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(I posted on another board and realized not many people use that board, hope its ok to post in the general forum.. )Hello everyone. I am brand spankin new to recording my musicI received my first critique back last night, and besides my production not being so great (expected, this is my first complete song recording ever using free tools) the rest of the critique was pretty positive - I was stoked! It was good enough that i decided to post it on this forum to pat myself on the back a bit, I wanted my first song to be good enough that people might wanna listen to it twice, and I feel I did that. Now I feel I can move forward with confidence. Please post any advice or comments that you think will be helpful to a n00b like myself (I use a cheap TASCAM MIDI Interface on my PC, cheap mics, and Audacity (free) right now...so i realize the recording needs work, and I need experience). Not sure what I should up grade to yet...not alot of time to read latelyMy reviewer mentioned some lyric stuff, so in the future when I re-record this Ill be making decisions in those areas they mentioned as well as adding some keys or lead guitar to get the full effect I was looking for (the reviewer read my mind...pretty cool).http://www.taximusic.com/hosting/home.p ... yeanThanks for taking time out to listen

oh and the reviewer mentioned to either make the drums less mechanical, or put them more in the background, and bring my voice up to the front more as well

Hi zansafer - the place to post music for review is Peer to Peer, or, after a return/forward, the TAXI Review Station.It's helpful to us if, besides posting a link, you also include the text of the listing you submitted it to, and the lyrics. That info helps us to review the work in context.The first issue I hear is an intro that is 40 secs long - way too long. The vocals are too far back, the drums are covering the vocal, and I can't hear the words. I think you'd be better off without drums at all. How are you panning the tracks? (Why not try a simple mix with a clean vocal and guitar so we can have a listen to the song itself, before you do a lot of mixing work)cheersHummingbird PS - welcome aboard

Welcome to the boards! your track sounds pretty cool for a first attempt; wish my first recordings had sounded as good. (I have a very expensive Tascam interface, started with a Craig cassette deck in nineteen something and something) I think your song might be a bit more marketable with a very abrupt beginning and a fade at the end rather than the other way 'round. Peer To Peer is where we review each other's work, generally. I'm looking forward to hearing more of your stuff!

Hey Zansafer, welcome!+1 to everything said above. Intro is definitely too long, you should be getting to your chorus around the :40-:60 mark. Stay away from fade-ins, even fade-outs for the most part.Although I couldn't hear the words I could tell that you have some nice melodies happening, but some production issues are getting in the way.Stick around here and you'll be amazed at the things you'll learn!Thanks for sharing your tune!Again, welcome!Marc

Early Stones man. I like the vibe very much. Especially the release. I like the steady rhythm guitar. It's strong. Once the mechanicals are out of the way and paid attention to like the folks above described, vocals out front, fade, proper engineering stuff like that, you can focus more on the songs. However, I would try to make the song work with just your voice and the guitar first before entering other embellishments. You'll see how easy it is to add when the bare bones works alone.Good luck zansafer

Pretty much agree with what Hummingbird said...welcome and enjoy the ride.Regards,Dick

zans: I liked the vibe, but until 2:50, I had trouble understanding the lyrics. Maybe you could bring them up, and also post them?Ott

I enjoy all of these responses and am going to take what you tell me very seriously. The reviewer made notice that the choruses could go further reinforce the title of the song by repeating the 'let your demons die', and that the third line 'are they blind' doesnt make sense to the point I was really trying to make..and I agree. Im gonna try a simplier version of this in the near future to take the 'less is more' approach and see if I can get a clear sound. By what I read, sounds like I tried to do too much at once and should have kept it simple for a first go. ..i also like the idea of trying it without the drums, one than one person has mentioned that as wellDemons Face the madnessStare into yourself and dare to findWho is hiding inside, are they blindClear the canvaswash away the fear built up with timereach the moment that frees your mindFeel the singe of the fireas it burns away ill memoriesmust let it gomust win the fightand let your demons dieTook the punchesblamed the rest of the world for the foolish crimenever better, never seems quite rightOpen the doorlet the light shine thru it feels so rightsee the world with warmer eyesTake hold of the wheelbefore you leave this world on a bed of steelmake your amendsand make it rightand open your eyesopen your eyesTake hold of the wheelbefore you leave this world on a bed of steelmake your amendsand make it rightand you'll feel alivefeel so alive

Welcome, Zans. Always appreciate having more people around here with "Z's" in their names.Nice elements in this song; and I agree with what's been posted so far -- lower drums/ higher vocals/ start sooner.Nice vocals and could be an effective song once you up the production values a bit.Off to a good start!!Best regards,Suz