Where do I fit in?

[rruzzano]

Hi All,
First time posting, actually second but I must have done something wrong because it never weht through. I sent this to get custom critiqued but I did want a little bit more constructive criticism and or thoughts from more people.......
Hello,
I have no idea if my song " Along The Way"would ever be able to be submitted to any listing . If so what genre? Can it only be submitted to listings that are "Song" listings? Any possibility for film /TV? I submitted it a few times a while back, one screener gave it all 9's but that's only one persons opinion, other times it received much lower scores if you want to call them that. I play some guitar, write the lyrics, sing and use plug ins for drums, synth, harmonies etc... a friend plays lead guitar and another played bass which was the only take and I know it needs to be re-recorded. Should I send this song out to a service and pay for a professional vocalist to sing it? How do I make it more modern? Just about every listing references newer style music.
I was not going to renew with Taxi seeing that I can't submit songs as a demo for others to re-record but I thought about all of the great advice that you guys give and actually how my songs and home studio production has improved from when I first joined. Now I try to watch Taxi Live as much as I can in order to get even more info. I use to submit to listings just to get a critique, even if I knew it was not quite right for that listing. But now I realize that that's a waste of everyone's time. I’m Just looking for some professional advice and constructive criticism. I did rejoin taxi for 2 years. That is my long term goal in trying to get a forward.
Thanks,
Rob

[sedge]

Hi Rob,
I'm a rob too.
Just a quick one. I like the vocal alot. It could be up a 1 or 2 db for me / or send it as a compression trigger to the lead guitar, push that down at the times the guitar is playing during the singing. Both I felt were fighting for the same space. in both level and eq

Sorry cant add more just now, sounds to me like you can manage quality enough from your studio!

Sedge

[rruzzano]

Hi Rob,
Thanks for replying (At least someone did) I was surprised that the screener 12 and you liked the vocal. That is what I thought needed the most work and or someone else to sing it.

I'm not quite sure how to " send it as a compression trigger to the lead guitar" I'm a novice with my home studio equipment. Still learning every day.

I was told that the lead guitar is a litte too much throughout the song, and that the song is too long and the chorus melody could be improved. So I will take whatever advice that anyone gives and use it to my advantage. I'd still like to get more replies, hope more people do. One thing for sure is that I'm going to re-record and make it better!
Rob, I listened to your tunes and you have some pretty good stuff. have you had any forwards?

Thanks again
Stay tuned,

[eeoo]

Hi Rob - Yeah man, that's a catchy tune. I'd like to hear a stripped down version, see what a more acoustic approach yields. As is it sounds like you're trying to emulate a live band sound which is damn hard to do. I think the distorted kinda 80's rock guitar tones are dating it a bit and the drum programming needs to be more convincing. I dig the tune itself which is the most important thing, right? If I were recording this i would de-construct it and try stripping it down to the bare essentials and see what you come up with.

eo

[kenmassey]

Hi Rob, I agree with Sedgy and Ethan that the production needs a face lift. There is a website, Groove3.com, that I have been using that has tutorials for all aspects of production, you may want to check it out. It has helped me a great deal! I also liked the vocal but it seemed buried in the mix, bring it up a few db and see what that does. Hope this helps, Ken.

[Len911]

Rob, I really liked your song a lot. I wouldn't hire a singer. I would try compressing or limiting the drums and bass, and increasing the buss compressor to get your vocals above the mix. Also I would normalize the break, or guitar solo. The drums and bass seem to have some heavy transients going on which is probably triggering your limiter and not allowing your voice to rise above them. I would say the genre is a light rock if that helps any.

[sedge]

Ethan Ken and Len say it well! All aimed to bring the vocal more to the fore too

I was surprised that the screener 12 and you liked the vocal. That is what I thought needed the most work and or someone else to sing it.

I think that is 80% of the solution. Guess maybe your not confident with how your vocal sounds and so trying to cover it
Being humble about your ability is great, all makes for a sincere vocal, rare stuff man! Its a bad thing when you are mixing yourself,
option here is to do your mix without your vocals first, it is each pass on each loop to your vocals during your mix that is making you cringe and tempted to want to back it up with something. I'm the same and had to learn some way around it or id have just given up on singing / recording.

I'm not quite sure how to " send it as a compression trigger to the lead guitar"

On the vocal track make a 'send' (say channels 3/4 of the vocal) to the instrument you want to push away at the times the vocal is on.
On the 'receiving' instrument add a compressor. In the compressor also add a receive of the 3/4 and set your ratio and threshold and release to hear the effect. - You should start hearing the vocal 'push / compresss' down the instrument and the instrument ' bounce back / not be compressed' when there is no singing.


Used sparingly (2/3 db compression) it can create some great dynamics to gell things together. PM me if I made no sense!

The better the sounds are picked out at the start / recorded means the less you need to know how to be a good mix engineer. Most important thing I learned, am still learning.
Like avoid using guitar notes / tones at the same point as singing notes / tones. Avoid picking a bass sound that is has the same or most of the kick drum tone. If not possible, you love the bass sound or say the guitar ine adds a sweet harmony , then the above techniques come in handy to manage level, dynamic and rhythm.

I was told that the lead guitar is a litte too much throughout the song

I half agree, but more think that some distinct melody/riff needs to be defined instead. On the solo it needs to come up in volume.
Agree that it needs to be allot drier/cleaner.

I listened to your tunes and you have some pretty good stuff. have you had any forwards?

Thanks Rob! I got a couple of forwards with Little Steps and Sing my way, important step that for me, gave me a push to think I am on the right track! Before that the doubt maker was very loud and sat on my shoulder al the time. Now he's still there, just a little quieter ... for a bit!! Very much feel like I'm just starting out / learning.

Here on the P2p I have found doing these crits are a huge help. Each time I think of something on others tunes I can relate it to where I am going wrong with my own stuff.

Regards,
Sedge

[rruzzano]

Hi all,
I just have to reply to say thank you!!!
I have a Full time job as I guess all of you do, so time is something I need more of... I will peruse all the replies over the weekend and get back.
YOU GUY ARE AWESOME! you don't know me from jack Shi.. but your willing to HELP! I wish I did this years ago. I would like to critque others, which this site is all about, but I can't figure my own stuff out.
Thanks and
Stay Tuned,