First try, be gentle

[royevans]

Hi All

First post so please excuse the mistakes and obvious errors with my tracks! But any feedback or help would be appreciated.

A bit of background: only started playing guitar a couple of years ago and got Ableton intro when I bought my audio interface, a Focusrite Saffire pro 24 DSP. I have since gotten Suite 8 as I loved it so much (although it hurt my wallet). I do nearly all my stuff - both recording and mixing - in arrangement view as I have never really "gotten" the session view. Me and a friend started recording some tracks and are having fun, but I need to learn.

There are a couple of tracks I'd love feedback on at http://www.royevans.me.uk/music/ One is a ballad of sorts (Crazy World) the other a bit rockier (Strange Days, Strange Nights). I'd really appreciate any and all feedback and advice on how I can use Ableton to make these stronger/better, especially when it comes to mixing. I'm a bit clueless but learning.

Many thanks in advance!

Roy

[SlimC]

I'm new to Ableton myself, so I can't help you much on the mixing.
As a listener, I enjoyed both Crazy World and Strange Days/Strange Nights. You've got an 80s retro sound that was fun. We don't get many full blown ballads and rock tracks with complete lyrics here in Link to Your Music.
In Crazy World, the echo on the guitar work was neat - almost atmospheric (a very popular style around here). You may need to work on that tempo change in the middle of Strange D/Strange N - it may need smoothing at the mixing board. Finally, I just want to salute your courage - it takes guts to post on the board.
ROCK ON!

[royevans]

Thanks SlimC, your comments are appreciated.

I agree on that tempo change in Strange Days. What I'd like is a smoother change, perhaps by putting a really long, decaying reverb on the last drum beat and then fading the rest in. Fades I can do, but picking out a single beat and decaying it is a bit beyond me currently, but I'll get there! At 45, I want to prove that you *CAN* teach an old dog new tricks