Month: November 2018

Broadjam Artist: Chet Nichols
Song: When I Think About You (#1 Male Vocal)

Reviewer: Anxious Rabbit

Positive Comments: Memorable hook – Nice groove – Good tempo – Pretty decent Musicianship – Retro Almond Brothers – The Band

Constructive Comments: Sorry, but the mix felt very imbalanced, not serving the song best interest of the song – Have it mixed by a pro $150 to $300 depending – Absolutely worth the difference – A Pro would never have let those lead vocals go out that way – A decent effort by the singer, but far too many flat notes! And. vocals should never be in competition with the track – And or individuals instruments should never step on one another. Over all this song could be at a much higher level if mixed better. And sometimes we have to let our ego go, and have a pro demo singer, get the job done – Go ahead and do a take for yourself, your family and friends – But allow a pro to take your song to the next level – if – you’re hoping for a cut or at the very least a Sync placement – The expectations are very high when submitting to a Music Supervisor or and A&R type! If none of that is why you’re writing and recording than don’t bother. But, if your hoping for commercial results changes must be made! Cheers!

Broadjam Artist: Chet Nichols
Song: When I Think About You (#1 Male Vocal)

Reviewer: Anxious Rabbit

Positive Comments: Memorable hook – Nice groove – Good tempo – Pretty decent Musicianship – Retro Almond Brothers – The Band

Constructive Comments: Sorry, but the mix felt very imbalanced, not serving the song best interest of the song – Have it mixed by a pro $150 to $300 depending – Absolutely worth the difference – A Pro would never have let those lead vocals go out that way – A decent effort by the singer, but far too many flat notes! And. vocals should never be in competition with the track – And or individuals instruments should never step on one another. Over all this song could be at a much higher level if mixed better. And sometimes we have to let our ego go, and have a pro demo singer, get the job done – Go ahead and do a take for yourself, your family and friends – But allow a pro to take your song to the next level – if – you’re hoping for a cut or at the very least a Sync placement – The expectations are very high when submitting to a Music Supervisor or and A&R type! If none of that is why you’re writing and recording than don’t bother. But, if your hoping for commercial results changes must be made! Cheers!

Broadjam Artist: Kate Carpenter
Song: Chicken in the Pan

Reviewer: Anxious Rabbit

Positive Comments: Fun – Uptempo – Specific – Good pickers [ and pluckers ] Decent vocals

Constructive Comments: Oh,.. Please get that thing mixed by a Pro – spent the $150 to $300 required [ depending ] – too many levels were way off – not a balanced mix – which is doing a disservice to the over all song. Keep in mind this is not a song an artist would cut – But it holds out some major promise, as a Sync placement for Film – T.V. or for a Major Ad Campaign – If – Properly presented [ mixed ] Grew on me as it went a long!

Broadjam Artist: Kate Carpenter
Song: Chicken in the Pan

Reviewer: Anxious Rabbit

Positive Comments: Fun – Uptempo – Specific – Good pickers [ and pluckers ] Decent vocals

Constructive Comments: Oh,.. Please get that thing mixed by a Pro – spent the $150 to $300 required [ depending ] – too many levels were way off – not a balanced mix – which is doing a disservice to the over all song. Keep in mind this is not a song an artist would cut – But it holds out some major promise, as a Sync placement for Film – T.V. or for a Major Ad Campaign – If – Properly presented [ mixed ] Grew on me as it went a long!

Broadjam Artist: Scott Tingley
Song: Half The Night

Reviewer: Anxious Rabbit

Positive Comments: Positive approach lyrically and vocally – Good musicianship – Fun Tempo – Artist? Jimmy Buffet ?

Constructive Comments: Questionable Mix! Levels were way off. Please spend the money $100 to$ 300 [ depending ] and have a pro mix your song. When the track is [ at times ] in competetion with vocals or select instruments are just too high or too low in the mix, it frustrates the ears of those listening [ and your your hoping to get a cut, the A&R individual listening ] will start “tuning” out, and that’s no good. Vocals [ for the most part ] were on pitch! But there were spots where it faltered. Either use Melodyn [ an auto tune software ] during mastering, or higher a pro demo singer. Live signing has a different expectation than a recorded play back – there are no excuses for vocals that are even slightly off, when listening to a playback. This song has some real potential, but not in it’s current form. but that’s just my perspective! Keeping being true to you and weigh peoples opinions accordingly! FYI i don’t sing most of my demo’s, it does serve the best interest of the song, which i’m hoping to have cut either by an Artist or placed in either a film – TV show or major add campaign! Cheers

Broadjam Artist: Howard Delnick
Song: Hammer Down

Reviewer: Anxious Rabbit

Positive Comments: Liked Tempo felt – Liked concept – Memorable hook – Decent musicianship!

Constructive Comments: So much depends on why your writing and recording – for fun? to share with friends? In hopes of obtaining a cut on an artist album or get a Sync placement in a Film – T.V. show or National Ad Campaign ? With that said – Assuming it’s more than a hobby – You want the most professional presentation of our song possible right? Have a pro-Demo house produce your track! Utilize a pro Demo singer – Have the song professionally Mastered. But first make sure you’ve confirmed what you are having demo’d is what the Music industry is expecting. This song has a major dis-connect [ unfortunately ] working against it’s self. The Musical “Movement” [ interlude ] that comes directly after the first chorus, feels completely out of place – like it’s from another genre or song it does not gel with the rest of the song. That absolutely needs to be addressed and a Pro Vocalist need to be hired. Again if you are hoping for a cut. The bar is very high in the ways of expectations of production. It’s not like is was 20 or even 30 years ago when a real raw demo could be submitted – expecting a Producer or A&R type might think “Oh i know what to to with this!” Those days [ for the most part ] don’t exist any more. They want and expect high quality – lyrics – production [ even if stripped down ] and vocals that are nearly a mastered mix, if not mastered. Good songs don’t cut it any more, hey have to be great to qualify for an Album cut. However the bar isn’t quite as high for a Sync placement,..but nearly. So you must boost your level of presentation, in order to meet current expectations. Or just keep doing what you’re doing for you and your friends! But over all, a fun song! Keep doing what you love!

Broadjam Artist: Howard Delnick
Song: Hammer Down

Reviewer: Anxious Rabbit

Positive Comments: Liked Tempo felt – Liked concept – Memorable hook – Decent musicianship!

Constructive Comments: So much depends on why your writing and recording – for fun? to share with friends? In hopes of obtaining a cut on an artist album or get a Sync placement in a Film – T.V. show or National Ad Campaign ? With that said – Assuming it’s more than a hobby – You want the most professional presentation of our song possible right? Have a pro-Demo house produce your track! Utilize a pro Demo singer – Have the song professionally Mastered. But first make sure you’ve confirmed what you are having demo’d is what the Music industry is expecting. This song has a major dis-connect [ unfortunately ] working against it’s self. The Musical “Movement” [ interlude ] that comes directly after the first chorus, feels completely out of place – like it’s from another genre or song it does not gel with the rest of the song. That absolutely needs to be addressed and a Pro Vocalist need to be hired. Again if you are hoping for a cut. The bar is very high in the ways of expectations of production. It’s not like is was 20 or even 30 years ago when a real raw demo could be submitted – expecting a Producer or A&R type might think “Oh i know what to to with this!” Those days [ for the most part ] don’t exist any more. They want and expect high quality – lyrics – production [ even if stripped down ] and vocals that are nearly a mastered mix, if not mastered. Good songs don’t cut it any more, hey have to be great to qualify for an Album cut. However the bar isn’t quite as high for a Sync placement,..but nearly. So you must boost your level of presentation, in order to meet current expectations. Or just keep doing what you’re doing for you and your friends! But over all, a fun song! Keep doing what you love!

Broadjam Artist: Trinity
Song: Hopefully…………

Reviewer: Edmond Allmond

Positive Comments: The choice of instruments and voices is very nice. Intriguing! I can see this piece being picked up for placement somewhere. I like its straight-forward simplicity. Within that accessible structure is a lot of creative depth and good emotion. the upper voice is haunting. The repetition grabs you. I like the choice of the male voices for the short punchy obligato. Good stuff!

Constructive Comments: The mix. A piece like this is made perfect by the mix. That requires doing some meticulous mastering. Let each voice have more of a pocket in which to live. I hope that this comment is proper, because often a good mix can be hidden by conversion to MP3 if the MP3 is not a high enough resolution. Anyway, I really enjoyed your music. Thank you for putting it here for us to enjoy!

Broadjam Artist: Trinity
Song: Hopefully…………

Reviewer: Edmond Allmond

Positive Comments: The choice of instruments and voices is very nice. Intriguing! I can see this piece being picked up for placement somewhere. I like its straight-forward simplicity. Within that accessible structure is a lot of creative depth and good emotion. the upper voice is haunting. The repetition grabs you. I like the choice of the male voices for the short punchy obligato. Good stuff!

Constructive Comments: The mix. A piece like this is made perfect by the mix. That requires doing some meticulous mastering. Let each voice have more of a pocket in which to live. I hope that this comment is proper, because often a good mix can be hidden by conversion to MP3 if the MP3 is not a high enough resolution. Anyway, I really enjoyed your music. Thank you for putting it here for us to enjoy!

Broadjam Artist: Steve Dafoe – Songwriter
Song: Remember When (Pop Instru)

Reviewer: Edmond Allmond

Positive Comments: This is a really beautiful piece. I’ve played it several times. The choices of instruments is perfect, I think. The melody is so wonderfully, beautifully simple. Instantly hummable. That is, to me, so important for a song. Your audience can come away singing and humming the melody or parts of it. It’s a happy melody that will keep a smile on everyone’s face. Also, the drums are mixed in perfectly, I think. They add just the right amount of punch and rhythmic flavor.Thank you!

Constructive Comments: I really like this song. From my experience, strings are difficult to place in a mix pocket. at just about 2:10, the strings are pulled back enough to make a difference. This makes them really sweet. Also, when playing the string lines, imagine playing the violins, the cellos, violas… that will help you voice them as strings and not as a keyboard.The strings tend to be really bright in this mix and dominate this beautiful song. I would pull them back a bit and even throw a notch EQ on them to cut a small bit of the brightness. That could really help.Also, this is not an Avante Garde piece. Put it in its right category. it deserves to be heard.I dunno… finding a mastering plugin that allows mastering dips could be really helpful. I know it’s helped me, and I need to redo some of my music for the same reason. I use the Waves trifecta that’s recommended. L2 Ultrmaximizer,Linear phase multiband, linear phase EQ. My biggest issue is to remember to put up reeeeeally high quality MP3s. Thanks for writing this sweet piece of music.