Original Christmas return - feedback, please?

[TuKatz]

Hey Loren:

So, I listened to this a couple of times. Frankly (and not meant as a put-down), I feel like the drums are a little "Casio-ish" for this style. I have problems recording this kind of swing with MIDI instuments a lot because it just dosen't feel quite right, there isn't that push and pull in the tempo. Your pattern is almost the same throughout with the exception of changing from the Rim to the Snare (I am not including the Sleigh Bells in this, I actually like them but they may be a little forward as well). If you had a drummer using brushes where you had the drag of the brush against the snare head without the constant 2 & 4, I think that might make this piece flow better.

Maybe the Glock is out there also, but overall with these exceptions I found it an enjoyable piece. I am usually quite impressed with your submissions, they are well recorded, arranged, and sound great, this one just may be a "one-off" deal.

Take my advice for what it is worth and thank you for letting us hear your piece. I hope the next time you knock it out of the park.

[ComposerLDG]

Hey Loren:

So, I listened to this a couple of times. Frankly (and not meant as a put-down), I feel like the drums are a little "Casio-ish" for this style. I have problems recording this kind of swing with MIDI instuments a lot because it just dosen't feel quite right, there isn't that push and pull in the tempo. Your pattern is almost the same throughout with the exception of changing from the Rim to the Snare (I am not including the Sleigh Bells in this, I actually like them but they may be a little forward as well). If you had a drummer using brushes where you had the drag of the brush against the snare head without the constant 2 & 4, I think that might make this piece flow better.

Maybe the Glock is out there also, but overall with these exceptions I found it an enjoyable piece. I am usually quite impressed with your submissions, they are well recorded, arranged, and sound great, this one just may be a "one-off" deal.

Take my advice for what it is worth and thank you for letting us hear your piece. I hope the next time you knock it out of the park.

TuKatz, thanks so much for taking the time to listen and offer your suggestions. Yeah, everything you said makes sense, so I have some work to do on this track yet. Others have also mentioned about the glock being too far forward. Interestingly, it was further back in the original mix, but I felt it was being swallowed up so I brought it forward....go figure!

The good news is, I have plenty of time to rework it in time for more Christmas listings that are sure to pop up. Thanks again, I really appreciate the feedback and constructive ideas.

-Loren

[ComposerLDG]

Now I'm wondering if it sounds out of place bright and clean while the rest of it is kind of a jazzy vintage vibe that's got more reverb.

I listened to it with crappy earphones, but I think that could have been an issue. On the other hand, that is not specifically what your screener wrote...

Very true...back go the drawing board!

[ComposerLDG]

Hi Loren,

You have a nice track....
But here is the problem:

Would try and update those samples sounds to get closer to a more contemporary sounding synch mode

All the examples are using modern sounding drums...yours sound like the 1960's.
Of course...if they were looking for authentic old limey Christmas tracks.... this would probably be a forward.
But if the examples have Ariana Grande in them...they NEED to be cutting edge modern.

My 3 cents,
Tim

Yep, very good point, Tim. When I remix this, I'm going to definitely update those drums samples to something more modern. Thanks for the feedback.

[ComposerLDG]

I think the track is great! To be honest they probably did not like the 'percussion' because at least on my Sennheisers HD 650 the Glockenspiel (or whatever you used) is a bit too upfront...Dialing that down might do the trick. The piano seems fine (I guess they simply did not like your EQ choices) but as you know it is always worthwhile playing around with different piano VIs to find the winner for that particular track...Just my five cents... Cheers, Matt

Thanks, Matt! Yeah, the pianos...I thought they sounded pretty authentic, but like you said, it could have just been the overall EQ on the pianos and/or mix. Anyway, it seems there is room for lots of improvement here, so I'm just going to start attacking it with one issue at a time. Hopefully I'll have better luck next time around.

Thanks again!

-Loren

[MBantle]

I think the track is great! To be honest they probably did not like the 'percussion' because at least on my Sennheisers HD 650 the Glockenspiel (or whatever you used) is a bit too upfront...Dialing that down might do the trick. The piano seems fine (I guess they simply did not like your EQ choices) but as you know it is always worthwhile playing around with different piano VIs to find the winner for that particular track...Just my five cents... Cheers, Matt

Thanks, Matt! Yeah, the pianos...I thought they sounded pretty authentic, but like you said, it could have just been the overall EQ on the pianos and/or mix. Anyway, it seems there is room for lots of improvement here, so I'm just going to start attacking it with one issue at a time. Hopefully I'll have better luck next time around.

Thanks again!

-Loren

I think that is one of the coolest things about DAWs that you can revisit 'returns' after a couple of weeks (or for another listing) and then - with fresh ears - make improvements. I personally think that solo piano tracks are very difficult to mix, depending on the composition the piano just covers so much ground in terms of frequency spectrum and in a solo piece EQ, compression and reverb for me are real challenges (in particular balancing sustain pedal and reverb is still something where I fiddle around forever to get it sound natural).
Cheers,
Matt

[cassmcentee]

I think that is one of the coolest things about DAWs that you can revisit 'returns' after a couple of weeks (or for another listing) and then - with fresh ears - make improvements.

Write Submit Remix Repeat

[ComposerLDG]

I think the track is great! To be honest they probably did not like the 'percussion' because at least on my Sennheisers HD 650 the Glockenspiel (or whatever you used) is a bit too upfront...Dialing that down might do the trick. The piano seems fine (I guess they simply did not like your EQ choices) but as you know it is always worthwhile playing around with different piano VIs to find the winner for that particular track...Just my five cents... Cheers, Matt

Thanks, Matt! Yeah, the pianos...I thought they sounded pretty authentic, but like you said, it could have just been the overall EQ on the pianos and/or mix. Anyway, it seems there is room for lots of improvement here, so I'm just going to start attacking it with one issue at a time. Hopefully I'll have better luck next time around.

Thanks again!

-Loren

I think that is one of the coolest things about DAWs that you can revisit 'returns' after a couple of weeks (or for another listing) and then - with fresh ears - make improvements. I personally think that solo piano tracks are very difficult to mix, depending on the composition the piano just covers so much ground in terms of frequency spectrum and in a solo piece EQ, compression and reverb for me are real challenges (in particular balancing sustain pedal and reverb is still something where I fiddle around forever to get it sound natural).
Cheers,
Matt

For sure! I can't imagine recording without a DAW now. I think back to the 90s when I was using a Yamaha MT-120 4-channel cassette for tracking and I wonder how I did it. I totally need the visual element now and all the tweaking that can be done after the recording!

[ComposerLDG]

I think that is one of the coolest things about DAWs that you can revisit 'returns' after a couple of weeks (or for another listing) and then - with fresh ears - make improvements.

Write Submit Remix Repeat

Lol Cass, I need to get that tattooed on my forehead.

[MBantle]

I think that is one of the coolest things about DAWs that you can revisit 'returns' after a couple of weeks (or for another listing) and then - with fresh ears - make improvements.

Write Submit Remix Repeat

Exactly...and I would add "...and revisit from time to time"