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There's a letter from James Walton in the newest TapeOp - #73, Sept/Oct 2009 - that comments on the formulaic approach to mixing death metal. Apparently the "formula" was in the previous issue of TapeOp, and that is what I had in my brain when I first posted. James points out that there are many dea...

Hey, if it sounds good thru youtube, I bet it sounds really good in a higher level format. Get the go-ahead from the band and post something that has a little more dynamics and less me-first information-shoving.

Sounds like a fun, energetic, well-played song to me. Cute video.

Death metal is such a tightly defined genre. If you want to sound like Meshuggah or Napalm Death or whoever, I think you need to take a very formulaic approach to mixing. This is well documented, I believe, 'tho I wouldn't know where to look. Google "death metal recording techniques," maybe? In the ...

I just finished this track a few days ago, and I'd love to hear any comments on it at all - the music itself, the performance, the engineering, tips to improve it, the whole can of worms.

Just go to my web site - it's on the home page:
www.TheCoyote.org

Thanks in advance.

Listening as I'm writing: First and foremost, it's ALWAYS about the song and the music. Then it's about the talent and the technique that transmits the song and the music. You've got some great songs. The vocals are really nice - good pitch, good texture. The playing supports the songs and does all ...

I used the hanging-from-the-ceiling approach once, long ago. Here are my observations: * When you're working on a budget of zero, you're usually working in a tight space. Floor space = rent, usually. Hanging the speakers from the ceiling frees up floor space. * Something like bungee cords is best fo...

Excellent! Man, I could party on this big time. Great musicians, great songs, well recorded. Nice mix of "together-in-one-room" and some ear candy (the conga/guitar split hard left/right on "Special Girl"). Absolutely no criticisms of anything. Best of luck to you.

Not my can of Sterno when it comes to style, but if I were engineering/producing, I'd do this: * Back down the vocal a teensy bit. * The electric guitar sounds a bit too overdriven for my taste, and sits way back on one side of the mix. Are you compressing the bejeebies out of it or something? Sound...

Either "go" or spend the same money on the Nady RSM-5. I don't own the Nady yet so I can't give an A/B comparison. But I've been having a natch'l ball with the R144. The added goodies - shockmount and molded case - are very nice and might be the tie-breaker between two El Cheapo and Cheerfullio mics...

A little room sound. Make it sound like a room of happy musicians singing and playing together. It's just a little dry. The snare is maybe 2 to 3dB too loud.

Nice, pleasant music, inviting textures, an intimate vibe, well-recorded.

What blew my mind was the YouTube video of Joyful Under Water. I watched on your MySpace page, but I couldn't get a YouTube link. Post that link, my man, and I'll send that video to everyone!

Rockin'. Feels totally pulled together, like it's all in one room. I heard HORNS in my mind at one point, like Sticky Fingers-era Stones.

Excellent track! Makes me want to spray-paint my champagne sparkle drums black. It's an eight-track seventies high school flash back! (lyrics (c)2009 Coyote Music, Inc.) The high hat didn't bother me too much at all. Course I'm listening on crappy 'puter speakers... But I think maybe it's grabbing m...

I vaguely remember the article - it was a review, wasn't it? I'm a guitarist, and I have a mild condition in my left index finger, but I don't use any external objects to address it. Specifically, I have "trigger finger," where the tendon swells beyond the diameter of the tunnel that it passes throu...

Listening on OurStage: "You Come Along" - nice trashy rock. I'd ditch the harmonica, and add the guitar that does the middle break in the beginning instead. Make it shorter, too. It's there in about 2:15. Cut the fat. "What Kind of Girl" - you packing wood for Elvis Costello? A better mix than "You ...