"Negation 2"

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GONZO-X

GONZO-X

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"Negation 2"

this is track 11 of a 13 track all instrumental, one hour long collaboration i did with False Haruspex,
a group out of BC.

https://app.box.com/s/4pqj25hzeqltt2pdewpf4p4pbr8wqy6u


i played all of the solo guitar only.

this one is interesting for guitarists, because i used my custom Williams Special, thru my Mesa Mark 2B into a Demeter Isolation Cabinet to record all of the solo guitar parts.
willams_artist_demeter_small.jpg
 
As an arrangement/composition...the minute and a half opening prior to the stable beat is a bit long....and the incessant cymbals from 2:22 through 2:55 started to grate on me. I like the impact...just not the wall of cymbals. It's a preference.

I LIKE the dynamics....and the electric gnarliness. Bass is great. The bass tone is solid in the quieter sections.

For the amount of distortion involved...this mix has pretty well isolated parts. No small accomplishment!
 
The whole mix sounds really centered and dull to me. The drums sound like they're in a different space than the guitars. I don't like the snare sound at all on this. Tin can.
I think that spacing everything out would really help here.

More work on the mix could bring out the stellar performances better!
 
I think it sounds pretty great. It does seem to stack up a little in the middle, but it's not a show stopper or anything.

Great lead work throughout. It sounds neither dull nor redolent of tin cans to my ears.

Moar pls
 
Do you know what the little filter sweeps are? A synth? Or a guitar? Sounds great man.
 
Could've used a tom roll to mark out the soundstage or something because it is very up the middle and close in.
Sounds like the band were trying to improvise a TOOL song but were distracted by Iron Man part way through.
The snare placement seems rather odd - in my h/phones it seems about 10 degrees to the left of centre and up in the air.
The filter sweeps were cool.
I was hoping for some darker, dirtier tones after about 6.30.
Interesting.
 
I think it sounds pretty raw and aggressive! I like it that way.. not every mix/production has to be crystal clear to perfection!
Gonzo.. I dig it how it is! Kickass job!!
 
Greg_L said:
If you just want to share your music or be heaped with false praise, post in the "marketing" section.
Click to expand...

totally unnecessary reply, greg, brings nothing to the table, obviously you don't care,
so why even post anything?

just a trouble maker.
or soul killer.

boo hoo.

LOL
 
GONZO-X said:
totally unnecessary reply, greg, brings nothing to the table, obviously you don't care,
so why even post anything?

just a trouble maker.
or soul killer.

boo hoo.

LOL
Click to expand...

No dude, none of that. Just a PSA for you or anyone else that might read it. Your "yikes, tough crowd" comment lead me to believe that you expected less critique and/or more pats on the back. If that's what you want, the marketing section is place for that. In here you will get mix opinions - and they might not always be flattering. But you can always ignore those less praising comments. You're clearly above all that.
 
Greg - Killer of Souls!

:)

That is an awesome power you wield. Use it wisely as you have here.
 
Agree with Greg.

Having said that. I think as a semi-improv semi-composition it's rather cool, although some of the more traditional lead guitar work is a bit boring, to my ears and brains at least. I like the drum work a lot, and both the riffs and dynamics are quite nice. The sound and mix though, could do with more definition, indeed everything sounds a bit dull and centered. Almost like it's recorded with one (good) mic.
 
I think the song has a lot of potential.. As far as mix, it may be intentional, but I just don't feel the power it could have. With the rhythm guitar straight and center it loses some of the energy, in my opinion at least. Everything can be heard clearly and the tones of all the instruments sound good.
 
StuGort said:
As an arrangement/composition...the minute and a half opening prior to the stable beat is a bit long....and the incessant cymbals from 2:22 through 2:55 started to grate on me. I like the impact...just not the wall of cymbals. It's a preference.

I LIKE the dynamics....and the electric gnarliness. Bass is great. The bass tone is solid in the quieter sections.

For the amount of distortion involved...this mix has pretty well isolated parts. No small accomplishment!
Click to expand...


i wonder if chopping up a bigger piece, into smaller pieces, just makes it harder to 'get'.....
i know it too well,
makes my perception of the elements like the 'opening' length, and all that, a little skewed....

i didn't mix this, of course, but the guys that did, kinda knew what they were going after,
so i think they managed the 'distortion' sounds in a way that would mix.

thanks for checking it out.
 
Schwarzenyaeger said:
The whole mix sounds really centered and dull to me. The drums sound like they're in a different space than the guitars. I don't like the snare sound at all on this. Tin can.
I think that spacing everything out would really help here.

More work on the mix could bring out the stellar performances better!
Click to expand...

maybe part of the 'dull' is that this is a mp3..

to my ears, all mp3's sound a bit dull compared to a 16 bit wav........

i think the drum 'space' choice, and the guitar 'space' choice, was intentional...
it's not that uncommon to go with 'uncommon' elements, just for effect.
there are lots of classic rock and progressive rock mixes that use those kinds of sound...

but this was mixed by the False Haruspex guys, i just provided the lead guitar bits.

appreciate the comments
 
Supercreep said:
I think it sounds pretty great. It does seem to stack up a little in the middle, but it's not a show stopper or anything.

Great lead work throughout. It sounds neither dull nor redolent of tin cans to my ears.

Moar pls
Click to expand...


appreciate the listen, super.....

i would have love to have had all the tracks to do a mix....
i have to defer to the other guys' vision on the sound....

there are a lot of folks these days,
that are getting back to more 'mono' style mixes these days,
tho this does have a lot of stereo elements in it, that work better for headphone listening.

there is a lot of keyboard sounds (synths) all throughout this, some are mixed hot, and some are strictly background.
 
rayc said:
Could've used a tom roll to mark out the soundstage or something because it is very up the middle and close in.
Sounds like the band were trying to improvise a TOOL song but were distracted by Iron Man part way through.
The snare placement seems rather odd - in my h/phones it seems about 10 degrees to the left of centre and up in the air.
The filter sweeps were cool.
I was hoping for some darker, dirtier tones after about 6.30.
Interesting.
Click to expand...

RAYC,
yes, that tight drum mix,
i don't know,
maybe i have a photo somewhere of the way the kit was set up,
but i'm pretty sure they could have spread it out more if that was the sound they were looking for...

folks these days,
using midi drums, and individual drum machine tracks, spread those things out from here to kingdom come!
LOL
and folks get used to it, i guess....

me, i'm starting to bring my drums more inwards as well,
but a lot of these drum/bass tracks were done live, as a continuous performance,
so there may have been some 'engineering' compromises made, to get the better performances.

i don't know, there are 13 of these 'chunks' of the one big song,
and it goes in a lot of different directions,
there are some pretty dark sections, high speed, slow trudge, groovy, it's kinda all over the place.


maybe i should post one of the other 'mellower' tunes?


thanks for listening
 
I thought it was ok. It did seem to drag on too long without vocals.
 
GONZO-X said:
i wonder if chopping up a bigger piece, into smaller pieces, just makes it harder to 'get'.....i know it too well,
makes my perception of the elements like the 'opening' length, and all that, a little skewed....
Click to expand...

One of the dangers of critiquing something as an arrangement/composition is that one is critiquing someone else's personal taste.

....or, if you prefer....mixing something is more objective and writing something is more subjective....relatively.

I offered both in my comments. Writing, especially in a creative context, is purely subjective. For me it's great to hear comments because after listening to something a half a million times...both the mix and the composition sort of become their own truth. It's good for me to hear when my truth isn't everyone else's truth.

...and everyone wants accolades....but not everyone is willing to admit it. :)

"False praise"? Doesn't that more or less describe 90% of the music industry...and therefore reflect something basic about us all?
 
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