the best way to deal with this?... from reading around, it seems to be tweaking the frequencies of kick & bass to make room for each other. How do I know what/where to cut/boost?

I was planning to redo the piano anyway - the performance/timing isn't great I recorded the piano in one take (it was before I knew I could quantise midi!). I'll redo with quantised midi & try a few different VSTs.

Yip, all mixed in the box... my room is treated mainly to get a good drum sound when tracking, so the room acoustics suffer when it comes to mixing.

Rockshamrover wrote: »

That's a lovely song so you are more than half way there. Go back and try out some of the suggestions the guys made above and you could have a great song on your hands.

Well done.

Thanks Rockshamrover... at the end of the day, for us, it's all about putting the song forward in it's best light, so I'll make the changes above & report back.

Thanks again for the feedback

dav nagle

Well done head keep it up, it's a nice song your on the right track. Peace out

i57dwun4yb1pt8

good tune

its a lot better than last time man , but you still need to hit those drums harder .
still not enough attack being created, on the snare kick and toms .

even if its a laid back track, its best to really snap out / bang out the tone on the kit and get some natural attack.


regarding the snare - the method we looked at requires the snare to be reverse phased to the overheads .

but to me the snare sounds a bit over processed - as the lads said .
maybe turn off the compressor if its on the snare - or open the attack bigger .


the overheads seem far back in this mix apart from toms - the toms work better this time.

i agree with the bass guitar comment , it needs more mid growl and less low end.


its getting better though