GuyaGuy busts out some CLIPS!!!

[GuyaGuy]

so i just finished remixing these a bit so i thought i'd put em up for your listening pleasure and critique.

 

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=543016

 

let me know...

 

1. ...what you think of the production, mixing, etc.

2. ...what you think of song structure, dynamics, and the like. you can comment on #1 and #2 even if you don't dig the music, you know.

4. ...your hints on dealing with my rather limited voice would be appreciated.

5. ...what the music sounds like--in terms of mood or even comparisons to other musicians. i'm just interested in hearing what the music sounds like to someone else for an objective view.

[StratAtak83]

I like the clips alot .. the trauma one is solid ..

the first track your voice reminds me of jack..

[NoirAbattoir]

Sounds good. What are you using for the drums? Do you have a live kit?

[ZJD]

More cowbell.

[Jaymeister]

Thanks for the clips.

[GuyaGuy]

Originally posted by ColorsoundKid Sounds good. What are you using for the drums? Do you have a live kit?

yup.
that's all me.
i live in a loft in a factory-style building and am renting from a friend who built a studio, which is still here intact. he comes to use it occasionally; otherwise it's all mine. anyhow, that's his pacific (dw) kit.

Originally posted by StratAtak83 I like the clips alot .. the trauma one is solid .. the first track your voice reminds me of jack..

well that's weird. never heard jack comparisons before. thanks for the comments!







....so what do you guys think of the mix, production, etc?

[SpectralJulian]

Doesn't sound like a drum machine to me, I'd assume its a live kit. I like the drum sound.

The vocals are really low in the mix, it makes Kevin Shield's vocals sound loud. I like the second part of cut up, it really makes the song.

[ZJD]

Originally posted by SpectralJulian ...The vocals are really low in the mix...

Yeah Guyashy.

[NoirAbattoir]

Originally posted by 48729zjd Yeah Guyashy.

Well...


{censored}, alright... I won't post the picture. I feel compelled to, though.
Fighting off urge...

I liked the ambient stuff going on in the background. What did you do? What were you using?

[GuyaGuy]

Originally posted by SpectralJulian Doesn't sound like a drum machine to me, I'd assume its a live kit. I like the drum sound. The vocals are really low in the mix, it makes Kevin Shield's vocals sound loud. I like the second part of cut up, it really makes the song.

seriously?


that's part of the re-mixing i did--bringing em up in the mix. i am Guyashy.
i don't have a strong voice but i also think my voice sounds 10 times worse than it actually does. i want it sort of low--but not quite MBV-lost-in-the-mix.

"

Originally posted by ColorsoundKid Well... {censored}, alright... I won't post the picture. I feel compelled to, though. Fighting off urge... I liked the ambient stuff going on in the background. What did you do? What were you using?

in which song?
"traumnovelle" has an electric organ (sort of a Farfisa knock-off) and bowed guitar for the cello sound.
"cut-up" has keys doing some bass but the rest is gee-tar and the fx you see in my sig.

[inscho]

I enjoyed the music and I thought the quality of recording was really nice.....not really my bag....but it was good. I agree that the vocals were hard to hear...I had to turn up the speakers fairly loud to understand the words. It also seems like you are singing lower than what is natural for your voice. Don't have any advice to help your singing because I have a lot of work to do on my own voice.

Keep up the good work

[stereotypy]

cool stuff.. the drums on song one were.. well not your average drum rythms.. but i liked the singing a lot!! try a little louder but that's all. it has a very nice vibe that can tell you stories and stories and you won't get bored even if it sounds bored.. - jack nicholson is a good example..

song 2 was good, too!


my bad points are:

- sound quality.. for demos enough.. but if you have the chance to record that better,.. it'd be better! the drums are too weak and the rest is my inner perfectionist who likes edges round.

- i think the songs are 80-90% of what they really are. a little more work and they're better.. i think you can do that better.


i really like the mood of your music and hope you go on! don't feel limited with your voice or what should tom waits say about that.. .. it (song1) sometimes reminde me on "norfolk & western"... great band! check them out.. adam selzer is the singer and is making great music. also matt ward is a really great guy! i like this kind of music. compared to norfolk and western you have a more exciting voice.. it like someone's telling a good story.. a ferry tale maybe.. i like songs that are telling stories rather than just doing verse refrain verse refrain.

man, there is another great musician.. with an excellent voice..

[GuyaGuy]

Originally posted by stereotypy cool stuff.. the drums on song one were.. well not your average drum rythms.. but i liked the singing a lot!! try a little louder but that's all. it has a very nice vibe that can tell you stories and stories and you won't get bored even if it sounds bored.. - jack nicholson is a good example.. song 2 was good, too! my bad points are: - sound quality.. for demos enough.. but if you have the chance to record that better,.. it'd be better! the drums are too weak and the rest is my inner perfectionist who likes edges round. - i think the songs are 80-90% of what they really are. a little more work and they're better.. i think you can do that better. i really like the mood of your music and hope you go on! don't feel limited with your voice or what should tom waits say about that.. .. it (song1) sometimes reminde me on "norfolk & western"... great band! check them out.. adam selzer is the singer and is making great music. also matt ward is a really great guy! i like this kind of music. compared to norfolk and western you have a more exciting voice.. it like someone's telling a good story.. a ferry tale maybe.. i like songs that are telling stories rather than just doing verse refrain verse refrain. man, there is another great musician.. with an excellent voice..

hey thanks for all the comments.
you're the first person to admit actually liking my singing voice. welcome to a strange club of one!

if i get demo quality then i'm happy, considering i'm not an engineer and this is my first time recording really, etc.
i'll check out norfolk & western. never heard of em.

so you think the drumming is off on song one ("cut-up1")? wehn you say the drums are weak do you mean the playing recording or levels? unfortunately i have just one line in on the Toneport so i can't do a regular drum mic set up. then again Are You Experienced only has one mic for hte drums too.

Originally posted by inscho I enjoyed the music and I thought the quality of recording was really nice.....not really my bag....but it was good. I agree that the vocals were hard to hear...I had to turn up the speakers fairly loud to understand the words. It also seems like you are singing lower than what is natural for your voice. Don't have any advice to help your singing because I have a lot of work to do on my own voice. Keep up the good work

thanks for the encouragement.
the words aren't too important to me anyway but i'll work on the levels.
btwand fyi, the words are a variation of the cut-up technique. thus the title. i cut out phrases from the newspaper that sruck a chord with me and arranged them into a song.
appropriation!

[stereotypy]

i mean the volume.. and yes.. with one mic only it is hard to get the drums punchy and fat.

maybe work with the room(s) you're in. in a cellar maybe you will have more "room" on the drums and they have maybe a little more presence. or in a bathroom. or in a big living room. or a small bedroom. or outside.. depending on where you are and what your possibilities are. turn the input gain quite high.. but don't drive it into overdrive of course.. and hit the drums hard! don't be shy. it's really important when you are recording that you don't "touch" the drums.. you must hit em!... except it is a silent part, of course..

depending on your room it will be also very helpful where you put your mic. if your room is big enough... than maybe place the mic 2-3 meters away in front of the drumkit. put the mic on a micstand and angle it towards the floor but pointing the middle between the base drum and the cymbals. more or less on the toms. but it has to be in a distance like 2-3 meters i think. that will maybe also help?

or make it like ol' jazzers and put the drums in one corner and the mic in the other pointing to the drums (i think pointing from the floor to the ceiling a little)...


besides... i like to be the founder of the "i-like-guyaguys-singing-voice-club"...

[NoirAbattoir]

I'm such a knucklehead. So I wrote this song about my cat last week. I could only get the guitar track down because the software curve was kicking my ass. I found this program called Reaper and it seems pretty easy. I accidentally loaded up flange and reverb over everything on the track.

Anyhow, the song is called Miss Princess. It's about how my cat rips apart little varments and leaves them for me to find. She's {censored}ing precious, I tell ya... It's a short little ditty...

http://www.soundclick.com/util/getplayer.m3u?id=3938846&q=hi

I picked up a DBX mic preamp today, but it was after I recorded this clip. God knows I need help making my vocals sound decent.

[4Kenoath]

Voices are deceptive. I remember when I first heard mine recorded and how suprised I was. Pleasantly suprised luckily...but I expected to sound much worse, although I've had quite a lot of people say I give good phone.

I'll have to listen to the clips later when it won't disturb others.

[NoirAbattoir]

1. ...what you think of the production, mixing, etc.

The mixing is ok. It sounds amateurish, but on the good end of amateurish.


2. ...what you think of song structure, dynamics, and the like. you can comment on #1 and #2 even if you don't dig the music, you know.

The song structure seemed fine. I don't think people should worry too much about this, though.

4. ...your hints on dealing with my rather limited voice would be appreciated.

Burying the vocals sounds like a good plan at first, but I think the ultimate solution is to develop your style and be comfortable with it. I still haven't developed a style that I am comfortable with yet.

5. ...what the music sounds like--in terms of mood or even comparisons to other musicians.

The repetitive playing inside of chords kinda reminds me a bit of EITS. The guitar tone, too. I liked the ambient layers above the foundation.

[StratAtak83]

Originally posted by ColorsoundKid 1. ...what you think of the production, mixing, etc. The mixing is ok. It sounds amateurish, but on the good end of amateurish. 2. ...what you think of song structure, dynamics, and the like. you can comment on #1 and #2 even if you don't dig the music, you know. The song structure seemed fine. I don't think people should worry too much about this, though. 4. ...your hints on dealing with my rather limited voice would be appreciated. Burying the vocals sounds like a good plan at first, but I think the ultimate solution is to develop your style and be comfortable with it. I still haven't developed a style that I am comfortable with yet. 5. ...what the music sounds like--in terms of mood or even comparisons to other musicians. The repetitive playing inside of chords kinda reminds me a bit of EITS. The guitar tone, too. I liked the ambient layers above the foundation.

 

 

+1 on err-ting

[GuyaGuy]

hey, thanks for putting thought into the questions.

amateurish? well it is my first recording experience after all...

i really didn't think the vocals were so buried. i actually brought the vox levels up when i did the new mix. hmm...either i need new monitors or a lil bit more confidence in my singing voice.
you cando it GuyaGuy!
. . .
i sound like poop.

EITS? yeah i can see that.





your song: i'd have to go back and listen to the Nirvana song, but i think you might have rewritten All Apologies.
if not, then i like the song. your vocals work better here than the band songs you posted where they were a bit too r'n'r.

[StratAtak83]

hey g-unit.. spill the lyrics .. so we could get a sense of your writing style ..

[NoirAbattoir]

Originally posted by GuyaGuy your song: i'd have to go back and listen to the Nirvana song, but i think you might have rewritten All Apologies.

This is probably true. It's cool, last year I wrote Led Zeppelin's Ten Years Gone.




It wasn't a "real" song, anyhow. I wrote it about my cat, fer chrissakes!

[Ultra.Fuzz]

#1
The cymbals were really kinda disturbing to me, like they were too "low tuned" or something... Other than that I think the mixing was good, but the overall sound was lacking some polishing... Although it really depends on how you want it to sound.

It's placid, not like "damn, it's placid!", just placid (in a good way, actually), it fits the song.

It reminds me Guided By Voices.

#2
Sounds really good (more "tight", I guess).

"Move-y"?

Has this kind of Sigur R

[GuyaGuy]

Originally posted by StratAtak83 hey g-unit.. spill the lyrics .. so we could get a sense of your writing style ..

lyric writing is a chore for me sometimes. so occasionally when stuck i give myself rules for writing the song--sort of like Lars Von Trier does in directing films.
here they were:
1. every phrase must come from the left-most paragraph of the newspaper.
2. every phrase must somehow strike a chord in me.
3. the phrases are to be arranged in sentences that can be spoken. (thus the repeated words occasionally--2 phrases colliding. but when speaking people often repeat a word while trying to think of the next.)

the outro words are cut-up of the 2 verses.



"cut-up 1"

verse1

can't seem to stop dwelling
and i don't want to
you are not in a quandary you
you are gone i
still love the inability
to to know you

verse 2

for your sake i hope rejection
isn't really
fair i loved the passionate
the hurt feelings
because i could have to fade
before you can

part 2

the inability to have to fade before you can






copyright 2005 and all that.

[GuyaGuy]

Originally posted by Ultra.Fuzz #1 The cymbals were really kinda disturbing to me, like they were too "low tuned" or something... Other than that I think the mixing was good, but the overall sound was lacking some polishing... Although it really depends on how you want it to sound. It's placid, not like "damn, it's placid!", just placid (in a good way, actually), it fits the song. It reminds me Guided By Voices. #2 Sounds really good (more "tight", I guess). "Move-y"? Has this kind of Sigur R

[GuyaGuy]

my bump
my bump

my lovely lady bump.



any concrete suggestions for a more polished professional sound?