That Montana Grunge Sound - Part One

  • Thread starter Thread starter Slackmaster2K
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Slackmaster2K

Slackmaster2K

Gone
This song is gone. Thanks to everyone for your input.

I'll be making several changes and will post the finished mix when it's ready. (is that redundant?)...

Slackmaster 2000

[This message has been edited by Slackmaster2K (edited 12-27-1999).]
 
Those were some signature hillbilly rhythms.
Like the Florida guitar army doing a guest spot on Hee-Haw. :)
The transition to the the acoustic part needs to be started earlier and the whole acoustic part needs to be louder. I too didn't hear the roughness you complain about on the acoustic guitar. Maybe you could post just a short section of the .wav file with some of that acoustic guitar.
 
Slack, it's got energy, I like that. I'm no mixing expert so I won't comment on other stuff but I would like to hear the vocals up front. I know you don't like your voice but your voice works great with your music. Put it in my face.

Oh yeah, another thing. I've only had DSL a couple a months and it's great but 56K is the majority. How about everyone putting two links up, one for the full song and another with just a minuet or two. Just a thought.

Nice work!
 
All:

I've fixed the link. Sorry about that. It was late and I was tired. :)

Layth:

The reason I stuck the vocals so far back is that they have no depth. I'm using an SM57 through a bunk mixer. I tried a Beta 58 with similar results. Thanks to the advice of some members I'm going to be purchasing an ART Tube MP and hopefully a C1000. Right now it sounds like I'm singing through a kareokee machine.

I might cut this tune up into clips once it's completely done to my satisfaction and posted to MP3.com....but I'm looking for criticism here and there are enough changes in the tune that posting portions wouldn't work. Man I wish that DSL would spread a little faster!

Thanks for your comments!

Slackmaster 2000
 
S2K:

Definitely has energy. I like the mix, sounds pretty damn good to me. You may be suffering from SMS-Subjective Mix Syndrome. The two opposing parts of the song create a good tension and keep things interesting.

The rythym guitar sound is good for the song; I don't know if I'd chunk it. The loose sound works well for my ears. I didn't notice any distortion on the acoustic part, but then I've seen mp3 encoding clean tracks up as well as mess 'em up. The encoding process is pretty fickle. I also respect the fact that it's a five minute project.

The one thing I would work on is the sound of the drums/cymbals. Maybe throw in a little variety with some different fills and maybe eq the sound a little. Of course I have this same issue with my own music.

Nice work

dmc
 
Thanks dmc.

I've been listening to it today at work on cheap headphones and it doesn't sound too bad...aside from the obvious flaws. Strange though, the wav sounds really bad. I wonder if I'm having a problem with NT...I never did listen to the wav mixdown itself from 98. There was a crackling problem when i first installed NT but some updated drivers fixed it....

You're so right about the drums. The samples I'm using are total bunk. This guy recorded some ok sounds but forgot let em ring! Everything cuts off and sounds faker than hell.

You should heard how bad it was originally when I was mixing the drums down to a single wav. Lately I've been mixing down each drum to its own track so that I have more control.

Hey, does anyone know if n-Track reverb sucks or do I just suck? I want a fricking reverb plugin with one stinkin knob. Not this wet/dry room size early reflection garbage that I don't understand :)

Another thing I noticed is that the acoustic part at the end is really quiet here at work. At home it's almost too loud. What the hell do I do about that now?

Slackmaster 2000
 
Hey Slack

I agree your vocals are really pretty good. You should bring them up in the mix some more. Reminds me a little of John Hiatt on the vocal side, maybe Chris Rea
 
Thanks guys.

Layth & Jimmy:

I will up the volume on the vocals tonight. Maybe with enough fiddling I can get them sounding ok.

drstawl:

I'm going to take your suggestion and first crank the level on the end section, then run a slower fadeout. I just didn't like the solo much so I wanted as little of it alone as possible. When I fix that I'll be able to do a nice clean transition...I hope.

Anyway, after listening to the rhythm tracks all day and reading your comments I think they're fine enough for this tune. That makes me happy....lots less to fix.

I'll try to post a small .wav of the distortion problem I described too...

Slackmaster 2000

[This message has been edited by Slackmaster2K (edited 12-22-1999).]
 
Good question.

You know you have a "daughter" when your girlfriend has a daughter who, over the years, has become rather close to you. This "daughter" will at times refer to you as a parent and in a few extremely rare but incredible moments refer to you as her dad. Of course that feels awful strange and since she has a real father, you're not sure if it's right. Especially since you're not realy married to her mother (other than common law).

It helps to understand the concept of a "daughter" if you had a really screwy childhood. For instance, I have biological father back in Wisconsin who I still talk to regularly...but I also have another father who lives here in Montana...he was my mom's boyfriend for about 10 years while I was growing up...though they were never married he's still my dad.....and then I have a legal stepfather who is the dude that my mom is currently married to.

Now maybe you understand why it's pretty expensive to get my dad something for christmas. :)

Slackmaster 2000
 
Slack, I think I thought the drums were better because I got to listen with the monitors today instead of the head phones, probably thought the vocals were a little louder for the same reason. Oh well.
 
Update. (***I did not post an updated file!!***)

I upped to vocals by about 1.5db and added a little bit more reverb. They're definately more audible now. Though I hate listening to my own voice, it does make the overall sound better this way...even though you can't hear the cool 'hillbilly on crack' riff as well.

I also changed the drums. I'm using a new thumpier sounding bass drum and a much better snare. I tried making the cymbals better by really wetting them down with reverb and applying a bit of EQ. It might of helped...I dunno..they sound different I guess.

I also increased the level of the accoustic part of the song. Sounds much better now. Oh, and that distortion problem I was having appears to have been caused by the compressor. Don't know why or how but I twisted some knob or something and it's gone now....hmmm....

Thanks to all. I'll be posting an updated version (perhaps final) when I fix the guitar solo and the segway. Thanks for listening.

Slackmaster 2000

[This message has been edited by Slackmaster2K (edited 12-23-1999).]
 
Gave it listen, better but IMHO I could here another 2 to 4 db on the vocals and on the acoustic up the volume another 3 or 4 db over all. The drums are better.

Asked daughter if she liked; answer yes yes. This is good news to me after being besieged with Back Street Boys, 98 degrees ect. ect. Maybe there is hope yet.
 
Umm...I didn't update the file that I posted on the web!

However, it makes me feel good that you liked it better after listening again. Maybe it's one of those tunes that just grows on ya.

I'll post the updated file after I fix the solo and stuff.

I can see where my post might have been misleading because I don't mention that I didn't post a new mp3 until the very end. I'll fix that right now. Sorry you had to waste a download!

BTW, I'll make sure to include synchronized dancing in the video for all those misguided Backdoor Boys/N'Sync kids :) My "daughter" is 12 and into crap like Matchbox 20 and Garbage. Last night I had to explain to her how Lenny Kravit's version of American Woman sucked the soul out of a classic tune. She didn't get it...and had never heard the original. But I guess I didn't really pay much attention to music until I was 13 or 14 so there's still hope...right? :)

Slackmaster 2000
 
That definitely clears things up. If she has taken to calling you dad on occasion, then you must be doing something right. I understand about the multiple father thing as well. I also have about five former stepmoms out there-one of which is in Wisconsin. Life is interesting.

dmc
 
I think this one is the best yet... A bit too long for my taste, though... The only thing about the mix that jumps at me is the twangy guitar from 0:38 to 0:42... I'd cut some upper mids and try to get rid of that Peavy-ish tone.

S8-N
 
Brian Setzer- King of Rockabilly
Slackmaster - King of Punkabilly
I liked it. Pass the safety pins and SQUEEEEL LIKE A PIG !!!!
 
Thanks guys.

Heh, you noticed my raw Peavy sound, eh S8-N? Yeah it pretty much sucks but at least in a song like this it's not horrible. I'll look into EQ'ing that section a bit. I can't take the level down because it's not consistant enough. What do you mean about being too long? I'm thinking about cutting the obnoxious guitar solo in half like it was originally....and maybe I'll even cut out the dinking at the end. To me the song is really short...I didn't realize it was over 5 minutes long until I did the mixdown.

Loudnaybor...thanks. Obviously I don't have a clear set of musical tastes. I'm not sure if I'd rather do blues or grunge or obsure crap or whatever....so might as well do em all eh? It's fun this way.

Slackmaster 2000
 
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