New song "Not This Time"

[firefly]

Here is a song I recorded using just MTS. http://soundclick.com/share?songid=9131253 called Not This Time.

Hopefully, I posted this address correctly. Anyway, give it a listen and let me know what you think of the mix, etc... still learning ....

[Badfinger]

Cool, nice tune!

I thought it was a right fine mix, perhaps the drums could have had a tiny bit more oompf, but it's strictly personal taste on my part. Nice open sound, I liked it.

Randal

[Saz]

Overall - nice job! Cool guitar work!

Besides correcting a few "off" vocal notes, here's some things my ears wouldn't mind hearing differently...

- a less busy and less apparent HiHat*

- the same "spread" on all the backing vocals

- the song ending on the last "reversed guitar" note

* a way to check levels for things that can stand out too much in a mix, is to listen at a very low(close to off) volume with fresh ears.

[firefly]

Thanks for listening guys....as you can tell, I'm still learning. But I do enjoy it and I appreciate "your ears."

[Smurf]

The only thing I hear that I am not hip on is the HiHat....was it used for a metronome tracks? I ask because it is playing over all the changes & drum rolls.

I like the tune, it is a good one!

[firefly]

Hey Smurf - thanks for listening. The hi-hat is something that's consistently been identified as a "problem," I guess you would say.

I guess it is the result of a "non-drummer" attempting to program what he things a "real drummer" would be playing at that part. Being a "non-drummer," it seemed like a good idea at the time if you know what I mean...

[Smurf]

Fully understand! I am bad about stuff like that because I was a drummer for almost 4 decades, until health reasons shut me down. Now I am software bound but hoping to build some triggers in the future so I can at least get parts down that I want to hear, not what the loops allow!

[firefly]

I think I will take all these suggestions and try to go back, remix and then re-post the song. Drop the hi-hat in the bridge, pan the vocals a bit more evenly, and add a little "umph" to the drums. It's hard for a non-drummer to figure out how or what a real drummer would play. I guess I place in the song what I think I would do if I could play drums...

[Smurf]

There are a few things to watch out for when creating a drum track...

1. Remember that a drummer only has 2 hands & 2 feet (tho some seem to have more at times

2 Allow some "breathing room" in between the hits, for example, if you have just hit a Crash cymbal & are heading back to the HH, allow a beat of space in between the hits so the crash can rig out. Don't play the Ride, Crash, or HH ON THE SAME BEAT. Hit the Crash by itself, leave the "AND" or even the "One" of the count open before hitting the HH. This will give the illusion of time, which a real drummer takes to get from Point A to Point B. This also applies to most of the other parts of the kit also.

3. Balance the frequencies. If you have a Tambourine & HiHat going thru the same part, pan the 2 side to side. It does not have to be like 8:00 & 4:00, but at least 11:00 & 1:00

4. Pick a perspective & keep it! I hear so many tracks that have the drums panned from the drummer perspective for the Verse (if Right Handed, HH-Snare slightly Left, tom's Hi to Low Left to Right, Crash Cymbal on Left, Ride Cymbal on Right) to the audience perspective on the Chorus & Leads (opposite of the above). It gets a little disorienting for the listener when the drum roll that just went L-R now goes R-L.

The pattern itself is not bad in your tune, really! I would play something's different, but then so would most other folks.

And my Disclaimer....


This is all an IMHO post! EVERYONE will do it different, this is what works for me!


Ok, after all that, I hope this helps!

[firefly]

Appreciate the information...I've got to think about some of this although it appears to make sense. Being a non-drummer, it helps to have the perspective of a drummer. I use an Alesis SR 16 which, fortunately or unfortunately, makes the "impossible possible" for us non-drummers.

As guitar players, we never "trusted" drummers because we always thought that all that "beating on the skins" might have "shook something loose" up in the head, if you know what I mean....

Just kidding...I'm hoping to remix this song in the next few days making some of the changes suggested by others here and will repost it. I would be anxious to see if the changes make it "more palatable."

But then, you can't make a "purse out of a sow's ear," right?

[Smurf]

I wouldn't call your tune or performance a "sows ear" by a LONG shot!

I had the HR-16 for years, and there was a way in the grid to turn beats on & off. I'm not sure about the SR-16, I have only used it a few times.

[Smurf]

As a side note, do ya realize that your tune reached #5 in the sub charts!

[firefly]

Thanks, Smurf - I appreciate the encouragement.

Well, I remixed it and reposted it. Here is the link: http://soundclick.com/share?songid=9148024

I attempted to drop the hihat in the bridge. Unfortunately, because of a variety of reasons and a little carelessness, I recorded the drums all on one track and could not go to the "hi-hat track" to drop the volume. So, I attempted to use the MTS compressor on the drums with an EQ in the sidechain to drop the 12K band when it came to the bridge. I think it is less noticeable.

Also, I "kicked up" the kick drum by about 0.8 db, hopefully corrected a few out of tune notes (at least they are better I think), and attempted to fix some panning issues with the vocals. Luckily for me, this is fairly easy with MTS.

I deleted the previous version of the song and so hopefully the new version is the only one available. Of course, when I deleted it, I probably lost all the tracking info as well.

Oh well, give it a listen and see if the new version is better - again, I welcome all comments.

[Smurf]

Even tho it dropped out some clarity to my ear, that seemed to take the HH down to a decent level.....good job!

[firefly]

Yeah, after listening to it I see that some of the clarity was lost, too. So, I went back and added a little "clarity." I re-posted it on Soundclick. Perhaps it's a little better.

If you want to hear it, just click: http://soundclick.com/share?songid=9148024 and there it is.

Thanks for listening