thanks for the ears guys!
Guernica said:
what are you saying? ......"suck liquor" ......?
participant said:
"sick-liked her, sick- like that" 
good guesses though! It's probably impossible to make out most of my lyrics, but I'm not saying anything important anyway..
The Drums - I bought some drum loop and sample CD's.. They were around $50 beans each.. Each CD contained loops, and some have the individual samples that make up the loop.. For this song, I just chopped the loop into pieces using ACID, and put it together like this.. In the future I will make up a loop myself in Fruity Loops, and then do the actual looping in ACID.. They're all not going to sound this good, but some will.. I still plan on playing my drum pads whenever it's called for, so this is just another way to do things.. It took me hours and hours to do the drums.. The vocals were done from start to finish in 3 hours.. That includes making up lyrics and mixing.. I had all the music mixed already.. When I was done, all I had to do was mix the vocal to music level and that's it.. Since I don't record on my computer, I did the drums, and then burnt them to a CD.. I recorded that into my portastudio through the analog audio inputs.. I added the music and vox, and then burnt it back to a CD, and added some mastering stuff in SONAR.. IT would have sounded better if it wasn't so stepped on, but sometimes you just gotta say it's good enough, and just try to do the next one better.. One last thing, there were *no synths* used for anything besides the bass..
JMarcomb - thanks Jeff.. I am not a real guitarist like you, so I rely on the sound and a general 'wiff' of a guitarist..
erichenryus - dude, don't sell your TD-8! It's still the best sounding drum hardware I have ever heard.. It just needs to be tweaked.. thanks!
Kramer - I was going to p.m. you about that thread, but I should have known that nothing gets passed you!

Yeah man, loops are a great thing, but they're not cheap... I was surprised by how little you get on the CD, but the quality is really high.. I'll keep you posted as I figure this thing out.. thanks Krame!
WATYF - I guess the best way to get your drum approval is to make sure I'm not the one playing them!

thanks!
Stratomaster "How do you crank out so many tunes man?" That's easy.. I have no life or wife..

This is pretty much what I do for fun.. I'm dating a girl now, and she is really starting to cut into my recording time.. This song took 2 days from start to finish.. I think a combination of loop and real drums would be the best way.. thanks Strato!
IanW-UK - thanks for the tips man! I didn't want to screw too much with the sound of the drums. but maybe a little reverb won't kill me..
SLuiCe -
"Sounds cool Sam, my ears are too fried right now, and by the time they aren't, you'll have changed the mix or deleted the thread" Nah, no more deleting threads for me.. I will just think twice before I start one in the future.. I think the guitar sound might be too dark in contrast to the drums.. maybe if I brighten up the guits with some e.q. it might help.. I did want the drums to be upfront, but it sounds like I may have over did it.. I'm on your new tune right after this.. (at this rate that could be 3 days)
chrisharris - thanks chris.. Yeah I like big drums too, but I never can get that sound.. BTW, there were no synths used other than synth bass.. all the other sounds were from the guitars.. thanks for addressing the vocal.. In all seriousness, I have been wondering if I needed A.T. lately.. I wonder if its powers can be used for good instead of evil!
Jamal Bucket - thanks! I have been experimenting with different vocal sounds and trying to use less effects.. hopefully they're improving.. I think I got carried away with the drums sounds, but they just sound soo good!
twist - thanks man! I'm surprised you didn't like the cheesey guitar, being that your from the cheese state!

(yeah that was dumb)
beezelbubba - thanks.. your right about the bass, it's not your monitors.. BTW, the only synth used was the for the bass.. all the other sounds were from guitars.. ]
Guernica hey Mike, loops rule! I still have much to figure out, but hopefully this will be the start of something good.. The next song will probably have lame drums though.. No mix suggestions? I guess that's cool.. I do think I can get the vox tighter, so I might resing it.. thanks man! be talking soon!
Myx62 - yeah it's the same Steve Smith.. I explained at the top of the page exactly how I did it.. I think the best way will be to use a combination of drum machine and loops.. ACID 4 must be cool.. I used ACID 1 for this..

Let me know if you have any other questions man.. thanks for the comments!
Gidge - thanks for your help in the other thread Mike.. That's what got me going from the start.. I have a tempo question in the newbie thread, and I was wondering if you knew the answer.. How can you change the tempo of the loop without changing the sound? The way I have been doing it now is starting one project in one tempo, and then starting a new one in another, and then splicing them together, but I can't change the tempo of these loops without effecting the sound.. I just have to keep searching for loops that fit what I need to do?

thanks again for any help man!
Toki 987 - thanks man.. I agree about the vocals.. I banged them out too quick, so there had to be some problems.. appreciate the ears!
theron - hey Lee, I'm sending you an eamil after this.. I tried to explain how I did it at the top of the page.. If you want to talk more about it, send me a p.m. It's good to see you back around man! Let's hear some tunes soon.. thanks!
t-rok.com - thanks a lot man!
participant - hey Chad, yeah I have a long way to go.. It's amazing how long it takes to do drums.. I really think it takes longer than any other part of recording.. I may resing the vocals because I'm sure I can get a better take and sound.. I banged the vox for this one out very quickly.. I can't wait to hear what you put on that other tune.. Take your time man, I'm sure whatever you do will be cool.. Let me know if you want me to send you the wave.. I have been sending wave files to friends through AOL Instant messenger.. It's free to download IM, and if both people have high speed, it doesn't take long to send a 50 meg file.. thanks Chad!
mixmkr -
"are you cussing someone out at 1:50?" Yes.

If you listen there, you will hear that I ran out of sustain and I didnt notice until later.. So the words I said there are "ahhh, f**k it"

I like the drums nice and upfront too.. I always tried to hide them because of the sound, but when they sound this good, you just have to put them loud in the mix.. I should have put a little more effort into the guitar though.. I didn't do my usual stuff.. I just layed 2 guitar rhythms and that was it.. thanks mix, and don't worry.. the cellos are coming!
dobro - thanks dobro.. the bass was the only synth used on this and I didn't do a good job of it.. I was so caught up in the drums, that the bass became an afterthought.. I really would like a better bass line on this.. perhaps a real one.. I do have 2 basses (a 4 and a 5 string) but I get lazy sometimes.. I will spend more time on the bass though.. thanks for the comments man..
CrankyOne - I have a long way to go before these drums become part of my main sound.. I'm sure the next song will have MIDI sounding drums.. Your drums are among the best in the clinic, so I wouldn't worry about that.. The effect on the high hat could be because it was stepped on a few times.. burned to a CD, burned back again, loaded into a seperate recorder through analog inputs with crappy patch cords etc.. I can't do a standard guitar solo because I suck.. I rely on the sound to get the point across.. I am nothing without effects.. Thanks Crank!!
Thanks again to everyone who bothered.. It's fun reading the comments good or bad..
sam