Punk Ditty: Desolation - New Recordings

[arcadeko]

Redid this song today - had recorded it several months ago with crappy drums and guitars and stuff.

Anyway - we retracked the whole thing today - lemme know what you think


v4 (fixed the Oh Oh Oh's )

v3 (raised vocals and guitars)

v2

v1

 

[fat_fleet]

Hey Wes! This is a really cool song. The words are great and it has some really fun energy to it. I like the little breaks @ "But something just ain't right..." especially at 1:45 with that sloppy fill. Definitely has a convincing post-pogo feel, like something that woulda come out in like 1985. The drummer really wears this stuff well. You should ask him to play on that Devo cover we were thinking of doing, and I'll just send you bass. My drumming is too jazzy/flowey to pull off Devo. It just sounds weird when I try...

Anyways, fun great sounding song. I'm sure you'll get more useful feedback from a more experienced recordist.

 

[Greg_L]

Wooo, love that flanger on the snare fill. Nice touch there. Cool song. Sounds like 80's skate punk. Brings me back to the old days of Dag Nasty and The Faction. Is this the new amp? Sounding better. I'd like the guitars louder. More vocals too. Maybe bring the kick down a hair. I love the sloppy timing and looseness of the whole thing. If you posted this before, I missed it, because this is the best song I've heard from you. Well done.

 

[arcadeko]

Hey Wes! This is a really cool song. The words are great and it has some really fun energy to it. I like the little breaks @ "But something just ain't right..." especially at 1:45 with that sloppy fill. Definitely has a convincing post-pogo feel, like something that woulda come out in like 1985.

Thanks dude.

Wooo, love that flanger on the snare fill. Nice touch there. Cool song. Sounds like 80's skate punk. Brings me back to the old days of Dag Nasty and The Faction. Is this the new amp? Sounding better. I'd like the guitars louder. More vocals too. Maybe bring the kick down a hair. I love the sloppy timing and looseness of the whole thing. If you posted this before, I missed it, because this is the best song I've heard from you. Well done.

Dag Nasty - hehe that was a great band. Yeah this is the new amp - I'm re-recording a bunch of stuff redoing the bass and guitars. I brought the kick down a tad and tweaked the vocal eq and brought the gtrs up a bit. Thanks for the feedback man! Glad you like it.

New version:
Did a little tweaking and added some glass

 

[FoulPhil]

Cool tune bro. It reminds me of the return of the living dead soundtrack. Seems like it would fit right in. Also had some circle jerks vibes going on

 

[heatmiser]

I remember this one very well. This version is soooo much better.

I agree with greg that both the vocals and guitars could come up some.

The guitar isn't as different as I expected with a new amp, but I think it's better. I'm probably not even sure what sort of tone you're going for, so this may be exactly it. What do you think about it? Are you happy with the purchase? What'd you get for an amp?

 

[arcadeko]

I remember this one very well. This version is soooo much better.

I agree with greg that both the vocals and guitars could come up some.

The guitar isn't as different as I expected with a new amp, but I think it's better. I'm probably not even sure what sort of tone you're going for, so this may be exactly it. What do you think about it? Are you happy with the purchase? What'd you get for an amp?

Even the second version? More guitars and vocals?

I love the amp - I got a Blackstar HT Club 40 - I don't even know what tone I am going for - just one that sounds good

I shot a video in the studio for this tune, I am rendering it now - will post it when its done

thanks for checking it out Heat

 

[heatmiser]

Cool. I haven't used blackstar products, but I think they made the pedal you were using before, right?

Yes, I listened to V2 and for me at least, I thought the vocals and guitars could come up, but that may just be me.

 

[chuckduffy]

Even the second version? More guitars and vocals?

I love the amp - I got a Blackstar HT Club 40 - I don't even know what tone I am going for - just one that sounds good

I shot a video in the studio for this tune, I am rendering it now - will post it when its done

thanks for checking it out Heat

Yes - IMO - even with v2 - the vocals need to come up and the reverb down. This is a trick I use as a kinda former chronic low level vocal/verb guy... Get the vocal right where you think it should be. Get the verb right where you think it should be. Then bump the vocal track up by 2db, drop the verb return by 2db, mixdown and walk away. Play the mix in the car. If you absolutely, positively can't stand it then go back and lower the vocal - but by no more than .5 db

 

[arcadeko]

Yes - IMO - even with v2 - the vocals need to come up and the reverb down. This is a trick I use as a kinda former chronic low level vocal/verb guy... Get the vocal right where you think it should be. Get the verb right where you think it should be. Then bump the vocal track up by 2db, drop the verb return by 2db, mixdown and walk away. Play the mix in the car. If you absolutely, positively can't stand it then go back and lower the vocal - but by no more than .5 db

Ok cool I went ahead and boosted the vox and guitars

Cool. I haven't used blackstar products, but I think they made the pedal you were using before, right?
Yes, I listened to V2 and for me at least, I thought the vocals and guitars could come up, but that may just be me.

Yeah the pedal has the same preamp as the amp. I boosted those channels and today we shot a video

 

[chuckduffy]

Ok cool I went ahead and boosted the vox and guitars

I also know that it's pretty typical to have the vox a little lower in the mix on this type of stuff, but I like your lyrics - funny, quirky, lots of great one liners, turns of phrase, etc.

 

[arcadeko]

I think some of those OH's are off key

 

[heatmiser]

I think V3 is better. I like the vocals where they are now. Maybe a tad too much guitar now?...Ha! Not too sure as I've heard so many different permutations of this tune I may be losing objectivity. It does sound a little rumbly in the low end to me. If you cleaned that up a little I think you might have it?

 

[chuckduffy]

I think V3 is better. I like the vocals where they are now. Maybe a tad too much guitar now?...Ha! Not too sure as I've heard so many different permutations of this tune I may be losing objectivity. It does sound a little rumbly in the low end to me. If you cleaned that up a little I think you might have it?

Now the counterculture has gone mainstream, my nightmare is a waking dream - I can hear it now!!!! Think about lowering the reverb return about 1 db. Maybe a little more high on the guitars. Maybe the ohs are off key, but now that I can hear the vocals it doesn't bother me too much - figured you aren't going for 'sanitized for your protection' anyway.

 

[arcadeko]

Retracked the Oh Oh Ohs - some of them were off a half step

 

[chuckduffy]

Retracked the Oh Oh Ohs - some of them were off a half step

Dood that is sounding great.

 

[robgreen]

Comfortably the best mix I've heard from you Wes. The difference in the guitar sound here and your earlier stuff is night and day - well done man!

I can hear pitchy moments on the oh oh ohs and a bit of a timing issue with the bass in a couple of places, but the guitars sound great and peeling back some of the vocal reverb has brought it all together so much better

 

[arcadeko]

Dood that is sounding great.

Excellent thanks man

Comfortably the best mix I've heard from you Wes. The difference in the guitar sound here and your earlier stuff is night and day - well done man!

I can hear pitchy moments on the oh oh ohs and a bit of a timing issue with the bass in a couple of places, but the guitars sound great and peeling back some of the vocal reverb has brought it all together so much better

Awesome - thanks for the listen

 

[heatmiser]

Comfortably the best mix I've heard from you Wes.

Agreed 100%!

I didn't even think the guitars sounded all that different, but maybe they play nicer with everything else now, because it is really all starting to come together. I think all the levels are much better now.

The whoa-oh-ohs are still off pitch-wise and some of that is cool on a song like this, but there are a few spots where it is pretty extreme I think.

Otherwise though, I really like this mix. Well done.

 

[arcadeko]

The whoa-oh-ohs are still off pitch-wise and some of that is cool on a song like this, but there are a few spots where it is pretty extreme I think.

Thanks dude - I thought I fixed most of the problems and I checked them all - if there is a time you can give me for a bad spot to check that would be great.