Jesus Wrote a Blank Check

[dcase]

Hello All,

I've been lurking for a while and I thought I'd finally post. Here's a mixdown of one of our first recordings in our new diy studio. I had intended to do something different on the intro and maybe a fade out at the end, but didn't get to it. Here it is as we recorded it.

Any feedback is appreciated!

BlankCheck6_eq.mp3

Thanks,
-d

p.s. Total noob question, but how do I get the inline mp3 player to show up in my post?

[jjb]

I'd bring down the drums a bit. I liked the first guitar solo until the end; it just sort of sat there. And at the end, it sounds like you didn't cut the mix soon enough (I could hear some background noise and stuff).

jjb

[Bigduggieface]

I love it! Great effort. Lovely composition, performance and recording.

When the song started, my first impression was that I was listening to a simple country/rockabilly song of standard structure. I was very happy and surprised to hear the song develop into a complex melodic piece and I was hanging on every note. I'm no expert on this genre of music, but I detect a bit of a European/folk influence here that works well.

On the critical side, the mix is a bit disconcerting with the superdry acoustic in the left channel and the greasy, distant, slapback guitar in the right channel. Perhaps you could get the mix to gel a bit more cohesively. Individually, I can make out all of the parts, but I think you could make them work together better.

Don't be afraid to turn up that bass! I hear a lot of crash cymbals, but the bass sounds like it's being played down the hall.

I was intrigued by the introduction of the background voices at the 1:47 point. Too bad they are hardly audible. I'd love to hear you elaborate on them. This part of the song very interestingly moves into the minor-key tonality that sells the composition.

Finally, the outro instrumental guitar solo left me a bit disappointed. Seemed like an improvised, off-the-cuff performance. A more focused and deliberate melody would be welcomed.

I'm dwelling on the negative points here, but overall I really dig the tune! I look forward to hearing more of your stuff!

[Bigduggieface]

Originally Posted by dcase

how do I get the inline mp3 player to show up in my post?

Check out the explanation that Brandon gives about HOW TO ATTACH A SONG TO A THREAD.

[dcase]

Thanks jjb and bigdug.

I agree the drums and crashes are up too much and the bass doesn't cut through.

The acoutstic on the left is actually a ukulele, and it has been difficult to get it to sit in the mix properly. It is kind of a delicate sound that seems to either get buried in the background or poke through too sharply, depending on the mix. There's also some pick noise from the uke that provides an interesting rythm, but too much and it gets distracting.

The background vocals had me worried that they sounded too much like a drunken frat party sing-a-long (which our rehersals often seem like,) but I think you're right that they can come up some.

And while I'd love to claim the song as our own, it's an older one by the band Cake. We've got a bunch of originals I'll be posting as we get them mixed.

Thanks again - the comments are very helpful.