Dennis sent me the following e-mail and would like a critique of The Mayer of John.
Sound Alike – John Mayer
An easy going pop rock instrumental with some dynamics.
Moods- Happy reflective thoughtful
I have some success with this as far as a few sales on Revostock. A few other small libraries liked the tune but I can’t get this or others in the some of the bigger libraries like Jingle Punks. Therefore a critique is in order to determine what to improve.
Hey folks, I’ve been doing a bit of house cleaning here (despite my 99.6 temperature and lousy cold. Hey, I just need to whine!).
The guitar comments have moved to here: https://musiclibraryreport.com/blog/calling-all-guitar-players/
The drum and drum loops comments have moved to here: https://musiclibraryreport.com/software/drum-vis-and-drum-loops/
I like the track composition also and agree with the two Michaels on production. I also listened to some of your other tracks and I agree with MichaelL, there is some creative stuff there. On a side note I noticed you are from my old stomping grounds, I still have family in that area. I’m about an hour away from you. Keep plugging away!
Hey euca, Thanks and if you are in the area let me know…
EZ Drummer/Superior and Stylus RMX for me . In fact Addictive and BFD are all great. The Toontrack stuff is very polished out of the box, which suits me better. BFD tends to be more natural sounding. I know a couple of top Producers who use Addictive. Stylus RMX is fab for subtle perc loops too.
The bass on the track is non existent, which is fine if thats what you want. Trillian is a fantastic natural and synthetic bass VI which can greatly enhance a track. Sounds very realistic even when soloed.
The track is very wet sounding, again cool if you like the cowboy junkies, would tend to limit its appeal I think. Wet/Dry reverb balance is a fine thing, can ruin something if overdone
My rule of thumb for reverb is to get it sounding perfect, then bring it down. 🙂
or make it a second longer LOL
Hi Dennis,
There was a response from Michael Nicholas that seems to have disappeared. He thought that there might be issues with the mix. I agree for a few reasons.
First, Michael said he was missing the low end. I have decent monitors and sub in a well treated room. The low end is definitely missing from your track. I don’t know how your track was recorded, but when you mix start from the bottom up. You want the kick and bas to be really solid. Do you spread the drums over several tracks. Try some compression on the kick, bass and snare. And like MIchael said, you want to set some sheen or sparkle on the cymbals and hat.
There’s a little too much “room” in the guitar tracks for my ear. The may be because you recorded in a room with amp and a mic. If so, try recording with a mic and direct and blend the two. If you recorded direct and used a room plug-in, I’d use less. It’s washing over the mix.
The first 1:26 or so you have a pretty good, consistent track, but then you start building with more guitars and crush the easy going mood that you had. By the time you get to 1:46 and the solo guitar the track is no longer easy going, and I think that you would lose a lot of editors at that point. Remember that library music is basically background music (with certain exceptions). The guitar solo is completely out of balance with the rest of the mix.
Don’t get rid of the solo. But try remixing. Start from the bottom and work up. Carve out space for each instrument. There’s percussion in there that’s barely noticeable.
I think its a good track. I’d like to know more about how you recorded and mixed it.
Are you mixing in the box? What DAW and plug-ins do you have available?
And after you have a good mix, definitely think about mastering.
Good luck.
Michael
Thanks Michael, my post did disappear. Looks like Art might be having trouble with the site today. I’ve been seeing a lot of messages under his name that say “test”. My only other comment to Dennis was maybe his room was boomy and he hears a lot of bass when mixing that isn’t really there. I wondered if he tests his mix outside of the studio. In the car, boom box, home stereo or where ever…
Hey guys thanks for the comments…
I agree with Michaels comments.
A little background…
The track is one my older tracks and I do feel my newer tracks are produced much better. The bass and bottom end is weak. My limitations are what I use. Sonar Home Studio 4, no special plug ins to speak of. The guitars are all direct using a POD. Acoustics are live. Drums are across different tracks. I mix in the box. I have ref monitors and I do always listen on other systems. My room is not treated. The only mastering I do (and this track doesn’t have it) is using Sound Forge or one of a few other separate programs to even out and amplify the mix as required. I do want to invest (and will)in better hardware and software but I felt the learning curve on what I had was a smarter choice.
One would ask why give an older track for a critique ? This is a track I plan to rebuild and re-title… (point well taken Rosco) and no one mentioned that it was a crappy composition just that it needed better production. When I compare my old tracks to the newer I can hear my improvement. This one was done about 2 years ago and I can see why some folks reject it but there are others I can’t figure out why they were rejected but it is art.
I don’t see folks listing web pages and such here but I can be found on soundclick (search dtg) where I can be critiqued some more.
Thanks to all and best of luck
Hi Dennis,
You’re right the composition is fine. I think it’s a smart move to recycle older tracks. Why reinvent the wheel? The bones are there.
Sonar 4 is six years old now, so it’s time to upgrade.
Try Izotope’s Ozone for mastering. It’s fairly cheap.
Definitely compress the kick and snare and the bass. What do you use for drums? I use BFD, but there are a few less expensive, very good drum libraries out there. If you program your own drums and use Stylus, Sampleholics “Acoustic Drums” lets you spread the drums over 8 tracks for about $59, and it sounds very good.
Go a little wider on the acoustic and rhythm electrics. Drop the lead guitar back into the track so that you don’t lose the easy going feel. Also, if you can afford it, Guitar Rig from Native Instruments is a really great pug-in for processing guitar.
Best of luck to you.
Michael
OK some strange stuff going on. I tried to add a “PS” to my message, but now it won’t let me edit.
Dennis, I listened to some of your tracks on Soundclick. You’ve got some creative ideas.
Yes, your new mixes are better. I think updating your gear will make you even better.
Best,
Michael
Thanks so much for the software reccomendations… I’ve been reading up a lot on what to move up to but one is never sure till you buy and try it. I currently drum real time to a click using the old Yamaha DD 55 electronic set.
Thanks for the help and encouragement…
HI Dennis,
Definitely update your drum kit and percussion. I use BFD but, as I said, there are some less expensive options. Samples are so much better now, different mic positions, control of room and bleed, velocity layers, etc., it’s really worth it.
Here’s a new one from NI, at about 1/3 the cost of BFD.
http://www.native-instruments.com/#/en/products/producer/powered-by-kontakt/studio-drummer/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Studio+Drummer+instore&utm_source=newsletter
Best of luck.
Michael
The track is great as is. Don’t change a thing, pal. You shouldn’t worry about why library X likes the track and why library Y doesn’t. Keep sending it out to as many people that will take it. After that, keep making more music. You already have it selling at one place so you know it’s a good song!
I know that I used to analyze and second-guess my music when it got rejected by one company but accepted by another. The truth is that there is no secret formula or recipe to make the perfect song or to have it accepted by a library or to have it licensed. You just have to have a lot of music and keep sending it out. Don’t sweat the details, because the libraries don’t.
Keep building that catalog!
Not a bad a track and well done Dennis. The thing that might not be working in my opinion is crazy enough……….the title of the track. This sounds nothing like John Mayer to me. I don’t know deep into his catalog but I have heard a decent amount. The only similarity I hear is the groove and shaker like in ‘Daughters.’ The name tends to work against it. It’s a well done track, has it’s uses but the title pigeon holes it and is misleading. JP (and the other libraries) probably like it but they want to retitle it so bad outside of their normal “-JP” prefix.