new experimental tune

G

GreenDank

New member
well after a long downtime with a cactus spine in my thumb, then my computer crapping out on me, i finally managed to do a new tune on my mr-8 (my first with that particular unit). kinda metal, kinda blues, kinda dumb but oh well. critique away. oh yeah - it's about a bicycle i got when i was a kid. :D here's goes:

 
Sounds pretty 80s rock, then it kind of jumps to 90s pearljammy rock, pretty neat. Kick sounds good, but sounds like there's no bass guitar low end. The subwoofer is pretty much taking this song off. Cool solos and random feel, I like the song, writing, and guitar tones. Maybe a little more volume on the vox in places. Cool track :cool: :cool:
 
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thanks for the review!

yeah, for some reason I got really gun shy this time with the bass and dropped the bass frequency on the mixer. you see, when I used to record with my computer, the bass would come out so strong that I'm still compensating for that affect with my mr-8. gotta stop doing that.
 
I'd be inclined to change the drum intro to a less stadium 80's sound.
The rest is pretty good & the lyric is amusing.
Can you go back in & fix the bass ? it'd be worth it.
 
rayc said:
I'd be inclined to change the drum intro to a less stadium 80's sound.
The rest is pretty good & the lyric is amusing.
Can you go back in & fix the bass ? it'd be worth it.
Click to expand...

the drums are kinda set. i was kind of shooting for the effect of them.

As for the bass....If only like 1 person said something about the bass, I'd leave it, but the overwhelming response here and elsewhere is FIX THE BASS. it's not something I can really pick out, but I'm not a bassist, so I've gotta take everyone's advice and do it. I'll probably toss some keys over the drum and bass part to beef it up since it sounds so dry and lifeless during that part. thanks for the push to re-do the bass. Boards like this are pretty cool in that it's like tapping into producers for advice. Valuable stuff.

I wonder if I should try mic-ing a bass cab instead of running direct. Any ideas?
 
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i like the theme. 3 thumbs up for that.

the drums could use some help and vocals clip in some spots. maybe look into that. i'm not a drummer so i feel ya on the midi drum thing. it's a bitch.
 
I like your riffs alot. Guitars sound good too. The drums aren't doing this justice though, they seem to wobble and drag a bit much timing wise. Good ideas here though, I like
 
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thanks for the comments! yeah, I'm not a huge fan of the yamaha TMX, but I used it in a pinch since that's all I had laying around at this time. I'm looking forward to being able to work on the next tune with bulls hit that has real drums now that my home computer is back up and running! damn gremlins.
 
The guitar work is great. One thought... the quieter section needs some guitar variation instead of that same phrase several times in a row.
The chorus has an Audioslave feel, especially with that whacked-out wah stuff.
Totally sweet... except for the computer-generated drums. They spoil even the best of songs.
The vocals have a good desperate sound.
What's your guitar setup for the chorus tone? (guitar, amp, etc...) I occasionally hear a guitar tone that I really like. Yours is great.
 
GreenDank said:
I'm looking forward to being able to work on the next tune with bulls hit that has real drums now that my home computer is back up and running! damn gremlins.
Click to expand...

Hey I'm up next. Woohoo! It's been bugging me we never got to finish that one off. Good one man, looking forward to it
 
Ibuildmyguitars said:
What's your guitar setup for the chorus tone? (guitar, amp, etc...) I occasionally hear a guitar tone that I really like. Yours is great.
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hey, I was hoping someone would ask that! all 6-string guitars were done with tube PAs modified for guitar use. that particular part used a small (I mean, it fits in the palm of your hand!) old Realistic "Carnival" tube amp. It has a natural overdrive that I dig; it's pretty low wattage (maybe 5-10?). The pickup being used right there was one coil of a Bill Lawrence L-500L humbucker. A different tube PA was used for the rhythm guitars. That one has a whole different story...

I got into tube PAs a few years ago, and now they're like my favorite amps. Each is unique, and it's kind of a gamble when you buy them if they'll sound good for your needs. I try to change my playing and songwriting to match their skills.
 
"all 6-string guitars were done with tube PAs modified for guitar use"

Awesome! Once you start messing around with tube amps, you can't stop. I've built two now (actually just got my second one working about an hour ago... :D). When you build amps, you start listening to the sound so closely that you develop a very discriminating ear, I think. That's why I like your tone--it's warm and strong, clearly tube-generated.
Single-ended amps are SWEET for recording hard rock tones. They actually distort more than larger push-pull amps, I think. They don't sound too good clean, though.

"it's pretty low wattage (maybe 5-10?)."
What kind of output tube, and how many? 10 watts is a lot louder than 5.

"it's kind of a gamble when you buy them if they'll sound good for your needs."
You can change the sound easily with different coupling caps, a better speaker, different cathode and plate resistors, etc.
Rock on, man!!! :)
 
Ibuildmyguitars said:
"all 6-string guitars were done with tube PAs modified for guitar use"

Awesome! Once you start messing around with tube amps, you can't stop. I've built two now (actually just got my second one working about an hour ago... :D). When you build amps, you start listening to the sound so closely that you develop a very discriminating ear, I think. That's why I like your tone--it's warm and strong, clearly tube-generated.
Single-ended amps are SWEET for recording hard rock tones. They actually distort more than larger push-pull amps, I think. They don't sound too good clean, though.

"it's pretty low wattage (maybe 5-10?)."
What kind of output tube, and how many? 10 watts is a lot louder than 5.

"it's kind of a gamble when you buy them if they'll sound good for your needs."
You can change the sound easily with different coupling caps, a better speaker, different cathode and plate resistors, etc.
Rock on, man!!! :)
Click to expand...

that's awesome you build 'em. wish I could say I did that or even modded mine, but I used a local shop. I do build pedals though. I'll get that tube info this weekend and let you know.

on the clean note, I do use a precision electronics "lunch box" PA amp with 7868 tubes that has what I think are the best sounding cleans ever. which probably means its a little warmer than most clean-lovers would like.
 
If you want to get into amp modding and building (and I think you will soon... :D ) check out this place:
http://www.hoffmanamps.com/
And the forum:
http://www.hoffmanamps.com/Forum/yabb2/YaBB.pl
I've learned a ton on that forum just by asking stupid questions. There are several experts who float around and tirelessly answer stupid questions.

"I'll get that tube info this weekend and let you know."
No biggy. I was just thinking, if you know what kind of tubes it uses, you'll have at least a guess of how many watts it puts out.

If you build pedals, you can learn tubes. Tube circuits are so much simpler than transistors and IC's and what-not (at least to my feeble mind!)

Rock on.........
 
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well for what it's worth dudes, here's the fixed and mastered version of The Open Road:



I'm never sure whether to just continue on a thread like this when the fixes have been made, start a new thread, or just keep it to myself!?!
 
Sounds pretty nice to me! Drums are ... I don't know...
I wouldn't use that kit/ambiance.
Song is great. Guitars kick ass.
Vox could be a little bit louder.
sikter
 
sikter said:
Sounds pretty nice to me! Drums are ... I don't know...
I wouldn't use that kit/ambiance.
Song is great. Guitars kick ass.
Vox could be a little bit louder.
sikter
Click to expand...

thanks for the review! looks like the yamaha tmx module is going to get the back burner, except for use as a pass-through midi trigger, or perhaps only for crashes. i tried to downplay the vox a little on the final mix - maybe too much downplay.
 
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