# my band on Reverbnation Opinions wanted



## jmaysen (Mar 10, 2008)

ReverbNation

List of gear used to record:

Guitars:
Gibson Les Paul R8
Gibson Jimmy Page Custom Authentic LP
Gibson EDS1275 ( the chord riff on Not that easy to please)
Gibson J200 
Fender Custom Shop Telecaster 
Warwick Corvette bass
Alembic 8 string bass
Danelectro U2 
Fender Custom shop Jazz bass

Amps:
Garnet Rebel Reverb Head
1964 VOX berkeley reverb twin 
Hughs and Kettler Pure tone 
Marshall JCM 900 100w
Marshall 1960TV cab
Hiwatt 2x12 cab
Trace Elliot AMH600X bass amp
4x10 Trace cabs

Drums:
Vintage Ludwig 3 ply maple (we have 4 sets of them in different sizes)
Custom Made UniX Stave drums
Various Zildijian Pastie ans Sabian hand made cymbals.... We got lots.... 

We used Pro tools with a Mac pro

Mastering done at Studio SPR


The band has gone on hiatus since our singer and gone off to Australia... For the right offer, he'd come back and tour it though. 

What do you think?


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## jmaysen (Mar 10, 2008)

nobody has an opinion? Does it suck? does it rock? do you like / hate the guitar tones? does the singer blow? are we not pop enough? do we rock too much/ not enough?......

we're looking for honest input here.


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## holyman (Dec 22, 2009)

I think your band sounds really good. I liked 'Wake up the sun' the best - probably because that is the most rocking song. Sometimes your songs seem to sit a little uncomfortably in the gray area between pop and rock. I would probably enjoy the songs more if they had a bit more of a harder rock vibe happening. For example, the clean parts in 'Not that easy to please" are a little too clean and wussy sounding to my ear. I think a bit of grit would benifit the guitar sounds greatly. Also, the vocals tend to be a little too pretty sounding at times as well. 

The guitar sounds are ok. They do tend to sound a little flubby at times though. I don't know enough about recording to tell if it is the tone itself or the way it was recorded but I would suspect it might be both. Sometimes the guitar sounds a little bit muffled to my ear, like the riff in 'Wake up the sun' for example. The guitar playing though was really good. Nice leads.

Overall though I think the songs all sound great. Congradulations! Ultimately both the songs and the musicianship are stellar and that is what is most important. I think the only real constructive criticism I have would revolve around the overall sound. Pick either a pop or rock sound and stick to it. I would go rock, not because its what I prefer (I like to play pop myself), but because that seems to be where your songs want to go (at least to my ear). 
Similarly, I think the quality of the recording itself and the way the songs are mixed do not do your songs justice. The songs and the musical ability is definately there, but these recordings don't make them shine as well as they could. I bet these songs sound amazing live.

Cheers.


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## jmaysen (Mar 10, 2008)

That's what I'm talking about! Keep 'em coming!

The one draw back to Reverbnation is the limited bandwidth of the uploaded tunes, we had to squash everything down quite a bit.... 

Some of the songs where recorded 3 years ago on a MOTU system that was ok, but not as good as the later Pro Tools system we use for the latest stuff.... There is a difference in tone because of that. We felt that we should leave it as is and it would give the whole package a different flavor. Too many bands try to have every song sound the same.....


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

i've heard John's band LIVE a few time..since we're in the same area...and my god..POP is not how i would define their live tone..ahaha..


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## jmaysen (Mar 10, 2008)

Here's a look at us live, well ok, sound check..... It's a tune that's yet to be recorded.... but it rocks....

YouTube - You Do it To Yourself.wmv


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## Powdered Toast Man (Apr 6, 2006)

I think Holyman nailed it with his entire post. If I were you guys, I would pick a sound and go with it. It sounds to me like you're trying to sit on the fence between pop, heavy rock, and jazz. Maybe the different members come with varying musical backgrounds and styles and you're trying to compromise to make everyone in the band happy? 

Tone wise, I would lay off the distortion on the guitars in the heavy parts and find a good overdrive sound instead. The snare sound is... I can't decide if it's flat or too metal sounding. Either way, it sticks out in the mix like a sore thumb. The bass is riding the mids way to much for my taste as well.

The only song I would recommend you completely cut is "Night and Day". It just goes nowhere and the busy bass lines aren't carrying the song. I've been in bands that have written songs almost exactly like that one and the problem with those type of tunes is that they're entirely void of a hook. 

Otherwise, your playing is technically perfect. You all know your instruments well. I think you're trying to take risks with your songwriting - which is meant as a compliment. With some better recordings and further refinement to the song arrangements, it could go from "good" to "very good".


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## jmaysen (Mar 10, 2008)

Thanks for your review and all your points are valid and taken down . I like having a perspective from the outside looking in. We can only look at it from within the band. And since none of you guys know us, it's impartial and the truth. 

One thing though, none of us have ever owned a distortion pedal.... All overdrive is natural cranked tube amps... The Page Les Paul was used for the heavier parts as it's quite a nasty sounding guitar.


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## keto (May 23, 2006)

jmaysen said:


> Here's a look at us live, well ok, sound check..... It's a tune that's yet to be recorded.... but it rocks....
> 
> YouTube - You Do it To Yourself.wmv


I liked it, though the singer's 'psycho eyes' kinda wierded me out :wave:


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