at the risk of embarrassing myself

[greenmeansjoe]

This is a rough, rough, rough mix of a song my bass player and I are working on. We just parted ways with our drummer, so we're using a drum machine.

Anyway, there are some BIG, OBVIOUS things wrong with this mix, like the acoustic guitar that suddenly slips in on the left channel about halfway through the song, but I'd appreciate some pointers for improving what we have here.

Remember, we're fairly new to recording. Just click on the link, then right click on the song title and Save As:

http://f2.pg.briefcase.yahoo.com/bc/gre ... yahoo.com/

Joe

[greenmeansjoe]

I should also mention that I encourage you to be brutal.

Ok then.

Joe

[apropos of nothing]

I like this. Kinda has a nice Robyn Hitchcockesque feel to it.

I like the guitar tone, though it feels a little harsh around in tjhe 14-16k range.

The transition to the ascending chromatic thing around 1:55 feels a little weird. Works the second time around.

The vocal is a little too honest for my taste. Kind of has a TMBG feel to it. I might suggest that a tone a little more intimate and microphonic might be more apprpriate for the tune. I like that cute backing vocal around 1:20

Like the guitar tone a lot. Drum machine programming is good in that it doesn't jump out and say, "hi, I'm a crappy drum machine." Always a bonus. So low in the mix, I don't think I'd've noticed off-hand if you hadn't've mentioned it.

The MP3 is encoded quietly. That's an under-attended facet. I would suggest recording hotter into whatever your target deck is, and normalizing or slightly compressing/peak limiting before encoding the mp3.

Overall, very nice. What did you record this on?

[greenmeansjoe]

We recorded it onto a computer, actually, straight into Cool Edit Pro. Nothin' fancy.

I see what you mean about the vocal being too honest. How would you fix that, though? Is it something as simple as mic selection?

I never in 1,000 years would've expected a Robyn Hitchcock comparison. Didn't even cross my mind. But that's very, very cool.

Thanks, man. I'm actually gonna start another post with a link to the mix we worked on this weekend.

Joe

[apropos of nothing]

I see what you mean about the vocal being too honest. How would you fix that, though? Is it something as simple as mic selection?

I guess I would encourage the vocalist to sing a little more from the chest, and maybe sing a little more softly. I know they always tell you to project, but with a mic its not as neccesary.

Chest voice vs. head voice is a little tricky to learn, but not near as tricky as say, learning to sing on-pitch.

Worst case scenario, a half an hour with a vocal instructor will show one the rudiments of how to achieve a chest voice and how to recognize when one isn't using it.

[zoetrope]

Nice song, although I was expecting a cover of Husker Du's "Everything Falls Apart". Your sound is a little POP for my taste, but not annoyingly so. Nice jangly fun tune with some interesting bits to keep it moving along.

[greenmeansjoe]

Thanks for the kind and constructive criticism, y'all.

I could definitely stand to take a couple of voice lessons. My mom, who sings with the Sweet Adelines and has a very strong, powerful voice, has pointed out to me before that I sing with my "head voice" instead of from my chest.

For some reason, though, I'm a little reluctant to get any training. People generally seem pretty split on my voice. Some folks like it, some don't. I'm ok with that.

I guess a little improvment never hurt anyone, though, did it?

Anyway. I've posted a better mix of this song. It's under the heading "jangly pop."

Joe

[Bear]

This is an incredibly happy song, but not in a bad way. I like the sound of the guitars, and the chord progression in the breakdown just before the solo was nice (I like the solo too). And I don't mind the honest vocals, to be honest.

My only gripe is the lack of dynamics. It wouldn't take much, but since you're using a drum machine, it would be nice if there was a percussive variation on the choruses. Because of the jangly rythym, I'd reccomend adding a tambourine (spelling?), or possibly some shakers. Either of those would help provide a little more contrast.

[47ronin]

this reminded me of unrest or the feelies.

i think what was key to those bands was the real manic and interesting percussion stuff. that goes well with the VU style guitar parts. like the guy said above, some kind of woodblock or shaker to spice it up abit. id also mix the vocal a bit lower.

47ronin