My new song with help of Airgigs and BandLab

[Slugworth]

I hope this link works https://drive.google.com/file/d/12nMyOdBaIm6RlajpUwPHFB3WH-lD68lD/view?usp=drivesdk

 

[shredd]

I hope this link works

Yup. That one works.
And the mix/master sounds great.

 

[Slugworth]

Thanks Shredd. I feel Mariano did a great job with it too.

I sent him all of the stems for Me Time this morning. He said he might be able to correct my guitar timing on that one in place of rerecording.
Laura's vocal will likely get a slight delay, a bit of reverb and possibly a touch of minimal distortion to see how it sounds. He's going to mix another free demo soon prior to doing a final version. I feel very fortunate how this endeavor has played out so far.

 

[-mjk-]

It's a good tune Nick and I'd like to see it get to full release.

 

[Slugworth]

MJ, Thanks for the positive words. Mariano sent me these two demos about an hour ago. One is with just reverb and delay added to her track. The other on is R/D plus a bit of distortion. I sent her the demos to ask for her input before making a decision. I intend to rerecord my guitar track today and send it to him by tomorrow. I told Mariano to leave in the accidental noise (Ivan's drum stool?) in because it sounds like a swinging gate opening up to the song.
How do the mixes sound so far, please?

https://drive.google.com/file/d/15bjG1kXL-7EWw0XJvgtfcOS2SL6_jHHR/view?usp=sharing

Distortion https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KHphUXutDolygg6vcjN_hNvLbnJleWL6/view?usp=sharing

 

[Slugworth]

Mariano sent me the final mix of Me Time. He applied some effects on guitar, drums and vocals. He added distortion to Laura's vocal on some spots at his own discretion. He edited my guitar track so I didn't need to rerecord. I think he did a great job with it.

Hope the link works https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GCJftOEpqHqarlnfgm2gCPH1KuMZNLKF/view?usp=drivesdk

 

[shredd]

Hope the link works

Link wrx.

Another killer recording. Gr8 tune! An excellent collaboration, you n Ivan & Laura…and good post-production too. Finished product is ossum!

 

[Slugworth]

Shredd. Thanks for listening and providing the positive feedback. A few months ago I couldn't have imagined things could turn out this way. Mariano is working on No Guess now. Laura provided a couple of revisions for it last Saturday. I'll post it here when I get the final version.

 

[-mjk-]

Nothing beats writing and recording your own stuff man. I love success stories.

 

[Stutz]

What a knockout tune. Sounds great and played with feeling and emotion. Look forward to hearing more.

 

[shredd]

A few months ago I couldn't have imagined things could turn out this way

I'm really enjoying your 'journey' - it's inspiring me to explore the use of these remote-based contributors, since I live squarely in the middle of nowhere, and have about as much chance of having collaborative input to my efforts as having Taylor Swift show up at my door in her lingerie.
I recently took @-mjk- 's suggestion and poked around fiverr to find someone to write lyrics to a very old song of mine that writing decent lyrics to has always eluded me. Found lots of "meh" responses, but I actually paid a couple of them to take a crack at it, and got some pretty good stuff.

 

[mixerizer]

That track ‘Me Time’ reminds me of “The Acid Queen” from the WHO’s Tommy. The middle break of course has a nice contrasting Walk on the Wild Side sway. Nicely done to all those involved (writing, performing, editing, mixing, mastering)!

 

[-mjk-]

@shredd, Chat GTP can be a great tool for working with composition. "Give me 50 words/phrases that rhyme with "video"." It can be a great help.

 

[Slugworth]

Thanks Mixerizer. Marciano sent this one to me a few hours ago. Laura hasn't heard it yet, but I think she'll dig it.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HEs7KnwT1eynrNsqaOIEAiEI0ZvKfWMo/view?usp=drivesdk

This one (below) I am asking for a revision to bump Laura's vocals to the same output level as mine. Might drop one her tracks too, but not sure yet. Also, I'm pretty sure he Auto-tuned me up? It would be in everyone's best interest if he did. I'll ask him tomorrow.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HTNFMyA0vdl3bQOTf-DsQm7eszoGSeX9/view?usp=drivesdk

 

[-mjk-]

Nick, the tune is great. I sincerely mean that. I'm starting to hear the common thread though your tunes that puts them in the same family. That is a very good thing for an artist! You want people to know it's you the moment they hear a new tune. Sorry to say, but the mix.... it lacks depth, punch and dynamics so it doesn't do the tune justice. It should really soar in the choruses and pull back down in the verses while being tight and punchy. There just isn't any real movement. The mix needs to breathe like a living thing. The drums are rather flat and not enough punch, particularly on the kick. It sounds like what we could call "a yardstick mix" where all the faders are set at unity and no moves are being made. The low end is not tight, but in all fairness that's the hardest thing to get right. No offense, but you didn't do the mix! I will say that the guitar playing is flawless. Great choice for a guitar tone too. IMO the guitar tone matches the tune perfectly. Whatever you do, don't mess with that, lol!

There's nothing wrong with your voice either man. It has a good, clear and distinctive tone. You just need more experience so you don't hold back when you sing. It takes time to build that confidence so I want to encourage you to give it all you got! Don't let any apparently negative comments discourage you (we're only trying to help you with our comments). These tunes are great, honestly. That's the hard part and you've got that. I've heard so many wonderfully produced ear candy pieces that had no soul or even a style.

Looking forward to hearing the next tune already!

 

[shredd]

RE "No Guess":

OK...going from @-mjk- (resident Yoda) to me (resident Village Idiot): I'm going to agree with MJ on all points.
Another excellent song...but has the flaws aforementioned, for sure - and even I can hear it. And if a soft-brained, half-deaf amateur like me hears it, then yeah, it's probably there.
The GOOD news is that - like MJ said - the 'bones" are there and has the makings of real excellence, on every aspect...and additionally, his pointing this stuff out gives you the ability to tinker with this song, and the mental image/framework within which to craft other already-good songs into awesome recordings like "what you hear in your head" - and blows over everyone that hears!

 

[Mark Richards]

Late to this thread. The songs are coming along nicely Slugworth. There's nothing that I might add to mj's thoughts.

I do have a suggestion that could help identify the songs more easily as the mixes progress.

Rather than pasting the actual cryptic-looking link to your songs in your posts, you can use the real song name instead.
Here's how:
type the name of the song in the text of the post you're creating.
highlight the song name using your mouse.
hover on and click on the "Link" icon that's above when you're creating your post.
paste the URL that you're linking to in the dialog box.
click on "insert".
When you're done, it should look like this in the text of the post once it goes active:
----------------------------------------
Final Mix - Nick and Laura_02
----------------------------------------
Looking forward to hearing more from you.

 

[Slugworth]

Thanks everyone for the great input. MJ, again thank you for your valued critque and complements. Is the song

a good reference of the points you mentioned. Great song by Waylon. The drums are certainly more pronounced in his song compared to ours. Sounds like it has the movement that you referred to as well.
My trusty old thinline telecaster enjoyed it's mark on NG.

 

[shredd]

Oh MY. Thinline Tele?!?

 

[Slugworth]

Shredd. Yes, but not an American made Fender. More like a $50 purchased at a bizarre kit-style tele that someone built. I did swap in Seymour Duncan JB humbuckers in it though. Also it had a setup and fret levelling/polishing professionally done on it soon after I bought it years ago. I've owned many types of guitars throughtout the decades, but if I could only have one it would be a thinline tele with humbuckers. It's very versatile. Raisng the pole pieces on the bridge p/u gets that humbucker pretty close to a single coil sound in the lead position. Nice fat neck tone (pole pieces also raised) and the middle is spanky as well.

I do have a 2009 American made solid body tele, but I don't use it nearly as much as I do the cheapo thinline. I bought this USA made for $450 about 10 years ago from a guy that developed Tinnitus, which I also have since last year. Maybe this guitar is cursed? It was (imo) an ugly bright yellow, so me being the genieous (dumbass) that I am, without considering future resale value, I stripped it down and refinished it. I'll try to link pictures of it later.