Upcoming album

[FretFire]

My church is about to release a 5-song EP of Psalms that I think turned out really great considering we recorded it all in-house. I've been playing guitar there since May and was offered the privilege of playing electric guitar on the disc. The album isn't "officially" out until the 21st, but apparently Band Camp handled the release date in an unexpected way so it's up there now (You can stream each song for free, FYI)

http://desertspringschurch.bandcamp.com

Anyways, I just wanted to post it here for comments and discussion on the guitar tones, gear, mixing/mastering, etc. If you want to ask me about the project or the content of the songs, please respect the forum rules and shoot me a PM.

[ImmortalSix]

Re: Upcoming album

Love love love.

That is exactly the style of playing I was doing when I was with a P&W band. I think it's so much fun to play that kind of what I call "accent playing." Just makes everything sound so good. The playing you're doing is a big cut above what I ever did with my band, though!

Your playing is excellently tight and just plain perfect for the style. I was impressed with the first thing you played on Psalm 115 - you got skills!

On Psalm 1, you were really getting a Tele vibe, that new Nashville tone, just perfectly. What rig were you playing?

On Psalm 3, you were channeling Keith Urban. Super super tasteful, very "vocal."

I could go on all day about how much I like this recording (these recordings).

Your execution, tone, and playing, are just perfect - awesome work.

The mixing and mastering of the album is excellent as well. Full but not pushy. Sounds super professional - whoever produced and mixed this did a fantastic job on the overall mix (levels) as well as the use of effects, etcetera. The vocals sound excellent, the acoustic guitar sounds excellent, the electric guitar sounds excellent, and the drums are invisible.

Fantastic all around!

[FretFire]

Re: Upcoming album

Dude, thanks for the feedback! This playing environment has been a big adjustment for me, when I was younger I was always in bands that tried to write heavier rock in the vein of Chevelle, except they wanted me to take lead breaks. So, it was always bang out chords, play lead, bang out chords. This pad/fill/ambient approach is making me step back and rethink my playing, but it's been fun.

Gear wise:

Psalm 115 is a Les Paul through a Top Hat Ambassador, using an M13 for dirt/effects. (The M13 is all over this whole disc, actually)

Psalm 1 is a Nashville tele through a Fender HRD, again using the M13's OD models for some grit. That tone was a bit gainier and thicker live than it came out on the recording, it was super liquid and fun to play.

Psalm 3 is my strat on the DiMarzio Cruiser neck pickup through the Top Hat again.

Psalm 13 is my strat in a few different pickup spots, but the guitar is pretty minimal on that song. Mostly smacking some delay-ridden chords here and there to pad things a bit.

We actually have some pretty decent gear in our studio, several mics to choose from, a Mac Pro running Pro Tools, some nice tube preamps, etc. I'm pretty stoked with the way things turned out.

[ImmortalSix]

Re: Upcoming album

In Psalm 115, you are getting a really nice round tone from your Les Paul. I figured it was your Strat.

The chord fills sound LPish, but those sliding two note accents sound very modern-Strat to me. What pickup position were you in for those, neck? I ask because neck seems the most probable, but some friends of mine swear that they cop the rounder tones better with the selector in the middle position.

[FretFire]

Re: Upcoming album

In Psalm 115, you are getting a really nice round tone from your Les Paul. I figured it was your Strat.

The chord fills sound LPish, but those sliding two note accents sound very modern-Strat to me. What pickup position were you in for those, neck? I ask because neck seems the most probable, but some friends of mine swear that they cop the rounder tones better with the selector in the middle position.

Yeah, it was the neck position. I was borrowing a friend's LP Studio Vintage Mahogany, it's stock so it's loaded with the A5 Burstbuckers. The Top Hat is probably a big part of what you're hearing, it was a CLEAN amp in the purest sense and a bit on the bright side.

[ImmortalSix]

Re: Upcoming album

Yeah, it was the neck position. I was borrowing a friend's LP Studio Vintage Mahogany, it's stock so it's loaded with the A5 Burstbuckers. The Top Hat is probably a big part of what you're hearing, it was a CLEAN amp in the purest sense and a bit on the bright side.

Cool, thanks.

I just listened to the album all the way through for the second time - great stuff.