Porcelain

[avb]

This is a sample of a song I've been working on.

I am working on the drums... I want to keep it simple but not too simple. So I'm not sure if I should use the drums that start at :40 (they have more fills etc.) or should I replace those with the drums at 2:34 which really has no fills at all and little closed high-hat.

I know there are some timing issues etc... I'll sort those out after my drums are worked out.

Thanks in advance for any feedback or thoughts.

[awaken1]

I like the riff, kinda has a pumkins nirvana vibe to it..really like the guitar tone and whats going on at the end..as for the drums.. just an opinion, I think you could come up with a pattern or beat that fits what the guitar is doing better.. something that compliments the guitar. something to make it flow better..if I had to pick between :40 and 2:34 I'd chose the latter..maybe not so much bass drum going on..

[avb]

awaken1,

Thanks for the comments.

Writing good drums is always difficult. I tend to over-use the bass drum often. It's partially because the Cubase HalionOne drums lack a good assortment and because I tend to want my songs to sound heavy so I always incorporate some kind of double bass.

[oldmusicguy]

I agree with awaken... although you didn't ask... I'll put my 2 cents in on the song too. The opening theme could use something more than just the guitar playing it soft... then loud... a bunch of times. I think it's a nice hook, but could use some more development. Maybe a very clean sound on the guitar and working into the distortion, using single notes first and working into the chord. A little bit of a melody line that leads into the dynamic part... just thinking out loud. (And of course... it just a matter of taste.)

[avb]

oldmusicguy,

Thank you for the reply.

I didn't specifically state I wanted your two cents although most should assume it's already implied hence the forum title "Bash This Recording" lol

I expect some form of critiscm on this forum, anything less and I'd be dissapointed. I always appreciate comments, bashings, (the occasional tomato thrown) etc...

I already changed the drums around a fair bit but have yet to complete it. I'll repost when I have more. Need to add some vocals after I buy an adapter. This week has been HELL so I have had no time to do anything musically. Thanks again!

[willjrockstar]

I like the riff. Drums sound boxy and the cymbals sound trashy.

[avb]

Willjrockstar,

Thanks for the reply....

I haven't attempted to alter the sound of the drums yet... they are just Cubase LE's VST Drums. And yeah... they suck but for me just having drums has been really cool.

I usually mess with the drum sound after they are written. I have yet though to produce a good cymbal sound from that VST plugin. Gotta save my $$$ to get a decent program or find a drummer with mics and a mixer so we can record!

[rca33]

Maybe this is strange, but the first thing I would do is trying to make the drums sound better. Even with the kit that you’re using, you can improve a lot by doing EQ, Reverb, etc.
If you have a more realistic drum sound, I believe that you will “feel” what the song is asking (drum wise).

I like the riff, but it’s hard to understand what you are trying to do with it as I don’t know where the vocals come in.

But I think it would be nice if you introduce some changes in the guitar (or other elements) as the song grows up.

[avb]

rca33,

Thanks for the suggestions... I totally understand what you mean about the drums. A good sound of any instrument can greatly inspire. I was just holding off on tweaking the drums this time until I got the pattern down. I usually do it the other way around but I'm still very new to recording so I'm not proficient or very good at it. I should probably save my EQ presets so it's an easy correction in the future.