Constructive criticism sought.

[kirkpatrickuk]

Hi folks, me and my colloborator have some songs on Myspace (and here somewhere) and are trying to pitch them to publishers. I just wondered which songs were peoples faves or if anybody had any constructive criticism (i.e. no 'why didn't you use a Gibson type response like I just had off someone - doh!).Thanks folks.Jimi K.www.myspace.com/overlandkirkpatrick

[gitarrero]

just listening to "if I where you", my spontaneous feedback:* drums seem to be too much "in front" in the mix* did you use a rickenbacker git (that mid-sounging git left in the panorama)?* overal quite a cool sound, good vibe* uuuuhhh-choirs are a little too much in the foreground in my tastepublisher: if I was you I would check out which artist record songs in your styler and DO NOT write their own material (if you're pitching to artists). for film/tv - that's another cup of tea.cheers,martin

[rick]

I really liked NO SUCH THING and ETERNALLY.Both of these songs worked really well because the chorus melody really stood out from the verse melody.This made for great hooks in both songs.I believe that is what was lacking in the other two.It was a little difficult to tell where the verse ended and the chorus started.I don't think anything major is needed just a little something to make it reach out and grab ya.You guys are super talented and if you ever want to collaborate let's talk.

[ernstinen]

Hey Jimi K.!I checked out your songs 3 different times, and really enjoyed them!On my first listen, I played them through my new Toshiba laptop with cheap speakers, and I immediately put my A&R hat on. I thought: "Good songwriting, lyrics, arrangements etc." But what really made me think "professional" were the lead vocals. I can definitely hear the Paul Rodgers influence ("No Such Thing"), the Eagles, and Don Henley on "Eternally." "If I Were You" has a modern Nashville Rock/Country sound and a great chorus.THEN, I listened on headphones, and thought the sound was a little thin, but I decided to wait until today to listen at my studio through good monitors. --- It may be the mp3s (which I hate), but the overall mixes sound distorted.That said, I'm a recording engineer/producer and really listen for things like that. I'm sure the songwriting/singing are so right on the money that it MAY not make a big difference, but you might want to have a pair of fresh ears listen to your mp3s and see if they hear anything amiss.Overall, very impressive! Ern

[billg]

Cool songs! When I hear something I really like I tend to hear the song & not so much possible production problems. That's the case with "If I Were You". What a really good song!

[kirkpatrickuk]

Hi all, thanks for all your comments. Ernstinen, you are right about the distortion. The first two tracks on Myspace were recorded on two Fostex 16 tracks linked together a couple of years ago. The quality of these aren't great but tracks 3 & 4 were recorded on Pro-Tools and should sound better. This is probably the wrong forum to ask this but my main problem with Pro Tools is that all my mixes seem to sound thin and digital. Any advice on EQing or mastering software?

[ernstinen]

Quote:Hi all, thanks for all your comments. Ernstinen, you are right about the distortion. The first two tracks on Myspace were recorded on two Fostex 16 tracks linked together a couple of years ago. The quality of these aren't great but tracks 3 & 4 were recorded on Pro-Tools and should sound better. This is probably the wrong forum to ask this but my main problem with Pro Tools is that all my mixes seem to sound thin and digital. Any advice on EQing or mastering software?Aha! I'm not crazy after all! Yes, tracks 3 & 4 sound cleaner.I'm an "old-school" engineer that loves tape compression, but out of necessity has embraced digital. But I STILL make one analogue pass when I mix: Through an old British Soundcraft board into an Empirical Labs Fatso Jr. (Look up what the Fatso does if you're interested). This goes into an Alesis Masterlink, digitally into Pro Tools, and back digitally into the Masterlink for making CDs. --- I'm sure there are ways to do this with software, but I like the sound of my setup.Good luck!Ern

[gitarrero]

Quote:Hi all, thanks for all your comments. Ernstinen, you are right about the distortion. The first two tracks on Myspace were recorded on two Fostex 16 tracks linked together a couple of years ago. The quality of these aren't great but tracks 3 & 4 were recorded on Pro-Tools and should sound better. This is probably the wrong forum to ask this but my main problem with Pro Tools is that all my mixes seem to sound thin and digital. Any advice on EQing or mastering software?"pro tools seem to sound thin":* what a/d converter do you use?* what's the samplerate & bit resolution you record?* what happends with the signal once it is on your harddrive (mix--> which plugins? any more d/a or a/d conversion?)if you record with 24 bits and process (ideally) 32 bit floating point intern (incl. all plugins) than it really shouldn't sound thin at all - or if it does the problem is either the recorded signal or the mixing process.cheers,martin

[rgranby]

Guys, I enjoyed them all but I favored "Better late than never" Did you have help tracking this stuff? To me It's a great job on all fronts, however I would like drums to be punchier and fatter sounding. Did you use drum loops? Interested in how you did the drums.