Music Forum / Steve's Music

Here is a rough demo of a song my bandmates and I did. It is called Any Human Heart. It is not very polished and some stuff needs work.

 Any_Human_Heart_Mix_2.mp3 (7.46MB)
downloads: 109

Feel free to usher in some ideas or comments. Thanks guys.

oh, and I did not do the lead guitar, lol. I did the rhythm and vocals, the rest of it is the guys in the band.

this is pretty nice stuff man:]

yeah, it really needs to be polished and cleaned up a bit, but the vocals sound good.
but that lead guitar really has to go lol.
it made the song less enjoyable for me.
and the part when you go into falsetto is a little dissonant with the lead guitar as well.


other than that, i like it dude.
song structure is solid, drums are nice, rhythm guitar sounds pretty solid as well.
only thing for me is the sloppiness of the lead lol.
its not horrible, it could just really be cleaned up a lot.
nice job though man:]

the only thing about the vocals i don't like is that they seem really soft compared to the music. i feel like there should be an intensity that isn't there. it doesn't really have to be loud, i just think it needs a little something more to make it match the music. also, i'd turn up the rhythm guitar a bit. i think that would really help balance out the lead, which seems really overbearing at the moment. the writing and talent is all there, though, and it can really be great. i'm excited to hear more from you guys.

Okay, I know you'll want a detailed review so here' goes:

First off, really like the rhythm guitar tone, and I really don't get all the ragging on the lead guitar. It's a little hot in the mix but really not bad. the bass could be a bit punchier and the kick drum could use some low-end boost... hi hats could use a lot more treble if possible. Snare sounds good though... maybe a little quiet but not bad.

The vocals are a bit breathy and seem slightly flat. The reason for the illusion of "flatness" is the total lack of vibrato. It's almost impossible to sound 'full' singing that dry and closed so to speak. But I really don't know how to describe singing 'correctly'... It's just very relaxed in the throat I guess. Some reverb and/or doubling some of the stuff with harmonies or a straight doubling isn't out of the question either. Though a reverb might not be a good idea given the fairly breathy nature of the singing already.

It's a great tune though... very tight in the performance department; reasonably steady tempo and yet it doesn't sound at all mechanical, which is really a trick. Everything is very well constructed. The lyrics are a bit direct for my taste, but most are (including most my own). The main thing that impresses me about this is the tightness of it all, and how well it all flows through the transitions and such.

Ride6

I can definitely hear you're not real confident with your voice. if you work on that, which it seems you are judging from that other thread you made, it'll get a lot better. the rest sounds fine to me and is enjoyable.

I like the drumming on this song. It keeps the whole thing moving along. It's always amazing to me how even semi-decent drumming will make any song instantly sound at least 20% better by default. I agree there's some issues of flatness on the vocal, especially on drawn out notes. When you finally let loose a little bit before the guitar solo it sounded good though. Maybe you just need to use a little more lung power more often? That could be the same thing as singing with confidence. I would have liked the verses better if the melody moved around a little more. But that's more of a personal preference than a suggestion. I've heard a lot of popular bands lately sticking to a narrow range like that. That's cool if that's your sound. The lead guitar hook works pretty well. I remember it when it comes in again at the end enough to sing along having only heard the song once so it does it's job.

Thanks for all the feedback guys. The band is taking all of it into consideration. I have also redone the vocals. Took me about 15 takes to get a sound we liked. I definitely think its an improvement. Maybe I'll post an updated version soon?

Coaster Ed, its funny you mention the drums since they were recorded with two microphones only, hahahah. The beat is solid though. Our drummer really impressed me when he pulled that out. He's probably the best at his instrument than the rest of us, ahaha.

Thanks again guys.

wow man, two mics for recording drums?
thats seriously amazing.
they sound great!

Hahaha, yeah, unfortunately we're a little strapped for cash as usual so we can't get the amount of gear we need right now. Though we do have an SM57 and SM58. Ideally we'd want at least two more, but the Shure's got the job done for now.

i say, dont change that setup man.
yes, if you get a few more mics, that might make it sound better, but for what you're using now, thats a good sound.
trust me, theres not much that i hate more than micing a drumset and getting it to sound good.
its so frustrating lol

The vocals are real confident during the second half, I could listen to it a lot better. I'm not a music expert but I know what I like. The voice was stronger and had more impact at the end. Congrats. The lead guitar towards the end is also really good imo. Its just different and I like that.

Only bit of crit is boost your performance at the start to your song to the second halfs performance.

Here is an new (and in my opinion, significantly improved) version of the song I posted before.

I also realized most of you are probably using a laptop with a mono speaker (which I am as well), so I do suggest headphones, even if you aren't on a laptop. Even I heard things I didn't know were there that sounded pretty awesome, ahaha.

Hopefully you guys enjoy this one more and can throw it on your iPod or something. ;p

 Any_Human_Heart_Mix_5.mp3 (7.49MB)
downloads: 104

I really like the song, the vocals aren't the best but I think you can improve them pretty easily with more lessons.
It seems now like you wouldn't be comfortable hitting a higher note and in my opinion you need one at the end of the chorus when you sing the word 'heart'.

I love the guitar in the song, by the way.

edit: I reread what I just said and I just want to make sure I didn't come off as saying I didn't like the vocals at all. They are definitely above average.

Edited by Comet, 12 August 2009 - 11:58 AM.

i like it.

sounds good man:]

much better quality than the last version.
vocals are still a bit shaky on some parts, but this really is a major improvement from last time bro.
guitar sounds great, as do the drums.


nice job:]