CanopuS- I was a little nervous about that guitar duet. It sounded right to me, but I could hear how it might sound "off" to others. It's a bit unorthodox, you know. Thanks for the feedback.
Pedullist- You're on. I'll send you the necessary files ASAP. I would have asked you before but I wasn't sure if I'd be making much of an effort with this tune. I guess I probably should. Talk soon...hope work is going better this week.
powderfinger- Man, if you knew how much EQing I've had to do on previous guitar tracks you'd fully understand the extent of my anguish. These tracks here haven't been EQ'd yet, so maybe when i tighten up the low end, the natural mids will shine more. I'm not a big mid scooper, myself, but there was some serious boundary violations happening.
Thank you Mr. Finger.
Zikes- I know I told you in that PM that you'd hear the drum samples well on this one, but I really needed that guitar tone heard to be sure i was heading in a good "tone" direction. I'm somewhat ashamed to admit that after about 15 years of off and on guitar playing I have never really seriously searched for my tone(s). This clinic here brings a lot of things to attention that might otherwise escape. For some of us, that can be a double edged sword. Anyway, thanks for stopping in. Oh yeah, "newbie" status changes I think at 100 posts. you're 33.3333333333333333333333333% there.
MC Gitarz- I record digitally between -12 and -6dB. I had a thread a while back (search "methods", user: "Sluice", MP3 Clinic if you'd like) and we talked a lot about that. I usually shoot for that range because you get good resolution but also enough headroom to not have to process more than necessary. There were some different opinions, and I don't know what's best. Just do what I do. Glad you dug the tune. One of these days I'd like to lay down some warm clean leads over one of your nice acoustic beds. Let me know if one ever becomes available for something like that. Thanks for listening too.
The Ghost of FM- Definitely, I agree, it is a bit boomy. But I haven't EQ'd anything yet because I wanted to preserve the track for critique. In the mix, a nice low roll-off should do the trick I think. Maybe a small kick in the 4-8K and some 16-20k presence if necessary. And that don't do it, we'll just retrack the whole damn thing. That's the beauty of not paying a studio for time. LOL. Hope the song didn't scare you too much...it's like the complete opposite of your latest tune which was oozing with fun and smiles. Makes me feel morbid even writing about that stuff. Thanks for checking it out for me. Peace.
fprod south-
They might be lacking a little high end. I don't know if you'd want to do that through eq on your software or with the amp...
Of course I'll try it with EQ first, then retrack if necessary. But I think we're only talking a dB or two in the highs, which shouldn't cross that "synthetic" boost line. I think during tracking I may have been a little paranoid about it becoming too sharp or edgy. There are all those hard drums hits stabbing with the riffs too, a lot of percussive sounds to jab the ear. I'll try EQ...thanks Phil. Check your email.
B. Sabbath- As I've been saying to others, you're right about the guitar levels and the boominess. I should be able to fix all the when I EQ everything. I got a tired of not being able to track
any detailed low end in the past and just wanted to make sure I caught it all.
A few small cuts should do it I think. I definitely want those drums more up front in the mix, because they're really a major part of this tune. The keys will definitely come down some with the guitars. I may even do something a little different there. I'm hearing something less "digital" sounding in my head. Thanks Sam. I appreciate it.
Dethska- Thanks...yep guitars are too loud. (See 5 other responses above for explanation.)
You checked out the "Anxiety" re-track/mix...very cool of you. Thanks for the feedback on that. I didn't want to start another thread on it...I've beaten that song to death. It's still gonna need some work...very difficult song to get right sonically for some reason. I think it's because that lead vocal is so hard sounding. I have trouble getting a guitar sound that sits well with it. I'll get there though. Thanks brotha.
boydrj- Thanks a lot. I give you credit making it all the way through this song drunk. I mean that verse riff feels drunk already in 7/4 time.
Thanks for the feedback!
Kelly5150-
I like the added vocals at 3:26 to 4:06.. that is new isn't it?..
Yeah that's new. I had a dialogue there before and I guess I just got sick of hearing myself talking, and decide to keep the same basic idea, but make it more musical. Thanks for the rest of the feedback too!
wfaraoni- Thanks Bill. That's good advice about volumes, etc. I must admit things have been pretty loud around here lately. But I smarteend up and isolated the amp again. I appreciate the listen too.
joro-
If you ever get down this way man,
stop in for a jam session...and some pie.....like pie?
Skids- We do love that nice round bottom.
Thanks man. I've really gotta get to bed after this, my ears are shutting on me, but I'm gonna listen to yours tomorrow after work. Thank you!
dobro- Yep, the guitars will come down a little.
I got a question: the guy getting sung about ('when will he return?') - is he some part of the personality of the guy singing the song? Or is it really two guys?
You do come up with interesting questions. Like most of my songs, this is based on things that actually happened in my life. This one is about Phil and Laura, some friends I made when I was 20 living quite a ways from home and didn't really know anyone. These people were about 10 years older than me, and long story short, ended up really freaking me out. Toward the end of my "friendship" with them I noticed some bruises on her arms. And they had been fighting a lot lately. Before anything really came of it they split for Colorado together and I moved home. This song is basically the drama that was going through my head, but was ever so quiet in reality. Those lines are what I wanted to say, but didn't. Happens a lot in my songs.
Weird time, those days. Thanks Paul.
Doug H- Yeah,
the Mark iV is 4-staged. Which has been a big factor in its learning curve for me. It just doesn't work like a Marshall. Which i'm fine with, but wow what a touchy amp! But being able to employ a wide range of tones is important to me. Thanks for the info.
erichenryus- Hey Eric, thanks brotha. "Good purchase" is a good thing to read after taking a risk like that. Boogie's aren't exactly pocket change, especially for me. But I do like the tones so far. Cheers man.
Thanks everyone. Very very helpful feedback as always!