In need of a reality check & a frank second opinion.

Father Goose · #1 March 2nd, 2008

Thus far, I’ve only got not-so-good feedback for this cover.

eg. tone sucks & mutilation (?!) …

SoundClick artist: Gooose's OMO - page with MP3 music downloads

Still WIP, I will be adding more riffs to the 2nd part when the ‘vibes’ return.
The uncertainty is, am I wasting my time?

bubbafat · #2 March 3rd, 2008

You're not wasting your time - you're just getting started.

Take this all under the context of "Bubba's opinion" and have a large grain of salt on hand at all times...

Sounds like you've gotten some honest feedback so far - and I have to agree with what you mentioned. The tone could be improved, the guitar is over-powered by the drums and opening sequence, the distortion is over the top (makes it sound like a synth - there is no 'bite' in the chords) and ... this is listed in "Classic Rock" on SoundClick?

But that's all to my taste.

If it were me - I'd adjust the mix by pulling the drums back and pushing the guitar out a little more. I'd also experiment with different methods of distortion. It sounds like you're using a digital effect (amp or pedal switch). But perhaps you'd get a different sound by going to less aggressive effect and cranking the volume instead.

Stylistically it seemed to bleed all over itself. It lacked hard clean power chords that exploded and then muted cleanly. And the guitar really had a synth sound to it.

Remember to write down every change you made and what the affect of the change was. If something brightens the tone and you write down how you did it then later when someone wants something brighter you have a record of how.

I used to spend hours in the studio at school tweaking settings to get a perfect sound and then 12 hours later I'd forget how I did it (and someone else would have mucked things up during their studio time). It felt like the Jack Black song "Tribute" (to the Best Song in the World) - I knew I had done it but I couldn't remember it so all I could do was sing about the experience of forgetting.

Write everything down.

allthumbs · #3 March 3rd, 2008

What Bubba said. Working on a tune is never wasted as long as your learning how to improve your skill. It will carry over to the next project.
Only you can decide if the mechanics of a tune in progress have become so tangled that it is better to start again. Keep at it and the skills will come.

Dewy · #4 March 3rd, 2008

Not a waste as long as your learning from the experience & having fun. you've done well playing all of the parts, but am going to agree the guitar is too overdriven. I like heavy guitar lines, but when you "clip" them too heavily ( distortion) it becomes all midrange and you can't mix it well.

But no worries... sounds like your doing fine!!

starsailor · #5 March 3rd, 2008

No you're not wasting your time Father Goose everything we do is a work in progress and we learn from every experience, if you don't try things out you don't learn it's good to record things and to get people to listen, you've had some great feedback above and it's all helpful. to be honest if the guys that wrote tone sucks and mutilation didn't go on to elaborate and explain why they felt that and give some advice on how to improve then they're about as useful as a chocolate fireguard.

The comments from Dewy, Bubba and allthumbs are much more constructive and helpful which is the way a critique should be, any idiot can give abuse, good on you for doing it and carry on, your doing well

Father Goose · #6 March 4th, 2008

Thank you all for the forthright comments.

If there is such a thing called 'audio-deaf', I've got it then. Cos I've listened to it so many times that I just can't put my finger on what is wrong.

Needed a few discerning listeners to take it apart!!

And now that you mentioned it, the tone does sound 'synth'. And mozzie-like. Well, the ideas are there but the execution is sloppy to say the least.

Anyway, I'm gonna have to sleep over this and decide what to do.
Most probably I'll start everything from scratch, might try a different s/ware, or a different approach ... sigh

79Lespaul · #7 March 5th, 2008

I'm with Dewy in that I like heavy riffs and and chords. To work out a good sound for a song I will start with just plain guitar. If it sounds good then you can move on to the effects....slowly. Start with as little of fuzz, reverb , etc... then work your way up, making recordings along the way helps because it can be a setting you like better being played back than what you hear while playing!
After hearing you play this song I would first try turning the treble to half and the bass to half on the fuzz box . Work with the gain on the amp and volume control when on these settings to start. Your on the right track with a cool metalica sound! Keep up the good work!