Rock/Progressive oriented solo stuff

Sean McCann · Post by **Sean McCann** » Fri Sep 26, 2008 7:01 pm

Hey all. Just wanted to post up my website to see if anyone has any production advice for the stuff I have up on myspace.I'd really appreciate any helpful ideas anyone has.

www.myspace.com/seanmccannsmusic

Cheers

CIVILIAN DEATH MACHINE · Post by **CIVILIAN DEATH MACHINE** » Tue Sep 30, 2008 5:04 am

Nice Tracks!!!

I was just over on your Myspace page listening....and they sound pretty decent!!!

Meredith

http://www.myspace.com/civiliandeathmachine

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MagnusPierre · Post by **MagnusPierre** » Thu Oct 02, 2008 9:16 pm

To be honest I have never liked Tool. I can hear reference points between your music and Tool but your music I really like. Strange isn't it?!

Walls and Echoes was quite refreshing and interestingly soft start but there were some sound quality issues, or it is my headset acting up again.

Fruition, and Waste are great. (Sound quality issues again but it might be myspace or my headset) Would be interesting to hear a hi-res version of Fruition or Walls and Echoes.

All in all:
Really good. Better than Tool imho.
Regards,
Magnus

Sean McCann · Post by **Sean McCann** » Sat Oct 04, 2008 2:08 pm

cheers guys, what i love about recording this stuff is that every new song i make brings out new production ideas.when i started i found i was spending maybe 5 hours on a track and then posting it up.whereas now im learning to take my time over it and be more picky shall we say.great to hear positive feedback though, thanks

superiorinferior · Post by **superiorinferior** » Sun Oct 05, 2008 4:33 pm

While the song idea and the harmonies are going in the "right" direction (ie good idea) there are some basic production issues that I heard on the track Walls and Echoes.

1. there are some looping or CPU(?) clicks all through the intro/verse before the drums come in. It sounds more like loops that haven't been properly trimmed and come in on at inopportune moments, causing those clicks.

2. Your mic sounds flat. I would recommend the cheap but very respectable AT2020 only about $100US, with a cheap sound card (with phantom power) to get a much brighter sound. The mic (or EQ) you are using sounds like a handheld stage mic with a big sock over it (a trick I once tried in a home studio in a pinch... it didn't work too well

) Get a compressor on those vocals to lessen the proximity effect your mic is giving (ie it sounds like you are far away from the mic, then you get closer, then farther away, etc.)

3. Your (presumably in-house Ableton) drum tracks sound out of tempo. Have you tried "quantization" of your midi tracks? It helps A LOT. Also, try playing the drums and cymbal sounds to give them a more natural sound, at this point they sound very much like a drum machine trying to sound like a real drum kit. Decide whether you want to have a drum machine or a drum kit sound, but an accidental combo is to my ears, "amateurish."

4. For that matter all of the instruments and vocals need to be "placed" in the same "room." Start with the drums, then the bass and guitars, etc. You do this using reverb and other effects... If you want really alien-sounding effects, really experiment using the weirdest combos of effects, loops and processors until you come to something you never expected -- or give them "room." Keep in mind, less is usually more when it comes to production.

I'm listening now to "Waste," and can hear some good ideas, but again you need to tighten things up, brighten things up (with a little reverb) and get some dynamics in there. It sounds like everything is either "on" or "off."

Respectfully submitted,

mark

Sean McCann · Post by **Sean McCann** » Mon Oct 06, 2008 3:48 pm

hi mark.appreciate the feedback man.your completely right on the mic front, if i remember correctly it was a sock over the mic (an ATpro282).At the moment my income is nada so buying new and better equipment, even at a good price, is a hard task.but the plan is to eventually have live drums, instead of the audio samples which are used (fyi, not abletons in-house drum sounds, they are from SDFX).Thank you for pointing out the clicks in the track btw, it sounds like a looping issue with the harmonising guitar part.il get that part re-recorded and posted up ASAP.the drum tempo thing, they arent quantised, but it wasnt an production mistake, it was intentional to stop it from sounding as rigid and computerized as it already did.I think i understand point 4, are you saying to put reverb on everything if its on one instrument?(to give an effect of a specific sized room).I thank very much for giving me some no shit criticism. Its hard to find anyone who will be objective enough to say it needs alot of work.keep in touch man and let me know if the sound starts developing more.

Ps. if ur interested in hearing a drum machine thats emulating real drum sounds, check out a band called The Austerity Program (Black Madonna is probably their best example)

Sean McCann · Post by **Sean McCann** » Mon Oct 06, 2008 3:52 pm

also, in your opinion, am i better off investing in a good offboard compressor for vocals etc. or is their a VST which would substitute? so far im using the built in ableton compressor but i find that ,for recording live audio, its not very effective

superiorinferior · Post by **superiorinferior** » Mon Oct 06, 2008 4:07 pm

Well... I am no expert (just listen to the shite on our myspace!... but to be honest, I haven't posted any new stuff there in almost a year -- I have done some evolving

)

Currently, we use only the onboard compression in Ableton, and it serves us very well. Poke around the audio effects for specific instruments, and then play and tweak until you get what you need. I am a total novice in terms of hardware effects and compression etc... I am sure there are units out there that would suit your needs, but except for a few shortcomings, Ableton and some key plugins provide all we need at the moment.

Cheers!