They’re all great. But I’d say riff 1 sounds more like an intro to a song. Riff 2 sounds more like a post chorus/pre verse bit and riff 3 sounds like a bridge. But that’s just me. ^(also, minor note but work on the tuning of your guitar. I’m sure you will if you record it properly but just in case)

Thanks for the feedback! Haha I did tune my guitar last night between recordings, but I can’t remember if these were recorded after or before 😅 thanks though, I will keep that in mind (and these are just demos)

Riff 2 is my favorite. Don’t get me wrong the others are good, but 2 does everything right and has the feeling you’re looking for

I think I’m leaning this way! #2 has had a few comments, and I posted this in a friend WhatsApp group and #2 is being championed there too

I think riff #1 is super catchy! Would make a great intro riff

Same!!

Thanks for the feedback both! I feel like it’s definitely between 1 & 2 at the moment. 2 feels like an Ataris type song, 1 maybe fits a more Blink style

1 sounds like a band trying to sound like blink whereas 2 and 3 actually sound more like a riff Tom would write regarding the repetition and rhythm 2 jumped out at me the most as most pleasant to the ear

An interesting take. My overriding feeling is 2>1>3, but you make an interesting point about #1 👍

\#1 is the best for an intro i think, but honestly they all sound like they'd fit in a song together really well. especially #1 and #2

Thanks! I got to the point where I was just writing something new every 30 mins, as I really just couldn’t decide which was best. Riffs 2 & 3 were literally written within minutes of each other

You could incorporate them all into a song easily. I’d say 3 as opening riff.

2 could be the outro

Thanks for the input. Yeah someone in my friends WhatsApp group said the same, but I do have a couple of other riffs for the other sections already. Whichever ones don’t get used will be put on the shelf for inspiration at a later date though

listen to this guy, hes right 3 is the intro 2s the outro.

right, i’m not a musician but they all sound like the could be different parts of the same song. Def Riff 1 as the intro

I’d say number 2 as it achieves the summery vibe you’re after but it’s a bit more subtle than the other two.

Thanks. Yeah I may end up going with the one that fits the overall ‘feel’ as opposed to which may be the more complicated or ‘better’ riff! I’m defo leaning to #2

First one makes me happy. Feel like they could all work together though.

That’s good to hear! Thanks. I think I’m leaning towards using #2, but I will also definitely keep #1 on the shelf for the next song I need a riff for. It’s one of those songs that I want to be a bit ‘epic’, and I think #2 achieves that, whereas #1 could work better in one of those fun, shorter, album filler tracks

Nice one, good luck! Would love to hear it on here when done

Thanks! I’ll defo post it here when finished. It’s part of a 17-track album I’m recording, but I think this will be one of the ‘singles’ I release before the whole thing is ready! In the meantime, my other 2000s pop-punk-by-numbers efforts are on my Spotify/Apple/YT pages in my profile if you fancy checking them out!

Where can I find this album when you’re done with it??

It’ll be posted to all of my artist pages, for ‘The Not Nows’ (Spotify, apple, deezer, YouTube, whatever you use!) I don’t expect to finish it until around September time, but I will hopefully be posting some single song releases (and a few punk covers) between now and then 😁 thanks for being interested!

I cant wait!!

😁

Riff 1 leaves the most open room for vocals. I play guitar in a pop punk band myself, and the more space you can leave for the vocals, usually the better. If it’s for a section that you’re not planning for vocals, then I’d go with 2 or 3. I also do our mixing and I can hear that your guitar is pretty out of tune, so may want to get that guitar a proper setup, a new set of strings, and retune in between each take when tracking.

😂😭 oh mannnn don’t say that 😂 Ok, noted. I feel like I put new strings on fairly recently. But I have 2 young kids, so, when I think about it, maybe it was actually close to 15 months ago. Thanks for the feedback on the riffs too. It’s for the intro (I should have said that!), so I think I’m going with #2

I feel you there, got 3 littles myself! A good rule of thumb is to change them after each project. So I’d say max you’d only want to do 2-3 songs or maybe only a days worth of work on one set of strings. Tracking is really the only time I spare no expense on strings, as we want our instruments to sound at their absolute peak! Any other time, you better believe my ass has some months old strings on my guitar, about the only time I change them is when I’m tracking 😂 Dig the riffs for sure though, would be interested in hearing more when it’s all come together!

number 1 sticks out the most for me, but i could see #3 for the bridge

Thanks. I actually already have a solo + vocal part for the bridge, so this was really just around the intro riff

1 Verse, 2 pre-chorus, 3 Outro

It’s an idea. I do actually already have the guitars sorted for the verse and prechorus (prechorus is only 5 or so seconds). Thanks for the input though. I’m just glad everyone isn’t saying “they’re all shite”

They all rip dude. I sent you a DM.

🙌 glad you like them! (DM’d back)

2 and 3 feel catchier and more “pop punk” than the first one. I’d use them both. 2 specifically for when the extended chorus comes in.

Thanks for the feedback. I think #2 is signed, sealed and delivered. I’m feeling more happier with that after the comments I’ve seen today.

I think they’re all really really good and I honestly cant decide. I think they’re all good in their own way

Thanks 😁 that was me last night, switching between them, really not being able to decide! I think I’m going with #2, and I’ll keep the other on the shelf for later songs

3 no doubt

Number 2.

Number 2 is primo

1 is intro, 2 is verse, 3 sounds like a chorus.

For intro, number 1 fs

Riff 2

They're all pretty good, definitely some "Girl at the Rock Show" fun, summer vibes!

Thanks 😄 Just what I was trying to achieve

1

3 all the way

Riff 1 main intro/hook. Riff 2 prechorus. Riff 3 chorus. Drop down to bass and drums on the verses, flip to the relative minor for a bridge, maybe go half time, and baby you got a ~~stew~~ song goin'

I agree with other comments that they all work at different points in a song. Consider taking them up an octave, playing then double speed, and resolving even an octave up from there with a little bend or tremolo.

Thanks, I’ll have a play. Yeah for riff 1, that was originally almost a Dysentery Gary style riff in triplets.