Such A Shame

[Rokket]

Oh, you're using Vegas? You must have one of the 'snap-to' features enabled. Just hit F8 to disable it, and you can put that clip wherever you like. Then hit F8 again to reenable the 'snap-to' function.

Yeah, keep the effect, it sounds good!

Thanks for the tip! Of course, I am at work so it will have to wait. I did mix a fade out at the end, and it needs a few more nips and tucks, but I should be able to put my final mix up in about 12 hours from now.
I'm glad you liked the effects....


This from my wife: Quote: "He is a really good guitar player. It makes the song come alive."

And she's really critical of guitar music (Celine Dione fan, need I say more?).

Kudos from her is a big deal!

 

[hybridsound]

The vocalist sounded like he was drunk. ALCOHOL+RECORDING=This guy.

 

[Rokket]

The vocalist sounded like he was drunk. ALCOHOL+RECORDING=This guy.

I was the vocalist. I don't drink when I record. But thanks for the honesty...

 

[MadAudio]

Thanks for the tip!

I've been using Vegas since it first came out. It's a great program. In fact, I recorded the lead for your song with it.

This from my wife: Quote: "He is a really good guitar player. It makes the song come alive." And she's really critical of guitar music. Kudos from her is a big deal!

The both of you are gonna give me an overinflated ego.

Oh, whoops, too late.

(Celine Dione fan, need I say more?)

Please, say no more.

 

[Rokket]

I've been using Vegas since it first came out. It's a great program. In fact, I recorded the lead for your song with it.



The both of you are gonna give me an overinflated ego.

Oh, whoops, too late.



Please, say no more.

Besides being a good guitarists, you have a sense of humor. That always helps with this hobby!
I will let you know either via this thread or PM when I've updated so you can tell if I got it right!
Thanks again!

 

[jake-owa]

Things sound a bit too trumped, pumped up for the song style.

The song doesn't really grab ya with anything cool. Yeah, some vocal problems.

Well, I am sure you've heard it all.


Did I tell ya I got DSL today? I am one of the streamers now baby...watch out!

 

[Rokket]

Things sound a bit too trumped, pumped up for the song style.

The song doesn't really grab ya with anything cool. Yeah, some vocal problems.

Well, I am sure you've heard it all.


Did I tell ya I got DSL today? I am one of the streamers now baby...watch out!

I'm on a cable modem at home, but I hardly ever get on here when I am home. Here at the office it's T-1 LAN, and it smokes!

Congrats on the upgrade!

 

[jake-owa]

I guess the low end almost sounds too tight on this, call me crazy.

I am on headphones anyway.

 

[Pinky]

Okay, my turn. I tried to read through some of the posts, but I have to get to bed sometime tonight .

Only the low-fi version would play for me (the hi-fi crashes windows media, dunno). It sounded okay enough though.

I agree that the kick drum is a bit thumpy, maybe trim the eq a tad under 80hz.

Vocals are still an issue, but not BAD at all. Actually, my issue is the drumming. It's solid at times, then weak during fills and rolls. I'm also not a huge fan of the canned electronic drum sound, reminds me of the '80s and I don't think anyone (even the Reagans) want to remember the '80s. lol Thank god for grunge bringing back the 'real drummers' (as Neil Peart once said).

Anyway, I see from the other songs you're into that bubble gum rock thing, and that's fine. I don't knock anyone's sense of taste, so long as they're true to it. This is definitely true to the genre and I encourage you to continue exploring and developing it. There's a sense behind the sound that you're going to start experimenting more with how you mold all of this. Some get into elaborate works of 40 hour fantasy, then you go the route like me and strip it to the bones (ugly or not) in 6 hours or less. Wise man once told me that if I can't describe what's going on in my life in 2 minutes or less then there isn't anything going on. Music's much the same way, you can say as much with an acoustic guitar and some feel than you can with a symphony. You have feel, so you're most of the way there!

Don't sweat the negative feedback (as it seems you don't). We're all competing for the same grammy here.

 

[Rokket]

Okay, my turn. I tried to read through some of the posts, but I have to get to bed sometime tonight .

Only the low-fi version would play for me (the hi-fi crashes windows media, dunno). It sounded okay enough though.

I agree that the kick drum is a bit thumpy, maybe trim the eq a tad under 80hz.

Vocals are still an issue, but not BAD at all. Actually, my issue is the drumming. It's solid at times, then weak during fills and rolls. I'm also not a huge fan of the canned electronic drum sound, reminds me of the '80s and I don't think anyone (even the Reagans) want to remember the '80s. lol Thank god for grunge bringing back the 'real drummers' (as Neil Peart once said).

Anyway, I see from the other songs you're into that bubble gum rock thing, and that's fine. I don't knock anyone's sense of taste, so long as they're true to it. This is definitely true to the genre and I encourage you to continue exploring and developing it. There's a sense behind the sound that you're going to start experimenting more with how you mold all of this. Some get into elaborate works of 40 hour fantasy, then you go the route like me and strip it to the bones (ugly or not) in 6 hours or less. Wise man once told me that if I can't describe what's going on in my life in 2 minutes or less then there isn't anything going on. Music's much the same way, you can say as much with an acoustic guitar and some feel than you can with a symphony. You have feel, so you're most of the way there!

Don't sweat the negative feedback (as it seems you don't). We're all competing for the same grammy here.

Thanks. There isn't much I can do about the drums, it's a friggin' drum machine! LOL, and I am not a drummer, so the fills were my desparate attempt at being one....
As far as genre, I don't try to write to one, I just go with what I feel. I like the sound of layered guitars, and I know that I could get the point across with less, it's just a personal taste.
I don't sweat negative feedback. I know that I can't please everyone, and would go stark raving mad trying. So I aim to please the one who matters most: me. I put things up for feedback on the mix, not the material. I am not going to try and become the next American Idol, I am making music for me.
Again, thank you for the shot in the arm. I take it all in stride as I move toward perfection that I won't and don't want to attain.

 

[Rokket]

I guess the low end almost sounds too tight on this, call me crazy.

I am on headphones anyway.

How so? I only have my crappy pc speakers to mix on, so I am already in the hole there, so I really can't hear much of the low end. Where would you improve?

 

[MadAudio]

Ah, yes, I meant to mention the drum fills. And after seeing your last post on the subject I feel better about saying this: lose the fills. The straight drum beat works for this song. Drums don't always have to be fancy to be effective.

I should mention at this point that I am really a drummer, and would be glad to collab with you again. I also play bass and keys.

 

[Rokket]

Ah, yes, I meant to mention the drum fills. And after seeing your last post on the subject I feel better about saying this: lose the fills. The straight drum beat works for this song. Drums don't always have to be fancy to be effective.

I should mention at this point that I am really a drummer, and would be glad to collab with you again. I also play bass and keys.

I'll take out the fills and see what it sounds like. If you want to, you can do the drums for me.

Would you need the file again or could you do it from the mp3?


Like I'd say no...

 

[Rokket]

OK, I'll be back....

I have to move the guitar solo to the right about a beat and lose the drum fills....


Too cool.........

 

[Pinky]

OK, I'll be back....

I have to move the guitar solo to the right about a beat and lose the drum fills....


Too cool.........

I've been using Acid Pro for years now to create my own drum parts using acoustic drum hits/sounds you can find free on the internet. If I had to rely on a real drummer I'd have zero songs produced in the past 3+ years. This would give you a more authentic and organic drum sound than that damn (and in my opinion useless) drum machine.

 

[Rokket]

I've been using Acid Pro for years now to create my own drum parts using acoustic drum hits/sounds you can find free on the internet. If I had to rely on a real drummer I'd have zero songs produced in the past 3+ years. This would give you a more authentic and organic drum sound than that damn (and in my opinion useless) drum machine.

I don't have the patience to learn how to use something like Acid. I've experimented with programs like that, but I could never get the hang of it. And searching endless CD's for that perfect fill, trying to match up tempos and kits, just seems like more work than it was worth. The drum machine serves its purpose for me. I can lay a track and have a good tempo to go by. I know that my music lacks, but I feel that I can be more creative if I don't have to go about cutting and pasting loops to get a decent drum sound.
I know that I could probably use the drum machine to lay the tracks and do all the Acid stuff post, but like I said: I could never get the hang of it.
Thanks for the suggestion, though...

 

[Rokket]

One other thing that isn't mentioned in this thread: I record on a Fostex MR-8, not to my pc. I suppose I could transfer a 16-bit 44.1khz mono wave file of a drum loop, but again, it's just easier for me to use my drum machine.

 

[Pinky]

You CAN use loops, but what I really had in mind were individual drum "hits" (samples of a tom, cymbal, snare, kick, etc). You use Acid to structure these things much like the drum machine is doing for you. This gives you creative control over the arrangement since you'd be able to visually see the structure of the drum parts. I've even taken it a step further and now loop a lot of my more common guitar and bass parts; using Cakewalk for basic live tracking, then exporting to Soundforge to cleanup the tracked instruments (eq, add effects, compress, etc), then piece it all together in Acid. This used to be the other way around before I got proficient enough with Acid I felt comfortable using it as my primary mixing software.

I just wanted to allow you an option to explore. One of the greatest tricks/tips I could give you for using Acid is the F8 key (to activate/deactivate "snapping"). Having everything forced to the beat doesn't always work, especially if your cleaned up instrument parts don't necessarily start/end exactly when their wave file starts/end. Deactivating snapping allows you to freehand float the sounds in Acid, also handy for off-setting duplicate tracks for a faux-stereo effect.

 

[Rokket]

You CAN use loops, but what I really had in mind were individual drum "hits" (samples of a tom, cymbal, snare, kick, etc). You use Acid to structure these things much like the drum machine is doing for you. This gives you creative control over the arrangement since you'd be able to visually see the structure of the drum parts. I've even taken it a step further and now loop a lot of my more common guitar and bass parts; using Cakewalk for basic live tracking, then exporting to Soundforge to cleanup the tracked instruments (eq, add effects, compress, etc), then piece it all together in Acid. This used to be the other way around before I got proficient enough with Acid I felt comfortable using it as my primary mixing software.

I just wanted to allow you an option to explore. One of the greatest tricks/tips I could give you for using Acid is the F8 key (to activate/deactivate "snapping"). Having everything forced to the beat doesn't always work, especially if your cleaned up instrument parts don't necessarily start/end exactly when their wave file starts/end. Deactivating snapping allows you to freehand float the sounds in Acid, also handy for off-setting duplicate tracks for a faux-stereo effect.

I only had the demo version of it. I can work with loops in Vegas 5.0, so maybe I'll give it a shot. I would have to spend some serious time with it, however, because the last time I tried it, I got frustrated and uninstalled the demo....
Thanks for the option. I'll work on it.

 

[true-eurt]

Bumpity bump!