a new updated version of "Take It All", with vocals

GONZO-X

GONZO-X

Well-known member
http://artists2.iuma.com/IUMA/Bands/Trouble/index-2.html
the song is "Take It All - ver2"

(may require download until cleared by IUMA)

you guys were so kind to offer suggestions when i posted this in instrumental-only form......
i used a lot of your suggestions, and did some things i don't normally do but thought they'd be great for learning some new techniques.......

i seperately mastered the drums seperate from everything else.....
you can compare the original version to the new version....

i also couldn't re-take the bass, so i mastered the existing tracks seperately too, and i think the results were well worth doing it........ (the bass sound sucked hard.........)

anyway, i'd love to hear some comparison reviews.
 
wow

...my, that certainly is a different sound, innit?

I love this song, so bear that in mind during this:

-Not sure that second acoustic was needed in the intro... it sounds good... by itself... but seems to overshadow the other, which IMO was cool. Maybe you could hard pan it ?

-lyrics: they seem like scratch lyrics at this point, since they're repeated... maybe too much? Seems like you need more than the phrase "takin it all"... "you don't leave a thing"... maybe just add some more, maybe some metaphor type stuff? Stretching that one lyric over the whole song may wear it out (IMHO).

-throughout the song, seems like some mids are missing - 4k octave in particular. Check out 3:06 for a good example of mids missing.

-suggest some 8th (& 16th)-note closed hat hits--or a shaker--during the driving verse part? The mix needs some highs, and the song could use some more "drive" IMO.

-some variation in mixing the vox would be nice, too... IOW changing verbs, panning, some chorus/flange now & again, etc...

--and the BIG thing-- where'd the lead guit whammy dip go?! The one at the end?? that was so damn cool :cool: :( it's gone


A great song still... but maybe not quite done? Thanks for the listen, GONZO


Chad
 
I loved it before it had vocals and I love it even more with vocals.This is just awsome man....I couldnt have imagined this vocal on top of the music when you posted the instrumental version......this is some epic shit.Great work dude.
 
Great song...great sound. I love the voice.

The only think that I'd like to hear is a little more balls in the snare drum. Maybe a different snare drum sound....this song needs more in a snare drum, me thinks.

Great tune man,

Darth
 
hey, thanks a lot for the feedback.....!

participant-
thanks for the deep review.....
by 2nd acoustic, you mean the melody/harmony guitar pair?
yeah, i felt like i needed to state the main melody there, even though i do like the straight chord thingys by themselves........

lyrics, yeah, you may be right, maybe they're a little redundant.....
i always had it in my mind that the lyric would be simple, and repeat......

this song has been around since 1989, and once, a long time ago, i tried to write a whole story into this idea of gluttony..... and it was long winded, and i whitled, and whitled, and actually was pretty much left with what i got! LOL

mids....... i'll have to really hone in on that one..... this is my first full length mix with my new monitors, so i know i've got a lot of experimentation and trial and error to go through before i feel confident once again in the mixes.......

i played with the idea of tambourine during the driving parts, then nixed it...... maybe i should at least track one and mix it and see how it sits, eh?

that whammy dip is still there! it's just much shorter and faster......
hat's just one of them thangs that happens or doesn't........

thanks again.


Kramer-
glad you like it.... i'm sure you can hear something that you'd change or tweak, let me know if you listen again.........

Darth-
man, you're so right about the snare...... i'm so limited with my machine, i pine for the day i'll have a pc set up with acid or fruit loops and some killer samples........

i did 2 voices. one that was more intense, more backed off the mic and hollering, and the other one, which was more mellow and laid back, the one on the mp3........ i couldn't decide, and went with the one that i thought was the least obvious.........
 
Re: hey, thanks a lot for the feedback.....!

GONZO-X said:

Kramer-
glad you like it.... i'm sure you can hear something that you'd change or tweak, let me know if you listen again.........
Click to expand...

Ok.:)Well upon second listen the drums are the only thing that sound weak to me.The cymbal crashes are in places where they shouldnt be and the high-hat work is not quite right.....the high-hat parts are not played like a real drummer would play them..they are just tapped at here and there sometimes instead of playing the parts like a drummer would....I bet you dont play drums at all do you?:).......real drums would set this off to another level....it's a great song to listen to and it rocks but it wouldnt be commercially viable until a real drummer was on it.
 
cool stuff.............i don't know why, but the vocal kinda sounds like peter gabriel...........a little more room for the drums to push through and it would really push this over the top.....

it sounds good..........when you get the drums moving, it's gonna really rock
 
I think this song rocks! Love the voice. As far as mixing and all, I'm no expert so I leave that to everyone else. As for the song, I think it is fine the way it is. Personally, I like the repeating of Take it all, just the last time may be a couple too many. The inro/first verse is just da best. Very classic. Good work man.
 
Alright Gonzo!!

I didn't think you would ever put vox to this!

Sounds GREAT ! :D

All I could ask for is some PUNCH from the Kick drum.

It seems you aren't trying to mask the fact your drums aren't real so........

Get them out there!!

Nice job.......will be tough for you to top!
 
Oh, DUDE!!!!

Crispy, leavened intro soundscape! As a former VS-880EX user, I must say, you REALLY know your way around that beast! Wow, this is REALLY nice!!!

It's a VERY dense sound, but everything is articulated with such deft tenacity, I can hear every little nuance of performance! This is a special work! I'm VERY impressed! Great arranging! I admire your tastes in the use of texture!

I agree with the suggestion of a shaker, or even a high pitched tambourine in that driving section near the 3:00 mark. And that's my only nitpick. :D

RAWKIN!!!!

Way to go dude!!!
Phil "Llarion: The Jazzinator" Traynor
www.llarion.com
-Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons;
for you are crunchy, and go well with ketchup.
 
Styx!! nice tune.. a lot going on, and the separation between things starts to suffer a tad. Your vocals WERE the missing element. Man...what's with IUMA nowadays...slow, slow, slow... but worth the wait....
 
I remember this. I liked it the first time and it's cool to hear it with vocals. Sounds like Yes to me. Could use a brighter piano-bass sound like Yes used....also I'd like to hear the harmonies up a little bit. The over-all mix sounds a little harsh. Maybe drop the Eq just a little bit aroung 2.5k. Nice song.
 
same thing as Dfaders and Kramer, drums are the weakest link...you said you mastered these separately?

And I wish I could say Fruity Loops would make it better. Perhaps you'll be better with it than I am... Then again, I'm a humble newbie still. I'm still reading the manual.

The guitar work is gigantic and driving...Coming from a fellow ax grinder, it's impressive stuff.

and as others have said, vox complete the song.

kickass dude,

miles
 
Hey Gonzo,
This is my first opportunity hearing your stuff, and it seems ive missed out. As I combed through the original version the first thing that struck me as really cool was the down-picking......very nice. I like everything that youve done w/ the rhythm guits. ...great tone, and tasty choice of chords and strum patterns.
Now, onto version 2. I agree about the second guitar being unnecessary in the intro section. Nice lead vocs, really resembles Yes.......and thats a good thing. Nice doubling and backgrounds. I wonder if the harmony lead guitars might be just a touch to far apart.... it kinda brings your attention to each one separately rather than a harmony pair. .....might be just preference though, ......and headphones. Very admirable stuff gonzo....... cant wait to hear more:)


G
 
listening again...

yeah man.... ... when those hats do come in, they open everything up... seems like this song is beggin for a mega adrenaline, disco funk-beat 16th-note high hat assault :D (accent the 1, and the 8th note between 2 & 3)

Ah... but artistic decisions are yours of course.


Chad
 
thanks a lot for listening. this is a great spot for learning......

kramer-
agreed- needs real drums. so true.

powderfinger-
again, drums! yes, i know, my kingdom for............

soundprizm-
thanks for listening. i think maybe i gotta re-think the lyric, the concensus seems to be to loose some of the chorus lines.......

jcmm-
ha! more drums......... yes, yes, punch, yes, i understand........ hahahah......
damn drum machine.
thanks for the listen...... i could tweak the low end a little more..... i was afraid to go too far, because in my monitors, it's kicking, but i still don't know how to read my monitors yet (new ones)........

Llarion-
ah yes, ketchup and dragons. ;)
thanks for the comps, yes, the 880ex is a beast...... it's not exactly user friendly, and when i signed up for 8 tracks, i didn't realize it meant 6 tracks to a stereo pair, bounced numbers of times for 24 tracks of recorded music! LOL
alright, i'm convinced to at least try the tambourine in some sections..... i do hear where it would add a certain push to the meter.....
and maybe it'll cover up the bass drum! ;)

mixmkr-
so you think the vocals are apropo? i wasn't sure.... i have older versions of this song, and had thought about going totally instrumental with it...... doing the vocal lines with the guitars.....
yeah, i think IUMA has gotten too big for it's britches, which is a shame, cuz it's about the best thing for indie artists, as far as getting stuff posted without having to jump through too many hoops.....
separation. i've just got to mix more with these new monitors, i can really hear so much better now, but have no idea how what i'm hearing transfers to other systems yet........

Lt. Bob-
Yes, eh? I love yes, especially the bruford years, i guess your talking about a rick through a marshall stack sound, huh?!
2.5khz, that'd be a good place to pull down a little bit..... i was real concerned about 1.5khz, i actually pushed it a little bit during mastering, just to help the mids get a little bite, maybe that influenced there as well........... good point, thanks..........

milesmaxwell-
yeah, i took the stereo tracks from the drums machine, then put them through a mastering algorythm to push 90hz, 250hz, and tweak the high end a bit..... some compression to bring out the kick....yeah, you wouldn't believe how much better it sounded than the original tracks! LOL
the guitars were the simplest, and most straightforward part to record..... almost no eq (low rolloff at 80hz) and a mic in front of the cabinet.......

Guernica-
thanks for listening. you know, i think you're right about the panning on the leads.......... i tried to put them left and right, in areas i had left open......... thinking this would give the most separation...... and it did......
and now i'm not sure that was the best thing............?
i guess i was worried about buildup of frequencies by putting guitars on top of guitars.........
but that's my brain getting in the way of my ears.........
well, i will be working on this mix for a little while, i've got so much food for thought here, and i'll try to re-pan things and see how it goes..........

participant-
ha! disco funk.......... well, i played my share of that in cover bands in the early 80's......... i might could program something a little more in that vein.................
 
good tune, sweet guitar playing..


My main beef with this tune is the snare drum.. A stronger snare would do wonders.. The bass drum seemed a bit low at times too imhop.. I guess I don't like the drums, but this is a very cool song with lots of cool guitar in it.. Nice voice too.. Reminds me a bit of 'Yes.' Needs a bit more beef I think..


excellent guitar....... damn....... Makes me realize how much I suck. :)
 
THANKS b.s.

i hate my snare drum.......
maybe i should join snare drums anonomous........

yes voice, eh? i doubt it, but thanks for the dubious compliment.....

you think the voice needs more beef, EQ wise? or performance wise?
the reason i ask is, i have another set of tracks from another session, that had a more "go for it" vocal, that i just thought was overbearing........
maybe i'll do a mix on that and post, and see what the concensus is.......


BY the way,
i put in a review of your souless mate tune.....

i've still got it on my "musicmatch" jukebox rotation..........
;)

it's a good'n
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top