New member looking for critique of quality

[Pipewrench67]

Hello, new here.
Not sure if I'm doing this correctly.
Just trying to get opinions on quality.
This is a recently recorded track, wondering if people would consider this "Broadcast Quality" or not?

https://soundcloud.com/pipe-wrench/make-the-waters-rise


Looking for a hard critique.

Does it need work, if so what?

What jumps out as the weakest point of the mix?

I won't get offended, give it to me straight, please.

[gitanosoy]

Hi,
No comment on quality ...there are some timing issues,something is off with the beat,either it is the tabla or the strumming is not matching the click track or all of the above.Check the individual tracks again with a metronome.

That's all for now.

[TheElement]

Quality seems to be good. It would be used more in background for film tv.

Timing is a little off but I like the vibe. Kinda reminds me of John Lennon's Give Peace A Chance - Plastic Ono Band

also vocals could come up a little in volume.

[cosmicdolphin]

Yeah I agree with the others, the beat is 'off' somewhere , like one element is running at a different speed to the rest.

" Broadcast Quality " is a bit of a moving target depending what it is , rhythmic issues aside I would say this is there or thereabouts

Mark

[Pipewrench67]

Great thank you, I appreciate the quick responses.


Struggling with a latency issue, something I will certainly have to get sorted out.

[AlanHall]

I just took a listen now, sorry I didn't sooner!
I like the vibe, reminds me a little of Tom Waits or Captain Beefheart

If you're still struggling with laying the instruments in the pocket, I'd suggest (as an experiment) that you pull everything down except for vocal and 1 guitar. Bring up other layers in order of your preference. Keep what makes it better, duck what doesn't. You may find that less is more on this. JM2C.

[TrevFury]

I just had a quick listen to your track. There's some cool stuff happening there for sure.

If the percussion is not midi, it is a damn clean recording of it. How was this recorded?

With the timing issues solved, the sound quality of this is in the ballpark of what is referred to by Taxi as broadcast quality. Everything is nice and clear. Vocal could be a bit more up front, but it's still clear and audible, so that is a subjective thing.

[andygabrys]

Kind of a hard call:

Broadcast quality generally means "put it in a playlist of similar genre tracks and it would fit in". You can find a number of videos where Michael Laskow has talked about BQ.

Its not just mix, its not just production, its not just ideas and writing. Its a combo.

I think this one is going to miss the mark for these reasons:

1) obvious timing - the guitars lead the beat, far ahead of the tabla / percussion / Urdu / whatever.
2) vocals - there is vibe, and there is accuracy. Some lean towards one side or the other, and its hard to figure out which side of this you need to be on unless you have some reference tracks.
3) polish of the mix - the percussion is pretty dry and close. The vocals have obvious verb on them. For me it doesn't hang together like a commercial mix.

Fix the timing issues would be the first thing. Then find out where this fits stylistically and pitch it with that in mind. Good luck!

[Pipewrench67]

I just took a listen now, sorry I didn't sooner!
I like the vibe, reminds me a little of Tom Waits or Captain Beefheart

If you're still struggling with laying the instruments in the pocket, I'd suggest (as an experiment) that you pull everything down except for vocal and 1 guitar. Bring up other layers in order of your preference. Keep what makes it better, duck what doesn't. You may find that less is more on this. JM2C.

Thanks, I get the Waits thing quite often, it's not an intentional thing it just happens.
I plan on revisiting the mix and tracking on this and see if I can fix it. I will most likely strip it back to the bones and try to rebuild.
I appreciate the feedback thanks for taking the time to listen and comment.

[Pipewrench67]

Hi,
No comment on quality ...there are some timing issues,something is off with the beat,either it is the tabla or the strumming is not matching the click track or all of the above.Check the individual tracks again with a metronome.

That's all for now.

Thanks.

I'm having trouble sorting my latency issue. I appreciate the feedback, this is what I need, tells me what I need to focus on. Thanks for taking the time to listen and comment, very much appreciated.