Solstice

[teknomike]

I wrote this on the eve of the winter solstice in 1991, and figured it was a most opportune time to record it.
http://www.nowhereradio.com/artists/...d=1324&alid=-1
Looking for ideas on how to expand the tune, of if I will rely on its simplicity, and just improve the performance and recording. Cause this sure ain't anything near finished.
Been pretty hard trying to record in a 8 foot square apartment bedroom when I used to have a whole basement. Plus an 8 year old and a wife running around making noise. Gonna have to chase them out for an afternoon...

thanks for listening

mike

[SLuiCe]

Man this is beautiful!

There's a lot of noise, but it doesn't seem to bother me. You have a really nice voice and you've done a fine job of recording it....warm but with plenty of highs, without a lot of sibilance.

I'll let others be more critical on this...I like the song too much!
I'm going to play this for my girlfriend...she'll LOVE it!

[junplugged]

Nice. Whatever you did technically doesn't interfere with what you got out of the recording. That's what counts, really. the feeling comes thru.

Is this stereo? I didn't try phones. If not, i'm thinking for my acoustic solo stuff maybe I shouldn't bother with trying for stereo b/c the sound you have on this is good.

Can't say more about the tech side before i come home with a pair of monitors...

Way to go.

[B.SABBATH]

sweet toonage..

[W.I.S.C.]

First off I hear ya with the wife and kids thing...If I could go off on every idea I had I would have a new song every 3 days,but alas...Anyway great sound ,good holiday vibe,like coming home,and cool title and longest night thing is cool ,too.I can really relate to what your sayin'.Thanx for sharing.

[teknomike]

Thanks for the replies:

SLuiCe -
Yeah, the noise is a problem I have to deal with here. I used cool edit 2K to reduce the sibilance (there's a lot of s's in this tune), and silenced the vocal in between verses, so that's why the noise gets noticeable at points. I've still got a lot to learn...
I mic'ed the guitar at about the 12 fret and rolled off the low end, I find I get the right combo of warmth and highs with that. The D-35 is really bottom heavy (should have put new strings on though, it really sings then).
Glad you liked it !

junplugged -
Yep, it is stereo, but it's basically just straight down the middle. I narrowed the field on the vocals, but that's about it.
It's a hard song to play (esp. when I haven't played it for a while ) so if I could get a "perfect" take, I'd be grateful.
Thanks !

B.SABBATH -
High praise indeed - Thanks, man !

W.I.S.C. -
Yep, I have to use whatever time I can get. Glad you can relate to the lyrics, I'm sure many have felt the same way when you meet someone, and you don't know where you stand.
And you're right, it does have a bit of a holiday feel now that I think about it - must have been the season... good call !

Thanks again all - I appreciate the listen.

mike

[JuSumPilgrim]

Nice song.

I would cut the top end on vocals by a couple of dB. Around 5k and 10k. Also a boost around 500Hz wouldnt hurt. The vocals dont have alot of body though the voice and singing are good. A little neal diamondy. I like how you brought in pads to fill up the lower frequencies and the vocals sit considerably better over that part. Maybe throw in some acoustic strumming towads the end to pick things up rhythmically. Maybe some counter arpegs on the acoustic.
There are some timing issues on the acoustic in several places.

Good work.

[teknomike]

Originally posted by JuSumPilgrim
Nice song.

I would cut the top end on vocals by a couple of dB. Around 5k and 10k. Also a boost around 500Hz wouldnt hurt. The vocals dont have alot of body though the voice and singing are good. A little neal diamondy. I like how you brought in pads to fill up the lower frequencies and the vocals sit considerably better over that part. Maybe throw in some acoustic strumming towads the end to pick things up rhythmically. Maybe some counter arpegs on the acoustic.
There are some timing issues on the acoustic in several places.

Good work.

Thanks JuSumPilgrim (why do I feel like I have to say that in my John Wayne voice... )
Anyway, come to think of it, I think I boosted the vocal 3 db at about 8K, so maybe I shouldn't have - good listening.
I like what you said about filling up the end with a bit more rhythm - I feel the song needs to build a bit as well.
I'm a bit confused by the term pads, though (other than literally "padding" the tune with the synth if that's what you mean).
As for the timing issues - oh, yeah, I really need to work on that.
Just needed to get it down to help feed on the creative process.
Thanks for the listen,
mike

[StevenLindsey]

Very nice job, man! I love the simpler songs anyway. Like the man said, a few timing issues. Sounds like you're not holding your strings down hard enough at times. But that really doesn't bother me though. I like the raw, simple stuff. I thoroughly enjoyed this.

[teknomike]

Thanks, Steven.
The chords are a bit of a pain to play with accuracy sometimes. Basically it's a major A, D and E with the octave raised a full step (to B in the A, and F# in the E).

e.g.

E A D G B E
X 0 2 4 2 0

0 2 4 1 0 0

Big ass stretch for my short ass fingers

Cheers,
mike