On y va

Robus

Well-known member
Another song demo. I'm trying to kick out the songs I've been writing this summer. Here's the next up.

This is my vocal demo with programmed drums using Jamstix4 samples. The final version will have real drums and a real singer. This is a mix, not a master. Natural dynamics are present. There's only light compression on the master bus to gel.

The reverb sound is Waves Abbey Road Plate.

Let me know what you think. All comments welcome. I've enjoyed this one, though the lyrics have been a challenge and may get further tinkering.

Latest mix:
On Y Va_Ray Taylor_Mix 26.mp3 - Google Drive

On Y Va
Words and music by Ray Taylor, 2018

Need a way to cull the cobwebs from our minds
Put us in some money for a while
Get the cash drawer, take a ride
Your bare feet on the dashboard getting high
Colors of a dying day
Spread out on the windshield

Well on y va
I’ve got things to show you
And we got a ways to go
Stand around in thunder long enough
The lightning will dispose

Need a way to comb the shadows from our hair
Score some Rocky Mountain dank and beer
Took a right turn in the hood
Bullets flew and the better aim withstood
Colors of the dying day
Poured out on the pavement

Well on y va
I got things to show you
We got a ways to go
Just stand around in thunder long enough
Odds gonna make a show
Just hold out in winter long enough
Every seed gonna have a grow

Need a way to plug the potholes in our lives
And fill us with some Costa Rican wine
Got our passports on the cheap
And a guide to every hot house in Belize
The colors of the dying day
Rainbow on Mantego Bay

On y va
I’ve got things to show you
We got a ways to go

But there is no running
From what we got within
Like wondering the reason
And a hunger keeps on teasing

Just hold out in winter long enough
Every seed gonna have a season
Stand around in thunder long enough
See the miracle repeating
Let the lightning strike another time

Now we’re stuck in Panama
Just waiting for a memo from the Lord
The colors of the dying day
Flashing on the squad car

Stand around in the thunder long enough
Odds gonna have their say
Just hold out in winter long enough
Every seed gonna have a day
Let the lightning strike another time

Look up and believe
The miracle repeats
Lightning strikes another time
 
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There we go. Much better arrangement. Flows nicely and very distinguishable sections, easy to follow. I really like this tune. Toward the end, I was thinking the tune would fade out with the rocking solo section, then it kept going and I looked at the timebar. It was at 3:40-something, I think. I liked THAT section for a fadeout better, just because it makes it seem like the tune exits at its most intense moment. By the time the final 2/3 sections come around, it's gone back down, slightly up (though not as high as before) and then out.

I know we all have visions for our tunes, but just sharing my approach. Feel free to ignore.
 
Okay thanks. I'll give the outro a listen. Mainly I dug the lead guitars there. That's the Mesa V:25 on iic+ mode there at the end (a sound I associate with Petrucci). The part is kinda-sorta doubled with a Les Paul on the left and Tele on the right. It's rare for me to use high gain tones but I liked it.

Also, did you notice there are no electric rhythm guitars at all? That might also be a first for me, of the songs I've posted on the Clinic.

There are some level spikes I need to sort out in order to bring the overall volume of the track up a bit more. I like to fix them manually rather than slap something on the mix bus.
 
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Hi Robus,

The song and basic mix is quite good. Some of the instruments are not fully in timing. Like the acoustics at the beginning - sounds like you double tracked them. I would consider going mono or panning closer to the center and looking at adjusting timing for some of the instruments. The instrument tones and arrangement is quite good. The ending is a little abrupt to me - maybe that's what you are going for. I would consider adding a very slight chorusing effect on the vocal (like waves doubler) and a little delay. I would also consider adding some doubled or tripled vocals in the section in this section "I’ve got things to show you, And we got a ways to go".
Love the bass and you do a great job of finding space for ac. guitar, elec. guitar and piano at the same time.
 
Thanks! I thought a lot about the loose timing on the acoustics in the place you mentioned and decided to leave it for the time being. I thought it added to a kind of floppy, quarter note feel that tightens up as the song goes on. But the feedback is helpful. I've heard the song a few too many times and need to regain perspective. I might listen to it again in a week or two and have one of those "what was I thinking?" moments.

I'll be retracking the vocal soon, maybe tonight. There will definitely be some harmony added in the chorus and elsewhere. I probably won't double track the lead. A better singer will eventually redo the whole vocal and do it better than I can.
 
New mix in the OP. There's a new vocal take and some scratch harmonies. Cleaned out some volume spikes and brought up the overall mix level--still no mastering.
 
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Sounds great, Robus. I actually like the loose timing on the intro acoustics. They sound great throughout, actually.

Bassline is cool, too. Nice subtle delay on the leads. And you're right about electric rhythms, it doesn't need any.

Trying to find nits but really couldn't, this one's got a nice feel to it. Drums sound great, nice work on that.

What mic did you use on the acoustics?
 
Thanks Johnny. I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. There may still be some lyrics changes coming along, but meanwhile I think it's ready for the drum queue. I may push it up ahead of some other things in the queue.

The acoustic guitar I used was my Taylor 414. It's got that typical stringy Taylor sound that cuts through a mix nicely without getting boomy. I have a stereo pair of Rode M5 small diaphragm condenser mics that I used to record. But I didn't actually mix the output of those mic in stereo. I used the two mic tracks to adjust the balance between string and body, then panned them together and treated them as a single acoustic track. Then I did the same thing again, not so much doubling the first part but just finding something that compliments it, emphasizing different parts of the beat. Finally I panned the two parts opposite to get a king of ping-pong sound going.

Here's a clip of the acoustics soloed. Nothing special about the tone (nor my playing certainly) but hey, the name of the game is "in tune, in time, and serve the song."

Allons Y_Ray Taylor_Mix 18_Acoustic guitars sample.mp3 - Google Drive
 
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New mix in the OP. I retracked and edited the harmony vox and some parts of the lead vocal. Should be tighter. I changed the reverb from Ambiance to the Waves Abbey Road Plate, which I just bought and wanted to try out. How does the ambiance sound on the vocals and acoustic guitars?
 
I like the chord progression and melody. Seems like alot of verb in general. I have the Abbey road plate as well very nice verb, i think it sounds better on the vocal then the guitars. The snare sound is getting dulled pretty heavily by the verb or compression. I think the arrangement is good and keeps the song interesting and moving/changing. Im curious what set you're using in Addictive? Do you have the retro kits by chance? I love the blue oyster kit...I think when this is fleshed out a bit it will sound excellent-the song is there it just sounds pretty sparse and verbed to me at the moment. Looking forward to hearing this when you've got the mix up to your usual standards. Great tune!
 
...changed the reverb from Ambiance to the Waves Abbey Road Plate, which I just bought and wanted to try out. How does the ambiance sound on the vocals and acoustic guitars?

I think it's much too much. Dial it back a bit. It sounds pretty good though, the reverb. I almost picked that one up too a couple weeks ago. I've been using voxengo's reverb for a long time (bright studio preset, 60ms pre, 2000 length, then take some lows out).
 
I like the chord progression and melody. Seems like alot of verb in general. I have the Abbey road plate as well very nice verb, i think it sounds better on the vocal then the guitars. The snare sound is getting dulled pretty heavily by the verb or compression. I think the arrangement is good and keeps the song interesting and moving/changing. Im curious what set you're using in Addictive? Do you have the retro kits by chance? I love the blue oyster kit...I think when this is fleshed out a bit it will sound excellent-the song is there it just sounds pretty sparse and verbed to me at the moment. Looking forward to hearing this when you've got the mix up to your usual standards. Great tune!

Thanks guys. Yeah, I agree. Too much 'verb. The Waves plugin also gives a darker reverb than plate patches in Ambiance. Let me play with it some more. Looking again at the drum VST, oops! It wasn't Addictive at all. I was using the Rock: Dry drum samples in Jamstix4. I'll have a look at the snare.
 
I'm about to post a shootout in the OP: Waves Abbey Road Plate vs Ambiance freeware. To be fair, the Ambiance has benefited from the ongoing refinement of the mix. Acoustics are a bit lower compared to the WARP mix. Let me know what you think.
 
I liked the Waves reverb better. THe Ambiance mix was a little wetter, which might be the reason. But I thought the Waves plug sounded nicer.

The acoustic guitar and bass sounded very nice.

I thought vocal was a little loud in the mix. The piano part was OK, but I would prefer something that sounded more like a real piano than a synth.
 
Abbey Road. But not by much - the other one is certainly usable. But Abbey sounds better when all the instruments kick in. These's a nice ambience to it all, the way they blend in together.
 
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