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So Here are the entries for our latest challenge. Each member has one vote to use before Sunday 3 Feb 2013

[quote author=briang link=action=profile;u=1940 date=1357384676] My entry for the January 2013 challenge https://soundcloud.com/#brian-john-gallagher/80s-hair-power-ballad-solo [/quote]

[quote author=Arno West link=action=profile;u=4697 date=1357905519] Here's my entry for the Jan 2013 Challenge. I saw Donovan mention Def Leppard and the floodgates opened.... https://soundcloud.com/arnos-garage-studio/arnowest-gfsa-jan-2013-comp [/quote]

[quote author=Donovan Banks link=action=profile;u=1474 date=1359310484] Here's mine. https://www.box.com/s/eck84m3dqf5q5az8mnwy Wanted to add vocals but didn't find time. Shortened it to keep it interesting. Category A please. [/quote]

(old forum) Poll Results: 80's Big Hair Power Ballad?

  • briang: 1
  • Arno West: 11
  • Donovan Banks: 12
    There's a problem with the URL to Brian's entry. Looks like just a superfluous # sign. Just remove it and you get to his recording.
      I think it's because of the "new" soundcloud that its asking to upgrade to..

      either way... nice guys ?
      really cool tracks!
        This is some excellent stuff guys, all three of you. :applause:
        I'm going to have send my vote Donovan's way as his just has that quintessential 80's power ballad feel a la Scorpions or T'Pau to it. Lekker stuff man, took me right back to high school.
          deefstes wrote: There's a problem with the URL to Brian's entry. Looks like just a superfluous # sign. Just remove it and you get to his recording.
          Ta Fixed it
            three really cool entries - again! my vote is also going don's way - nailed it, from the sound, to the production, to the feel, to the solo itself.

            most excellent.
            dh
              Gentlemen. You were required to provide 80's Power Ballad Solo's, and that is exactly what you did.

              My vote was literally a tug-o-war between Arno and Donovan. I had to listen to both of your tracks atleast 5 times to decide where I should cast my vote. I was looking strictly at the 'solo' requirement, and I feel both of you nailed that so well it was impossible for me to vote one of you better than the other. Donovan's had a more melodic feel, with those legato notes, and Arno's solo just accompanied the chords they where playing with soo well. So as I could not vote based on solo, I decided to move to production quality, and Donovan, I'm afraid this is where you fell slightly short. I found the drums and some instruments to be lost in the solo, granted, it is a solo and the solo should dominate, but I do believe each instrument can be given room to dominate whilst still hearing all other instruments clearly. This is a subjective point tho, so I don't expect you to take it to heart. I just found your overall mix a little more muddy. If I could of voted for both, I truly would of.

              Brian, not forgetting you. I did enjoy your track as well. You set the bar high. I just found compared to the others that the solo wasn't as quite 80's ballad. It's hard to give reasons why, but I found that the other two played the right notes over the supporting chords, you on the other hand where slightly more technical, for example you did this really cool lick/technical piece at 20sec, I enjoyed that, but for me ballad solo's are all in the less but more emotional notes.

              All in all, wonderful tracks all round :goodtimes:
                Yoh! Arno your track was well done. More Bon Jovi than def lepard I thought? Great tone too!
                Brian I enjoyed that descending run in yours. Very cool.
                Thanks for the comments folks. I'm relatively chuffed with this one. I feel I could have executed it better but the idea was there. Lots of reverb on the snare and chorus on the guitar..
                  No much to add to what Adrian said, but just wanna say well done, i really enjoyed the entries!I must definitely commit myself to entering the february challenge I think
                    Yea! Dons had the Power baby, the Power! ?
                      Sound production by Arno really good, all instruments clearly audible - I listen and hopefully learn.
                      Donovan's sound possibly more authentic.

                      I'm going for Arno's entry, again, on the basis of the sound production - (this is a recording competition after all or should it be about composition?)

                        briang wrote: I'm going for Arno's entry, again, on the basis of the sound production - (this is a recording competition after all or should it be about composition?)
                        I personally favour the composition over the sound production, which is sometimes hard to do if there is a really massive gap (because obviously the sound and polish is important). Some guys have much better equipment and recording experience than others, so I try to look at each piece on its own merit. In fact, the competition rule about a limited number of tracks is designed somewhat to level the playing field a bit, otherwise the more experienced blokes will have entire orchestras on the go. ?

                        In this one, I thought Don's was most in keeping with the topic, and was played with some great energy.
                          ShreddySmurf wrote:
                          briang wrote: I'm going for Arno's entry, again, on the basis of the sound production - (this is a recording competition after all or should it be about composition?)
                          I personally favour the composition over the sound production,


                          Maybe I need to review how I listen to these?
                          I find it difficult to "hear" ? the composition when the sound is not optimally recorded/produced.
                          Anyway - it is a lot of fun doing this.
                            A really good effort all round guys. Well done, I enjoyed them all!
                              Adrian Rogowski wrote: Gentlemen. You were required to provide 80's Power Ballad Solo's, and that is exactly what you did.

                              All in all, wonderful tracks all round :goodtimes:
                              Thanks for the review
                                ShreddySmurf wrote:
                                briang wrote: I'm going for Arno's entry, again, on the basis of the sound production - (this is a recording competition after all or should it be about composition?)
                                I personally favour the composition over the sound production, which is sometimes hard to do if there is a really massive gap (because obviously the sound and polish is important). Some guys have much better equipment and recording experience than others, so I try to look at each piece on its own merit. In fact, the competition rule about a limited number of tracks is designed somewhat to level the playing field a bit, otherwise the more experienced blokes will have entire orchestras on the go. ?

                                In this one, I thought Don's was most in keeping with the topic, and was played with some great energy.
                                This is a really good point. And one that I feel we have too often neglected. The voting should be based on the quality of the composition and not how well the mix was, cause then yes, it will drive away those less experienced in good EQ and compression techniques etc. However, having said that, I too was one of those who was less experienced in those fields, and only recently (and thanks to this forum) have I stepped up my game with regards to production quality. However, despite the difficulty, we need to focus on the challenge themes and not how good the mix sounds
                                  Adrian Rogowski wrote:The voting should be based on the quality of the composition and not how well the mix was, cause then yes, it will drive away those less experienced in good EQ and compression techniques etc.
                                  I think the beauty of fora is that you can vote for whatever reason you want to vote for.

                                  Freedom ftw!

                                  I must say, it's not good for the ego to be told your entry is "closest to the topic" or "The production was good" or "most in line with the rules" We need more "You rock Brian!" and "I love you Don" or "I wanna have your babies Arno." ?
                                    Adrian Rogowski wrote:
                                    This is a really good point. And one that I feel we have too often neglected. The voting should be based on the quality of the composition and not how well the mix was, cause then yes, it will drive away those less experienced in good EQ and compression techniques etc. However, having said that, I too was one of those who was less experienced in those fields, and only recently (and thanks to this forum) have I stepped up my game with regards to production quality. However, despite the difficulty, we need to focus on the challenge themes and not how good the mix sounds
                                    It's a bit of both, I think. I've learned a lot about writing, recording and mixing a track through some of these challenges. I like to think I've gotten better at it, so there is that.

                                    Is it "unfair" to vote for an entry which was clearly recorded in 60 seconds, once-off, with no processing and sloppy playing but which has great ideas and communicates with you personally? Over another entry which somebody obviously put hours of work into, but is just a bit more generic-sounding overall? Or how about entries where there are other musicians / band members contributing to the track, against tracks put together by a single person?

                                    Like Don says, there is no "right" or "wrong" answer. Just opinions. And when there are only 3 entries out of a significantly larger active membership, you don't want to get too picky about what people should or shouldn't be doing in their contributions.
                                      Donovan Banks wrote: We need more "You rock Brian!" and "I love you Don" or "I wanna have your babies Arno." ?
                                      :yup: - all of the entries deserve congratz!

                                      But voting means choosing...in an expression of personal preference for the challenge(s), feel > production.

                                        Oh don't get me wrong, I am one of those people who puts hours into making my song sound good (from all angles). And yes, I think we should be entitled to vote however we please. My point is that lets say this challenge, the point was to test our 80's ballad soloing skills, and not how well the Bass and Kick drum work together, sure, they will no doubt impact how I perceive the song, and it makes it all the more harder to vote if someone had a great sounding song but a crappy solo as opposed to another person who had a excellent solo but crappy mix. It's just an interesting point that's all, I'm not trying to change anything, as I said, I am one of those guys who often spends a good few hours into making my overall song sound good.

                                        Having said that, all your guys songs where good. There was definitely no 60seconds wam bam done. I could hear that each of you spent a good portion of time carving the song into an art. So again. Well-Freaken done to all of you