time after time [pop-punk / emo cover]

[medals in the chute]

 

 

Hey, y'all.  I'm here to be critiqued.  I just got a new audio-usb interface and I still have a lot to learn.  For one, I accidentally recorded all the vocals on one side and the guitar solo on the other.  Other than that, please help me get better at mixing / arranging / using effects / setting the volumes, etc.  Can you hear all the parts of the song (vocals, rhythm guitar, lead guitar [only when there are no lyrics])?  Are any of the effects over-done, or are there any effects that you think would've improved this song?  I have a lot to learn, but I also learned a lot recording and mixing this song the best I can with my current knowledge, and it was a lot of fun.

[john]

Hey

 

Thanks for sharing.

 

A few observations and suggestions. At a performance level your timing could improve. The lead guitar ambles around with no real sense of purpose... ie it doesn't really build to anything, though it does have some nice sections, especially in the outro.

 

Sound wise the guitars could site better together. Your vocal has a fair amount of room reverb on it (ie from the room you recorded in). As  a tip look to get one of the mic stand mounted "vocal booths" to cur down on room sound. The tone of your rhythm guitar just sounds a bit muffled. Perhaps bring up the high range a little to give it a little more edge. It is easy to add reverb but pretty impossible to remove. All in the mix you could add a small amount of the same reverb to make the tracks all sit with each other a little better.

 

You alsomake up your own vocal melody at points. In some places that works ok, but in others less so. Do you avoid some parts of the melody because of range/vocal strength?

 

Have you tried experimenting with drum loops and a virtual bass? For this kind of music it would really help give it more energy.

 

I hope my comments / suggestions are of some use.

 

Cheers

 

John

[medals in the chute]

Thanks, @john.  I think a drum machine would help me with the rhythm and timing a lot.  Most of the reverb was articial and added during the editing process.  I guess I feel like my vocals are the weak point so I overcompensated with lots of effects.  As for the melody, I was trying to play around with it and find a unique take on it, that worked for me and my range.  Thank you for the listen and the feedback!

[john]

No problem. Depending on your need for a live set up (to a degree), simply programming drums through a DAW would give you plenty flexibilty without it costing too much. You could also look at using drum loops and drum VSTi.