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Needleman recordings


Alkaline

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We, Needleman, have a song up on bandcamp and we'd be interested to hear what people think about it. The recording itself is pretty basic but it's not like we're selling this or anything, it's just so people can hear us.

The band itself features myself on guitar, stroopy121 on bass and vocals and the gorgeous Woodsinho on tub thumping duty.

Hope you enjoy

Needleman Bandcamp

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I like the tone of the guitar. I think I agree with the above about the cohesion. I think the snare needs to be higher in the mix, as that pretty much dictates the direction of the song, and where the changes are, which are a little difficult to hear with it being a fast 'un.

I also really like the tone of the vocals, but the melody needs work. But the tone of them is good. It reminded me of Roger from Less Than Jake. I dig that.

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I like the tone of the guitar. I think I agree with the above about the cohesion. I think the snare needs to be higher in the mix, as that pretty much dictates the direction of the song, and where the changes are, which are a little difficult to hear with it being a fast 'un.

I also really like the tone of the vocals, but the melody needs work. But the tone of them is good. It reminded me of Roger from Less Than Jake. I dig that.

Cheers, the drums were not easy to mix due to how we recorded them but i'll take those points on board for when we re-record or re-mix, ditto the vox as i'm sure Strooperinho is capable of better. I actually think i've made a better job of Hold Fast mix-wise (which should be up either later today or tomorrow at some point, so keep an eye out!).

I'm not sure i get the cohesion thing though, i dunno if anyone fancies elaborating a little to help us out?

Thanks for the criticism and feedback though, much appreciated both positive and negative :)

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For me, I think it's all in the mix rather than the song itself. I think it would sound much more cohesive if the snare was way more prominent in the fast parts, as it's a little difficult to get a grasp of the rhythm without it. Other than that, it's totally decent. A sharper melody, and it will be banging.

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For me, I think it's all in the mix rather than the song itself. I think it would sound much more cohesive if the snare was way more prominent in the fast parts, as it's a little difficult to get a grasp of the rhythm without it. Other than that, it's totally decent. A sharper melody, and it will be banging.

Thanks, makes sense. I'll probably remix that one once we've got the others sorted to address any "in mix" issues as it's very much a learning curve for me as it's the first track i've mixed since picking up a mac/garageband/logic pro. I'll be interested to hear what you think of the mix of Hold Fast when it's up as i'm pretty sure i've bumped up the drums a bit more in the mix there and it sounds a bit more complete.

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what mic's did you use on the drums out of interest?

Stroopy121 would be able to answer that as they're his. We only mic'd the snare, kick and had 2 x overheads when recording and i'm not sure that we got the best out of the recording process with the drums in all honesty. But we'll do better :)

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I shall get back to you with a make - they're a set of drum mics I bought from a friend on the cheap. Problem lies with how I recorded it - I didn't gain them enough (as I was scared of them clipping). Next time I'll know we have much more headroom.

Good to hear feedback on the vox - that song has a cunt of a melody which I've been chopping and changing on the fly a lot, in order to accomodate the offbeat strumming while I sing. I'm happy with the chorus but I do agree that the verse needs to be a little sharper and I think Soda got the nail on the head. Tighter vocal melody and more kick/snare and I think we'll be there.

I also agree with Old Gold in that it's not exactly a world-changing song. It's one of our more simple tunes layoutwise which is why it's the first recorded. It's a fun song to play and I hope once we get the final mix sorted it'll be a fun one to listen to :).

xx

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Aye id echo what has been said already. The verse is a bit of a scrimash at the moment, i dont think the rythem of the guitar is bang on with the drums which makes it kinda hard to find the beat to begin with. The drums in general need to be clearer, the kick drum and snare especially in that kinda thing, but i dont want to be too harsh, its a decent effort for a home recording.

That kinda punx has never been my fav, but its a decent enough song, not too keen on the second last chord in the chorus, it kinda sticks out a bit for me, but with a clearer recording i think it would be a nice wee song. Ditch the first 20 seconds tho, after the first listen its a bit of a drag.

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Aye id echo what has been said already. The verse is a bit of a scrimash at the moment, i dont think the rythem of the guitar is bang on with the drums which makes it kinda hard to find the beat to begin with. The drums in general need to be clearer, the kick drum and snare especially in that kinda thing, but i dont want to be too harsh, its a decent effort for a home recording.

That kinda punx has never been my fav, but its a decent enough song, not too keen on the second last chord in the chorus, it kinda sticks out a bit for me, but with a clearer recording i think it would be a nice wee song. Ditch the first 20 seconds tho, after the first listen its a bit of a drag.

Cheers, i think it's just 'cause the kick and snare are too low in the mix that it sounds a bit out of sync.

I think it's just 'cause you're listening to the song out of context with the sample at the start. I guess if you were only listening to that song on repeat it would be annoying as fuck with it being a 1min 40sec song with 24secs of sample but it'll be the first track out of 6 that'll be on the same EP that we're planning to give away for free so i think it'll work in context with the flow of the other songs *fingerscrossed*.

Thanks for listening :)

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The mix in general sounds better on Hold Fast. Everything is a little clearer. I think you should aim to make the vocals sound more like they do on ADD though. They sound more strained, like you are right on the edge of your limit, which is a good thing. That strained, pushed vocal I think allows you to keep the vocal melody a little flat and not over complicate it, but the vocals still sound abrasive, which I like alot. They don't quite have the same bite on Hold Fast, but I think the tune itself is better. I think your vocals are at their best when you are almost yelling rather than singing, and you get that rasp going on.

The guitar sounds good for a demo too. It sounds really saturated and thick. It could even benefit from having an overdub of octaves here and there, especially to beef out choruses and hooks and whatnot.

Punx. Up it.

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The mix in general sounds better on Hold Fast. Everything is a little clearer. I think you should aim to make the vocals sound more like they do on ADD though. They sound more strained, like you are right on the edge of your limit, which is a good thing. That strained, pushed vocal I think allows you to keep the vocal melody a little flat and not over complicate it, but the vocals still sound abrasive, which I like alot. They don't quite have the same bite on Hold Fast, but I think the tune itself is better. I think your vocals are at their best when you are almost yelling rather than singing, and you get that rasp going on.

The guitar sounds good for a demo too. It sounds really saturated and thick. It could even benefit from having an overdub of octaves here and there, especially to beef out choruses and hooks and whatnot.

Punx. Up it.

Cheers, we need to get Stroopy121 some proper conditions to record vox in as while sitting in a layby in your car to record them is definitely punx as fuck, a good recording it does not make :p

Yeah, it would probably be worthwhile looking at some extra guitar bits at some point to flesh it out on record. I'm always a bit wary of adding stuff in that won't be there live though :/

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PUNX.

Cheers for the feedback :). The more I listen to the two, the more I think ADD needs to be cleared up a little to bring it to the same standard as Hold Fast.

I shall also try pushing Hold Fast a little harder when we next practise and see how it goes. I'm gonna sound like Tom Waits by the time I'm done.

xx

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