Artist Name: Patrick Palmer / Innocent Mind Title: This Life Genre: Rock Rating:
Equipment Used
MacBook with 2.4 dual-core i5 and 2 GB of RAM. Mics: Oktava MK-319, Peavey PVM-46, BLUE Snowball. M-Audio Studiophile AV 20 desktop speakers, Sony MDR-CD60 headphones. Dean Del Sol hollowbody electric guitar with a Marshall MG-15. Virtual bass played on M-Audio Keystation 49e. Drums from Apple Loops.
Production Notes & Credits
“This Life” is a male vocal rock song. Patrick wrote, performed, and recorded the track at his home studio.
Reviewed By Marty Peters
Patrick has submitted a well-written rock song here with plenty of potential. Unfortunately, the lack of a successful rhythm section brings it up a bit short.
The song intros with a nice grunge-style electric guitar riff, followed shortly by a muddy-sounding snare drum that establishes a baseline rhythm for the track. As the song continues to unfold, we are presented with a mixed bag of results. Patrick has done a fine job with his vocals here, with no sibilant artifacts or overprocessing, and the electric guitar continues to impress throughout.
On the flip side, the bass part is practically inaudible through our monitors, leaving the drums without support. In addition, the low midrange presence of the electric guitar seems to be masking much of the already-underpowered bass.
Suggestions
In his production notes, Patrick tells us that he was not really satisfied with the drum tracks he constructed via Apple Loops. Our advice to him, as it is to all of our loyal readers, is that taking the time to really know your tools can have a significant impact on your success.
We are fairly certain that spending time with drum software of any kind is not Patrick’s first and foremost priority. That said, the One-Man/Woman Band scenario often demands a serious level of detail, patience, and exploration, even in areas that aren’t our usual forte. Quality sounds can be derived from even the most basic software… given time and effort.
Panning can be immensely helpful in music where bulky, low-mid heavy guitars are present. We urge Patrick to use it to his advantage in order to open up the center of his mix, so that his bass guitar sound can assume its rightful spot without the masking. At that point, blending the bass and kick drum should be an easier task.
Summary
A track worthy of a redo.
Contact
Patrick Palmer / Innocent Mind, [email protected]