Yacht Rock instro - feedback please (S240318MH)

[irthlingz]

Please give us feedback on this yacht rock instrumental.
Thanks!

(The listing is also at the link below.)

Rockin in the Boat

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Michael & Sharon

[AlanHall]

QUESTION: Is the piano patch you've chosen some kind of "barroom piano"? It sounds at times out of tune compared to the guitar.
While the ref tracks may have some - to our modern ears - laughable pitch effects on the instruments, the recordings them selves are all as clean and blemish-free as contemporary technology would allow. So the little bit of 'pitchy-ness' that I hear in your track seems out of place.

Other than that, I'd encourage an alternate mix that doesn't keep the guitar out in front 100% of the time. I'm thinking pull it back after the intro at about :15 into the piece, and then ride the fader from there. Changing dynamics on the instruments helps define the structure of the composition, as well as help the listener avoid ear fatigue. Critically listen to the ref tracks for balance between the instruments. Don't neglect the stereo field for allowing separation between instruments.

Good Luck, Michael and Sharon!

[irthlingz]

QUESTION: Is the piano patch you've chosen some kind of "barroom piano"?

"Acoustic Rhythm Bossa". We took it out.

Good Luck, Michael and Sharon!

Thank you, Alan! New version at same link, with piano out, stereo separation, some variation in guitar volume.

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Sharon & Michael

[Telefunkin]

Here's my thoughts. I'm sorry they're not what you'd like to hear but I hope they help in some way. They're only opinions though and we all have those. Others might disagree, but here goes....

The refs tracks are all very polished productions with keyboard and orchestral parts to embellish them and they have hooks all over the place. The listing asks for "Retro motifs, engaging rhythms, and solid arrangements with plenty of dynamics and forward motion....". It also asks for an instrumental rather than an instrumental cue, so I'd interpret that as looking for a song-like structure with instruments playing the melody instead of a vocal.

This track doesn't meet most of those requirements and I don't get yacht rock from it, despite its title. My suggestion would be to have another listen to those ref tracks all the way through, then listen to your track again. It should be apparent that there are many differences, some outlined here...

The instrumentation doesn't have that rich polished mix that includes things like keyboard parts and orchestra. Why choose a steel drum (not in the refs)? They're usually played in a different style to that used here, and as the sound is very percussive as well as tonally imprecise it detracts from the guitar. The guitar and steel drum compete for attention and also dominate the mix and swamp the bass and drums. The bass is too busy anyway so it doesn't hold down the foundation. The guitar part seems like a string of phrases but doesn't provide a melody (so my guess is that its all Band In a Box again). The arrangement seems to meander along with little sense of recognisable structure rather than an engaging song-like structure.

Also, as there's an up-front sync fee this will be a high bar listing, so only tracks that are bang on point will have a chance of a forward, let alone getting the end placement. Based on all of that IMHO this track is not in the running. Again though, its just my opinion so see what others say. Just trying to help .

[irthlingz]

Thank you, Graham. We really appreciate the listen and the detailed feedback.

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Sharon & Michael