I always get excited when I see Blues and Rock on the genre
line for entries, nothing beats a good ole’ fashioned raunchy guitar tune! I
must say your track does not disappoint—great guitar work!! The lines and
production on your instrument sound terrific and you’re obviously well
practiced with some mean chops.
Without further ado, my suggestions:
-
There’s no subtlety regarding the chorus of this
song, but you know what would make it even MORE chorus? Tambourine! Let it
carry a 16th pattern, perhaps accenting on beats 2 and 4. Many
artists and bands are so wrapped up with playing their own instruments and
parts, nailing their takes, to consider instruments outside of their typical
arrangement. This is especially important during expensive studio recording
sessions because sometimes the smallest additions can make or break!
-
If I’m not mistaken, it sounds like there’s only
one electric guitar track for most, if not all, of the song? Honestly, you have
too good of a guitar player / sound to not capitalize on this! Bring the
overdubs and layers on!
o
Your verses are palm muted—perfectly reasonable,
but consider maybe an arpeggiated 2nd guitar part to add some depth?
o
(More of a production thing) Your guitar track
sounds like its staying in the same stereo location (placement in the mix)
through the whole song. While that’s very effective in making sure the lines
cut through, it weakens the dynamic range of the song as a whole. Consider
during the chorus, for example: double up on rhythm guitar, pan the tracks hard
L and R to bring some POWER!
o
Very, VERY impressive solo! (I was totally
waiting for it, hah). Hate to repeat, but MORE GUITARS. When you’re in the
studio, a solo doesn’t really have to be a solo.
In general, my advice for recording guitar solos is do as many takes as you
can (or can afford to), even if you feel like you’ve already gotten The One,
and save every one! Blending takes together, even if they seem totally different,
can make for some very interesting and unexpected awesomeness. Try a few takes
and just accent the main solo: call and answer, dueling guitars (my favorite!),
harmonies, etc.
-
My final thought is again more about production,
which may not have been entirely in your hands. At any rate, you have a very
fun, groovy song here. I love the blues feel, even if the chord progressions
are recognizable or expected (but that’s just the nature of the genre). I
wonder, then, why your song sounds like it’s produced like a punk rock tune? Again,
you may not have been the sound engineer making the decisions, but I tend to
find that many bands make the mistake of allowing their local, sometimes most
affordable, studio handle all the post production and mixing.
For most polished, professional situations,
these people are handling a multitude of projects at once and at the end of the
day while they would like to devote true personalized attention to your
recording, they are a business. What you end up with is a pristine, polished
sounding recording that lacks your bands personality.
Most, if not all studios, are run by musicians and will be more than willing to
let you listen in on the mixing and producing, welcoming (but not always
requiring) your input. Over time you will likely record with at least a handful
of different studios, and it’s a great feeling when you finally find the right
producer / engineer, the guys that truly understand what YOUR band needs to
sound like. Good luck and happy hunting.
