my band's first recordings! and advice please?

[Tait]

hi,

check out my band's first 3 recordings, we've been together a couple of years now but haven't done any recording yet. i'm the only one who's ever done any messing around with that sort of thing, so i did all of the editing, mixing, adding effects and stuff, they just plugged in and played.

oh, just so you know, we recorded "downfall" before that thread on recording overdriven guitar i started, so the guitar sounds pretty naff, but we plan on recording that and the vocals again soon.
[url="http://www.myspace.com/blaqrainband"]
www.myspace.com/blaqrainband[/url]

of course i'm interested in what you think of the songs, but theres some more specific things i'm interested in getting feedback about.

1) what do you think of the lyrics to "End of the World"? i really hate them, i think they're cheesy and rubbish, but it was our first song we ever wrote and none of the rest of the band want to change them for better lyrics. and for the same reasons we dont want to drop it.

2) what do you think of the synth solo in "Any More"? i put it in as a joke when i realised the guitarist had gone home without recording a guitar solo for it, thinking we will just record a guitar solo later, but then both the drummer and guitarist decided they like it and want to keep it. i dont have a problem with a solo, but i don't think it fits the song at all.

3) what do you think of the general mixing and recording (with the exception of downfall, as i said, we plan to redo that)? mostly "Any More", as thats the one i put most effort into and i personally think is the best one.

4) what do you think of the guitar tones (again with the exception of downfall)? as you may have seen in the "recording overdriven guitar" thread, i've had a lot of trouble with that, and i'd really appreciate any advice.

5) and finally, what about the vocals on "Any More"? i sang on that, and i'm not exactly the world's greatest singer i just wondered if you think they're passable or not?

any advice or feedback at all would be greatly appreciated!

Edited September 5, 2009 by Tait

[skankdelvar]

First off, wanna say that, for early efforts, these are good quality, well produced demo songs and better than most of the crap that's out there on myspace. Even if the prod'ns a bit rough compared to a pro studio / producer, it's the songs that are important, and they stand out well. Musicianship's strong as well. Some really nice bass in there.

[b]Downfall[/b]: Good song, strong hooks. Sounds like it was recorded in a small studio sometime in 1978 (this is a good thing). I actually like the guitar sound a lot. Some room noise on the vocals, but actually not a bad thing, fits with the feel.

[b]Anymore[/b]: Suddenly, it sounds like a different band 25 years later. Feels like the band is much 'closer' to the ear - a more claustrophobic, modern sound. Not that keen on the little drum fills over silence.

Vocals sound good - you should do more - reminds me slightly of Dee-Dee Ramone. In fact, much better than the vox on EOTW. More conviction.

Synth sound doesn't really work for me - bit too polite. It's well-played, but maybe experiment with something that sounds like it's coming from the depths of hell - maybe double it an octave lower and distorted as f***.

Guitar sound seems a bit more 'generic' than in Downfall - a lot of bands sound like this - which you could either see as a positive (it fits with what other people are doing) or a negative (it fits with what other people are doing). Depends what you're going for, really, I s'pose as it suits the song, but, sound-wise just seems a little one-dimensional. Maybe better off experimenting with layering several tracks of guitar, each one being a bit less distorted than what's on here, then panning them wide to give some space.

[b]End Of The World[/b]: Not the strongest of the three songs - doesn't really take you guys anywhere. It's a sequence of good riffs, but they need tieing into a more developed framework. The staccato verse parts could be even choppier and tighter to the beat, in order to contrast with the section where you open up.

Guitar solo sounds a bit 'uncertain' - both execution and sound - sorry. Nice slippery bass solo, but might be even more relevant over a more relaxed beat in a different song (!) Also, loads of songs have the words "End of the World" in the title. Maybe change it to something else.

Overall, that's some really good work there, Tait. Sounds like a proper band working up some good stuff.

Edited September 6, 2009 by skankdelvar

[Tait]

[quote name='skankdelvar' post='591351' date='Sep 6 2009, 12:57 PM']First off, wanna say that, for early efforts, these are good quality, well produced demo songs and better than most of the crap that's out there on myspace. Even if the prod'ns a bit rough compared to a pro studio / producer, it's the songs that are important, and they stand out well. Musicianship's strong as well. Some really nice bass in there.[/quote]

thanks, as a band we've been together a few years now, but we were only young when we first got together and so haven't written songs until recently. if you look at the videos on there theres one where we're really young looking and sounding they really need getting rid of, they're AC/DC covers and were recorded on a video camera.

[quote name='skankdelvar' post='591351' date='Sep 6 2009, 12:57 PM'][b]Downfall[/b]: Good song, strong hooks. Sounds like it was recorded in a small studio sometime in 1978 (this is a good thing). I actually like the guitar sound a lot. Some room noise on the vocals, but actually not a bad thing, fits with the feel.[/quote]

a few people have said the same thing, it sounds like its a really old recording, but in a good way. i don't like it, but if other people are liking it i might as well keep it.

[quote name='skankdelvar' post='591351' date='Sep 6 2009, 12:57 PM'][b]Anymore[/b]: Suddenly, it sounds like a different band 25 years later. Feels like the band is much 'closer' to the ear - a more claustrophobic, modern sound. Not that keen on the little drum fills over silence.

Vocals sound good - you should do more - reminds me slightly of Dee-Dee Ramone. In fact, much better than the vox on EOTW. More conviction.

Synth sound doesn't really work for me - bit too polite. It's well-played, but maybe experiment with something that sounds like it's coming from the depths of hell - maybe double it an octave lower and distorted as f***.

Guitar sound seems a bit more 'generic' than in Downfall - a lot of bands sound like this - which you could either see as a positive (it fits with what other people are doing) or a negative (it fits with what other people are doing). Depends what you're going for, really, I s'pose as it suits the song, but, sound-wise just seems a little one-dimensional. Maybe better off experimenting with layering several tracks of guitar, each one being a bit less distorted than what's on here, then panning them wide to give some space.[/quote]

its a very different song to downfall, with a very different sound. i think it sounds like a completely different band, too (the different singer doesn't help), but i like that, i hate it when you hear a band where all the songs sound the same. besides, we're not taking it too seriously, its a hobby, might as well mess with lots of different types of music. we all have very different musical influences, too.

thanks for your comment about the vocals, i don't see myself as a very good singer so i wasn't confident about singing it. and they want me to sing on an acoustic version of a song i wrote, which i'm not sure about. the dee-dee ramone voice isn't on purpose, but i'm a huge fan of the ramones so my voice was probably influenced by them.

as for the synth - i'm really not sure about it. i don't think it fits at all, i only put it in there as a joke because i thought our lead guitarist/singer (who's heavily influenced by metal and classic rock) would hate it. i planned on him recording a guitar solo, but he said he likes the synth solo. i'm currently writing a song where a synth solo would fit much better though, so i'm hoping he'll say that we can have a guitar solo on any more and put the synth solo there. the drummers on his side as well, so at the moment i'm fighting a losing battle, so i'll bear in mind what you say about a dirtier synth sound.

with the guitar sound the way i did it was for each guitar part i recorded two tracks, one clean and one overdriven. then i copied the clean track and used a couple of VSTs that were recommended by basschatters to get a nice crunchy overdriven sound without too much gain, then mixed the 3 different tracks into one guitar part. i've experimented with different ways of recording distorted guitar, and i found that way i got the nicest sound.

[quote name='skankdelvar' post='591351' date='Sep 6 2009, 12:57 PM'][b]End Of The World[/b]: Not the strongest of the three songs - doesn't really take you guys anywhere. It's a sequence of good riffs, but they need tieing into a more developed framework. The staccato verse parts could be even choppier and tighter to the beat, in order to contrast with the section where you open up.

Guitar solo sounds a bit 'uncertain' - both execution and sound - sorry. Nice slippery bass solo, but might be even more relevant over a more relaxed beat in a different song (!) Also, loads of songs have the words "End of the World" in the title. Maybe change it to something else.

Overall, that's some really good work there, Tait. Sounds like a proper band working up some good stuff.[/quote]

its funny you should say that, i've had people (non musicians, admittedly) tell me end of the world is their favourite! i just guess its different tastes.

sorry, i don't understand what you mean by a more developed framework.

i completely agree with the verses, they coud be much tighter. i think we were having a bad day when we recorded that one. i also think the choruses need to be heavier guitars, they just don't sound dirty enough for my liking. i don't know what its missing, but to me the choruses sound like they're missing something.

my guitarist said the same about the guitar solo, we plan on recording it again with one long guitar solo rather than a short one from our rythm guitarist, a bass solo then a solo from the lead guitarist. we think it'll sound better that way.

and just don't get me started on the title or lyrics to end of the world. i hate them, sooo much its unbelieveable. but i've been outvoted when i suggested rewriting the lyrics, its the first song we ever wrote as a band and it wouldnt be right to change it apparently.

thanks for the comments anyway, its really appreciated you taking the time to have a listen and letting me know what you think!

[skankdelvar]

[quote name='Tait' post='591441' date='Sep 6 2009, 03:03 PM']i think it sounds like a completely different band, too (the different singer doesn't help), but i like that, i hate it when you hear a band where all the songs sound the same.[/quote]
I think it's a good thing too. Re: the OD guitar sound - I'm listening on crappy PC speakers atm, which probably doesn't help. Like I said, your tone's comparable to many pro bands' tone, so clearly you're getting close.
[quote name='Tait' post='591441' date='Sep 6 2009, 03:03 PM']sorry, i don't understand what you mean by a more developed framework.[/quote]
Yeah, on reflection, that was a bit vague. I s'pose I mean something like - the individual parts of the song seem to be more than the sum of the whole. Each section sounds good in itself, but afterwards, it was difficult to remember what the song sounded like in it's entirety. With the other two, there seemed to be more unity. Apologies, this all sounds very nitpicky, but I'm critting this like I would a label release. As you say, it's a taste thing.
[quote name='Tait' post='591441' date='Sep 6 2009, 03:03 PM']i don't know what its missing, but to me the choruses sound like they're missing something.[/quote]
Something else that will often help to big up parts is to record one gtr part with the chords played in one position, and another with the chords played elsewhere on the neck, in order to get different voicings. Truth be told, I've tried using a capo and it works. The shame!

[Tait]

[quote name='skankdelvar' post='591585' date='Sep 6 2009, 07:09 PM']Yeah, on reflection, that was a bit vague. I s'pose I mean something like - the individual parts of the song seem to be more than the sum of the whole. Each section sounds good in itself, but afterwards, it was difficult to remember what the song sounded like in it's entirety. With the other two, there seemed to be more unity. Apologies, this all sounds very nitpicky, but I'm critting this like I would a label release. As you say, it's a taste thing.[/quote]

right, i think i understand. do you mean it doesn't really sound like one song, but more like different bits put together?

[quote name='skankdelvar' post='591585' date='Sep 6 2009, 07:09 PM']Something else that will often help to big up parts is to record one gtr part with the chords played in one position, and another with the chords played elsewhere on the neck, in order to get different voicings. Truth be told, I've tried using a capo and it works. The shame![/quote]

i'll give that a go then, thanks!

[skankdelvar]

[quote name='Tait' post='591675' date='Sep 6 2009, 08:58 PM']right, i think i understand. do you mean it doesn't really sound like one song, but more like different bits put together?[/quote]

That's it! - er - Just an opinion, no offence intended

[Tait]

[quote name='skankdelvar' post='591764' date='Sep 6 2009, 10:41 PM']That's it! - er - Just an opinion, no offence intended [/quote]

none taken! but that was kind of the aim, we wanted the verse and chorus to be very different, so we've got one where you've got chords strummed and just held for the bar, and in half time, then we've got one where you've got it tight and short, playing and stopping.

[skankdelvar]

[quote name='Tait' post='591796' date='Sep 6 2009, 11:24 PM']none taken! but that was kind of the aim, we wanted the verse and chorus to be very different, so we've got one where you've got chords strummed and just held for the bar, and in half time, then we've got one where you've got it tight and short, playing and stopping.[/quote]

Right, understand now. It's good to challenge expectations. I'll go back and have another earwig.

[Tait]

[quote name='skankdelvar' post='592616' date='Sep 8 2009, 02:11 AM']Right, understand now. It's good to challenge expectations. I'll go back and have another earwig.[/quote]

it isn't the tightest of our recordings tbh, that probably doesn't help.

[skankdelvar]

Y'know, given that no-one else has come on here (yet) we could have done all of this by PM

Edited September 8, 2009 by skankdelvar