defective

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Really nice stuff. A long song but it didn't feel that way to me. I really like pretty much everything about the mix except the vocals. They're good, I just don't like the effect on them. It seems like a big room sound with the decay cut off. Kind of "vintage", but I'm not crazy about it. Just personal taste there. I typically don't like drums that are a thousand times roomier than everything else, but I think it works well here. Some of the fills get a little fast, but it all comes back together well, so no big deal. I really like the bass tone, and the lead tones - especially the end lead. Really good there. So for my money, I'd say it's quite good as-is and all I'd want changed is the vocal processing. Well done.
 
Greg_L said:
Really nice stuff. A long song but it didn't feel that way to me. I really like pretty much everything about the mix except the vocals. They're good, I just don't like the effect on them. It seems like a big room sound with the decay cut off. Kind of "vintage", but I'm not crazy about it. Just personal taste there. I typically don't like drums that are a thousand times roomier than everything else, but I think it works well here. Some of the fills get a little fast, but it all comes back together well, so no big deal. I really like the bass tone, and the lead tones - especially the end lead. Really good there. So for my money, I'd say it's quite good as-is and all I'd want changed is the vocal processing. Well done.
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Hey - that's cool. Thanks Greg.

Yeah, it's wicked long. I probably could've cut the outro in half and still gotten the point across. Doesn't help that it's so damn slow either. I did have trouble staying with the drums in a few spots. Timing is harder for me with a really slow tempo like this.

I went crazy with the OHs and room mics. They're both cranked pretty high, compressed heavily and the room mics actually have a lo fi processer on them. It wasn't quite what I was going for, but it's sort of in the ballpark.

Yeah, the vocals sound kind of strange. I think there's only a limiter (why?...I don't know, but it sounded cool) and a loud, but very short delay on there. I think I was going for kind of a slapback echo kind of sound, but somehow it came out almost phasey or chorus-ey sounding. I thought it was sort of cool though and left it.

Thanks again dude! It's nice to have completed a song after so many months away from it.
 
I really like this, the recording and the song! It's got a garage recording kind of quality to it (that's a compliment) and that's my cup of meat. Reminds me of a Neil Innes/Rutles sound. The vocals sound awesome. The guitar solo's sound a little low for my personal taste. I'd like to hear them up a bit but as Greg said, the guitar tones sound really very good. Nice playing too.

I didn't notice any problem with the drum fills but not being a drummer I guess that's not my target area of listening. The bass sounds sweet. The mix of instruments sounds really good for the song. Top job, well done!

This is definitely in my Top10 HR songs :thumbs up:
 
Mr Clean said:
I really like this, the recording and the song! It's got a garage recording kind of quality to it (that's a compliment) and that's my cup of meat. Reminds me of a Neil Innes/Rutles sound. The vocals sound awesome. The guitar solo's sound a little low for my personal taste. I'd like to hear them up a bit but as Greg said, the guitar tones sound really very good. Nice playing too.

I didn't notice any problem with the drum fills but not being a drummer I guess that's not my target area of listening. The bass sounds sweet. The mix of instruments sounds really good for the song. Top job, well done!

This is definitely in my Top10 HR songs :thumbs up:
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Thank Mr. Clean. That is all very reassuring :).

Yes, the lead at the end is pretty low. I had it a good deal louder at first, but I found then that you could hear it clearly. After much wincing I decided to bury it a little. Not sure that was the right call. It isn't quite the epic conclusion I was probably hoping for, but I did capture the general idea of what I had in mind.

I don't know Neill Innes/Rutles...at first I thought you meant the Monty Python Beatles spoof band, but I bet that isn't it. I'll try to look him/them up when I get home tonight.

Thanks again!
 
heatmiser said:
I don't know Neill Innes/Rutles...at first I thought you meant the Monty Python Beatles spoof band, but I bet that isn't it.
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Um, I'm pretty sure that's what he meant.

But anyways, thank god you fixed that amp! Great to hear something new from you Pete. Any mix nits are well beyond the skills of these ears. I also really dig the outro and clean solos. The song doesn't seem long to me at all, and I didn't notice any timing issues. The minor to major key shifts work really well and give it a nice lift...especially in that end part. I like the crawling tempo too. Did you end up getting a kit? I can't even tell if the drums are real or not..that's how tin my ears are!
 
Very cool song. I like it a lot. I love that bass line in the verses. Makes the song.

I thought there were parts where the vocal level could be raised just a little bit. Other parts it was fine.

Bass tone might be a little rumbly. I might roll off some lows like 80hz and down. Just a bit.

Little pop at 2:36 on the word "forget."

There is a clean lead guitar part in there that gets a little buried. Not bad, but a little bit.
 
fat_fleet said:
Um, I'm pretty sure that's what he meant.
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Oh! Wow...cool, thanks for sorting that out.

fat_fleet said:
The song doesn't seem long to me at all...
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Thanks man, but you realize that's a bit like having Chris Christie tell me I'm not overweight...:p?

fat_fleet said:
But anyways, thank god you fixed that amp! Great to hear something new from you Pete. Any mix nits are well beyond the skills of these ears. I also really dig the outro and clean solos...and I didn't notice any timing issues. The minor to major key shifts work really well and give it a nice lift...especially in that end part. I like the crawling tempo too. Did you end up getting a kit? I can't even tell if the drums are real or not..that's how tin my ears are!
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Thanks for checking it out! Yes, it is good to have some electric guitar again.

I did not get a kit. Prices were higher than I expected and what little I'd set aside is now gone. The woman I stored the Yamaha drums for before thinks she may return them to me at some point (her nephew is trying half-heartedly to learn), but I'm still hoping to buy my own some day. These are loops that I chopped up and rearranged and mangled.

TripleM said:
Very cool song. I like it a lot. I love that bass line in the verses. Makes the song.

I thought there were parts where the vocal level could be raised just a little bit. Other parts it was fine.

Bass tone might be a little rumbly. I might roll off some lows like 80hz and down. Just a bit.

Little pop at 2:36 on the word "forget."

There is a clean lead guitar part in there that gets a little buried. Not bad, but a little bit.
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Good stuff MMM, thanks. Yeah, there's so many different guitar tracks on there at times that some stuff is far from clear. I'll check for that pop.

I'm glad you liked that bass part. I struggled for several days to find something that fit there (it was originally just 2 alternating notes - booooring!). Last week I was walking around work humming different potential bass lines in my head and I thought of this.

I pretended to be ill, excused myself from work and drove straight home humming it to myself the whole way so as not to forget. As soon as I got home I taught myself how to play it and then recorded it before it was gone. Now that is dedication!

Thanks again.
 
Great to see you posting up something new Heat. I gave this a very brief spin earlier, but looking forward to giving it a proper listen when I'm not in work.

Actually looking down the clinic page, there's quite a few to listen to.
 
i like the song but not the drums/drumsound, but it seems i'm in the minority. nice production nonetheless, just not really my kind of sound
would be fun to hear how the song would sound totally stripped down, like some leonard cohen stuff
acoustic guitar, vocals, some embellishment... maybe uprightbass :cool:
some part of my brain could picture this.
 
TripleM said:
Now fix that pop!!!
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I listened to the CD "master" a few times looking out for this, but I couldn't hear it. I haven't heard the soundcloud version all the way through (only long enough to confirm that it did emit sound). Maybe the pop is only present on ther mp3 version?

fat_fleet said:
Hey, any time I can save you ten seconds of Google time, just let me know.
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Will do :thumbs up:

fat_fleet said:
Ah, hopefully he loses interest- you should tell him about EZ Drummer!
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I was thinking of paying someone to break an arm or something, but that's probably more expensive than just buying a drum set.

robgreen said:
Great to see you posting up something new Heat. I gave this a very brief spin earlier, but looking forward to giving it a proper listen when I'm not in work.

Actually looking down the clinic page, there's quite a few to listen to.
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Definitely check it out at some point if you get a chance. I thought you did a great job with Erik on that Woody tune.
 
Dr.SpringReverb said:
i like the song but not the drums/drumsound, but it seems i'm in the minority. nice production nonetheless, just not really my kind of sound
would be fun to hear how the song would sound totally stripped down, like some leonard cohen stuff
acoustic guitar, vocals, some embellishment... maybe uprightbass :cool:
some part of my brain could picture this.
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Thanks for checking it out Doctor.

I don't blame you about the drums. I was going for a specific, dirtier sound, but despite all my tweaking, they ultimately just kind of sound like very roomy rock drums.

I got a taste of what a stripped down version would be like when all I had was scratch guitar/vocals, bass and drums. It sounded ok, but I really like to layer stuff. That's kind of my schtick, for better or worse. I bet my next track will be completely different though. Stay tuned.
 
:D
did you try one-mic micing techniques? dynamic or ribbon. shure sm57 will do fine.
but then, i don't know how the drums sounded in the room
 
Dr.SpringReverb said:
:D
did you try one-mic micing techniques? dynamic or ribbon. shure sm57 will do fine.
but then, i don't know how the drums sounded in the room
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Although I'd been using a real kit for the past couple of years, it is gone now, so this was my first foray back into the world of loops. Nice sounding loops though...there's a kick, snare, 2 tom tracks, 2 OHs & 2 room tracks. Lots of versatility, but still not as fun as doing it yourself.
 
Right, finally had a chance to give this a proper listen Pete and it sounds great. I love the phrasing and the meter on the vocals - pushing the rhyming scheme on all the defective rhymes really adds to the lazy, world weary feeling of the song. The whole tune just works and builds on your usual style. I'm glad you came up with a stronger bass line too, as it really makes that first section.

I listened hard to pick up any nits, but got nothing - I initially wondered whether the opening guitar chords were maybe a bit bashy (if that description makes sense) but they set up the mood well for the groove that it settles into so on reflection I think they're fine.

I've been meaning to ask you something about your vocals for a while. You often have a doubled lead vocal on your songs - how do you do generally that? Do you record two takes of the same line or is it like a fifth part harmony or something? I dunno - I've tried the former before and end up just getting a nasty phase effect and on the latter, I'm not sure I've the discipline to maintain a harmony all the way through a vocal. I'd be interested to know how you do it.

Great work as usual anyway man :)
 
robgreen said:
I initially wondered whether the opening guitar chords were maybe a bit bashy (if that description makes sense) but they set up the mood well for the groove that it settles into so on reflection I think they're fine.

I've been meaning to ask you something about your vocals for a while. You often have a doubled lead vocal on your songs - how do you do generally that? Do you record two takes of the same line or is it like a fifth part harmony or something? I dunno - I've tried the former before and end up just getting a nasty phase effect and on the latter, I'm not sure I've the discipline to maintain a harmony all the way through a vocal. I'd be interested to know how you do it.
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Excellent. Thanks Rob.

As for vocals, I have tried and failed at all sorts of techniques really. I like the not-so-popular technique of two takes in unison panned wide. It's unnatural sounding, and I often get called out for it, but I tend to like it. The holy grail for me is probably just to get one take/track of lead vocals with minimal processing to sound good on it's own, but that's pretty hard (for me anyway).

I hope it's apparent that on the choruses here, there are separate harmony parts sung and panned to either side...I liked those parts and wanted them to be heard. I have on other songs though sung harmonies throughout and blended to taste (ie. telephone wire), but that can get overwhelming to the listener after a while.

On this song, I actually left the scratch track on at a very low volume, and then re-recorded the lead vocals a week later. They lined up well enough and so I left them both panned up the middle. You can barely hear the scratch track, but you'd notice if I toggled it on and off, you know? My vocal lines are generally so simple that I can sing them weeks apart and they line up almost exact. In this case the scratch track was one take and the final lead vocal was one take. Maybe I should invest more time in that??? :)
 
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