Mediator

[tuite]

Thanks! That pumping bassline idea is nice! I never really thought of doing both styles in the song. When we were maing up the parts, we thought the guitars should have that rhythm and I liked it. I thought the bass pumping 8th notes wouldn`t fit with the verse so we left it as 1/4 notes and never thought of changing it just for the solo or end chorus section. We will defo take this into consideration when doing them again.The guitar parts can do with some spicing up alright. I will do some things differently next time and also add in things that aren`t there too. It is onyl for represetation, you`re right. We were looking to get gigs, and have something to hand out at them with our web details etc. on the cover. It`s not something we would sell. However, the E.P. will be for sale and will be a full blown production so thanks for your comments.I dont mean to be greedy and keep asking for more comments but I really like what Im hearing and its helping a LOT. If anyone has any further criticisms or praising I would love to hear it!Thanks again,Colm.

[liamkelly]

ColmTa tuirse orm!TeddyLove that dry vocal – great sound but too low. Way too low for me.Same for the backing vox (eg on the chorus why, tears when you cry, ). Way too low.Drums are quite crisp – are they loops? Good snare! Cymbals could have been miked a bit up at choruses Overall mix sounds a bit empty. I don’t know why. I think this may be because you tend to mix your vocals a bit low.Solo – too long. Not adding. Competent playing but what for? I understand you want a bit of rhythmic chop-up but I’m not sold on the solo.Bridge – vocals up.I think the thing with the rhythm guitars is the lack of voicings. The riffs are fine, the sounds are fine but there needs to be a couple of tracks with different voicings. Love the outro solo but it swallows the vocals. Are you one of these guitarists with no confidence in your vocals. Mix them up, they sound good, dude. Big outro Aerosmith vocals, man.I don’t hear that ‘layering-as-the-song-progresses’ that is the staple of good mix engineering (for me!)You’re a real good songwriter. Don’t get put off by my comments – I know feck all really. This song reminded me of Thin Lizzy – I know, sounds daft.Mary JaneThis was mixed much bigger than the other two. Fatter bottom end.Again, thought the lead vox could have been a bit hotter.Aha – no kick drum through the mix. Really liked this song. Except for the love will keep us sane line. It never did that to/for me!Outro solo a bit too much. Probably great live though!Liamwww.liamkellylive.com

[tuite]

Liam, are you Irish?I`m not sure about the vocals being too low. I`ll have to see what it sounds like when I do it again. The songs sound empty because of the very poor bass sound. Its muddy and it takes away from the feel of the mixes. Also, you`re right about the chord voicings. We had the songs finsihed when we recorded them but we hadn`t really decided on each part or guitar line, it was kind of rushed. Next time we`l have more time to be more creative. Also, the vox were done with just an SM58 through a mediocre preamp with NO compressor int he chain. Because of the loud style of singing, I had to adjust some words manually by changing volumes of the wav files. This seriously takes away from the flow and dynamics of the vocal so that could be the problem.The drums are real, I had a lend of my friends warehouse and we rented nice mics etc. for the day. He had nice Avalon pres and BSS comps and gates etc.. Everything else was recorded using SM57 and 58 mics through Mackie pres and mixed on a hi-fi.I like the solo on both songs. I dont like the tone or the mix though. I understand "competent playing, but what for" and we have lots of songs were I play slow, melodic solos with no distortion etc. but I think they fit these songs. The outro solo for Teddy is nice but I had to mix the vox down becuase of the dynamics thing I was talking about. It sounds really unnatural but you just cant hear it at that level. Mary-Jane outro solo is too long and its one take of improvisation so it will be improved and shortened! But yea, it is GREAT playing it live! Hehe!I`m not the singer, I play lead guitar, do back vox and record etc. I like the vox, i just couldn`t mix them right in these circumstances. I agree now that there is not much layering as the song goes on. I will have to look at that issue and see what can be improved. More harmonies? Maybe an exciter would help?"You`re a real good songwriter", thanks man. That`s prob one of the best compliments Ive ever recieved. It means a lot to me.Yea, I had an overdrive on the bass in Mary-Jane which really beefs it up and disguises the awful tone. It wouldn`t suit for Teddy though. There is no kick because the bad tone and overdrive cover it up. They are sitting on the same frequency. I tried to fix it but thats the best I could do. It will be changed for the E.P.Thanks for all your comments guys! This really is a great forum!