Work in Progress, Latin vibe

No vocals or anything, just a track I'm working on in Logic. I did all the drums in my Maschine, which is a drum machine/midi controller with its own software made by Native Instruments...it's actually my favorite piece of musical equipment that isn't a tele. Then I used 'drop n drag' to put them in Logic, threw some Logic loops down and then a little telecaster. Not thrilled with the solo (around 2:00), but just wanted to share anyway after all the initial recording issues I was having w/Logic.

Feels good to throw something together without having to come here and ask a bunch of stupid questions...tho I'm sure there will be more of that eventually :mrgreen:

Anyway, I banged this out pretty quick...and I'm still relatively new to recording and DAWs, so any feedback is appreciated.

http://soundcloud.com/scooch255/cuban-mix3

I like the feel of this one and you definitely have worked out your recording issues. Nice job!

On the improvement side....

The drum/percussion loops lack the human feel, so they sound 'mechanical' and a bit dry to me. There is only one way to fix this that I know of. :smile:

On the brass, nice ascending and descending lines but they get tiresome after a while. It would be nice if there was a breakout where they did something on their own. Just a thought.

Please consider adding a maracas / shaker into the percussion too!

The handclaps in the left channel are a bit too proud in my opinion.

Your guitar solo was fine, I'm sure you could do some other takes with a different / better emotion to them that could change the way it interacts and feels in the song too. Maybe think about bringing in a bass guitar line at this point and let it ride out to the backdoor.

I like what you did on introducing the keys into the mix, very nice! tasteful!

I know you are early on into this one and you haven't invested much time, so if you want to take it further, these are some of the things I would explore.

Isn't it fun?!?! :grin:

It's a blast! Really appreciate your listening and giving such a detailed response. Thanks!

I hear ya on the live drums, but since my 'studio' is on my kitchen table, I doubt that's happening. Plus I can't afford to pay a drummer anyway lol. I did program all the drum loops myself tho by playing the Maschine pads, but I think it's mostly one kit in particular I used that gives it a mechanical sound. Maybe I'll switch it out, but part of me does like combining 'real' live music with a little bit of synthetic sounds to please the younger folk. Will look into it either way.

Shakers and/or maracas will be added, good point, and I'll probably turn the clap down a bit too. I'm still thinking on what to use and what to play as a bass track...I'm either playing it on keys or buying a bass. May address the horn monotony as well, but having vocals would be the best fix for that I guess.

You said you liked the vibe, and that's what matters most to me. So thanks again, your type of feedback is just what I was looking for and I'm definitely listening. Hopefully have time to work on this more this weekend.

I'm always apprehensive to post my critiques with someone I don't know well yet. I always have this little nagging fear they will resent it. But, it's always intended to be constructive and the main point is that the opinions are usually about taste and whether you understand where it's coming from or not. Those are always debateable points... but ultimately, you are the final arbiter of how you want it to sound for what you are trying to achieve.

I can relate, I'm also slightly apprehensive posting music here, you know, considering I use drum machines and whatnot.

I think it's fair to say TDPRI is more geared towards country/blues/rock/jazz etc. All stuff I listen to, play and get influence from, just not what I usually create. But music is music to me, so while this may not be the target audience, there are tons of talented and open minded musicians/artists here. Good to hear what those opinions are, I did ask for it, so my ears are open to all of them as long as they are somewhat constructive... like yours, which was actually very constructive.

Love the concept and the way you weave the counterpoint themes in and out. Agree with 64 that those out-front claps are a bit distracting, and (being old-school) my ear misses a funky bass line to spice the stew further. ... Nice mellow guitar tone that blends well with the sharper-toned horns; the solo could be developed nicely, which in Logic is easy with cycle recording and quick-swipe editing. This is a great blueprint to build from. :cool:

Thanks woodman.

Bass is definitely coming. I couldn't settle on anything but was liking the vibe so I wanted to share it to get some feedback first. Other issues to be looked into as well.

Coming along nicely. Solo sounds fine. Vocals (assuming there will be some) will help break the song up a bit ie. the brass can drop out here and there. Good idea with the prcussion as suggested. When you add bass remember to look out for the bottom end on the kick so they don't sit on top of each other.

Nice!

I don't have too much to add. Claps can come down. I think if you varied them up a bit without changing any of the other percussion you could go a long way in getting it less "mechanical". Another little tip is to record the rhythm part three or four times and plop em in kinda randomly, instead of looping the exact same thing ad nauseum. Or do it once, and make a few copies with a beat or two shifted slightly in time or volume in the piano roll editor. For me, this sounds better than the "humanizing" stuff in Logic. Which tends to make the drummer sound drunk.

the lead horn line is a bit brash and upfront sounding to me - maybe tame it a bit in the 3 - 6 k-ish area? I think the lead guitar could maybe come up a bit there as well (but maybe not the delay).

Overall - well, I put it this way, I immediately picked up some drumsticks and started air drumming along.

Cheers,
Geoff

Thanks Geoff...I'm listening.

As it stands now I have turned the claps down, I have added some shakers and maracas throughout. Some other minor mixing tweaks. I also worked on a little breakdown right before the solo by chopping the horns up, but I'm still not happy with it. Once I get that and a bassline, I'll repost.

Hectic weekend, my pregnant fiance was in the hospital all day Saturday and half of Sunday, more precautionary than anything, turns out everything is OK...but needless to say that takes precedence.

Oh, btw, the air drumming comment is a better than any technical compliment I could receive :mrgreen: