"A Little Bit"

[Barry Seymour]

Same thing here - new to Cakewalk, this was my first recording. Seeking constructive criticism on the recording.

EDIT: Updated mix as of April 1st.

A Little Bit

Thanks!

Edited April 2, 2020 by Barry Seymour

[Barry Seymour]

Anyone?

[Hidden Symmetry]

I'm listening on Laptop but it I can't hear anything way out of whack.. good tune, vocals & guitar. Enjoyed it.

[DeeringAmps]

Barry, I'm going to compare and contrast a little bit here. Both your tunes are first rate.
Background Roar is way more sonically (maybe that's not a word, but you get the picture) sophisticated.
A Little Bit is a lot just centered, and stripped right down, nothing wrong with stripped down, but:
The kit, to my ears, isn't "pleasant", nothing like the drum track in Roar: where's the hat, cymbals? And that snare (ouch).
If you're going to stay with that single rhythm guitar, I'd double it, and pan each hard right and left; open up that middle a bit.
The bass sounds a bit too Jack Bruce to me, I love my Marshalls, but the SVT rules the planet for bass.
If "growly" is what you want, more power to ya; I get it!
When those background vocals hit, that's all I can hear. Pan those bad boys wide, open up the middle for that lead vocal.
As I said above, this is top notch songwriting. This is a "rough" demo, which is good; get it down.
That's the 10% that is creativity, now for the 90% sweat equity making the record.

Roar should be a blueprint for moving forward...

t

[Barry Seymour]

2 hours ago, DeeringAmps said:

Barry, I'm going to compare and contrast a little bit here. Both your tunes are first rate.
Background Roar is way more sonically (maybe that's not a word, but you get the picture) sophisticated.
A Little Bit is a lot just centered, and stripped right down, nothing wrong with stripped down, but:
The kit, to my ears, isn't "pleasant", nothing like the drum track in Roar: where's the hat, cymbals? And that snare (ouch).
If you're going to stay with that single rhythm guitar, I'd double it, and pan each hard right and left; open up that middle a bit.
The bass sounds a bit too Jack Bruce to me, I love my Marshalls, but the SVT rules the planet for bass.
If "growly" is what you want, more power to ya; I get it!
When those background vocals hit, that's all I can hear. Pan those bad boys wide, open up the middle for that lead vocal.
As I said above, this is top notch songwriting. This is a "rough" demo, which is good; get it down.
That's the 10% that is creativity, now for the 90% sweat equity making the record.

Roar should be a blueprint for moving forward...

t

Excellent advice, I'll look at it.

• The kit: Just the stock drum set, but I adjusted the EQ with the Pro Channel. "Roar" is big and boomy, but this should be tight. (I was thinking the drum kit in Steely Dan's "Time Out Of Mind.") How do you recommend I change it?
• Rhythm Guitar: I have an acoustic guitar come in on the second verse; both are panned to different sides. Sounds like that's not enough.
• Bass: This was my first recording; I recorded bass through a Boss compressor pedal. To fix that, I'll re-record the bass. (What's 'SVT?')
• Background vocals: I agree, they just take over everything. Good pointers on how to mix those. I already have those on a separate bus. I'll work on it.

THANK YOU.

[DeeringAmps]

2 hours ago, Barry Seymour said:

(What's 'SVT?')

An Ampeg SVT, Super Valve Technology.
In the day I considered my 100 watt plexi stack to be "1 volume unit".
The SVT was likewise, 1 volume unit.

Somehow I missed the acoustic coming in...

t

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ampeg_SVT

[David Sprouse]

I can't comment on the production, but thought lyrics were first rate.  I get a guilty pleasure out of the trouble my friends have been in as well.  

Edited April 2, 2020 by David Sprouse

[Barry Seymour]

New mix. Harmony vocals are better integrated, spread out.  Boosted the bass. (Didn't have the time or heart to re-record that,  although it's still on the table.) The rhythm guitar parts are separated a little better.

In some ways it's better, in other ways, not sure.

https://soundcloud.com/barry-seymour/a-little-bit

 

[PhonoBrainer]

Steely Dan leaps to mind, and the lyrics make that happen bigtime. If you can pop for a better drum sampler, I'd recommend Superior Drummer 3. It's pretty great for what you are trying to do musically here. 

Loved the guitar, both rhythm pickin' and the lead.

Those drums really need work, but the vocals are nice and clear, the guitars are very solid indeed!

 

Welcome to the Struggle, it is Real! Glad to hear your tunes . . .

cheers,

-Tom

[Barry Seymour]

On 4/3/2020 at 12:02 PM, emeraldsoul said:

Steely Dan leaps to mind, and the lyrics make that happen bigtime. If you can pop for a better drum sampler, I'd recommend Superior Drummer 3. It's pretty great for what you are trying to do musically here. 

Loved the guitar, both rhythm pickin' and the lead.

Those drums really need work, but the vocals are nice and clear, the guitars are very solid indeed!

 

Welcome to the Struggle, it is Real! Glad to hear your tunes . . .

cheers,

-Tom

Thanks for the kind words. I'm pretty sure there's away to just drop another kit in there while keeping the same part, but I'm not quite sure how yet. I'm also struggling with how to actually compose / modify drum parts. Learning curve...