General Music Chat

are those the final mixes? if so, i like that you didn't slather on tons of reverb on the vcls.... gives 'em a sense of intimacy and immediacy. cool bass tone too. and great punch line at the of "Dead Fish Don't Fly"!

Yea I don't like reverb much. Most musicians are "reverb happy" on vocals and instruments as well. I always thought Bryan Adams was singing at the end of a long sewer pipe,

Me too! Wait. Are we talking about vocal effects or the general quality of his entire catalog?

These mixes sound almost 'too clean' for blues! The only thing I don't like about hte overall sound is the reverb on the snare - this might be 'room' - a room mic on a somewhat live tracking room?

well, for MY tastes...i do think there's too much 'verb on the sax. more so than anything else and that always sounds "wrong" to me....when one instruments has much more 'verb than anything else. he doesn't sound like a bad player so i don't think he "needs" that much "sweetening".

i used to do some pickup gigs w a singer/songwriter. straight up acoustic folk/americana w acoustic gtrs, banjo, mandolin and me on upright. a very ACOUSTIC vibe. he'd often have this guy playing fiddle...good guy but not the best fiddler (i'm being VERY kind here) ....and though he had an acoustic violin, more often than not he'd show up at gigs w a cheap FENDER elec violin and turn the reverb and delay up to 12. yikes. completely at odds w everything else.

it's funny, we're in the middle of mixing down tunes for a new PLANET JAZZ cd, and though Bill (bassist) and i largely agree on things.....he's a little reverb happy for my tastes. he's been bending to my will (LOL) on that matter but we did have a little go round about how much 'verb to put on the sax! the thing is....some saxophonists might NEED the 'verb.....our's DOESN'T as he has killer old school tone and great intonation!

We didn't put any reverb on the saxophone that I'm aware of. We can nitpick on verb and tone all we want. The only opinio$ that count are tho$e that buy the CD or not. $O far every person that's heard the CD wants one. When you get right down to it the opinions of musicians don't really count. It's up to the buying, or NOT buying public.
I love the way every song turned out, beyond my wildest dreams really. But hopefully I won't be stockpiling a bunch of coasters

well, like everything else, it depends on your perspective. bob...your's is as perfectly acceptable as anyone's (or more so cos' it's YOUR cd...) but i strongly disagree w the notion "the opinions of musicians don't really count". and likewise that the only opinions that matter are those of consumers.

i guess it depends on what someone's motivation IS for making a cd. if the goal is to sell product...then that statement makes perfect sense.

i value and invite the opinions of every musician here who cares to take the time to check out my music (or PLANET JAZZ's) and then takes the time to reply about it. and as much as i like selling cds....if ya don't, that's not gonna impact the value i place on y'all's opinions.

but my goal when recording songs is pretty much the same as when i play live. the first person i want to make happy is myself....next my bandmates (my peers).... and finally next up is the audience. i figure if i make MYSELF, and my bandmates happy....there's a good chance the audience will be happy as well.

but the other way around.....pleasing the audience FIRST, that doesn't necessarily equate to pleasing me or my cohorts.

hey, i get it. from a business standpoint..that might NOT be the best business model!

but to say that musician's opinions don't count when it comes to how a cd sounds....yikes. those are our peers and they have (or should have) more discerning ears than "consumers" about what sounds good and what don't.

if the upcoming P-JAZZ cd sells like hotcakes (yeah, right) but it doesn't sound good to musicians...we'll likely consider it a failure.

i didn't think anyone here was "nitpicking" on tone and reverb.....just weighing in what we like and don't. that's gonna happen when ya invite folks to check out tunes. seemed like a good offramp for some good and friendly music discussion.

didn't mean to step on any toes. good luck w the sales.

We didn't put any reverb on the saxophone that I'm aware of.

hmmm, you don't hear reverb on the sax solo on "Take A Pill"???

i guess it's possible the sax was recorded down at the end of a long hard surfaced corridor w the mic at the other end.

Musicians will analyze a song and sound, picking out what they like (and don't like), what they think works and what they think could be improved. If we didnt' well, then we'd probalbybe sucky musicians!
When it comes to mixing, we all prefer certain things and sounds. Like Mark, I like to keep the reverb in check most of the time - but there are occasional instrument parts ( lead guitar or piano) tha can benefit from a 'large room' sound for certain songs. generally, I try to keep the reverb tight and use it to make all the instruments/voices sound like they are in the same place.