Seeking your feedback on three songs please

[rnrmachine]

Hey dude,I thought that was very analog sounding.. It just had that quality that I love and you only get that from tape. You're a lucky dog heheWhat I did was hit the song up with a Multiband comp and added in a convolution reverb of a blues club on a buss and only added enough in to group the instruments a bit more. Giving it more of a performed sound while still preserving that rich analog clean ya have going on there. I EQ'd down the Blues Club verb as well, high and low pass filters on the buss.. I need to check my notes for specifics, but I am not at home atm. I didn't expect such a fast reply. I will def get you every lil detail I did, asap.btw, I love a certain kind of production for each particular style.. depending what it is you're after. I do varying genres and find myself becoming a wiz at mastering for what I am after. I am right there with you on some of the modern sounds but some stuff I really appreciate. I am 39 and grew up liking far too much different genres of music. Got to go... bbl with the particulars.Rob

[pesmitty]

mcanty,I listened to all three. I enjoyed all three. I think with a more modern sounding production, the first could go country with a slightly different production/vocal; possibly Hot AC with bit more crunch to those guitars, etc. I am having trouble placing the second one, although it is well written, performed and easy to listen to. The third one sounds like something I might have heard on a 1981 Foreigner album. That's NOT a bad thing from my perspective, but it might be if you are trying to place this in places seeking a more modern sound.Congrats on a job well done. There is simply no question about your talent based on this demonstration, now I guess you just have to figure out how to focus in on the targets and hit them.Best,Perry

[mcanty]

Thanks Perry.....................my weakness is modern production. I really need to dive into it and tweak things in that direction but its hard to do when some elements of modern production turn you off so badly that you never listen to it. I need help

[sgs4u]

We all ned help, pal. That's why were here! Most of us need to help as well.Jun 19, 2008, 11:03am, mcanty wrote:Thanks Perry.....................my weakness is modern production. I really need to dive into it and tweak things in that direction but its hard to do when some elements of modern production turn you off so badly that you never listen to it. I need help

[pesmitty]

I will tell you, though, Mark, your songs are still sitting in my itunes player and I have listened a few more times and you definitely have a very good thing going (indeed, I have enjoyed them enough to listen a few more times when I should be listening to other stuff to keep abreast of what I need to know for my own stuff!). Find a way to aim all that talent in the right direction and I believe the doors will open for you. (And, of course, since I believe they will, they obviously will ;-)You need to simply "sell out" on the modern sound--you have to. Just do it. Once your songs take off, you can make the "throwback remixes" available for special download at itunes! Perry

[rnrmachine]

Hey Mark,The reverb I used was a convolution verb of a blues club. Perfect Space (included with sonar 6 PE) has it. I used the Open Sounding Blues Club - XY Rear. On a Buss, dry signal off and wet at -1.0db. The send on the stereo track was set at -9.6db. EQ inserted on that same buss, AFTER the verb. Starting with a Hi-Pass at 79hz. next a -2.2db cut at 281hz, -1.5db at 2153hz, -.5 at 5k and a Low-Pass at 10Khz.On the Stereo Track I had a mutliband compressor, fairly standard approach was used here when the bass GTR is a bit strong in the mix. Was a bit rough bringing the snare out a bit more without killing your voice and reducing the bass gtr at the same time. Multiband comps are what makes that sort of stuff even possible with a 2trk mix. The main attenuation was about 100hz and 1k-2k. I am not going to bother going into specifics on that because I tweeked a couple more and I think it sounds even better.. but could be my taste...Anyway, that info I gave you would be easy enough to get you started with a certain direction in mind.I wouldn't mind doing a quick Master for you on the 2trk mix, on all 3 tunes if ya want. I have a lil bit of free time right now and would be fun to see what I can get out of your stuff... You are pretty good and it's not often I get to work with some real talent. Too often I find myself polishing terds and wanna cry.. lol .. and of course, if you record someone and it sounds like crap... too often they wanna blame you cause of all the drunk friends at the bar that tell them they are great!!! so it must be the engineers fault. God forbid if I ever mention changing the key to fit the singer...Anyway, Hope that helps Rob

[billg]

mcanty, I Love This Stuff! The songs are great & the production is awesome & I don't think there needs to be anything done differently. Great bass sound too BTW.

[mcanty]

perry - that's awesome, thanks for the encouragement. Modern rock frightens me but I will try my best. I know that I have to chase the trends, especially for film/tv licensing.....thanks againrnrmachine - you sound just like my friend who runs the studio where I record. They are stunned when somebody actually walks in with a complete song, lol. Thank you for all of the interest in my songs. I love what you did with I'm Comin' Homebillg - Thanks man, I happen to be a fan of your stuff too.

[rnrmachine]

Jun 20, 2008, 4:03am, billg wrote:mcanty, I Love This Stuff! The songs are great & the production is awesome & I don't think there needs to be anything done differently. Great bass sound too BTW.I agree 100%. Everything sounds great... except for that one thing...I LOVE the sound of a good clean analog recording that was obviously recorded in a studio on a reel to reel, it has it's own appeal that can only be achieved by doing exactly what you did here. You just need to think about what it is you want to do with these. IF all you care about is impressing some audiophiles like me and others on this board you can close these up, pat yourself on the back and go write some new content. Cause you have done it.. I am seriously impressed. But leaving them as is,... is without any shadow of a doubt, "dated suicide". You have done a great job but your submition base will be limited. I have had enough rejections to be confident this is the reality of what you are looking at. I could be wrong.. I have been before and will be again.. sadly. But I don't think I am wrong here. I wish my main problem was that my songs need a good mastering... IF that was the case, Taxi would be making videos of me talking to everyone about how to be successful...One last thing... I could have just said, "It sounds great" and moved along. But I took the time to actually show you what I feel your stuff can use. VERY minor adjustments, I played the 2 side by side for a few folks here in my humble lil studio and hands down... the minor mastering I did was not only percieved as, "it sounds better," BUT made a HUGE difference in appeal to the folks... NOT at all unlike choosing the right microphone for your voice. AND WE ALL KNOW how friggin important that is.. some of us spend YEARS looking for that mic that is our own best pair of blue jeans we ever owned...Someday someone will actually do this for me instead of throwing out a crap comments. This is NOT AT ALL aimed at anyone.. it is from memory... last time I spent days in this section trying to help people out. So then, when I requested help myself I would feel like I earned the right to ask for it.. I only wish someone like me would have taken the time to give me an outsiders perspective.RobI'll remove that mock up from my taxi space immediately if you want. But I wanted to give you a lil more time with it if you desired or needed.

[billg]

Well, it goes without saying that good mastering will always make tracks sound better. Rob your mastering on this sounds good.