All 9s, but...

[timbehrens]

Just one more random thought... I know there are song collaborators and people who work on projects together here... has anyone ever heard of mixing collaborators... songwriters here who join up with the more technically oriented, send them their raw tracks, and work together in mixing?I feel like that is going to be a big hurdle for me as well. I've got quite a few songs I'm getting ready to get out there, but right now they are just sitting in the 'questionable mix, I really need to learn how to work this out' pile.

[mazz]

Quote:Just one more random thought... I know there are song collaborators and people who work on projects together here... has anyone ever heard of mixing collaborators... songwriters here who join up with the more technically oriented, send them their raw tracks, and work together in mixing?I think what you're talking about is hiring a studio and engineer to mix your tracks. If you sit next to the mixer and watch and listen, you'll learn a ton that you can apply at your home studio.Some songwriters are very good engineers too and maybe you can collaborate with them on that level. If their studio is in your area, you can go there and see/hear how they get the mixes.Mazz

[andreh]

Quote:Quote:Just one more random thought... I know there are song collaborators and people who work on projects together here... has anyone ever heard of mixing collaborators... songwriters here who join up with the more technically oriented, send them their raw tracks, and work together in mixing?I think what you're talking about is hiring a studio and engineer to mix your tracks. If you sit next to the mixer and watch and listen, you'll learn a ton that you can apply at your home studio.Some songwriters are very good engineers too and maybe you can collaborate with them on that level. If their studio is in your area, you can go there and see/hear how they get the mixes.MazzYou might also post a request on gearslutz.com for "practice tracks available to mix." You'll probably get some flack from the old bitter geezers about looking for a free ride or some nonsense, but you'll also get some bites from young up-and-comers who would like the opportunity to hone their skills with your tracks.Perhaps you could also offer some back-end incentive, such as a percentage of any placement fees the mixes might help you land.André

[horacejesse]

I only listened to one song--I think it is Ice Age--and the guitar was not out of tune in that.

[horacejesse]

Your stuff is a lot of trouble for me to listen to on my old machine because you have it on SoundClick. But I listened again just to be as sure as I could. The guitar still sounds in tune on Ice Age, but does seem out on Slowly.I hear the whirr and the crickets. The crickets won't work as they are, but Andre could be right, it seems they might work if done differently. It is an extra gamble though, you should realize.What a great voice you have. Nice songs too. I would like to be congratulating you on forwards, but maybe next time.

[zoli]

Hi mate.I think you have some great songs there. They really take me into the brain space of what you are singing about. You have a nice voice as well.First of all, I don't have much experience with Taxi as I am also very new but from a musical point of view & what stands out to me is certainly all the comments above. My opinion is that your Mic is letting you down allot. It is not handling your diction. Mostly the S's, Zs & T's...eg Iz it Tsssooo late. But on the other hand it is working well with the body of your voice. Don't change your diction because that's a part of your originality & works great for your songs. This could be fixed by either tweaking the EQ or trying a whole lot of other mics until you find the right one for your voice. It might not be an expensive mic either. 7 out of ten times, it never is. I have done many recordings with an SM58 over my Rhodes mic...go figure. Though I haven't been critiqued either so it could be crap The crickets are a great idea but I don't think that it needs to be anywhere except right at the beginning & in the quiet part of the song after the chorus but only for a few bars. If you really want the cricket in there, then try & get a closer recording of one & it won't sound as squealie. Maybe try not to make it swell with the timing of the song as that might be masking it's true presence as well. Another idea could be to pitch it down as well. Maybe drop the vocals down a bit & colour it a bit more with a subtle effect to soften it.For your timing you might wanna consider a click track with one ear on the headphones & one off. The most important thing is to choose only one point of reference as your timing mark & stick to it till the death. Maybe even significantly lower the volume of all other instruments while recording the next.Don't be discouraged as you are not that far from a great product. This in my opinion is all positive as you now have the knowledge base. The emotion & essences are there. Here's an idea...Try detaching yourself from your songs emotionally & try & look at it from a clinical perspective as well. If you are poor like allot of us Muzo's then you won't have a choice but to learn how to get your head around this. It might just be the thing you need.... to see the other side of the coin which you are finding so frustrating.You might enjoy it once you see results. But if you are rich then by all means listen to some of your favorite artists & find out who produced them & buy their services. If not then realise that It all takes time. Just remember that it's not....Practice that makes perfect.....It's perfect practice that makes perfect. You have some great feedback from very experienced people here from what I can see & have read on this forum in the last 12 hours of my life. This itself may potentially improve you & your songs virtually over night but only if you listen to them constructively. I have also listened to a tremendous amount of other songs here & you are up there amongst the good songwriters So don't give up or lose heart cause you're gonna need it for the next journey. Keep your spirits up & know that you have a special gift. Send us updates. I would love to hear the next level you get to cause I reckon (Ozzie term meaning "think") it's gonna be great. Good luck mate & I hope I haven't imposed.Zoltan

[squids]

Hey Dingo (love the name you chose, btw)!Welcome aboard and glad you posted with some really good questions. We're all sometimes found wondering on posts why we get the high scores without forwards. Basically, I think they're different things altogether. The screener might feel the score marks are appropriate but then not forward the song because it's not targeted correctly for that listing. That's how I understand it now.Listen, I have a hard time listening to soundclick.....is there somewhere else you have the songs posted, like broadjam? Anyway, while I can't comment on the songs themselves, I can definitely give you support and empathy about mixing and mastering tracks. It IS difficult to learn but when you've invested enough to be able to produce raw tracks then you're only a step away from mixing and then mastering on your particular software. I just switched from doing full-studio to doing home studio stuff. We'll see how it works out for me in a song I jes submitted. The critique should be along in a couple of weeks or so. I'm a bit nervous and I'm pretty sure the vox tracks aren't done the way I need them but they're close enough, I hope.And if I can do it (with lots of encouragement from taxi buds here), you can certainly do it!! It's really just listening more closely.....like listening to singers you like and figuring out how their engineers pulled up those highs without creating massive hiss and then trying to recreate it at home, how they made the instruments pop with so much energy and do that. This takes time and experience but at least those things are free (well, sorta but you know what I mean). Lots of folks can help guide you here. I have some good buddies on standby (whether they like it or not! lol) that help me when I get in over my head. I don't need them as much as I did earlier on. You can get that kinda help too that I'm sure will be willing to help you solve this problem. Jes wish I could listen to your tracks. So frustrating for me, soundclick. Hope you've got them elsewhere (myspace maybe?)Meantime, hang in there, post your tunes, get suggestions, keep learning! And my big thanks to billg, stick and vikki for their suggestions to me about recording at home, along with the guys on the tech board. HUGE help there! (sorry, hijacked a second but now back to YOU).I think once you get these productions issues sorted, we'll be seeing forwards out of you in no time. I know some of the folks who responded to your post and believe me, they wouldn't say those lovely things unless they were true. (they're really nice people too, jes also dead honest when it comes to tunes so they're great for critiques as well).

[dingo]

Hi everyone.Thank you for all the encouragement and advice. It's funny, now that you mention it, that cricket sound sure is annoying. I listened to that a million times when I was recording and mixing it and it never stuck out.When I posted that originally, I felt that the scores were just sort of luring me in to submitting more, but now I know that isn't true. I appreciate all the thoughtful responses. I'm going to go back, remix that song, and murder that cricket. I'm not sure what the problem is with SoundClick, but a few of my SoundClick songs are also on my Taxi profile here: http://www.taximusic.com/hosting/home.php?userid=8661

[simonparker]

This is good stuff Dingo. Great vocal deliverance here.I have to agree with other posters here - that cricket sound in the right can is not going to impress. The guitar is in tune for ice-age...the timing is slightly off (perhaps it's just feel?) - regardless, the better the perfomance and sound quality, the better your chances.I'd start working on trying to get the performances and mixes better. Easier said than done, for sure.