Will somebody listen to this Brand New Tune an' tell me what you thinkCYNTHIAS SONG

Hi folkes! I just finished this tune and now have it up at SOUNDCLICK and MYSPACE.

I did it on my WIN 98 machine with CUBASE and NTRACK.

I feel like it's done but I'd very much like to know what some of you PROS think about my mix.

I'm thinkin' i need to bring up the vocals.

thanks.

TD

CYNTHIAS SONG

i really like the melody and the mood ... groovy

I still like this song...for sure.

The vox sounds OK. Might come out even better if you pan the guits out a little and give up center stage.

Good tune.

:thu:I like it maybe put a cleaner tone on the rhythm guitar? just a thought

I recorded this one on WIN 98 with NTRACK 2.3 that somebody gave me and a cubase program that i got from an olde install ceedee. all free.

had no effects for the axe parts, so it's veddy clean; just a straight siggy through an old fostex 4track.

recorded it on NTRACK and mixed it in CUBASE and then sent it back to NTRACK for mastering.

used the MIM stratocaster for all the guitar parts(three) and got the drum tracks from cakewalk and edited through cubase all on my win98 machine with the hd that had stopped workin' until I froze it and whapped the mortal shirt out of it. it's workin now.

used freeware for all the compressors and reverb and nicheing(oh my) and i had an olde early-seventies condenser mic for the vocal. just the one.

, again with a stereo feed.

no over dubs, just had to do about fourty or fifty takes to get what i wanted.

I like one-offs.

I could'nt get any amp sims to work on any machine i got so I just went with what I had which was a straight siggy.

went with stereo feeds instead of mono and used 48000 and 16 bit so no sync lag probs. cured it down to 44100 at final mix.

used a soundblaster LIVE card on my olde machine with the 1/8 inch plugs.

got soundblaster audigy on my newer machine.

olde machine seems to be easier to work with.

it's a 666 over-clocked to a 750. noisy but it works

tried to fill in all the holes with leads and whatnot.

played it on all my machines and it sounds rough to me still but it's done and now I can move on.

she likes it and if anybody else does it's all GRAVY ON DE' CAKE !

I wish to go back and improve on a vocal part and maybe niche a bit differently. stuff seems to lose definition in the final mix. don't quite know why yet but I'm thankin on it some.

so I have a bit of work to do yet.

thanks dudes for your goode words and input.

means a lot to me.

thanks for lettin me share!

TD

I liked it too. Definitely a keeper! I'm new to this reviewing stuff, so forgive me if I don't do it right, but here goes:

The short intro into verse works great, hooking the listener. The words tell a descriptive story you can picture in your mind. In the last 2 lines on the second part of the verse, my ears wanted to reverse the notes so the last line ended higher than the line before as it built up in the Cynthia chorus, but that's just me. Another option I heard was the last two lines going down like they do and a quieting of the drums before the dynamic chorus kicked in - to increase it's impact, so to speak. And I think you should go back and mess around adding in harmonies on the chorus - lotta potential for vocal stuff through out your song. PLay around with that, I think you can find some good stuff to add in.

On the recording side, I'd bring the drums up front more, and bring up the bass line too. The vocals could be compressed or limited more and either "Excited" or EQs a lil brighter. If the vocals were compressed and brighter, they could stay low for effect, but yeah, I would say bring them up higher also. For the hole recording, I noticed the overall level was about 12db below zero and that should be brought up with a normalizer. I played with multiband compressor and a brick limiter and it made the recording sound a little better, but the mix needs adjusted first. I think someone else suggested panning the guitar a little off center - that helps it not step on the vocals. Picture a stage, and you want everyone in your "band: to stand an play: drummer, bass [well, bass should always be centered], guitar guy, lead singer, back up girl singers

Hope that makes sense and didn't step where it shouldn't - I'm new at this.

Great tune though. LOTTA potential. Now, get in there and add more vocals!

I liked it too. Definitely a keeper! I'm new to this reviewing stuff, so forgive me if I don't do it right, but here goes: Now, get in there and add more vocals!

Td heah.

Greg how you is? goode I hope.

I is goode

I listened to all your stuff on SC and you rock dude.

your sense of everything musical is just incredible.

i heard MJ lines in one of them tunes and the rest is totally there.

I did'nt understand all that tech stuff your were spoutin' yet i got the harmonies thang(after listenin to your stuff) and i see where my stuff is lacking in the development department.

Greg, if thats your OLD STUFF, I am chompin' at the bit to hear what you got goin' now.

you wail hombre'!

thanks for your input and suggestions.

I'd like to be able to carve out sonic soundscapes as you do.

you are a true artist.

After hearing all your stuff I went back and listened to my newest effort and I see where I could beef the tune up in a hundred different ways. yet you seem the better craftsman in that regard. your stuff should be in films and the like.

I gots a LOOOONG way to go .

thanks greg best.

what type of studio stuff are you working with?

TD

Good job, I agree with most of the stuff said about the production of the song. It needs more compression/tube-preamps/mastering/filters/etc., however as a song I think there is a good base.

Guitar tone needs scooping in EQ.

Drums are obviously a drum machine which is fine but there really nice sample programs that some studios have which will actually piece together real sounding drum parts for songs, e.g. "DrumCore" for pro tools.

Vocals have a classic rock feel.

How about for back-up vocals where is you say "my broken heart began to bleed," have a call and response with back up vocals.

Good work bud! keep it up.

thanks for the compliments, Taylor. kind words are always inspirational!

My stuff is aimed directly and only at pop charts, which explains teh production and musical direction. Your tune reminds me of adult contemporary/country/blues too maybe? is that the direction? I can't recommend over blowing the production on yours like my stuff did... THAT was an 80's thang! You ARE carving out soundscapes, just in a different gerne of music. But I like it, and hope you get lots of encouragement to keep banging them out. Add those extra vocals. Realistically, you would sing the lead vocal 3 times [3 tracks] as close to exactly the same as you can manage, and then lightly blend those in the mix, like the best take at 100%, and teh other two between 20 and 50% volume.

old studio: Tascam MSR16 for recording, Ensoniq Mirage, Roland D50, Yamaha DX21, Yamaha midi sequencer, Alesis effects, ART effects, Alesis micro limiter on most vocals, TR505/TR626/R8 Roland drum machines

new stuff: Korg D32XD recorder, Korg X50, Yam MM6, Alesis A6 and Micron, AKG mics

Thanks for your goode words

this tech mixing stuff makes my brain hurt and my eyes burn.

I just want to jam really but they ain't anyone else to mix my stuff down so I limp along and take advice from all you pro dudes and dude-ettes.

THE LYRIC LINE you are referring to actually reads "my broken heart began to beat not "bleed" as you wrote.

sorry for any confusion that my less than nominal mixing skills may have caused.

I do appreciate the input and learned advices.

thanks again.

TD

Yeah dude your stuff kills. very poppy and danceable.

Most times i'll do two vocals and blend them, but this time i only wished to do one; even though it took twenty or thirty takes to "get a goode one".

I like to do one offs. no over dubs. no punch ins.

thanks for lettin me share.

TD