it is what it is

tone4days

tone4days

Heel Whacker
here's my band's recently completed demo

http://fuddslaw.com/audio/demo.mp3

we cut it live in the studio ... each tune fragment was a single unedited take for the instruments with everyone playing together at the same time ... vocals were single unedited take overdubs ... the 'mastering' produced the final product by shortening tunes to length and applying the segue-ways between fragments ... we finished the whole thing in one session - about 3 hours

for better or worse it is an accurate representation of what we do well and what we do much less than well ... 3 different guys 'singing', 2 guitarists sharing 'lead' duties ... no autotune or other trickery ... if they hear this and book us, they wont be surprised either way

comments welcome

enjoy
t4d
 
Last edited:
Re: it is what it is

That kicks ass Bill!

I hear a very tasty Strat tone in there --- what gear were you using for the demo?

The Strat tone is really warm and lively. I dig the heck out of it!
 
Re: it is what it is

thanks hunter - thats nice of you to write

jon is playing his old strat - it has an 60s body that has been stripped (and sealed, i think) and a big head neck that the factory put on way back in the day around the time of the CBS transition ... pickups are various mutt pups - pretty sure they are not original ... you can see a pic of it on the website (bb king autographed it for him!) ... he was playing through his old boogie MkI head thru a 2x12" mutt cab (not sure what the speakers are) ... yeah, he gets great tone, for sure ... he uses some pedals too, a compressor and a vibe, i think ... he was set up in another room from me, so i couldnt say for sure when he kicked the pedals on or off during the demo tracking

i played my prs sc245 through a zendrive (for solos) and a duncan twintube classic (for crunchy rhythm) into my BJr (set for ultra high headroom - all dirt from the floor) ... i wasnt 100% in love with my tone that night, but it kinda came in as the night went on ... i think the gnarly rhythm tone on come together is kinda interesting, dunno if i was get speaker break up or overdriving the board or if it was just a stroke of luck thru the chain ....
 
Last edited:
Re: it is what it is

my parts
good rockin tonight - rhythm, lead vocal
la grange - rhythm
further on up the road - rhythm
love me two times - opening single note riff and arpeggiated chords
nobody knows you - rhythm, lead vocal
tore down - rhythm, outro solo
beer drinkers/hellraisers - rhythm, 2nd outro solo
come together - rhythm, lead vocal
black magic woman - low octave line and rhythm
 
Re: it is what it is

tone4days said:
thanks hunter - thats nice of you to write

jon is playing his old strat - it has an 60s body that has been stripped (and sealed, i think) and a big head neck that the factory put on way back in the day around the time of the CBS transition ... pickups are various mutt pups - pretty sure they are not original ... you can see a pic of it on the website (bb king autographed it for him!) ... he was playing through his old boogie MkI head thru a 2x12" mutt cab (not sure what the speakers are) ... yeah, he gets great tone, for sure ... he uses some pedals too, a compressor and a vibe, i think ... he was set up in another room from me, so i couldnt say for sure when he kicked the pedals on or off during the demo tracking

i played my prs sc245 through a zendrive (for solos) and a duncan twintube classic (for crunchy rhythm) into my BJr (set for ultra high headroom - all dirt from the floor) ... i wasnt 100% in love with my tone that night, but it kinda came in as the night went on ... i think the gnarly rhythm tone on come together is kinda interesting, dunno if i was get speaker break up or overdriving the board or if it was just a stroke of luck thru the chain ....
Click to expand...

tone4days said:
my parts
good rockin tonight - rhythm, lead vocal
la grange - rhythm
further on up the road - rhythm
love me two times - opening single note riff and arpeggiated chords
nobody knows you - rhythm, lead vocal
tore down - rhythm, outro solo
beer drinkers/hellraisers - rhythm, 2nd outro solo
come together - rhythm, lead vocal
black magic woman - low octave line and rhythm
Click to expand...

Thanks for sharing that - now I can listen a little more critically and give you some feedback!

I figured you were the Strat, so I keyed on that and mentally filtered everything else out; I'll have to listen again for a SC245 / EL84 tone!
 
Last edited:
Re: it is what it is

the thing i am most unhappy about is they used the take of la grange where my time is complete ****e ... other takes had more egregious errors by the other guys and this was thought to be the best overall take ... i asked them to take me out of the mix altogether for the that tune and just let it be a trio like zz top but they thought it sounded too empty ...

i can nitpick stuff wrong with my playing on every tune, but like i said, we didnt want to polish it too shiny and give bookers an overly rosy image of us ... this is really what we sound like - speedin up, slowin down, pitchy barroom vocals, bum notes, suboptimal tone and mix ...

it is what it is

but its fun to play and they are a low drama buncha guys

we'll see how it goes over outside of captivity in another week or so

t4d
 
Last edited:
Re: it is what it is

pretty good stuff, man! im sorry i never took the chance to see you guys before i left hoco, but hopefully i will get to one day.

i had i6's problem the first time around... focused on the wrong guitar, lol. love your tone and the other guy man hes got some fast fingers!

just listnened to your outtrosolo on bd/hr... WOW! you both are some amazingly talented guitarists.
 
Last edited:
Re: it is what it is

thanks, Andrew .. not the 'wrong' guitar ... just the more prominent one

i cant tellif i got jobbed in the mix or not .. it really isnt that big a deal to me ... the recording studio owner / operator that recorded us (for free - well, a few cases of good beer) is a LONG time friend of the other guitarist .. i aint sayin nuthin, i'm just sayin :D

so where'd you move to?
 
Last edited:
Re: it is what it is

Hey Bill...not bad for a bunch of old farts!

Your buddy has a good tone....the only bad thing was that he used the same basic tone for most of the tunes. I would be willing to bet that he is heavily influenced by Clapton. ;)

You sounded great and your tone wasn't the same all the time and....

You can sing!

I think you should have gotten a little more spotlight on the solo's....you seem to mix it up more. Nothing bad about your bud....he sounds and plays well...maybe his lines were a little more predictable.....sounds like a blues player trying to play rock with a mellower blues tone.

I am sure you guys will get some gigs....the ensemble sounds good and you might be hitting the right niche.

I would love to hear something with you playing that Tele or your EJ....I bet they both sound sweet through that Zendrive and Twintube.
 
Re: it is what it is

thanks joe - means alot coming from you!

yeah, you nailed it ... clapton is his number one fav ... lotsa clapton in our songlist ... and yeah, he uses pretty much one tone all night, just a bit of a boost for solos ... he's a great guy and a great player, but doesnt really play rhythm, so i end up holding the comping down more than half the time

i play the EJ on as many tunes as i can across our entire setlist, but i end up on the PRS a few more than i'd like just to give the diversity against his strat (his number 2 is a MIJ HSS) ... i definitely play the EJ on sultans of swing, and a few other notable 'strat' tunes ... i bring the tele too, but i think it is gonna be relegated to a hot spare and maybe an open G tuned specialty axe

hopin to get something of a video / audio recording at the gig on 23rd - we'll see how it comes out

thanks again, friend
t4d
 
Re: it is what it is

tone4days said:
thanks joe - means alot coming from you!

yeah, you nailed it ... clapton is his number one fav ... lotsa clapton in our songlist ... and yeah, he uses pretty much one tone all night, just a bit of a boost for solos ... he's a great guy and a great player, but doesnt really play rhythm, so i end up holding the comping down more than half the time

i play the EJ on as many tunes as i can across our entire setlist, but i end up on the PRS a few more than i'd like just to give the diversity against his strat (his number 2 is a MIJ HSS) ... i definitely play the EJ on sultans of swing, and a few other notable 'strat' tunes ... i bring the tele too, but i think it is gonna be relegated to a hot spare and maybe an open G tuned specialty axe

hopin to get something of a video / audio recording at the gig on 23rd - we'll see how it comes out

thanks again, friend
t4d
Click to expand...

Sultans....one of my favorite tunes. I am looking forward to the vid....make sure you let me know... if you post it.
 
Re: it is what it is

Holy hell Bill, your singing voice is awesome!!!

It has kind of a Don Henley vibe, a lot cleaner, but it has that vibe.

It makes you sound like a much younger man, too

I really dig your voice man, I had no idea you could sing like that!
 
Re: it is what it is

thanks hunter - that's nice of you to say .. i think the recording takes a fair amount of the harshness out of my voice that i hear live ... i sing pretty loud (especially when i am reaching for a high note) because i am totally untrained and i had to chuckle at the compression being so obvious ...

i am singing 'gravity' (our token slow song :D ) and i really try to do it justice by 'undersinging' .. we'll see how it goes

cheers
 
Re: it is what it is

tone4days said:
thanks hunter - that's nice of you to say .. i think the recording takes a fair amount of the harshness out of my voice that i hear live ... i sing pretty loud (especially when i am reaching for a high note) because i am totally untrained and i had to chuckle at the compression being so obvious ...

i am singing 'gravity' (our token slow song :D ) and i really try to do it justice by 'undersinging' .. we'll see how it goes

cheers
Click to expand...

Just remember: breathe out twice as much as you normally would, and you will nail it :laughing:
 
Re: it is what it is

thanks guys - yeah, it has never really been a breathing problem for me as much as pitch control, sometimes nasal timbre, and achieving good range with dynamic control ... and phrasing ....

other than that, i am frikkin pavarotti :D
 
Re: it is what it is

tone4days said:
thanks guys - yeah, it has never really been a breathing problem for me as much as pitch control, sometimes nasal timbre, and achieving good range with dynamic control ... and phrasing ....

other than that, i am frikkin pavarotti :D
Click to expand...

the majority of time though, that is all related to breathing
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

VHTJay
Alpha/Omega review
Replies
6
Views
8K
VHTJay
VHTJay
El Dunco
What goes into producing a song?
Replies
7
Views
2K
El Dunco
El Dunco
DreX
  • Locked
Conversation with Zexcoil regarding what is currently known about how pickups work
2
Replies
38
Views
6K
GilmourD
GilmourD
TwilightOdyssey
The album-making process has begun! Phase 1: primary tracking complete
2
Replies
25
Views
4K
TwilightOdyssey
TwilightOdyssey
J
O.K. pickup gurus,what is it?
Replies
3
Views
712
Dirt123
D
Back
Top