Haven't been here in a while - here's original music from me

tone4days

tone4days

Heel Whacker
I hope all remaining old timers might remember me

And I hope all my old forum bruthas are doing well

At the ripe old age of 54, I am in my first original rock project

We've recorded half of our first album - about 1/2 are my originals ... 2nd recording session will be in Jan '19 ...

Here are rough 1st mixes of my 1st three tunes ... they sound best with headphones instead of laptop or smartphone speakers

https://youtu.be/jYVKuT9RG5Q ... i dunno, maybe consider this one kinda pop punk ish? .... you tell me how we should label it

https://youtu.be/VjTb0Eb1CSU ... i dunnno, maybe john mayer-esque ish, kinda sorta maybe?

https://youtu.be/zxDlADHGE9U ... i'm thinkin' stones-y - maybe a bit too obviously

Comments welcome
 
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Re: Haven't been here in a while - here's original music from me

Gear

Good Enough Day ... PRS Ted McCarty DC245 Soapbar with SD OEM P90s ... Atomic Amplifire AF12

All This Time ... Tokai 52ri tele clone with SD vintage stack for tele set ... Atomic Amplifire AF12

Half Way Home ... EJ Sig Strat with stock pickups ... Fractal Axe-FX 2 XL+
 
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Re: Haven't been here in a while - here's original music from me

I listened to Good Enough Day through my surround sound.
Nice. Good separation.

Sent from my Alcatel_5044C using Tapatalk
 
Re: Haven't been here in a while - here's original music from me

thanks man - good to know ... i havent listened to it thru my surround sound yet, actually ... need to do that
 
Re: Haven't been here in a while - here's original music from me

Hey Bill! I have at best dabbled in recording on an iPhone and a computer. Those sound pretty good. Recording studio eh?

Tell us about the process, the time, and the cost!
 
Re: Haven't been here in a while - here's original music from me

$975 for 25 hours 'weekend' package ... we set up on a Friday night after work (off the clock!!) to get the drums mic'd and basic levels on bass (mic'd and DI) and gtr (direct from modeler) ... about 4 hours

Saturday morning we started and did basic rhythm tracking - 3 tunes before lunch and then 3 after ... goal was useable drum tracks but our bassist is a friggin' machine and all of his takes were useable so we were way ahead ... I threw down a scratch solo on one tune and caught lightning in a bottle so we kept it too ...

Sunday was vocals and guitar overdubs ... vocals went pretty quick - I don't think any took more than 3 takes and some were one take ... guitars were another story ... every solo was a full take, but it took me as many as 6 or 7 takes to get something good ... a few solos were composed in advance ... others, I composed in the studio and others I improvised until I was 'happy' enough ... one solo (other guys' tune) had been composed in advance and I'd been playing it for over a year, but he decided in the studio that he wanted a completely different vibe ... he handed me a guitar (boutique custom tele with Joe Bardens) thru pedals (hot cake OD and mxr analog delay) and an amp (Laney 2x10" combo w/4xEL84s) that I had never used ... that solo took me about a dozen takes, but I was really happy with the result and he was over-the-moon ... the studio owner / engineer plugged my EJ Sig strat into his Axe-FX 2XL+ and dialed up a clean/chorus patch and told me to try 'halfway home' ... instead of the 'normal' way I usually play it, I used my pick's edge instead of the flat surface (V-pick Euro) with mostly downstrokes gliding along the strings almost like bowing, not really picking ... then I got inspired to overdub the minor 9ths in the bridge ... we liked it all but it took longer than it should've especially given that we had a useable rhythm track already in the can ... . by the end of the weekend, we had spent about 18 hours

A few nights after work were set aside for the mixing sessions ... we brain-cramped and overlooked something critical in the rhythm tracking on 'halfway home' that we discovered when mixing that we tried to fix ... we made it about 95% better, but the 'solution' left my previously spot-on timing for the solo turn out slightly ahead of the beat (does it sound it to y'all?) ... the total do-over is prohibitive, so we'll live with it

we're pretty close to done and will finish up next weekend

Thanks for checking it out!
 
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Re: Haven't been here in a while - here's original music from me

Lessons Learned:
The good
1) make a realistic plan - know what tunes you're gonna do and how many you can truly expect to be able to do in the time you can afford ... we prepared 6 tunes expecting to be surely able to 5 - the extra was in case we had unexpected difficulties and needed to switch one out

2) be very well rehearsed - know how to play the tunes you're gonna do really well ... know the tempos, the arrangements, the intros, the endings, everything ... be able to play them even if no one is singing

3) have your gear dialed in and in full functioning order especially if you are using different guitars / amps/ effects on different songs or within the same song

4) schedule breaks to eat, stay hydrated, and give your ears and auditory processing function a break

5) be flexible and open to serendipity / surprises... sometimes an inspiration presents itself disguised as something else

6) be bold- digital tracks are essentially unlimited ... try something - you can always delete / mute it later

The bad
1) we weren't fully prepared - mostly me ... mostly unwritten / under rehearsed solos or guitar fills for overdubs ... but the other songwriter also straight up changed the tempo and vibe of one of his songs out of the blue and it ground our progress to a crawl at the end of a long day

2) we didn't stick to our plan ... we got cocky and went for 6 instead of just being happy with 5 ... the 6th put us over and created a rush that bit us in the butt later

3) I didnt account well enough for guitar patches in my modeler for tracking ... I played individual takes of both rhythm and solo parts with the same patch (just one boosted) ... they sounded great on their own ... but, duh, they were a b!tch to EQ / create separation during mix because they are the same friggin tone!

4) make your drummer learn how to, and practice, tuning his damn drums before going in to the studio

5) don't drink a milkshake before vocal tracking
 
Re: Haven't been here in a while - here's original music from me

There are so many time wastes in the studio that you don't realize until you get there. I don't think you can ever be fully prepared, but I totally agree with you. Try to practice up and get everything ready ahead of time. It makes the entire experience more enjoyable and produces a better product. Great mix though. Really enjoyed it!
 
Re: Haven't been here in a while - here's original music from me

I am having somw kind of weird buffering problem for some reason, so I never got past 1:26 on any song before my computer locke up trying to keep thevideo loaded. So I listened to that much of all three and enjoyed them all. I also appreciate that they are all so dissimilar!
 
Re: Haven't been here in a while - here's original music from me

Heey old timer bro'!

This stuff is kickin' ass. Not my kind of stuff but good stuff.
 
Re: Haven't been here in a while - here's original music from me

Thanks, guys... we've hit some delays in getting back to finish this up, but I've written a handful of new tunes and I think I'm getting better at it ... im starting to branch out a bit from the "write what you know" advice ... it's harder, but I'm enjoying the challenge ... will post back when there's more to share
 
Re: Haven't been here in a while - here's original music from me

So you are saying doing what you don't know is harder? :lmao:


Looking forward to the finished product
 
Re: Haven't been here in a while - here's original music from me

Aceman said:
So you are saying doing what you don't know is harder? :lmao:


Looking forward to the finished product
Click to expand...

Lol - yeah ... it's kinda like what Springsteen was talking about in his Broadway show... he never worked a job in his life or learned how to drive until his 20s, but he wrote songs as if he was racing in the streets or working in factories, etc ... lyrics that I dont get sick of before I even finish the song are really hard to write ... lol
 
Re: Haven't been here in a while - here's original music from me

Hey Man great job! I like your songs, good vocals, you have my vote! Well done sir!
 
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