Is this good production, mixing, and engineering?

[Narykcin]

Hey folx. I'm new to the boards and fairly new to music production, I've been at it for almost a year. I am not new to music, been it most of my life. I am interested and recieving some feedback about the quailty of my sound, both production and engineering. I'm in no way a gear buff, all of my stuff is done in Logic Pro. I have no outboard gear and I'm using Mobile PreUSB as my audio interface and a yahama keyboard as a midi controller. Given these limitations I'm interested in feedback in hopes to up my game.

My stuff can be heard at Myspace, or Soundclick

Thank you very much and I appreciate the feedback.

[djui5]

It's good, but it could be better, especially the production parts...

[Narykcin]

Originally Posted by djui5

It's good, but it could be better, especially the production parts...

Thanx djui5 for listening, it would be helpful for me if you were a lil' more specific. What seems to be lacking in the production?

[andrewj]

Originally Posted by Narykcin

Hey folx. I'm new to the boards and fairly new to music production, I've been at it for almost a year. I am not new to music, been it most of my life. I am interested and recieving some feedback about the quailty of my sound, both production and engineering. I'm in no way a gear buff, all of my stuff is done in Logic Pro. I have no outboard gear and I'm using Mobile PreUSB as my audio interface and a yahama keyboard as a midi controller. Given these limitations I'm interested in feedback in hopes to up my game.

My stuff can be heard at Myspace, or Soundclick

Thank you very much and I appreciate the feedback.

Heard some of your tracks and looked at your studio! I am sure you are willing to buy outboard in the future, otherwise you would not join Gearslutz, right?

At all I think your biggest problem at the moment is that you can't hear what you are doing!

You loose a lot of detail of your tracks on their way to your ears!

Why are your boxes at the table and not lot higher? They should point at your head/ears! Are you a dwarf ro do you lie on the table while you are mixing? So take some books or boxes and move them up! What about investing in a better pair of monitors?

Next thing I would improve (and this is definately as important!) is the converter! The converters also kill a lot of detail if they are not good. And yours definately aren't.

ULN-2 or 2882 would be my recommendation! Definately one of the best converters on the market and will improve all your recordings!

Plus you get two very good Preamps! Not as good as the highend outboards Pres, but million times better than all the shit that comes with other converters normally!

Plus via the MIO console software shipped with it you get a totally flexible environment for routing your signals ITB! It is also great for summing your audio! Many times better than logics internal summing sound!

And if you buy the DSP variant you get very good software based FX based on the Channelstrip!

With these two steps you will hear what you do and will be able to mix and record in a much more professional soundquality!

[djui5]

Originally Posted by Narykcin

Thanx djui5 for listening, it would be helpful for me if you were a lil' more specific. What seems to be lacking in the production?

I like what your doing overall, just think some songs could use a little more space. Like "Fly"...that vocal thing runs almost constantly, and the stabs too...there's no bounce. With that beat behind it, you could have a ton of bounce. Break it up a little. You've got enough sounds to fill the track out, now you just need to make it move a little more.

Same with "Yeah"...it dosen't have that bounce...that groove. It's there..sorta...you just gotta bring it out more.

Also, it would help to set up your songs more in verses and choruses, bridges and such, than just playing the beat over and over. Or, make it change more during different parts...make the different parts really distinctful.

[Narykcin]

Originally Posted by andrewj

Heard some of your tracks and looked at your studio! I am sure you are willing to buy outboard in the future, otherwise you would not join Gearslutz, right?

I sure am

At all I think your biggest problem at the moment is that you can't hear what you are doing!

Huh?!?

Why are your boxes at the table and not lot higher? They should point at your head/ears! Are you a dwarf ro do you lie on the table while you are mixing? So take some books or boxes and move them up! What about investing in a better pair of monitors?

I have elevated the monitors. But to be honest and this is worse, I usually mix to ipod earbuds (i feel you cringing) I live in an apartment and try to keep my "noise" to a minimum. But i would like to invest in some good monitors

Next thing I would improve (and this is definately as important!) is the converter!

I don't do much live recording, so I was less concerned with this, but I think you raise a good point about how well the converter references the output. All of my sounds come from softsynths. Is there much outboard effects/editing done with soft synths?

Thanx much for the suggestions. I've been checkign out a few converters and I'm liking the Fireface800, Apogee Ensemble, and that unl2 +dsp...

[Narykcin]

Originally Posted by djui5

I like what your doing overall, just think some songs could use a little more space.

I think you are dead on. I was working on some stuff yesterday and listening too some tracks, and the are loaded. Lot's of stuff going on. I need to find a way to establish a groove minimalistically. I think i know where my overarranging comes from. I grew up playing the hammond organ for my church, and I was pretty much the only musician, so I had to learn how to be a one man band, so when I produce i think i approach with an idea of I have to cover as much area as possible, and maybe i don't. Thanx for the obersvations, they were def useful.

[djui5]

Originally Posted by Narykcin

I think you are dead on. I was working on some stuff yesterday and listening too some tracks, and the are loaded. Lot's of stuff going on. I need to find a way to establish a groove minimalistically. I think i know where my overarranging comes from. I grew up playing the hammond organ for my church, and I was pretty much the only musician, so I had to learn how to be a one man band, so when I produce i think i approach with an idea of I have to cover as much area as possible, and maybe i don't. Thanx for the obersvations, they were def useful.

[andrewj]

Yes try these converters! You will not be disappointed! (... not about the converters! )

Oh for the softsynth thing: I found out that tracking your softsynth through a great converter and a good preamp gives him real live ( I know about blind tests, where longtime minimoog users did not find the right track in comparison to a minimonsta run through an averill pre and converted through a good converter!

[Narykcin]

Originally Posted by andrewj

Yes try these converters! You will not be disappointed! (... not about the converters! )

Oh for the softsynth thing: I found out that tracking your softsynth through a great converter and a good preamp gives him real live ( I know about blind tests, where longtime minimoog users did not find the right track in comparison to a minimonsta run through an averill pre and converted through a good converter!

How are you tracking your softsynths. Are running the midi track back into the MIO as an audio signal? talk to me a little about this process...