Dreamy story song

  • Thread starter Thread starter ashulman
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Interesting "space" on this one. I think I might back off a little on the vox verb, but it doesn't sound bad the way it is. This interesting because the tune and your voice are that of a kinda Dylan-esque storytelling song, but the ambience is that of... something entirely different. I like it.

Wow, cool slide solo!

I like it.

Chris
 
Vocal question

I actually liked the effect you used on the vocal.
what was it if you don't mind me asking.

The slide work I would say needs more technique
Good solid writing and storytelling.
 
Well, you're not going to want to hear this but I'd have to say I didn't like the slide at the end at all, it sounded like animals being slaughtered, man that was painful. Also, the up and down slide being panned is dreadful and gave me a big headache.

On the other hand, I wish I could get my acoustic to sound that good on my recordings, that was great.
 
Hey ashulman! This is my first opinion on a tune here,...dont you feel lucky!!!!! ha ha ha ha

I gotta say,..That slide thing works for me! Cool stuff. I only have two problems with the tune. The acoustic sounds awesome but,.....way too bass heavy on my pc speakers. Under all that bass is a sweet acoustic lurking. The only other thing is that your singing sounds like your reading it off the paper. Not enough emotion.

Calwood
 
I don't know how you'll take this, but I can TOTALLY hear Johnny Cash doing this. I mean it as a compliment.

Man, "ambient" is an understatement, lol. I love the slide, just b/c it's so freaking different. I can see why you'd be curious as to how it hits people; I really kinda' wish you hadn't mentioned it, lol...b/c I was all waiting for it, and it wasn't as weird as I was expecting, I guess. I vote for keeping it, as if that matters. :D

As for the ambience, I vote for pulling back on the verb A TON. I think it's just muddying the whole mix up, and you don't need it. (come back out of the chamber hall reverb, lol).

Your voice crapped out in a couple of places, which I'm sure you probably know, but...just to let you know I'm listening, lol.

Seriously, I'd re-attack a couple of the vocal clams, and I'd pull off of the verb a bunch, but then again, I'd probably smear the whole thing with compression and autotune, so take my advice for what it is...well-intentioned. :)
 
Cool song-has a Johnny Cash feel-Nice melody-I like the verb on the vocals-the mix gets bottom heavy around the :50 mark-I can't tell if its a bass coming in there or keys or a second guitar but the sound attaches itself to your guitar and is making it bottom heavy and muddy sounding-I would suggest whatever it is coming in at that point should be in a differnt register. Pretty nice acoustic sound though...Vocals in the third verse get a little sketchy-not too bad though-I like a human element and its not way off key or anything-sounds a little out of breath. Hmm can't say I liked the slide too much-I would have liked the verb from the vocal on it maybe for a real trippy effect-If its not going to have a real strong melody you should use it as a textural effect-it seems kind of in-between at the moment...Not a strong enough solo to be so out front and not effected enough for a cool texture.

Good song though-I enjoyed it mucho.
 
Now I'm more confused. One post was the direct opposite of the next! I'll try to clarify a few things knowing that as I do, the music is no longer standing on its own, meaning there is a problem I need to fix.

The heavy verb was intended to give a dreamy feel, therefore I used a large hall reverb on both the guitar and vocal. Maybe the tune would be just as effective dry. I'll have to chew on that.

The last vocal verse was intended to be half whispered in a vain attempt to inject some feeling into my singing. I guess I didn't carry it off as well as I thought.

The bass sound at 0:50 is a keyboard wash entering. When I listen to this in my car, I don't hear it as muddy as it comes in much lower than the acoustic and sits alone. I wonder if something is lost in mp3 encoding?

The slide I've already retracked and will continue to do so until I get it right. I take all suggestions seriously but the slide at the end needs to be there, IMO. I need something wierd and spacey and nervous and that's the only weapon at my disposal.
 
I can hear what your after I think with the slide, however I think maybe if you would drop it in after the first verse occasionaly off in the distance at the end of a few phrases , only lasting for about 2 to 3 beats when you do it, the ending would be a bit more seamless. just a thought ... Nice story in the tune man...
 
Hey Ash,
Very nice tune man. The verb on the vocs is just a touch heavy/distant for my personal taste...... but thats preference. I though the slide was nice touch. Put a little time into rehearsing the part and it could be exta nice. There's all kinds of room in this for direction..... bass, flute? ..... Lotsa fun here:)
g
 
Nice song, wonderful feel. The low end in the mix occasionally builds up a little bit too much on my system, but I wouldn't totally trust my monitors on that. Not boomy per se, just a bit much in the mix (:49 to :54 -ish is one spot). The acoustics sound like they might be compressed a tad too much in spots. I might be picking nits there, or even hearing things.

I like the "painful" slide :D. Seem appropriate to the song. Also, some cool keyboard pads filling in during the slide solo, very tasteful and a nice touch.

Totally looking forward to working with you on the HRC. As I said via email, I think this is a really good fit.
 
Yeah, I think the synth with the heavy reverb already in the mix almost gives the impression of feedback. This'll sound dumb, but I found myself unable to listen to this tune without my hand on the output gain of my amp, juuuuuuuuuuust in case, lol.

This definitely WOULD work with a dry mix...in fact, I'd LOVE to hear what it would sound like with a pretty dry vocal and guitar, then a totally washed out slide at the end? Sounds cool in my head, anyway.

On that slide, if you're gonna' redo it, (yeah, I said "IF", lol)...then why not take a stab at playing the part slower (picking hand)...stay away from the temptation to just nail the strings along with the beat of the acoustics, and give it its own lazy space; like hit a note for every 4 strums on the acoustic...with the slower pace, and a setoff of reverb, I dunno'...it just seems like something that Emmy Lou Harris' guitar player would do, and I fucking LOVE that ambient, distorted, almost other-worldly vibe that comes from it.

Or, leave it as is...lol. Either way. :D
 
PG - You da man. We are gonna kick ass in the HRC! I don't know about the boominess because I don't hear it on my crappy speakers.

Chris - I might just try a dry version and just go at it a different way. You can't stay married to an idea!
 
Although I can't totally speak for Alan here, I'm absolutely positive that "kick ass in the HRC" is to be intrepreted as "have a whole lot of fun in an absolutely, totally, non-competitive way". :D
 
I like the sound of the acoustic.

The synth doesn't add very much - but I think I understand your intent.

Johnny Cash? Yeah, I suppose I can hear that. But for me, I'm hearing Neil Young - especially with the slide at the end. Neil had a song out about 15 years ago - it might have only been a single, and I can't recall the name - that comes to mind when I hear this. His tune had the same quirky sound to it. I seem to even recall a similar slide sound.

You might try bringing the slide in from the very beginning and peppering it throughout the song.

I enjoyed the song - but I'd prefer if you had done more with the production - you know, get it a little busier. I start liking it more when the slides come in.

BPOCO
 
I meant kick ass metaphorically, in that the foot of our spirit will connect with the ass of the BBS.

That didn't sound quite right.
 
I liked the deep echo on the vocals, which is a first for me, although it sinks them into the mix so much I think they could be brought up.
Neat song, sort of Johny Cash meets Enya. It was fun to listen to. Short and sweet with solid performances.
From a produciton point of view the focal point is the accoustic guitar, which is just strumming, I think it would and some colour if the other parts came up around it more.
 
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