Benedict RM

There's not really anything wrong with the sound quality of the ReaPlugs. They are all clean digital effects, therefore you can make of them what you will. The downside tho is they are not always so nice to use as IMO the Reaper thing overall is focused on technicalites more than usabilities. Fine, that is their thing. Like Meccano vs Lego (or Duplo in the case of Fruity LOL). This is video I made for Higher Hz where I was asked to show my 10 Bestest Free VST. These are all things I use regularly and the Compressor and EQ are really great tools. 🙂

Thanks "Ain't No Cane" has some fire in the belly. Rather than calling it not great quality, why not simply call it? It is definitely clear and listenable. Has that nice full, rough, Blues feel thing happening. Fiddling with this might well sap that away. 🙂

Performing live and esp playing Pick Up is great and formative work that most avoid - even want to avoid - these days which makes them unskilled as they have nothing in their spreadsheet to pull from so can only try to clone wot eva is on Spotifry this month. If arranging your drum riffs is like making that spreadsheet of experiences that can be drawn on as your song feels the need then I am all for it. I was always responding to the (empty it seems) room and not you personally. Do you have music I can hear? 🙂

If you feel that being an Engineer damages your ability to commit time to your music then why not bring in a Mix Engineer? People like me are all around. That is efficient. It is the whole Henry Ford model. One that served music super well, incidentally through Rock's most creatives periods - which faded the more people became "army of one" and siloed themselves away from others with less and less work being delivered. I am not saying that working fast is not a good thing. I am huge advocate of getting it done and delivered. I merely suggested that I see people losing touch with what the song could/should be with technicalities and ways to "make it easier" at an "illusion of time" level. (look at my discography) 🙂

Take care with time savers as often they simply become ways to avoid feeling the work, finding the story that wants to be told. I see it that a Song (piece of music etc) is an entity in itself. It knows what is it is for, who it is for and where it needs to go to do its job (helping those who hear it). I simplify this to the concept of the Song Gods. The more we listen to the song, the better it all works out. The less we listen to the song, by listening to our ego (formulas, process, ways to do less work, to feel less, be less in the moment, fears) the less the song gets to be all it is meant to be. This means that we are less happy with the results as the song does not shine like it should and the people who needed it, are deprived therefore don't engage as much (or at all). If you wonder on that look at the stories behind some songs where they have quite a ot of turns or come through just as a blob and eventually just Hit and last. Songs choose who they come to - and will even come to many at once - I was working on the idea of synths and Gregorian Chant before or at the same time as Enigma. They did it better, I could not get off the ground with it. So, while there is great value in having a mental spreadsheet full of experiences that the Song Gods can use to help their songs get through, try to allow plenty of space for things to happen as the song needs - and that rarely lives in ways to cut corners or spend less time in that song. 🙂

Mine is a couple of things, I have an approach of building the scene & story so I don't mix from technical formulas as much as use what I know to help deliver what I feel. It is not a secret, merely how I was trained but that seems very different from what others seem to be doing (or at least talking about) I try to avoid the fashionable formulas. While everyone is using exactly the same faux-Juno sounds over and over, I am making my sounds from scratch. Yes it does mean that people don't get the same RetroBlaze thing they were expecting but... At least people looking for something original get that. I use Echoes a lot and often use the delays I have built myself so that my sense of space in a mix is definitely different. It also helps with mixing client vocals that are bit loose with tune without having to Auto/MeloTune which makes for a nicer result. 🙂

I was waiting for the raising runner to be missed by their endless sender or a Manfred Mann song at least. I jest and show my age. Far more relaxed overall. Maybe a bit too much so. Altho the backing feel rather rigid which takes from the whole I feel. I know running is mechanical and repetitive but it is also full of detail, nuance an things passing. I do wonder at the "gaps", I get no sense of what they signify - crossing the road??? You seem to have technical ability but I would like to see/hear you step outside this as a technical thing and see it as a storytelling thing and build stronger leads which can be both instrument and sound/feel, to make a grander journey with more movement and nuance. 🙂 This is an article and video on that subject that I think may be relevant: Story – https://benedictroffmarsh.com/2020/03/25/story-how-do-i-find-the-stories-i-tell/

It's good to know I have a soft grave to rest in, my back hurts. I am a direct fellow, working with music is what I do for my living and I devote part of every day to giving free (and sadly often unwanted) advice. If I think something sux, I move along, nothing said. So any criticism I take my time to give is constructive because it is worth it. Starts nicely then loses focus after a few bars which is a shame. Seeing you are starting, you probably want to focus on getting to the main course asap. One minute seems an age to first listeners, you don't want em wandering. Your job is to lead people to where they want to be - the halls or Rock. The main riffs are nice classic Metal and I like that it is somewhat loose. I loathe metal that might as well be EDM. From the riffs I expected a less Deathly vocal delivery. Still it is solid. Can you sing a bit cleaner? Songwriting could become tighter overall Make sure that later parts reflect/grow from earlier parts (variation not randomization). I think if you work on the idea of you songs overall and how they are leading people in a greater story, you can do well. If any of this seems obscure, get a Record Producer (not a beatmaker making grand claims) and really learn from their guidance. Great cover art and well mixed (which I did not expect at all). Congrats on making a cohesive package. That counts for a lot, as is evidenced by all the little buyer flags I see on your BC.

Here's an example of a compressor that will "ride" anything LOL Of course it is far from kind to anything. Eek! This is a trilogy of Plugin reviews/tutorials I made for Higher Hz on Compression, starting at RoughRider (where many start), TDR Kotelnikov (the Dalai Lama of compression) and TDR Molot GE (whip me, beat me) I was taught, technically, how to ride vocals with the fader in real time but not a thing I have ever done. I mostly start with AdHd Leveling Tool then I will adjust Clip Gain and then a Gain VST if there are other things. Mostly tho I try to be as hands off as possible as most modern recordings are far to meddled with to be enjoyable as a human experience. Not that I am purist at all - give me Def Leppard "Pyromania" or The Cars "Heartbeat City" over Jason Aldean etc as that just feel too faux for joy. :-)