hey guys. I was wondering if you could give this track a listen and tell me basically everything you don't like about it (and stuff you do if you feel like it). Everything was recorded with 1 CAD GXL3000 multi-pattern mic in a concrete dorm room.

Heres the sample: Dan Masquelier - Sleep well, Darling

Thanks for any critiques!

That's a great song. I only heard it on headphones, but it worked for me!!!

Good structure, nice introduction of elements. The drums are perfect for the mood and the synth works well. Nice panning on the ear candy too.

Thumbs up here.

very rad! thanks for the kind words!

Ok brother... Here is my review of the song.

The guitars doesn't sound good at all: Harsh and stubby flat, hard sound. I think you have the microphone to close to the instrument.The vocals are buried and lifeless. What kind of effect are you using - wobbling chorus with too long reverb tail. Anyway it's a mess and it sounds really amateurish. Work the microphone and find the Sweet spot, don't over do the effects on the vocals. The guitar and vocals are the most important element in this kind of music. Try to make them sound real.... I want to feel the guitar and vocals and the room you are playing in.

The low end is a mess... The bass sounds muddy and problematic for the low end. The kick (drum part) just make the low end even more messy.

I think the song is pretty good. If think you should try another take on it and use less effects etc. Keep it simple and pure. Don't over do it... Let the instruments live... Don't kill the dynamics and don't put the mic too close to the instrument etc.

Good luck!

What converter have you used for this? It is well tracked!

I like the guitar sounds and the vocals. The recording is of high quality, very warm which is really good. In terms of the production I think the song needs some different phrasing and chord progressions, I like those fade in decays though. The tempo could be a little faster and I personally miss background vocals. There are some brackground vocals/overdubs but I have a hard time hearing them (due to the acoustic guitars being too loud). In terms of the stereo image, it's overall pretty good, but the stereo element is too loud which makes it a little too wide and also empty in the center.

Here are some general guidelines:
- Use the sound field more effectively
- Focus on "tension and release" in terms of the production (a little different chords, different note lengths)
- Transpose the whole song a few steps up and increase the tempo a little
- Electric guitar would be nice

Good luck!

I like the stereo image on your song. Your mic chain is also very transparent and clean. However, the acoustic guitar at the beginning has a buzz or maybe it's from the computer, and it takes away from the vibe. Also, I would personally like to hear a mic chain with a little more coloration and maybe some nice verb to tie it together (a sound like Led Zeppelin "Bron-Yr-Aur").

The performance seems timid, and I think the groove needs to have a little more swing. I like how you set it up to get big with the bass and drums, but I didn't like the snare sound. The verb is a cool idea, but I think you could find a better one. The 2nd bass note of the chorus kind of sticks out too.

I'm not trying to knock your song, just give some feedback. Post more.

wow this forum is completely awesome. thanks for all of your guy's feedback! I definately wanna go back and have another run at this song in the future...

the reason I mic'd the acoustics so close is because the room sound in my dorm was so bad... and my neighbors are playing rap music all hours of the day... but next semester I found a nice quiet little apartment, so I might be able to back it off some.

oh and in address to the wobbly sound... I think the macromedia flash player I built to play that song was making really subtle/weird wobbling sounds throughout the quiet parts of the song... when I come here again with other mixes, i'll just make them mp3s you can grab and avoid the other compression.

...that bass.... Ya I definately rode the gain too much on that. I need to invest in some good monitors... I'm mixing on a 5.1 system right now... so I can't tell where my bass level is in relation to the stupid sub's gain...

and i'll have to mic up a kit next time for the drums and "keep it real."

again, Thanks a lot for your help! This forum is so incredably useful.
See ya guys

1 mic- my hero!
I'm a minimalist.
I'd agree about the vox being too heavily effected. I also think that the drums would be cool with a much more natural giant room sound as opposed to the synthetic reverby sound on them now. Would you have the option to just throw your CAD up in omni in a big room to record some natural drums? The minimal drum playing is cool too as the guitars are already a little busier.

sounds good to me! Im also a big fan of the minimalist mentality. I definately hear some Ryan Adams influence which is really cool.

On the vocals did you just use reverb?

Im just starting out and i want some tips on vocal recording.

Thanks