[Skub]

There are those among you who are aware I recently began the process of learning to use/abuse a Daw for the first time. You've all been very helpful with my tedious noob queries and I thank you for that.  

I sat down alone and recorded this from scratch today,any comments are welcome as every day is a schoolday!

I was asked by a friend where the ideas came from for songs and this song tries to answer and perhaps romanticise a reply.  

https://soundcloud.com/skub1955/listen


I know it's out there somewhere if I knew just what to do
A thing of joy and beauty,I just need to let it through
Falling from the hands of angels,a gift for mortal man
A song to soothe and stir the soul,as only music can

Busy lives and worried minds sometimes block the way
It's only when the silence rules you hear what they say

So many songs have yet to live and some we'll never hear
No melodies to raise a smile,no verse to cause a tear
Some folk never listen,they neither know nor care
Some will pass with their song unsung,because they never heard it there

Imagine a world with music gone,no angel stooped to share
No voice of inspiration,it would be too hard to bear
We search for the truth in life and where we went wrong
And walk right by the obvious...life is the song

[Viva La Stereo]

I love the lead guitar and the lyrics.. especially the lyrics. The lyrics even work well on their own and the music only improves them. Towards the end I got a real Who vibe, like Behind Blue Eyes etc - and then that final solo comes in. That's really special, I was sad when it faded out so soon, but that's the sign of a good song. If this is the result of you only recently utilizing a DAW then good lord, I look forward to hearing more of what's to come!

[pompeyjazz]

Davy, considering the fact that a week ago you were posting questions on how to use a DAW this is sensational. Ultra clean strat, lovely melody,just the right amount of light and shade, brilliant. Vocals up a bit I think as you have a wonderfully mellow voice that needs to be heard. Top class yer man 

[CaliaMoko]

Wow! I gotta get on the stick. I've been mucking around with a DAW (or two) for some time, but never quite figure out what to do with them.

Pretty classy. I like the subject matter very much.

I noticed one line differed between the sung version and what you have posted in the lyric: "Some folk never listen,they neither know nor care". In the sung version, you added the word "but". I prefer it without the "but", however, that is likely a bias of my own. My reasoning, though, is this. It sounds like you're saying some people never listen because they neither know nor care. Using "but" implies opposites, but both halves of this line are saying the same thing in two different ways.

Nice job!

Vicki

[PaulAds]

wowser 

this is great...the shortest apprenticeship ever!

really great playing and lovely sounds...is that the garageband drummer?

what a great feature...sounds perfect

great lyrics too...very impressive all round!

[Bill Saunders]

OK - love the nod to Mark Knopfler, the general vibe and the lyrics. If you are just learning your DAW, that's amazing. The guitar playing is really excellent.

The track needs to be "glued" together in my opinion, so that it sounds more cohesive, and whilst you have used compression, it is just too obvious - for example, around 1:20. Also for me the guitars are at times panned too hard left and right, and the drums could be mixed better to give it more drive.

...however, it is great song, I wish I could play a strat that well, and you may not be looking for a critique on the production particularly. Feel free to ignore...I loved listening!

[richmon]

Really nice feel and  smoothstrat sound. Good lyrics. Maybe additional melody (bridge / chorus). Panning maybe not quite balanced but otherwise great track.

[delb0y]

Wow. You need to give me lessons on using a DAW! This has a beautiful sound to it and I would never have guessed you're a DAW beginner. Love the guitar tone - very beautiful and clean. The lyrics touch a chord with all songwriters, I'm sure. It's a lovely melody, too. All round top notch stuff and even more impressive under the circumstances.

[tina m]

mmm  lovely chiming guitar tones sparklingly clean &  bright ...like mark knopler with botox & super white teeth  ... & some realy special lead bits that sound quite magical!
you sound like youve been recording with a computer all your life! ..that puts your age at about 3 weeks old! ..do your mum & dad know you are posting here young man?
I wish the vocal wasnt doubled up ...its what everyone  whos not confident about singing does & I think it realy dilutes the effect the vocal has in the song ...im guilty aswell but I do try hard not to do it now..
anyway you sound old & wise
well written lyrics ...a sort of philosophical song about songwriting & how its the essence of life...
i think it needs a bit of humour in it... or people will think you are serious  

[TheButcher]

songwriting, guitar playing and vocal Skillz !!

Great, very melodic, very beautiful, very tight; you re a great musician and songwriter.

When i started using a DAW, i was 10 times worse than you, so, kudos.

Mix:

1. step: loudness levels and frequencies.

In terms of frequencies: every instruments needs it s own space.
I think the drums are much too quiet. I m guessing, that all the drum stuff is on one midi lane.
if you can, you should separate the different drum parts. hi hat, bass drum, snare etc....then you can adjust frequencies and volume levels for each of them.

I think the vocals need a low cut, more "air" (high frequencies) and more volume.

when the lead guitar comes in for the first time, it s too loud.

just a quick look.

I don't know how far you wanna go into this, so, just ask

B

[montydog]

This is great. Has anyone told you that you sound like Mike Nesmith of the Monkees especially on his later solo albums? I'd bring your vocal up in the mix and there are some moments when you sound a little unsure vocally but generally this is a lovely delivery. You have found your way around a DAW very quickly - very impressive. This is one of the best explanations of what songwriting should be about that I've ever heard and the Knopfler - like playing is outstanding but it faded out too quick....give me another 60 seconds of that soloing!

Loved it to bits.

M

[Skub]

Viva La Stereo

Thanks VLS,I love the Who of all era,I don't hear the link,but sometimes it takes fresh ears to point out things. 


pompeyjazz

Ha. I hate my voice John,so I'm always looking for ways to hide/disguise! Ta for the listen. 


CaliaMoko

Hi Vicki,you are correct on the lyric change,sometimes I just get carried away singing and forget stuff! I'll see if my newfound skills are up to the job of changing it around. 


PaulAds

  Believe me Paul the apprenticeship has a while to run yet! Yep,that was the drummer from GB,a great tool. I need to rein myself in a bit though!


Bill Saunders

Any tenuous comparison with Knopfler will do me,I'll take it. 
Ok Bill,the next part is where I need to pick your brains.

I think I understand what you mean about 'gluing' the track together. Making it all gel,rather than compete?

Your comment on compression I didn't get. It's an area I have yet to look into. I always use a squeezer on my pedalboard when out,but I didn't use one knowingly on this track. Could you explain further please,any chance to learn is welcome. 

On panning,is it best to go easy? I think I had the guitars about 20% right and left,is this too much?

How would you better mix the drums?


richmon

Ta for the listen,could you explain your comment on balancing panning?


delb0y

Thanks Derek,hope things are good with ya. 

[Bill Saunders]

Viva La Stereo


Bill Saunders

Any tenuous comparison with Knopfler will do me,I'll take it. 
Ok Bill,the next part is where I need to pick your brains.

I think I understand what you mean about 'gluing' the track together. Making it all gel,rather than compete?

Your comment on compression I didn't get. It's an area I have yet to look into. I always use a squeezer on my pedalboard when out,but I didn't use one knowingly on this track. Could you explain further please,any chance to learn is welcome. 

On panning,is it best to go easy? I think I had the guitars about 20% right and left,is this too much?

How would you better mix the drums?

Hi

There will plenty on this forum better informed than me, but here goes...Yeah, what I mean by glue is getting the track to hang together as a complete piece, rather than a group of individual instruments. Big subject, and a lot of it happens at the mixing and production/mastering stage. I'm learning about this myself, but a plugin that has changed my own songs for the better hugely in this regard is the Waves Greg Wells MixCentric. http://www.waves.com/plugins/greg-wells-mixcentric#greg-wells-mixcentric-master-buss-processing. It is incredibly easy to use, and it's really good for "gluing"!

I may be wrong, but it sounded like you used overly obvious compression on your master bus. If you listen to the line "It's only when the silence rules you hear what they say" you can hear the instrumentation pumping (getting louder) in between each vocal phrase.

The drums...how did you record them? I felt that the kick needs to cut through the mix more and the snare could do with more punch. As a guitarist first and foremost, I used to spend very little time on trying to get the drums right, but they are so important on a track like this. I use Addictive Drums 2 mainly now, and crucially I send each drum (snare, kick, toms, overheads, etc) to a separate channel so that I can treat each one separately and spend time getting the EQ, compression, reverb etc to fit in as best as I can with the song.

I am no expert, but I hope you find some of this useful. Look forward to hearing more from you!

[shadowfax]

yer avin us all on intya!!! you've workin on DAW's for ages intya!! either that that or your a super inteligent intellectual who dumbs down to speak with the Hoi Polloi (that's us)
this is fab work for a noobie....

best, Kevin

[MartynRich]

Skub...youve been lying to us all! The Doob thread was a diversion while you worked your musical genius...

This is fabulously well recorded and performed my man...the guitar is, well great. I see there have already been references to Mark Knopfler so here is another one: Mark Knopfler 

Seriously it is great guitar. The song itself is pretty damn good as well. I love how you put it together...there is some mix stuff you could improve but all that will come with time. I would never have been able to produce something like this after 3 weeks. Great stuff Skubby.