okay if this ain't heavy?

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The first song I posted way back (well... few months back :D) was hard rock, & that's generally what I like to write/record. However, this song was another one of my oldies/goodies recorded back when a 4-track & depression were my only friends. (1995) I'm writing/recording that hard, heavy rock we love so much... but that stuff takes longer...

It's a very stripped-down sounding song, and in the end will only have few overdubs... because I like the original recording a lot... just a drum machine, guitar, & my voice.

The guitar in this recording is that shttty laminate-top, so it's got a boxy 250Hz-ish sound to it. The vox were laid down about 3 months ago, as scratch vocals... when I had a cold (of course :o)... so there are intonation problems, and some nasally parts.

As sam says... RIP IT APART, IF YOU MUST :D (I've just noticed that the tom-toms are too loud during the choruses)...

Sorrow (third song down the list)

Thanks for listening, in advance.


Chad
 
man im really getting sick of saying how nice your drums are..
....guitar sounds great...."soorrrro...whats right here"...ooowww"..????
the vocals ..."how bad could the bullet be" nice.
dude you sound completly diff vocally onthis than on "lumber' you taking lessons??.... HUGE DIFF....nice worrk..nice little break down
these are good lyrics....did you say this was old?....doesnt sound old at all...sounds very"current"....



nice.
j
 
had to download......quite clean, not use to hearing that...I love the guitar sound, it's nice change of pace. I thought the vocals could use a little more presence. I know what you mean about the toms...they seem a little in your face from 2:20 - 2:36 also at the end, but the drums overall seemed pretty tight and punchy.

Sounds like stuff I used to listen to at college and I loved that stuff.
 
you got me with the name of this thread.. I thought you meant it like "if this ain't heavy, I don't know what is!" :D

cool tune, great chorus!! very happy.. all the sounds are good.. the cymbals every once in awhile seemed loud.. I might get shot for saying this, but I think this song would sound good with the full treatment of overdubs and layers.. especially in the chorus.. some backup vocals.. definitely bass and possibly even some keyboards.. it sounds very unfinished to me.. I hear some vocal stuff you mentioned..

catchy tune.. I listened to it about 5 times already.. keep 'em coming.. finished or unfinished.. :D
 
it sounds good........i know you mentioned not going for a too produced sound, but i think just a touch of reverb on the vocal and drums could help quite a bit.........i think this would keep it sounding stripped down, but would give it a more fluidly mixed sound.......

anyhow, just a suggestion.......it's a nice song........
 
You got feel and note choice happenin'. I hear a little SP influence in there.;)

I agree the song could use a bit more in the production dept. Maybe some bass, a second guitar (clean electric) and some backing vocals. It sounds pretty cool the way it is though.

How do you say that again?

Sor ya ya ya yo yo yo yoho!

:D
 
My girlfriend and I were just talking about 1995 tonight...I'd have to say that was not one of my better years either.


This is nice and clean. I like it dry, but I'd like to hear some warmth verb too to compare.

Very quirky stuff from 3:30 out...I thought I was weird. :) Very cool! I like your songs Chad. There's like a comical seriousness about them. They seem sincerely serious and sincerely funny at once. Say that last sentence out loud without stuttering.

The only thing that might be worth mentioning is the "twang" of the acoustic gets a little distracting on my system. Maybe too strong of an attack on the guitar, or just like you said, less than desirable guitar. It's not that bad, I didn't even notice it til the second listen. Maybe something to keep in check though...

dug it :cool:
 
Hey Chad,
Nice tunage man.... If it were me i would dump all kinds of shit on this:D ....but thats me..... Were you ever into the Smiths? Dont take that bad.... cause i know people get touchy in a homophobic kinda way:D ....but Morrisey actually is a pretty talented fag:D ....Anyways, i hear alot of him in your choice of vocal licks. ....and again, thats a good thing.
......very cool stuff man.....
......w/ lots of possibilities.......

g
 
to me, it does sound like the other tracks are muted. The gtr sound is kinda sucky on its own, and verges on being out of tune.
The drums sound ok, but again, on there own, sound a little dead.

There definately is some weird arranging/harmonies happening at times that make me wonder if they are actually intentional or not.....and not to mention, a couple of "stumbles". I can understand liking the vibe of being a raw mix, but to me, this is too raw.

dang, I don't mean to be harsh, and it bothers me that I can't really offer more praise instead, but your other song was sooo much better, imo.
 
chadster.... raw is definitely the word. I really dug it though. Great job on the drums. I need to start recruiting you for some of my tunes. I whipped out my steel string and strummed a long a bit 'cause I really liked the progression. Let's do this at the Dead Goat open mic! I did some open voiced chords way up around the 10th - 12th frets and added some dimension. I can almost hear Morrisey doing this one. Can't wait to hear a finished product!
 
cool

Thanks for your replies/time; sorry this comes right when jamal's kick butt tune does.. but the clinic seemed to be slowin down, and I just finished drums on this song...

jb aka "songboy" hey, thanks for checking this out... what with how busy you are... kid/new song/audition. The lyrics:

Sorrow

Say hello to your good friend me
Say anything at all
Nothing means everything to me
At least what I can't see

Outside a window looking in at a room
full of nothing but emptyness
And I feel so full of love and hate
but it doesn't have a (place)

Whoa, and you don't know
Sorrow

Say goodbye to the stranger man
On the ground I fly alone
Say the unknown; if I'm shot down now,
then how bad could the bullet be?

Take a bite, and taste the blood in vain
the worthless wounds won't heal
Take delight in the pain 'cause
there ain't nothin' left to (feel)

Hero of Hogan exactly right on the vocals... just what I was thinkin, too. Hate to use EQ... so retracking will probably be the key here. (have to anyway; too many sour notes/breathless notes & nasal stuff)... thanks for checking this out.

Collateral Samij Heh... maybe that should be the next thread? :D That's the thing about this song--supposed to sound very happy, but the lyrics are polar opposite. Overdubs will happen... tho gotta be careful not to ruin what's happening here. Then again, maybe you just get used to hearing a song a certain way... and overdubs may be needed... thanks as always, my brother :)

powderfinger good suggestions... actually, there is a bit of realverb on both snare/voice... maybe I should try a wetter mix. thanks for the suggestion... & lets hear some more hits from you on the board ;)

EminemBrain More SP? Hmmm... wasn't aware of the influence there... cool. It's good to sound like them :) A lot of votes for "bass"... I'm thinkin bout it. Thanks, man.

Homeslice SLuiCe way cool of you to take the time, man. 1995 a lot of sht went down.... we all have that one year in our lives, eh? Another vote for more "reverb"... maybe I'll try a briter room setting. Yeah.. this pos acoustic doesn't sound great; but for $200, I just couldn't keep the wallet shut. Thanks Tom.

G-Force Mike haha... yeah, I got that "Morrisey" thing from a few people... mostly because of the register (no high notes... or not many)... more votes for "possibilites" and not quite dun, I suppose. Loved your bass on jamals song, and esp. your monkey feets... beautiful.

mixmkr don't sweat it, man. no heat = no kitchen, & honesty is the best policy. yeah the guitar is a woofer... but no $$$ in the coffers for a WATYF guit... yet... that reminds me note to self: steal WATYF's guit, if ever in St. Louis :D... maybe this is too raw... there seem to be some votes for "more arrangement" here... gotta work on that. Don't worry about the crits... that's why we're here, eh? Yeah... the other toon took a lot more work, too (plus the Les just sounds great in comparison)... thanks, mix

homeboy chad who-shot-me-97-times JR No prob bro... shoot me a pm about your toons... I'll help out. That's the thing w/this one... very simple... almost all open-voice chords... and the 10-12th frets are actually played in the breakdown... Em7/G D Am B... over and over... another vote for "Morrissey"... more votes for "finish it"... cool... will do some more here.

Dead Goat, eh? Cool. I'd have to work on some chops... and just play covers & all your stuff, since either none of my stuff passes muster... or could be played by real human beings :D

Great feedback. More crits appreciated.

To me, the sound field sounds very small... and compressed... like I'm pressed up against the speakers w/the guitar in a room that's about 8 inches wide :) gotta work on that...


c
 
Sounds pretty cool Chad!
Nice drumming!
Mabey just kill some of those cymbal hits.

How did you record the acoustic?

I dig your singing,very real,even with a cold!

Has a good vibe to it,looking foward the next installment!

Thanks for sharing it,
Pete
 
Mean drum sound!Very cool!Dig the way you sing man.Like Sluice said serious comedy[i/].That Sorrohohohororow part is great.Good acoustic sound maybe needs a little verb.Leave the vox alone,sound good dry.Reminds me of Violent Femmes in it's style.Way cool ,duder! :D

Solalalalalalahorow...
 
cool song and a good vocal line. I'll have to put my vote in with the " Put lots of stuff on it" group. This could lend itself to so many things because of the neat chord structure on it. I also hear a bunch of places harmonies would fit well. Nice tune....you definitely should do something with this.
 
Sorry I'm so late for this one, but I promise you, you did NOT want me listening yesterday, lol.

Yessir, I like it. I haven't read the thread yet, but I will after I post this. This is a good track, and you know how much I like minimalistic recordings, so I like it even more.

LMAO@ "4-track & depression" comment.

I like the guitar(s) as is...you EQ'd it well if it was a piece of shit. It's kinda' got that acoustic sound that's really cool on songs that use samples underneath an acoustic line...or like Sublime (the band, not the adjective :D).

The vocal, I would like more verb on...but you've heard my crap.

Now, here's something I'm not even sure I should mention, b/c I'm not sure about it, but I've noticed on your vocal tracks that I'm hearing something that AT LEAST REMINDS ME OF distortion "Blood", for example....when you really honk on it. Also, I can actually hear you pulling out of the mic in some places (ssssooooo HAW roooo...you get progressively further away from the mic...it's not the level that changes, I can just hear more of the "room" when you do it. Just wondering if you used any compression when you tracked the vocal, because it sounds like you were adjusting the level of your vocal the old fashioned way.

Something about your tunes just makes me smile...even when you're singing about sorrow. LOL.

Mellow On Brother,
Chris
 
This tune is cool enough to warrant re-recording and cleaning up!It sounds more or less like a sketch.
This reminds me of the vibe from the Smithereens first album.
The drums definitely sound cool.What kind of drum machine do you use?
 
I liked the guitar part. Nice and "peppy." Good melody - except over the hook line. Lyrics - so-so. The "bullet" line was good though. Plenty of opportunity for harmonies. Hint hint.

Some pitchiness in spots - but as you said, it was a scratch track. Reverb I think would make a nice on the vox. Couple of stutters with the drums near the end - not sure if they're intentional or not.
 
thanks for listening to what I'm discovering is an incomplete mess :) Your frankness actually is very helpful here... See, this is just about what the original recording sounded like... at much higher quality... I'm thinking that because I heard the song so much that way-- I'm having difficulty "hearing" a full arrangement on this song... maybe I should?

Anywho... I've updated the file-- bringing down the tom-toms in the choruses, putting a larger room sound on the vocals, and adding a couple more "scratch" ideas in there...

The guitar I attempted to re-record with a nice guitar (borrowed) this time, but it was just a smidge lower in tune than the original... and I didn't dare mess with the tuning on it. That, of course, would have made the vocals "sharp"... so I tried recutting a vocal track-- let's say I'm having a bad vocal day, for some reason :D

Those two will get retracked ASAP.

Pete you're probably right on those lone cymbal hits... I actually had the original mixdown file (7 yrs old) open in Cubase, and copied damn near everything--even stray cymbal hits :) Acoustic was x/y w/mc012's... in my treated room. Thanks, man!

W.I.S.C. (dan) Thanks for the vocal compliments... yeah... but they're seriously off, and forced in many parts. Sorry I went against your recommended act on the vocal reverb :( but thanks for checking this new p.o.s.... preciate it :)

Steve-o man, that's seriously appreciated. Chord structure? Heh. When it was written, I think all that happened was sliding chord forms up and down the neck, and playing everything open :D I've gotta try and imagine some type of fuller arrangement... some orchestra strings during the second chorus? Dunno. Thanks, tho.

Chris "topher" Hairass reverb it is! Anymore, and that voice would be in a tunnel! :D The vocal is distorted; I'm actually not keeping the vocal track, but until my voice sounds good... (not today)... I'm not going to bother re-tracking... depends on what I eat (lately, too much garbage)... seriously...

And DAMN... right you are, on the "moving-around" thing... I was sick that day, and couldn't get any natural vibrato... so what do I do? :D Move around, and simulate it :) Nice catch, btw.

B.L. Zee Bub yep... hearing that "sketch" thing alot, now... lol... the original (7 yrs ago) was just a sketch, and I just couldn't hear it any other way... Drums are LM4 VST Instrument, w/some downloaded samples (www.wizoosounds.com). Thanks for checkin' it.

Third Nipple ... harmonies will probably happen, if I do anything more w/this p.o.s.... lol... vocs have the 'verb now... no more, or we'd be inside the grand hall of a palace or something.


Thanks to all who've checked out my meager attempt, here. I promise some rockin' stuff in the new year here... this I just had to get off the ol' chest.


Chad
 
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