Debut album - performance/producticion/writing critiques welcome!

skitzigol · November 2017

Hi all,

My debut album has just been released and I would welcome any comments, good and bad, in the composition, production and performance.

Ten tracks of DIY punkish-noisy-guitar-pop recorded at home in Logic. All guitars and bass DI’d through a Focusrite Scarlett and recorded/mixed within the box.

Cheers!

Tj.

SevenBow · November 2017

Where?

skitzigol · November 2017

https://jigsawrecords.bandcamp.com/album/pzl133-cracked-actors-one-act-plays

skitzigol · November 2017

Trust me to forget the link!

spark240 · November 2017

First track listen....guitar too loud, vocal too quite and doesnt cut through....2nd track just started...same thing, are you the guitar player and engineer by chance ;-)

Im guessing this hasn't been mastered professionally?

Track 3 on now.....I like the general vibe, quickfire upbeat stuff......

Track 4.....I cant past the mix being how it is, I really want the vox to be up front.

Track 5 - see Im giving it a go !......vocal lost !....

Got to go now, great effort though, maybe try posting a link the the stems so we can have a go at a remix ;-)

Stuckfast · November 2017

Nice energy and the guitar sounds are perfect for the style. Agree that the vocals could be a bit more up front on some of the tracks. I think the overall sound is also a bit too thin and splashy in places, eg on song 3 -- too much 5kHz and not enough lower down the mid range.

skitzigol · November 2017

@spark240 and @Stuckfast - - - thanks a bundle for taking the time to listen and offer up your advice. It's great to get some feedback!

To give a little more background, this was my first venture into the world of DAW recording and mixing having previously done everything on an old 8-track Tascam unit. Composition-wise, I pulled together a set of short and fast songs I had written over the years that ranged from some brand new material to what was my very first stab at writing a song from 20 years ago (track 3), albeit with new lyrics and a slight arrangement change... if a three-chord song really has an arrangement

! I'm forever starting things and leaving them unfinished, so my goal with this album was to keep everything as simple as possible and see if I could finally come out with a finished project that would give me the opportunity to learn the DAW as I went along.

I don't have any engineering training, but enjoy reading about engineering and production in Sound On Sound and the like. The creative process is what interests me most, and I've come to realize that mixing is very much a part of that. All the guitars and bass parts were recorded through a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 using Logic's amp simulators, with a reliance on pre-sets for much of the plugins when mixing. I didn't record any amp sounds - everything was DI'd. Vocals were through a cheap and cheerful T-Bone SC 300 large diaphragm microphone (£30 at Thomann!) in my untreated bedroom. Once I was happy with a mix, I exported the song as a wave file then put it back into Logic and used the mastering plugin for a bit of EQ and loudness. I didn't really do much extra at this stage other than a multi-pressor and stereo-widening.

In terms of performance, I actually recorded and played everything myself, with the drums courtesy of Logic's very helpful drummer option. I do dabble in drums and I have an electronic kit, but thought I'd keep this project simple and save the headaches of quantizing my loose-limbed playing for the next album! I'm not a vocalist and never have been. In fact, I've always been very self-conscious about any singing, even karaoke or backing vocals in my old bands. I tried to find someone who might be keen to do the vocals but realized that, actually, the best thing I could do was get over my fear and do it myself. I know they aren't particularly strong, but it has definitely given me a lot more confidence. I consciously tried to bury the vocals in the mix because they are the weakest part of the songs.

Once it was done, I contacted a couple of labels whose stuff I listen to online and heard back from Jigsaw Records, a tiny shop/label in Seattle who agreed to put it out. I'm really happy that I finally got something done and have my record up on the streaming sites and available on CD... so that goal has been realized. I'm also pleased that I've learned quite a bit from the process and am still learning now through your comments. Two big areas for me to follow-up and address on my second album will be:

Be braver with the levels of my vocals and make them more of a focal point - maybe take more time over recording them.. layering/background vocals etc
Learn more about EQing and how to bring out certain parts in a mix, especially mid and low range. Hi and low pass filters are on my lesson plan!
Be more adventurous in arrangements and writing choices.

Finally, thanks again for your input! I'll pop the stems up over the weekend, so if you are bored and fancy a go at remixing (most songs have about 6 tracks!) then that could be fun.

Tj.

spark240 · November 2017

Dude, I would suggest that the mixes you have recorded would see a significant improvement using a pro mastering engineer, in fact even though its a little late, personally I wouldn't put anything out unless its been mastered properly, there is just too much competition and yours needs to have the best sound possible and its not expensive..

Can I ask if you have embedded the IRSC codes and so on for copyright and to protect any royalties you might receive?

LuttiS · November 2017

Yep, vocals too quiet first thing i noticed, overall though i liked it. Good job, bit of proper mixing all that's needed.

skitzigol · November 2017

@spark240 - perhaps for the next one I'll look at a pro for the mastering as for this I was trying to do everything myself so I could get to know Logic Pro X. I believe the label has taken care of all the codes before putting it on all the streaming sites.

@LuttiS - thanks for the comment! I'll definitely be working on my mixing skills and maybe even outsource it for album number two!

Freebird · November 2017

Regarding the vocals, what monitoring setup were you using while mixing?

skitzigol · November 2017

I was using headphones to get a rough mix - a pair of iPhone plugs - then would listen back on a pair of Mackie CR4s which tend to be quite bass heavy. Not exactly pro-level, I know! Also, I did choose to bury the vocals somewhat as it was my first time singing and wasn’t confident in them.

Teetonetal · November 2017

Had a listen. Agree with above regarding vocals. Like it or not voices tend to drive songs and be the bit that needs to shine. But I know where your coming from. I also don't feel I'm a singer so naturally spend more time on guitar.

Gets the point across and I imagine you learnt a lot doing it.

I have to mix on headphones. Again not ideal. The trick is to listen on as many devices as possible after mixing. Take notes then make subtle changes.

That said, these days lots of music is consumed on headphones, so if it sounds good there, you are probably winning.

skitzigol · November 2017

@Teetonetal - Yes, I definitely learned a lot during the process, which was on of my goals! I'll definitely take more time over the mixing of the next one, maybe posting a few rough mixes on here for suggestions.

spark240 · November 2017

Check out Landr for some free mastering checks, not the best but people seem to use it.

Freebird · November 2017

Teetonetal said:

That said, these days lots of music is consumed on headphones, so if it sounds good there, you are probably winning.

If music is mixed and mastered properly with decent monitors, it will sound good on all types of headphones and all kinds of speakers. If you are working with coloured monitors it will only sound good on that setup, as you will be compensating for their shortfall.

skitzigol · November 2017

I got some cheap active speakers for a work project that have since become my monitors as they do the trick of hooking up to my record deck and I can stream music across. However, they are quite bass-heavy. I have seen a few graphic EQ apps for Macs which allow me to get a flat response, but it's very fiddly and I have to load it up every time! Any recommendations for budget monitors that will give a nice, flat EQ? £300 tops.

Jez6345789 · November 2017

Hi great job as someone who learnt pretty much mixing and stuff from SOS over the years and fiddling its a good first attempt from a technical point of view.

i agree with the comments on vocals in the mix being low but your voice does not sound bad in the context of the tunes and style just be fearless.

what I wanted to says was I liked the songs some good stuff there lots of potential. My only criticism is they could do with stronger arrangements give stuff a bit of space even if the genre likes to gallop along. There are some strong hooks in the choruses that are just dying out for a little more arrangement or production to make for a more powerful memorable song.

all that said I enjoyed it

look forward to hearing more

thanks

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