cosmicinfluence

well...you`re hearing it from a player who doesn`t know much about hip hop (even though I sometimes layer the beats with all kinds of genres)..and even less about rap....but sounds to me like the genre has evolved quite a long ways...I`m a musician even though I`ve worked on the production side for longet tnan I`ll admit (tape days)..so I cant help hearing what goes into the backing music..the instruments chosen...the way the mix is structured..and the playing...and this one def sounds like it out in front of the pack guys...Some good ideas from artists who know a lot more about than me..but I would be inclined to bring the vocals up a couple of dBs..they are good.....well done...Ed

I like this man.I can vibe to this.Old school feel for real

hey bro...I really like the backing vocals you got going down here, the track is minimal enough to get away with all these layers.. great chorus too...well written and performed, yeah man, agree with spiv you re improving quickly...keep pushing bro!

Like the vocals crossing the tracks. I thought the idea approached with the instrumental worked for my listen. There is a lift vibe from this track that is strange but good. I see her sitting there looking at memories while on the opposite end you do the same. Vivid idea here and keep up the learning process. There is worth in it. Thanks for sharing. Peace.

I like the intro to the song a lot. This track flowed nicely and yes the old school feel was right on.

Hey this is pretty sweet! I like the sort of old school vibe it represents! Nice style of vocals! You seem to be improving quickly! Pretty smooth!

Man I gotta say that I'm impressed, so you say this is your first attempt at production..well congrats to a job well done.Everyone here is still learning and finding that special sound we can call our own.I'm not qualified to really give you any tips on production but I see already that a lot of people have already, so that's good looking out.Now it's on to the second track...blow it out the water.

Best man at your wedding and now your best man on looperman! haha, bro seriously, you picked the right place, really good to see you here and see the great and useful reviews you have gained already!..keep up the hard work and collabing, looking forward to working with you more. cheers bro!

Hey Graham

This is impressive, with good levels and structure - and a proper song, which is fantastic to hear...

I agree with the others that you need to watch that reverb and bass, and using sends is a good idea, partly as learning to create busses in PT is worth doing (I gave up after 12 years in PT for Reaper, as its lighter and quicker for everything, as well as having free updates and a very helpful community!). The midi editor is a bitch tho, but the pro's far outweigh the con's..:)

However the thing about your music is that you already do the difficult things extremely well - namely the vocal performance and lyric writing, which is far more of an innate art than learning about technicalities, which is just practice...no machinery can give you that!

IMHO it's better to try and leave the master free in terms of plugins (it's a big debate) because it forces you to do a better mix underneath (automation is your friend :) - although we all stick a multiband or finalizer on the out to stop it going over from time to time, I personally try to avoid this as anything on the master will colour the whole track, unless that is an effect you really want (Eric Prydz stylieee or something like tape emulation). I my case, it was usually laziness if I'm honest. If you look after each part, the whole will take care of itself :)

DJ-SLT-UK is completely right about eq (he's a master at this stuff!) - as using eq individually on channels means you can create frequency 'holes' in each part, which then won't fight with each other on the master (each instrument gets its own frequency space, which means it might get it's own treatment in a multiband compressor later in the chain). My personal taste is that eq's are always better employed to take things away, rather than add (i.e. 'cut, don't boost') as boosting using eq is just a machine making stuff up which is isn't there...just my opinion...others will disagree I'm sure :)

5 - 6 mins is fine, but like StaticN says, as long as there is some development in the story, both musically, and in terms of the story that the lyrics are telling us.

You have genuine song writing talent I think, and that can't really be taught. The rest is just practice...so can't wait for the next one my friend!

Cheers for now matey..

Maff

Hello again. Yes, this is no doubt better than Spivkurl's first production and I'm sure it's better than mine.

You've got some pretty decent feedback here so keep reviewing others' work and asking for feedback in your tracks' descriptions and I'm sure you'll get it. I'm among those who doesn't mind writing a decent amount to try to help out.

Just starting out with production now must be amazing but confusing. So many very cheap and powerful 'sound toys' on offer and so very much to learn. It's going to be a blast for you and there will be so much to take in and all sorts of advice you don't fully understand.

You don't absolutely need a college course as there are all sorts of online tools and tips and guides. I can help you out with a few suggestions. One good place to go is the website of the best music tech magazine in the UK, called Sound On Sound. Check it and its forums out. Also has hundreds of interviews with all manner of big name artists over the years. Lots to learn there.

Good luck and try to move away from drum loops and get into programming some good acoustic drum software as it offers much more flexibility.

Hey, this is pretty original and fresh, which I like to hear! I really like the resonant bass synth parts, you don't hear that much in dub. Regarding the vocal effects, I get the feeling they were used as inserts. If I'm right, maybe you should try the effects as sends. This will give you better control over the levels and tone of the effects. You can automate the level of the send in different parts of the song to give variety. Effects like reverb and delay can be very useful in dub of course, but they can also be very distracting. This is way better than my first production though, so don't listen to me too much... ha ha! I like it! Keep going!

I would have to agree with my esteemed colleague (static) the verb is a bit much at the beginning but I know why you are using it as it can hide some imperfections ;-) . Let your natural voice come thru with a smaller verb but those dub (slap echo) effects are nice. Now when you are singing "Whoaaa" the verb effects are nice on that as it sounds like background singer. check out some drum loops on this site as static is correct as the drums are very monotonous. but this tune has some great potential.. keep working at it learning your pro-tools. And welcome to the loop!
Steve

Hi. This is good for your first production attempt. It's got a pretty clean sound, for a start.

I like the overall vibe, the bass, subtle chords from the keys (Rhodes?) and there's some psychedelic squelch in there.

I think it might be better if you start with bass and drums without the vocals.

In the first minute I think there's too much reverb on those vocals and they take up a bit too much space. I'd just turn the reverb down and then maybe turn it up to that sort of level at the most extreme parts - a bit like a guitarist turning on the heaviest distortion just for certain parts.

I think the track seems too long, probably because of the lack of changes. Same bass sound and quite possibly line for 5 minutes. Drums don't really change either. Need more fills or a change to the ride or change in groove. I guess it's just a loop and that's why there's always that open hat in the same place.

As with so much music, this is the sort of track that could really do with a real drummer (or quality programmed kits, which is how I work) to give it a lift in all sorts of places. That way you could probably get away with the same bassline for 5 minutes. But the same bass and drum loop is just a bit too much for that amount of time, in my biased opinion.

Good luck with it and feel free to let me know if you disagree with my observations.