pet sounds

  • Thread starter Thread starter michael.butler
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How do you think they got that unison guitar and bass line in "That's Not Me"? Such a cool sound. Is there some kind of slapback delay on there?

The thing I love about Pet Sound is it's not really a rock record. It's just like some weird-ass orchestra playing innocent pop songs.

Hey michael butler--
Sorry to revert to an earlier post, about which probably no one cares, but the drums on the Shins record leaves nothing to be desired. Listen to the drums on track 2--so very good.

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is excellent.
 
The thing I don't like about the drums on the Shin record is that the snare sounds like crap on most of the tracks. You don't hear any of the snare sound.
 
Yes! A thread dedicated to Pet Sounds. I'm in heaven. I'm a Pet Sounds fanatic, it's what got me really interested in recording and producing. When I first listened to it in high school I went through a huge "I'm going to find out every possible thing I can about how Pet Sounds was created" phase. One thing I found out was that one of Brian Wilson's favorite things to do was combine instruments to create a new sound (like harmonica and sax). He even did this with his bass sounds, by combining various basses into one bass sound. Yes, Carol Kaye did all her great bass playing, but Brian would then take that and add another sound (or even more) to it, like a double bass, or acoustic bass or whatever. That's why they sound so incredibly thick. And a lot of the sound also has to do with the harmonic make-up of the composition, too. If you've ever figured out a song from Pet Sounds, you'll know that the bass is rarely playing the actual root of the chord. Brian's chord progressions are amazingly complicated without detracting from the melody, and those weird things that are going on in the bass just add to that total bass effect.

BRIAN WILSON IS KING!
 
YES! more Brian Wilson fans!! BW has inspired me in so many ways.

A good friend of mine is the biggest BW fan in the world! (well, maybe). His name is Tim Smolens and he's devoted much of his life to learning Brian Wilson's music and production skills. Check out his group <a href="http://www.estradasphere.com/iss" ISS</a>. You can download some great samples. (no I'm not getting payed to say this!) I just love this group and I think it diserves to be heard.

The Beach Boys Endless Harmony is a great video to get if you dont allready have it.
 
whoops, I need to brush up on my html. the second half of my reply is a link to ISS.
 
Whyte Ice said:
Here's some info for ya.

Carol Kaye, the woman who played bass on Pet Sounds used a Fender Precision Bass through an Fender Concert Amp Open Back 4-10".
Click to expand...

I thought it was a Versatone...?
See pic...


Bruce
www.bruceharvie.com
 

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She might of, I dunno but I know she used the Fender during the Pet Sounds sessions since she's mentioned that a few times.
 
Now this is a cool thread, all about Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys! I too am a fanatic and have been for some time.

Has anybody here ever heard or listened to The High Llamas? If not, and you dig Pet Sounds, you need to check out one of their albums. Also The Wondermints are an incredible band as well. In fact, it is that band that is currently helping to back Brian on his tour.

Brian's style is just so incredible. His use of strings that cry, his bass that plays these incredibly melodic lines which may not always be on the Tonic, but always works! Hal Blaine's wonderful drumming on virtually every Brian Wilson track of the time.

The Pet Sounds Box Set and Good Vibrations box set is a must have for any Brian Wilson fan. I also picked up a Smile Sessions three CD set off of E-bay (ok, so it was a nerdy thing to do, but who cares, it's Smile) that has the most impeccable quality to it. This is not a bootleg! I think it was released to a Beach Boys fan club, and is authorized by Sea Of Tunes. Needless to say, this is one incredible set! It contains the track called Fire, which is actually very scary, and has about 3 hours of in the studio sessions all from the Smile period.

If Smile had been seen to completion, that album would still be considered one of the most ahead of its time albums of all time. I actually think that if it had been released, it probably wouldv'e scared away a lot of people who were jammin' to "409" or "Fun Fun Fun". This album wouldv'e been incredible!

Anyway, I couldn't resist posting. I absolutely love Brian Wilson's recording and writing!
 
Two things:

1) Flatwound strings, boys. These are the secret weapon. Put a set on a Fender Precision (the heavier the gauge, the better), and leave that set on till Judgment Day. The older mine get, the better they sound. Plunk plunk plunk...

2) Another guy to check out for you Shins fans: Eric Matthews' two solo records ("It's Heavy In Here" and "The Lateness Of The Hour"). Amazing compositions, arrangements, instrumentation, production (Tony Lash!). Kinda hard to track down but worth it.
 
Not relating to bass but on the song "God Only Knows," towards the end there is this instrument/sound effect that I'm trying to find out what it is cause it sounds cool. Its only played twice and a friend told me it sounds like a Fender Rhodes but I don't know if they had those at the time this was recorded, but it sort of does to me.

I love the sound of the strings on "Lets go away for awhile" and "i'm waiting for the day," If I could get a string section in one of my songs, I'd want to get that sound.
 
First instance is around the 1:46 point on the stereo version.
 
Call me crazy

but that sounds like a couple of flutes or other woodwind to me, perhaps with the french horn below it.

Elsilva
 
Anyone listen to Smile, or is it Smiley? Its packaged with Wild Honey. Its kind of like the unfinished album after pet sounds, before Brian went off the deepend. It has a really cool version of Heros and Villans with some crazy delay at the end.
 
I've got both Smile & Smiley Smile, they are great.

I got my version of smile from here.

I don't know which is my favorite between the two, but Smile includes stuff like an earlier "Surf's Up" and a demo of "She's Goin' Bald" called "He Gives Speeches." But the highlight of the album for me is Brian's "Wonderful."

To me, Smiley Smile sounds more of a finished product than Smile but both don't seem finished to me. Maybe if Brian finished the album and it was released as intended to be, there's a chance I would like it better than Pet Sounds but as for now, Pet Sounds is the best.

The version of "Heroes and Villians" thats included as a bonus track on the Smiley Smile/Wild Honey CD is labeled as "Heroes and Villians Part 1" on the Smile album and one noticable difference is a little extra bit where he sings "In The Cantina..." and "Heroes and Villians Part 2" is completely different from the others.
 
OK, I DID IT. For anyone interested:

I got as close to the good vibe. bass sound as I've ever heard today. The technique, I think, was alluded to earlier in this thread w/ a slightly different approach.
I put a a piece of duct tape over the strings near the bridge. Applied plenty of MEEK compression for added sustain, and, VOILA.
michael
 
I looked inside the booklet for the Sunflower/Surf's Up album and it has some interesting information on it. For the Sunflower it says:

"This album was recorded at the studios of Brother Records and utilizes the most advanced recording techniques in the industry today.

All original recording was done on a special 3M 16-track tape recorder, supplied by Wally Heider Recording Inc. of Hollywood, using 2-in. wide tape.

Microphones used include: Neumann U67, U87, KM-85; RCA DX77, DX44; EV 666 and RE-15. A custom-built 30-position mixing console, manufactured by Quad-Eight Corporation, provided extreme flexibility and special effects for this album.

Tape to disk transfer was done at Artisan Sound Recorders, Hollywood, utilizing the last Model Neumann computer controlled mastering lathe, equipped with a Neumann SX-68 helium-cooled, dynamic feedback cutterhead.

The songs on this record were recorded in true stereophonic sound; they are not 16 monophonic signals placed somewhere between right and left speakers blended together with echo, but rather total stereo capturing the ambiance of the room and the sound in perspective as heard naturally by the ear. Although more difficult to perfect, this type of recording is far more satisfying to hear, as will be demonstrated upon playing this album."

On the Surf's Up album, it says this:

"Original recording was done on Brother Records' cassette tape recorder at 30 i.p.s. on 2 inch-wide tape with four long-lasting flashlight batteries. The following microphones (with built-in remote switch) were used. U2 Boat mike, F111 Throat model and DC456-1414. A 30-position toy mixing console was used to transfer the original recording to my Brother's 2-track recorder."

If you haven't heard the Sunflower and Surf's Up records, you are missing lots of great songs and the genius of Brian Wilson and the rest of the Beach Boys.
 
pet sounds, et al

I was also a late addition to the Beach Boys fan club, only really getting into them about 2 years ago. Prior to hearing Pet Sounds, I was the first person to bash the Beach Boys. Now I'm not only a great admirer of that album, but I find myself attracted even more to their earlier, more "commercial" or "shallow" material. For example, "I'm So Young"...the last 30 seconds of that song are enough to make me tear up...it's even better than the original Spector version. One of the little mentioned songs, however, is "That's Not Me." I feel that this song is one of the most impressive displays of bass as percussion (rather than just a supplement to the melody) in all of rock 'n' roll. If you listen, it never even really follows the melody at all...it just sits in the right field going "doop-doop." It definitely changed my outlook on how bass should function in a song, etc.

But on to other bands, somebody mentioned Beachwood Sparks before earlier in the thread. In my opinion, they're one of a few bands out now that make me feel like the future of music is in good hands. "You Take The Gold" and "Confusion Is Nothing New" are complete gems. They definitely got me interested in the whole psych-country genre. A lot of people write them off as a Flying Burrito Brothers cover band, but I see only basic similarities. Apparently, they recorded "Once We Were Trees" at J. Mascis's studio, and got him to play for them on select tracks. The slide guitar is insane throughout.

Another band worth mentioning is Lilys. Kurt Heasley is the premier songwriter in America at this point in time. Check out "Better Can't Make Your Life Better" and "The 3 Way" for perfect pop masterpieces. There's also a track on one of their EPs called "Hark, An Open Channel" that'll blow away any Kinks track by a long shot. Also, for a mid-90s production highlight, get their album "Eccsame the Photon Band"...in my opinion, it's the best shoegazer recording since My Bloody Valentine's "Loveless."


That's enough for now.

-max
 
sorry to bring up an old thread, but what does everybody think of the recently re-recorded Smile?
 
I LOVE IT!!!!

So great. The vocals are a little rough, but other than that it's more than I could have even hoped for. A bright spot in an otherwise really crummy year for this country.
 
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