RE: Judge this harshly.
August 22, 2016 at 4:25 am
(This post was last modified: August 22, 2016 at 4:43 am by Homeless Nutter.)
All in all - not a bad effort, if not necessarily my kind of music.
I liked the quiet parts, although the vocalist mumbles a bit and falls out of sync with the guitar in the last few bars before the punk-rock explosion. The middle of the song has a huge bass-guitar-shaped hole in it. If you don't have a bass available - you can just record a simple bass-line using a guitar with an octaver, or pitch-shifter, plus some appropriate equalization and compression. A strong, tight bass-line could really bring the track together.
The sound during the loud part is a bit messy, as some people already pointed out, mainly due to guitars and vocals occupying similar frequencies, too much reverb and not enough high frequencies, compression and generally volume on vocals.
Drums - particularly the kick - are a bit too loud at times. Don't go crazy on programmed drum-fills, they always sound kinda fake, especially in contrast with actual live guitars, so try not to bring too much attention to them. You have some guitar skills - emphasize those, to create rhythmical variation instead.
Rhythm guitar is a little claustrophobic in tone, lacks low-mid frequencies and dynamic variety - which is particularly noticeable, due to the lack of bass. You could play around with your main riff, play it with different articulations and effects, as the song progresses, to stop the ear from losing interest and to make room for vocals, when needed.
Solo guitar sounds impressive, especially the shredding and the bending, although could use some more melody here and there, for my taste.
Here's a tip, for making your guitars sit better in a mix with vocals - record your rhythm/lead guitar part twice, then pan the tracks hard left and right. That way guitar will sound more "spacey" - like an organic chorus effect - and leave more headroom in the center of the stereo spectrum for other parts, especially the vocals. You can experiment with different EQ and effect settings on each side to make the sound more or less full, just be careful not to mix them too loud, because doubled part means twice the volume of the original. If you're finding the sound too ethereal and lacking in punch - you can pan the tracks closer together, or have one more, louder version in the center - but again be careful with the levels.
I know this is against the instinct of every guitarist EVER, but always make sure to prioritize the vocals. Which is all the more difficult, when your singer mumbles, so tell him to open his mouth more next time...
Anyway - hope that's "harsh" enough...
I liked the quiet parts, although the vocalist mumbles a bit and falls out of sync with the guitar in the last few bars before the punk-rock explosion. The middle of the song has a huge bass-guitar-shaped hole in it. If you don't have a bass available - you can just record a simple bass-line using a guitar with an octaver, or pitch-shifter, plus some appropriate equalization and compression. A strong, tight bass-line could really bring the track together.
The sound during the loud part is a bit messy, as some people already pointed out, mainly due to guitars and vocals occupying similar frequencies, too much reverb and not enough high frequencies, compression and generally volume on vocals.
Drums - particularly the kick - are a bit too loud at times. Don't go crazy on programmed drum-fills, they always sound kinda fake, especially in contrast with actual live guitars, so try not to bring too much attention to them. You have some guitar skills - emphasize those, to create rhythmical variation instead.
Rhythm guitar is a little claustrophobic in tone, lacks low-mid frequencies and dynamic variety - which is particularly noticeable, due to the lack of bass. You could play around with your main riff, play it with different articulations and effects, as the song progresses, to stop the ear from losing interest and to make room for vocals, when needed.
Solo guitar sounds impressive, especially the shredding and the bending, although could use some more melody here and there, for my taste.
Here's a tip, for making your guitars sit better in a mix with vocals - record your rhythm/lead guitar part twice, then pan the tracks hard left and right. That way guitar will sound more "spacey" - like an organic chorus effect - and leave more headroom in the center of the stereo spectrum for other parts, especially the vocals. You can experiment with different EQ and effect settings on each side to make the sound more or less full, just be careful not to mix them too loud, because doubled part means twice the volume of the original. If you're finding the sound too ethereal and lacking in punch - you can pan the tracks closer together, or have one more, louder version in the center - but again be careful with the levels.
I know this is against the instinct of every guitarist EVER, but always make sure to prioritize the vocals. Which is all the more difficult, when your singer mumbles, so tell him to open his mouth more next time...
Anyway - hope that's "harsh" enough...
"The fact that a believer is happier than a skeptic is no more to the point than the fact that a drunken man is happier than a sober one." - George Bernard Shaw
