razze06 Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 (edited) I play in a covers band called Not Dead Yet. We're getting gigs, but want to get more and better ones. In order to help us with that, we invested a little of our band money in a full day of studio time. As this is meant as a promotional recording, we decided to do a live recording, to try and capture a bit of that feeling. Every song you hear is recorded live, and most of them are first takes. Only a couple of solos and backing vocals are overdubbed. All was recorded, mixed and mastered in about 9 hours Please have a listen and comment, anything you have to say is welcome! [url="https://soundcloud.com/marco-razeto/sets/not-dead-yet-demo-jan-2014"]https://soundcloud.c...t-demo-jan-2014[/url] Edited January 20, 2014 by razze06 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charic Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 Just having a listen to the very first song, sounded great mate! The one thing I would say that starting the very first song with just "plodding" bass did sound suspiciously like someone demoing a bass and if I didn't know a song was coming I would probably have shut it off before the song actually started. That's not a criticism of your playing in any way btw mate! I just think the first should be a little bit more "HERE WE ARE" from the very start. If they stick around then awesome! I'd probably start off with Long Train Running instead of Black & Gold personally All IMHO etc obviously Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
razze06 Posted January 20, 2014 Author Share Posted January 20, 2014 [quote name='charic' timestamp='1390225519' post='2342762'] Just having a listen to the very first song, sounded great mate! The one thing I would say that starting the very first song with just "plodding" bass did sound suspiciously like someone demoing a bass and if I didn't know a song was coming I would probably have shut it off before the song actually started. That's not a criticism of your playing in any way btw mate! I just think the first should be a little bit more "HERE WE ARE" from the very start. If they stick around then awesome! I'd probably start off with Long Train Running instead of Black & Gold personally All IMHO etc obviously [/quote] Got it, good shout. I'll just change the order on soundcloud. Thanks for the praise! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 Nice playing, convincing vocals; well done, all. Good points..? Yes; if you play like this 'live', then you're not cheating the audience. The repertoire is a bit 'idiom', but if that's your 'niche', at least you're doing it properly. Less good points..? 'Live', yes, but without an audience. The ambience is not portrayed by all those little background sounds, and your playing is less energetic than before a crowd (at least, it sounds that way...). I'm not totally in love with the drums, either. Mostly the sound (you've done well, but far from the 'quality' of the other instruments and voice...); it gives the impression of 'dragging' quite a bit. Not enough 'sparkle' ([i]didn't the desk have a 'sparkle' knob to turn..?[/i] ); a bit dull and uninteresting. I don't want to sound too harsh, so don't go giving the drummer the heave..! It's not that it's bad, but the rest is well recorded and there's a contrast (to me, but I'm notoriously deaf..!). Altogether a fine rendering of a fine band. As a demo, you may be justly proud of doing so well in such a short time. If you can keep all that, but find a way of adding a bit of 'zing', it'd be improved still more. Congratulations to all involved. Just my tuppence-worth; hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
razze06 Posted January 20, 2014 Author Share Posted January 20, 2014 To Dad3353: First of all, thanks for the critique, that's exactly what i'm after. In terms of song selection, we picked an mixed to show the various styles we play. What do you mean by "idiom"? I'm not I understand. We have some recordings of us playing live in front of an audience, but the quality is nowhere near as good. We could set up a proper live recording, but that would cost us much more effort and money than we are prepared to invest I understand what you say about the drums. I think it's largely due to two factors: the drumkit is a 70's Ludwig kit, so perhaps it doesn't have the sound you expect from a modern kit, and this was the first time our drummer used it. No much time to become familiar with it, so perhaps his drumming was a little more restrained that it would normally be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 (edited) [quote name='razze06' timestamp='1390232000' post='2342891'] To Dad3353: First of all, thanks for the critique, that's exactly what i'm after... [/quote] Ouf..! That's a relief; it's delicate to 'criticise' without causing offence. [quote name='razze06' timestamp='1390232000' post='2342891']...In terms of song selection, we picked an mixed to show the various styles we play. What do you mean by "idiom"? I'm not I understand...[/quote] "Idiom"..? Style, genre... You're doing old-school R&B, Tina Turner and the like. You're not doing David Bowie 'Berlin' period. That's all. Nothing wrong with that, you're doing it well. A brass section would help, but your keys cover that ground. [quote name='razze06' timestamp='1390232000' post='2342891']...We have some recordings of us playing live in front of an audience, but the quality is nowhere near as good. We could set up a proper live recording, but that would cost us much more effort and money than we are prepared to invest ...[/quote] In that case, you can appreciate the difference in 'ambiance'. The 'absolute' quality may be lower, and perhaps unacceptable for demoing, but that's what makes a 'live' take so different. Is there no way of introducing something of that 'vibe'..? Maybe not. Not all of my ideas are good ones..! [quote name='razze06' timestamp='1390232000' post='2342891']...I understand what you say about the drums. I think it's largely due to two factors: the drumkit is a 70's Ludwig kit, so perhaps it doesn't have the sound you expect from a modern kit, and this was the first time our drummer used it. No much time to become familiar with it, so perhaps his drumming was a little more restrained that it would normally be.[/quote] You'd be hard pushed to find a more 'old-school drums' drummer than myself..! '70s..? "Ah, yes, I remember it well", as the song goes. My own kit is a '70s Camco, which combines the power of a Ludwig with the tone of a Gretsch. Recording to capture the tone is, indeed, quite a job, and cannot really be improvised. I'll insist; there's no complaint regarding the drums or drumming, but they're not being 'show-cased' at their best. It may have been a better plan (too late now, though...) to have used your drummer's kit..? Just take me as being that grumpy ol' deaf bloke that wouldn't recognise quality if it struck 'im on the forehead..! I hope others chime in here with other appreciations. You're doing fine, folks, just ignore my ramblings... Edited January 20, 2014 by Dad3353 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoonBassAlpha Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 Ok, I'll chip in if I may. I listened to l.t.r and black and gold, and I think most of the problem IS the drums. In l.t.r. the bass drum stops during all the fills an breaks up the feel or lock with the bass. In b+g the bass is right on top of the beat pushing it and the drums are slightly back of it. At the start the hihat pattern sounds in that odd no mans land between straight eights and a dotted feel. The playing and singing is good, I suspect the monitoring during recording isolated you and the drums and lost the lock at times. I really hope you take the comments as trying to help, as they do read a bit harsh! All the best, Jules Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skankdelvar Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 (edited) Nice band, flavoursome bass and a [i]very[/i] good singer. Well recorded, all good stuff and remarkable that you managed to get all that down in one day. Suggestion: Like it or not, the busy people generally listen to the first thirty seconds and fast forward. And they probably won't listen to all of the songs unless the first two or three really knock them out. So if some of your target punters are only going to listen to the first thirty secs of the first 2 or 3 songs it's imperative you get your absolutely best stuff up first. That's not to say any of it is [i]bad[/i] because it's all good. But some songs are always going to be stronger than others. Perhaps you could re-order your soundcloud clips again (sorry ) to get the (*IMO*) strongest songs first. Nutbush > Don't Stop > Take me to the River > Jealous > Black Gold > Long Train This gives you a mix of tempos while back-ending the tracks where your drummer exhibits a touch of reticence. If - on reflection - there are tracks that some of the band really aren't happy with, there's no law that says everything you recorded has to go up there. 5 songs is no worse than 6 songs if the target market doesn't know there were 6 songs to start with Finally, if you have hold of the masters in an editable format, you could copy the tracks and edit (then cross-fade) each song's hook / chorus into a one minute compilation to give you a 'best of the best bits'. Bit like the album ads on the telly. We did this in one band I was in and any number of landlords responded favourably. In any event, they're demos you should be proud of. Good luck with those gigs! Edited January 21, 2014 by skankdelvar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
razze06 Posted January 20, 2014 Author Share Posted January 20, 2014 Thank you all for your responses and critique. All is very welcome. Will try and act upon the suggestions. Keep them coming! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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