Glennny Wuz Robbed! (Red Thief reviews)

[eggnogadam]

EggNogAdam
I like the guitar. Nice soloing. The bluesy resolution is nice but it also feels very well worn, like straight out of the playbook for this genre. Good singing. Very short, but I think that's fine, it doesn't even come close to wearing out its welcome.

Thanks, man!

[EvelBist]

Some may even be interested in remixing your tracks and showing you what they did.

It seems the universe of artists who think they can produce their own recordings is large - but the count of artists who really can is planetary. I for one would like to think that I can - but down deep I know I'm not there yet. So if there is someone with the time and desire to take my reaper files and redo them - let me know.

[glennny]

Red Thief Reviews

Cigar Charlie- This reminds me of the Cheerful Insanity of Giles Giles and Fripp. That’s a very good thing. The busy jazzy drums are great. I wish the vocals were performed a lot louder and then taken down in the mix. You’re barely singing, and it sounds like it’s 2AM and you’re trying not to wake anyone up while you record. The rhythm guitar is solid and reminds me of 10:15 on a Saturday night. The lead guitar has some unsure moments but the effect is nice. Fun recording!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLukUKA1khM

Eggnog Adam- Some sweet freaking licks in my right ear! This violates so many rules, and yet works. Love the vocal melody and harmony vocals. Great length. That rhythm guitar actually carries the beat and structure. The recording is incredibly hissy, it’d be nice to get a hold of that issue. Very cool song!

Foobar- Yes! Love the mix and structure of this. I think the lead guitar could use a couple more takes. Everything else is so solid. Oh man, too short! I wanted this to be twice as long. Are the horns sampled? I want those samples. Awesome! Getting a vote.

Glacial Equinox- What kind of music is this? This is a very positive song.

G Rock- The hard pan works a lot better on speakers than on headphones. Everything sounds great though! Nice tight solid playing! Okay, the mix changes, from 1:40 on I like the mix a lot better. The drums went from my right ear to up the middle. I like the drums in the middle. I wish the guitar and bass weren’t panned so far but I can dig it. Nice vocal performance! The verse is really strong. The chorus is weak in comparison, but still nice. I want a bit more of an emotional lift for the chorus. Still, the cool factor is very high on this track.

James Owens- Oh man! This is done well! I usually have an aversion to 12-bar blues, but when it’s done right it’s very sweet. Gorgeous guitar solo! The Hammond is making me tear up. Great vocal performance! This is exactly what I was hoping for when I suggested titles to Deep Throat. (by the way Deep Throat ran with the concept, but did not take any suggestions verbatim) . I love it! VOTE!

King Arthur- This is great! Drums are nice! I really like the story. Fantastic song structure, great chord pattern. The organ is really cool. I wish the bass was slightly higher in the mix, I always enjoy your bass lines. Not much to criticize. I’ve had an immediate family member who had a heart (and 2 lungs) transplant. I like how lightly something so heavy is taken in these lyrics. Vote.

Merle Fyshwick- When the low strings come in, it is very effective. I think the vocals are a bit too loud in the mix. I like the groove and flow of this song. I think the vocal line is in desperate need of some well placed harmonies. Those “yeahs” and “oooohs” would be great for some backing vocal harmonies.

New Image- I love autotune. The way I use it is to keep doing takes until I don’t hear the robotic affects so much. The way you used it gives a very cringy effect to your vocal scoops. It’s very distracting. Not a bad song, but that hook is rather berating. The bass is lost. Drums are too quiet. The timing of the rhythm acoustic is sloppy. This really needs a re-record.

Paco del Stinko- VOTE VOTE VOTE- This is by far my favorite of the fight! From the opening I start grinning and I never lose the smile. Great freaking mix! All the playing is superb! Practice much? I absolutely love the vocals and harmonies! I felt the same violence, hence the BSS track. Your monster growl is so superior to mine! The guitar solos are killer! One of my favorites from you ever! Thanks!

Richard Brooks- Sounds like one take recorded simultaneously. The time fluctuations are sometimes beautiful and well placed, at other moments a little awkward. It’s refreshing to here a non-click track song. That acceleration at 2:20 is particularly good. Your vocals are pretty. I enjoy this song a lot. It’s the perfect placement after Paco. The ending should have been the last chord held and then faded, that stab kills the mood a bit. Cool stuff!

Rio Mondo- Recording is very fun! I’m glad you had fun! Keep having fun!

Ross by Wave- There are some wrong notes in that vocal line man. That backing music is pretty cool, but so buried in the mix. That heavy beat could use some serious screaming yelling vocals. The vocal delivery is wimpering. That groove could turn into something huge like the Doves : Cedar Room http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWEBkUa06lE
(by the way, that guitarist has my exact guitar that was stolen, same Cherry ES 335, damn sounds so good).

Ross- Great recording! Excellent dynamics! This song makes me want to stop writing reviews and go play some acoustic guitar. I’ll get back to reviews later…. Maybe. Okay, back, I like the lyrical color motif: red thief, black heart. Vocals are strong. I dig the solo too. Vote!

Ryan Dawson- This looks to be rather long for a GnG. This is pretty. Nice singing. I really want more orchestration. I think the singing could be performed louder in the chorus. Seems like it shout really be belt out for dynamics. Enjoyable listen!

Sclimminy Cricket- Do you get the Ween comparison all the time? I feel like I’ve said that before about you guys. This is delightfully weird. Really cool orchestration, I don’t think I’d ever come up with that. I like this, I wish it had a catchy hook for the chorus.

Tuner’s Union- I’m in awe of your vocals as usual. This is so good, especially good on headphones. The staccato keys are so tasty. If anything I wish there was a big bold and creamy Paco del Stinko type of guitar solo. Big VOTE!

Worn Cords- Hey I know that voice. Now I have to figure out what other band you submit as (I’m one to talk). Wow that was short. Great rock vocals! I’m really glad the band kicked in. Did it lose a little momentum when they kicked in? was the intro too fast? Maybe it’s that consistent hesitation. Cool song, one little flaw to my ears.

Berkeley Social Scene- This was a very fun and cathartic song. The verse riff is the serial number of my stolen guitar, translated to frets. 92741612. (the last 2 digits serve as the pre-chorus). Sam asked me what I would do to the guy who stole my guitar if I caught him. I said I wanted to stab him in the eye. I want him to live and suffer. Sam is on drums and delivering a kick ass rock beat. Martin is on Rat Bass, which is nice a filthy dirty and helps with the anger. I got to play Sam’s Les Paul for the original recording. By the time I got to overdub the solo, I got my new Blonde 335. I love this song, but it’s so personal that I’m nowhere near being objective about it. It was really nice to have the community support, you all understand! Thanks!

[eggnogadam]

Eggnog Adam- Some sweet freaking licks in my right ear! This violates so many rules, and yet works. Love the vocal melody and harmony vocals. Great length. That rhythm guitar actually carries the beat and structure. The recording is incredibly hissy, it’d be nice to get a hold of that issue. Very cool song!

I appreciate it! The hiss... yea. I'm not a fan. Glad you approve. I look forward to future fights.

[king_arthur]

King Arthur

I'm not really sure there is much point in me reviewing your song in detail. You pretty much do what you do, you've got your sound figured out, and it is what it is. I'm kind of jealous of that, it seems like it would be nice. Anyway, for me this song is OK, not a standout good or bad from your usual output.

Okay, I do not mean the following to be all "tell me how wonderful I am," lest anyone is tempted...

Lunk, you're probably right, but it still helps when people point out that I'm doing too much compressing, mixing too loud, putting a too-busy guitar part on. Yeah, I have kinda locked in on "my thing," and maybe for me to earn a win around here I need to abandon "that thing" and do something entirely new... but, ya know, over the past almost ten years, I've tried making subtle changes, working in different styles... I'm still not getting it, whatever "it" is (although last week's 2nd place in the voting was nice, even if BSS slaughtered me and everybody else).

And the other thing is that, after a year or so off songwriting and recording, I've started up again to try to find out if I've lost my songwriting mojo forever, or if there's hope of doing something useful still. I've also been trying to write simple worship songs for our contemporary band at church and that's not going very well, either. So from that angle... I realize that the world isn't going to make a popstar out of old King Arthur, but I am using the SF titles and posting here to find out if I can get back to doing something that I will be pleased to listen to when I go into the rest home in a few years...

Anyway... yeah, I'm not going to be making major stylistic changes in what I do, even though I realize that I'm probably at least 20 years out of date stylistically. But I do appreciate people pointing out bigger stuff that I might not recognize (like when I use Band Inna Box to create my drum part and don't listen closely enough to realize that I'm trying to sing a straight beat over a swing drum pattern). Or when the whole "approach to the title" just doesn't make sense. For "Bully," I wrote three different complete lyrics and then made some major changes to the third, worked on a recording and finally just abandoned it 'cause it didn't seem like it was working...

So, ya know, please tell me when I get the big stuff wrong, but in terms of stuff like specific lyric words... yeah, I'm gonna keep doing what I do, and I hope that's not wasting everybody's time. I've started writing and posting again to find out if I can get my thing back up to snuff. So far, not, and I'm out this week 'cause it just wasn't working for me at all...

And a couple more thoughts on recording vocals, for g&g songs and otherwise:

- another way to deal with vocal popping is with microphone angling - for me, at least, the pops tend to come out of the front of my mouth. There's a difference between pointing the front of the mic and the side of your mouth (so that the mic isn't in the path of the pops) and singing into the side of the mic. Try moving the mic out of the path of your plosives. Putting it up around eye level pointed down at your mouth may help, too... ya kinda have to try different things to find one that fixes the problem.

- also, especially on g&g tracks, I often hear the background hiss drop out abruptly while the singer is not singing and then it pops right back up just before the singing starts again. Instead of that... well, obviously, try to record with as little hiss as you can, but then leave the hiss "in place" when you're not singing. Maybe bring the guitar UP a little during those places, but don't cut out the hiss, which just draws attention to it. If your software / recorder will let you do it, see if you can use the vocal track to key a level adjuster to bring the guitar(s) up a little when the singing stops, rather than lowering the level of the vocal track.

When I'm doing a vocal track, I frequently have to do it with the A/C running, but I record it that way and then pretty much leave the vocal level alone while mixing. While I'm singing, I'll stay fairly close in on the mic so that I'm blocking the A/C sound as much as I can, but if there's A/C on during the vocals, it stays in through the whole song, even during the introduction. You can try an "expander" version of compression, which pushes noise down when the track as a whole is below a certain level, but it does it gently, not abruptly like a "gate" would. I'd rather hear a track that's a bit hissy all the way through rather than one where the hiss draws attention to itself by cutting in and out abruptly.

Sorry all my thoughts are long and complicated, that's one of my other problems...

[AJOwens]

This is exactly what I was hoping for when I suggested titles to Deep Throat.

Glad I hit the mark. I was thinking of you when I decided to go blues.

[JakeDeLorey]

A long absence from the songfight scene. No more dilly dally, back to reviewing. Top 3 survivors get my vote. I see Tuners Union is in this week, maybe I should just vote for them and find out who the runners up are. No even playing field. FIRST UP:

Berkeley Social Scene Not a big BSS fan sound wise, but they are constant. Gotta admire that work ethic. DIg the rinkydink keyboard sound. It works. Guitar sound is okay, but a little weak in the mix. Not big on the vocal placement, but I do like the when the background vocals kick in, really fills things up. I'm a bit of a sucker for that. Lyrically I find it forced in places, but I shouldnt talk, lyrics kick me in the balls over and over again. Never happy with them. Nice submission

Cigar Charlie I would like to hear your accompaniment track a bit more. Its super quiet. This style doesnt really speak to me, but I dont mind your lyrics. I think it could have been mixed a bit better, as The music is very low compared to your vocals.

EggNogAdam Nice intro, although some of the noodling is a bit much. You're great at it, but it just seemed a bit to busy in parts. Nice voice, really dig it. Your harmony track sounds swette to. Cant wait to hear the....oh its done.

Foobar Alright Foobar, lets see if you can remove any of the first three songs froma vote spot. Really nicely mixed. SOunds superb on my headphones. Your lead guitar sound is a bit thin for me, but the full piano makes up for that. Nice swing. Lyrics work well with this tune. A quality submission. This is good enough to bump Cigar Charlie from a spot.

Glacial Equinox This is gonna be metal isnt it...oh, nope, house music I guess. Okay.....funny guy. moving on

grock Alright G-Rock whatcha got. I tend to like your sense of melody. Oh super quiet vocals, to quiet. You have a good voice man, work it why dontcha. I like this tune, but the mix isnt working for me. A quiet accoustic in my left ear, drums in my right, or at least the hats. ANyway this does not work in my headphones, but I like this tune. I know you have a better mix in ya. This is good enough however to remove BSS froma vote spot.

James Owens Nice mix between the Organ and the Bass. WOuld like to hear the vocals a bit more in the mix. Maybe a bit more volume on the guitar stabs. Nice smoke filled, black and white submission. Quality man. The solo is spot on, a real nice clean and warm tone.

King Arthur Another swinger. The organ sound on this one is a bit to thin for this swing. At least it is after hearing Mr. Owens keyboard sound. This has got some great guitar work though. Would like to hear it a bit more up in the mix. Lyrically I really like this and it keeps me interested, Not enough to break into a voting spot however.

Merle Fyshwick lyrics grabbed me right away. DIg your voice!dont know why, but I getan elvis costello vibe from this tune. Really dig this, and quite a different approach on the title. Real simple, but it all works. This will snag a voting spot from G-rock

so moving forward we have the top 3 spots held by Merle, Foobar, and Egg Nog Adam

New Image Holy Auto tune batman. I fine with auto tune, but maybe tone it down just a bit, as it makes your song sound glitchy. Same with your snare. Its just a click in this mix. I want to like this, but the mix doesnt work for me. To much reverb and to much auto tune

Paco del Stinko Onto the best Band name in SOngfight. Paco is always good for some edge. This does not disappoint. That bass sits real nice in this overall quality mix. Vocals are sitting nicely on this. Upbeat and interesting. A blistering solo that is nice and full. A quality submission man. This will remove Egg Nog Adam from the running. That chugginess at the two minute mark, is a but to chugging for me though, sorta gets sloppy. Still good for a vote though

Richard Brooks Stretch, Yaaaaawn. Real nice, real relaxing. I want to hear you branch out a bit more recording wise. I would like to hear another guitar in this mix, maybe a fattened up vocal. This is just a bit to tame for me. I picture John Belushi smashing your guitar on the wall. Nice song, but lets see you stretch sonically a bit. Quality Lyrics

Rio Mondo Get rid of the intro. I havnt heard the song yet, and I have already lumped it into the "We're so zany" Barenaked Ladies era. Mix is good, although the vocals sit kinda heavy. Rap being done by non rappers doesnt sit well either. Its the "tough guy" voice thats the kicker. This is fun and stuff, but thats where it ends for me.

Rossby Wave Like that guitar swell, or whatever type of swell that started it off. Your vocals are dull, and flat. It adds a boringness to the tune that the tune doesnt deserve. As I like the tune, and beat. It sounds good, but you dont sound into singing it. I look forward to your future submissions, but want to hear you stretch yourself vocally a bit.

Ross Durand Great sounding acoustic. Nice warm vocals. This mix sounds good on my headphones, real nice indeed. great lyrics and a well constructed tune. I like the solo, a bit sloppy, but in all the right ways. This will remove Foobar from the voting spot.

Ryan Dawson Very nice SOng. You have a solid voice for this tune. My only complaint (and its not even really a complaint) is that I would like to hear you branch out a bit more with your recording. DOuble track you acoustic maybe to spread it out in the stereo field. Fatten up those vocals to bring out some warmer tones. Really nice song.

Schlimminy Cricket Vocals are overpowering in this mix, would like to hear the bg music come up a bit. Not enough accordian in songs these days. Something strangely endeering about this tune though.Like your glitchy break too.

Tuners Union I have never not voted for Tuners Union. They are by far and away my favorite songfighters. SO far this tune is yet one more to add to my Tuners Union Hording problem. Such a full sound. Imaculately crafted lyrics,melody, and mix. Vote. On a personal note, do you guy(s) have a website? Do you perform live. Big fan!

Worn Cords Decent tune boys. WOuld like to hear that acoustic EQ'd a bit more. Its quite washed out. a bit short. tough to follow Tuners Union in my mix though.

So there ya have it, this weeks votes go to Tuners Union (as per usual), Ross Durand and Paco del Stinko.

See you guys for "Bully"

[foobar93]

Foobar- Yes! Love the mix and structure of this. I think the lead guitar could use a couple more takes. Everything else is so solid. Oh man, too short! I wanted this to be twice as long. Are the horns sampled? I want those samples. Awesome! Getting a vote.

May be the nicest review I've ever received. Thanks, so glad you liked it! Horns are indeed sampled. They are from Native Instruments, but not their fancy Session Horns (which I found too overbearing for this track). Just the regular Band samples that come with Kontakt, Trumpets R and Trombones L.

[foobar93]

Foobar
I see a guy in a suit and a top hat dancing around on a stage with a cane. Guitar sounds good. like the key change in the solo section.
FYI...I took your advice and finally did the Protools thing

Woohoo! Welcome to digital. Let me know if you ever need a hand with anything or if you ever want to collaborate, now that you can send your tracks through the intertubes.

[foobar93]

A long time ago these forums used to have a lot of folks looking for and providing all kinds of technical advice about songwriting and recording/producing. If any of you folks actually are interested in trying to make your stuff sound better, don't be shy to start threads asking for help with anything. There are a lot of knowledgable folks (way more knowledgable than me) still lurking around who would probably come out of the woodwork with helpful info. Some may even be interested in remixing your tracks and showing you what they did.

I don't want to knock the review thread off-topic, but I would love to take anyone up on this offer if they are willing. I'm always a little hesitant to post unless I have a specific question, because "This sounds like crap, how do I make it better?" always seemed too broad. For those of you who've been around a while, what's the best way to ask for this kind of help?

[g_rock]

Woohoo! Welcome to digital. Let me know if you ever need a hand with anything or if you ever want to collaborate, now that you can send your tracks through the intertubes.

Thanks man. I feel like I already learned a lot and I just started.

[Lunkhead]

Anybody looking for any technical advice, you should feel free to start up a new thread in the "Health and How To" section of the forum:

http://www.songfight.net/forums/viewforum.php?f=6

Include the details about what you're working on, what you feel like you'd want to improve, how you're doing things now, etc. Like if your vocals sound muffled, describe how you're singing into the mic, the mic, any plugins you're putting on the vocal tracks, etc. People will be happy to chime in.

And that could be a place to ask for mixing help too and offer up "stem" files (plain tracks that don't have plugins applied, though may have edits/comps already done to them) for folks to play around with.

[foobar93]

Berkeley Social Scene

I like the guitar tone. "Stab you in the eye" indeed. The violence comes through loud and clear, which is emotionally potent but not so much to my taste. I like the mix, very wide stereo field which sounds great even on earbuds. EDIT: kept thinking about this track overnight and reconsidered. I think the violent emotion fits the crime. Let him have it.

Cigar Charlie

Muddy mix. I find the vocals are fading in and out, I wonder if there's too much overlap in frequencies with one or more of the instruments. Guitar solo is extremely quiet and hard to hear, too. Despite all that, the track has a nice distinctive vibe. By 2:00 I am finding it a little repetitive, though.

EggNogAdam

I like the first :05, there's something about the different things happening simultaneously that's a good hook. There's so much noise on the track, I almost wondered if it's intentional some kind of beach sound or something. Cool atmospheric demo, more like an appetizer than a whole song.

Foobar

This is me. Appreciate all the kind words, this is my first track that people seem to think was well mixed. I was especially keen to play with a diminished chord and a moving bassline, so am pleased with how that turned out. Super surprised to see AJOwens pick the same opening line! I guess great minds think alike?

Glacial Equinox

Time warp back to the 80s? I guess you really like house music? I am confused. By 0:40 I would have skipped the track if I wasn't doing a review.

grock

Quantum leap forward in terms of sound quality. From a mix point of view, the vocals are way too soft and the stereo separation is too intense for me, it's hard not to feel like the drums and guitar are fighting with each other. But each part sounds really good on its own, as far as I can tell. Drums bring a lot of energy, are you recording an acoustic kit? It's hard to make out all the vocals, but I like the parts of the song I can hear. Lots of emotion comes through.

James Owens

Groovy. Like the bass and obviously the diminished chords. Vocals are a little quiet, especially during the bridge around 1:20. Like the guitar solo tone, has almost a pink floyd quality to me. Little audio glitches and background noises are distracting, but overall I think the performance is pro. Well done.

King Arthur

Fun. You can see where this is going way before the payoff, and I couldn't help but smile. Reverb/delay is a little out of control. Oh no, make it stop. Gross. Well, at least there wasn't some kind of Faustian bargain catch at the end. Phew, I feel like I survived this track. Solid.

Merle Fyshwick

Very strong opening. As the mix gets busier, I can't always hear the vocals. When it's quiet, everything sounds great. Hadn't thought about the communism tie-in in the title, this is clever.

New Image

This track doesn't speak to me and I'm not quite sure why. I think the vocal processing is off-putting. I do like the nice wide guitar parts. Lot of memorable licks, too. Otherwise, not sure what this song is trying to say.

Paco del Stinko

I like the first 0:15. Vocals are quiet but they still manage to cut through all the distortion. Cool. Yes, stab him in the eye and whatnot.

Richard Brooks

Lots of audio and performance issues, but the songwriting is solid and I like it. Lots of potential here. I liked the parts that are slightly faster; I think the song would be more fun if there were more of these and maybe even faster.

Rio Mondo

Shoes vs Blood: The Eternal Debate. LOL.

Rossby Wave

Another vocals too quiet track. Maybe it's my bad earbuds but I just can't hear all the lyrics. I liked the synthy intro but didn't feel like the impact when the rest of the band kicks in lived up to the suspense you'd built up. What I can hear is pretty damn creepy.

Ross Durand

Nice strong loud guitar tone. I gotta learn how to do that. Almost a Nick Cave feel to this one. So many hearts being "stolen away" this week, I wonder why everyone had that same thought. I like this a lot. You kind of lose control around 1:20, but make up for it with the angry solo at 1:35. I guess I saw that coming, but still delicious ending. Great track.

Ryan Dawson

This is sweet. Was this an analog recording? It's pretty noisy. (If so, go digital. OK, I will stop now.) I don't have a lot else to offer, just keep doing what you're doing.

Schlimminy Cricket

This starts out painful for me. I can't imagine I'd listen past the first 20 secs if I wasn't reviewing. This has a kind of hypnotic groove after a while, but mostly I didn't like this track. I wish I could be more constructive but that's all I got. Sorry.

Tuners Union

Great mix as usual, lots going on without becoming busy. Bass seems out of sync with the band at certain points, which is jarring in an otherwise very tight track. Maybe that's an intentional effect? This is a great atmospheric vibe although it doesn't pack much emotional punch for me. What's it really saying?

Worn Cords

There are slight moments where this reminds me of Kurt Cobain singing "memoreeeeey" and those are the best parts. Short and sweet, I liked this although it feels incomplete.

[kaz]

... I think you might need to keep working on your kick drum sound, it needs some more work in the EQ/compression department.

Agreed. I've actually been working on this with little to show for it, and I intend to start a thread on kicks. Just for kicks, of course.

... If anything I wish there was a big bold and creamy Paco del Stinko type of guitar solo.

Paco?

...On a personal note, do you guy(s) have a website? Do you perform live. Big fan!

You, sir, are too kind to me. I (singular) don't have a website, but I'm working on it. I'm working on a short (6 song) EP so I can actually have something solid to put on there. And no, I don't really play live, minus some open mics and the opening of a health foods store. Thanks for the good words buddy.

Bass seems out of sync with the band at certain points, which is jarring in an otherwise very tight track. Maybe that's an intentional effect? ... doesn't pack much emotional punch for me. What's it really saying?

The answers to these questions are "it wasn't" and "I don't know", respectively.

For the first, I hadn't noticed it at first but I think it's because it's a synth bass. The track is quantized (while the live audio isn't) and the attack I gave it I think makes it sound a little late. That's the hypothesis, anyways.

For the second, I had a lot more lyrics for this but scrapped them because they made it even worse. This song was one of those things where you think you have a great idea, and you spend a few days on lyrics and call them done and then you go back and hear them and say "what the shit". It had to do with red and blue shifts, as in a celestial body moving away from or towards an observer, respectively. That's as far as I'll go with it, because as I'm looking at this again it still makes no sense to me. Argh. Anybody out there want to write some lyrics?

[foobar93]

I (singular) don't have a website, but I'm working on it. I'm working on a short (6 song) EP so I can actually have something solid to put on there. And no, I don't really play live, minus some open mics and the opening of a health foods store.

Wait, are you saying you perform these tracks solo? That's inconceivable. You don't need to wait any longer, you need to publish your existing material stat (IMHO). It's too good to be wasted on just us forum-dwellers. (no offense to the forums, but there is a wider world out there)

For the first, I hadn't noticed it at first but I think it's because it's a synth bass. The track is quantized (while the live audio isn't) and the attack I gave it I think makes it sound a little late. That's the hypothesis, anyways.

Yup, that happens to me all the time. An easy fix is to quantize the live audio too, using Elastic Audio. It sounds pretty bad if you use the default renderer, but I find it sounds a lot better if I switch it to the non-realtime X-Form engine. But since that causes a delay every time I edit, I usually do the editing in the regular Polyphonic mode and then switch to X-Form at the end.

Anybody out there want to write some lyrics?

Anytime.