50's and 60's rock feedback for S220808XT

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Otis12062002
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50's and 60's rock feedback for S220808XT

Post by Otis12062002 » Wed Sep 07, 2022 9:34 am

Hey, so I did my first 4 submissions in August/July one of them being this 50's and 60's rock brief, I'll start with this one.
I just want some help from anyone here, all of the 4 submissions returned as I expected but I want to learn from these rejections.
With the 50's and 60's rock brief my feedback was the band could be tighter, needs more of a polished finish, the mix could use some work and the guitar solo was very pedestrian.
For a start the solo is an easy fix, I held back on the solo because I didn't want it to be too distracting but it ended up too lifeless and boring so i'll give it some more expression next time.
With the band being tighter I was really confused because the scanner/listener also ticked that its too quantised and stiff which in my opinion contradicts each other, what tips does anyone have to ensure the band sounds tight and polished but also doesn't sound electric, stiff and over quantised.
Now with the mix it was difficult as I was trying to mimic the vintage mix of the old reference songs, to try and achieve this I used iZotope vinly as its free, fun and cheerful but clearly that wasn't enough, what plug-ins, tips and vsts do you use for mixing to make it sound vintage and mixing in general actually because that seemed to be one of the common weaknesses throughout the submissions, any feedback on the mix would also be appreciated, I will link it below.
Marcus Cohen who referred me here recommended Metric AB for mixing which I'm going to get soon.

I'll link and paste the track and brief below.

https://www.taxi.com/members/qVnwNDuTTi ... ny-s-diner

A Bunch of 1950's & 60's TRADITIONAL POP/ROCK/SOUL INSTRUMENTALS are needed by a high-quality Music Library for a Hot New TV Show on a Major Cable Television Station.

NOTE: This Library is BRAND NEW to requesting music from TAXI, so this is a great opportunity to create a new relationship for your music with an awesome new company!

IMPORTANT: We are also running a TAXI Listing for Lots and Lots of 1950's & 60's TRADITIONAL POP/ROCK/SOUL SONGS with Male or Female Vocals as listing TAXI #S220808FS, so please don’t confuse the two!

This Company is looking for a wide range of Instrumentals – and quite a few of them! – that could fit on a playlist with the following references we got directly from them:

"Walk Like a Man" by Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons

"Rock Around The Clock" by Bill Haley

"Put Your Head On My Shoulder" by Paul Anka

"Long Tall Sally" by Little Richard

"Return To Sender" by Elvis Presley

"Oh! Carol" by Neil Sedaka

Although the references have vocals, please submit Instrumentals only for this request.

NOTE: You can submit vintage recordings (from the 1950's or 60's); or, if you’ve got any recently recorded Instrumentals in the general production style of the references, they would love to hear those as well!

Please send them top-notch, original, Traditional or Traditional-sounding Pop/Rock/Soul Instrumentals that capture the sound and style of music from the 1950's and 60's. Your submissions should have engaging rhythms, memorable motifs, and polished, era and genre-appropriate arrangements and production. This Client has a strong preference for a live sound, so we recommend recording your instruments live to help nail the authentic sound they need. However, if you choose to use any virtual instruments or samples, they should sound like the real deal – nothing stiff or overly quantized will work, here.

Your submissions should be about 2 to 4 minutes long, give or take. Recently recorded Instrumentals should have non-faded, buttoned/stinger endings. Faded endings are okay for vintage recordings only. Do NOT copy the referenced music in any way, shape, or form. Use it only as a general guide for tempo, texture, tone, and overall vibe. Do not submit any material with unauthorized samples of other artists’ Songs, sounds, or any other form of media. Broadcast Quality is needed. Era-appropriate Broadcast Quality will work for vintage recordings.

Monday, August 8th, 2022. TAXI # S220808XT

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Re: 50's and 60's rock feedback for S220808XT

Post by Telefunkin » Wed Sep 07, 2022 6:00 pm

Hi, I think I see what the screener is saying and if so, then I agree. The rhythm guitar, the sax, plus whatever is doubled with the sax, sound like they are not always hitting together, so they would benefit from feeling like their timing was tighter together. However, even though there is looseness in the sync the simple sax lines are sometimes played in a stiff manner. Furthermore, the bass and drums sound very tight like they're midi driven, which is at odds with the other 'loose' parts. At least, that's what I thought. Does that make any more sense?

I hear some uneven levels in the bass that are most noticeable from about 1min onwards, and odd level changes in drums too (eg at the crash at 1:24). I find the solo guitar a little piercing but that's just my taste and others might like it as it is.

As a further comment, on first listen I found it difficult to get a sense of the track's timing until it reached the main body after 17s. There's a risk that library owners and/or TV editors would move on before getting that far. Therefore, my suggestion would be to consider starting the track at the 17s mark, and possibly dropping in some or all of that intro into the middle of the track to break it up and provide an edit points along with a more flexible arrangement. Just be sure to keep the sense of the beat/bars running through it though.

I hope that helps :).
Graham (UK). Still composing a little faster than decomposing, and 100% HI.

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Re: 50's and 60's rock feedback for S220808XT

Post by gitanosoy » Fri Sep 09, 2022 5:22 pm

Hi Otis,

I agree with Graham, the timing is off, especially the rhythm guitar.

Is this just a mix or have you mastered it at all??? The levels jump out everywhere so I suggest after you have all the tracks balanced and max gain levels at -6 db to master it...EQ, compressor, limiter..and check LUFS as well.

I don't know what DAW you use, if it is Logic I can recommend some plugins.

Good luck

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