Vesuvius: Surf Punk original (First Draft)

[Bubba po]

Hi, guys. This track is going to get vocals (possibly spoken word, like my last one) and probably Hammond organ. I need to do something interesting with the middle bit.

Oh, and I just realised one of the chords is wrong on the clean guitar part. Playing a minor arpeggio when it should be a major one.


As usual, comments welcome.


View attachment Vesuvius.mp3

View attachment Vesuvius.mp3 Updated mix.

View attachment Vesuvius-002.mp3 Latest mix with Hammond organ and other additions.

 

[ibleedburgundy]

I've been listening to a ton of surf rock lately - The Blue Stingrays, The Mermen, Shark Quest, etc. I live the genre and even dabbled in it myself.

It's a cool tune. A classic surf rock progression and arrangement. Love the intro!

The alternate guitar that begins at 1:03 is barely there and the intonation of it sounds questionable. Maybe that's the effect you were going for but if if you turned it up substantially I think you'd still get that effect.

I like how the bass is sitting with the bass drum, but those two seem a little detached from the lead guitar and rhythm guitars.

In general your mix shows the right priorities for who is the star here - surf rock typically have 1 prominent guitar...and then there's everyone else.

Bass guitar seems too low for the part that starts at 1:54. You could probably give it a boost there and it would sound natural. Bass drum/bass blend there is not as good as other parts of the song.

The rhythm guitar sounds flat.

Endings are important. It's the last thing people remember. This one does not even come close to matching the awesomeness of the intro. It sounds like your instruments didn't agree on how long to hold the last note and the guitar sustained it while everyone else stopped. The epic intro makes a big promise and you have not kept it here!

Hope this helps!

 

[Bubba po]

I've been listening to a ton of surf rock lately - The Blue Stingrays, The Mermen, Shark Quest, etc. I live the genre and even dabbled in it myself.

It's a cool tune. A classic surf rock progression and arrangement. Love the intro!

The alternate guitar that begins at 1:03 is barely there and the intonation of it sounds questionable. Maybe that's the effect you were going for but if if you turned it up substantially I think you'd still get that effect.

I like how the bass is sitting with the bass drum, but those two seem a little detached from the lead guitar and rhythm guitars.

In general your mix shows the right priorities for who is the star here - surf rock typically have 1 prominent guitar...and then there's everyone else.

Bass guitar seems too low for the part that starts at 1:54. You could probably give it a boost there and it would sound natural. Bass drum/bass blend there is not as good as other parts of the song.

The rhythm guitar sounds flat.

Endings are important. It's the last thing people remember. This one does not even come close to matching the awesomeness of the intro. It sounds like your instruments didn't agree on how long to hold the last note and the guitar sustained it while everyone else stopped. The epic intro makes a big promise and you have not kept it here!

Hope this helps!

Thanks, IBB - nice specific mix and style points to address. I like it! I think I'm going to re-record the secondary guitar. I used my Jaguar on it, going for that piercing surf twang. Unfortunately I decided to incorporate a little whammy after each phrase and it's just had the effect of making it sound badly intonated. That's pretty much why I buried it, too.

When you say the rhythm guitar sounds flat, do you mean tuning-wise or dynamically? It's definitely too quiet. The left-hand rhythm guitar will be replaced when I get my Hammond part and the sparkly guitar will go over to the right.

The bass guitar is low at the point you mention because there are other things I want to add - specifically a sub-bass rumbling synth, among other bits. I want that bit to represent the quiet but vaguely threatening pause between eruptions. I'll revisit the volume of that later.

And I'll give some thought towards a bigger ending!

Thanks again.

 

[FoulPhil]

Sounds really good dude. I dig that schit bro

 

[TripleM]

Got a total Ventures vibe.

I thought it sounded really good. Balance on things is great. I even like the reverb. I never say that.

The clean-ish guitar on the left either seemed out of tune or the whammy bar was used too strong.

Bass was a little sterile for my tastes. I like a little more woof.

Kick had a little odd click to it every so often. Who is the drummer? I loved the drumming on this. Loved it.

Fun tune.

 

[Bubba po]

Got a total Ventures vibe.

I thought it sounded really good. Balance on things is great. I even like the reverb. I never say that.

The clean-ish guitar on the left either seemed out of tune or the whammy bar was used too strong.

Bass was a little sterile for my tastes. I like a little more woof.

Kick had a little odd click to it every so often. Who is the drummer? I loved the drumming on this. Loved it.

Fun tune.

Thanks, TripleM. Yes, sometimes the kick drum click coincides exactly with the slightly clicky bass part. I think I'll take a little treble off the bass and move the hi peak on the kick drum slightly lower down the frequency range. The clean guitar needs re-doing. Jaguar whammys aren't all that stable at the best of times, I think I'm going to leave it alone! Also, I just realised one of the chords is wron in the progression - minor instead of major.

The drummer is my son, 17 at the moment. Unfortunately I'm losing him to music college in a few months' time. I don't know WTF I'm going to do when he's gone!

 

[jimistone]

I think the tune is great. Good and tasty arrangement and composition. Nice guitar tone with just the right amount of reverb. It's easy to wash everything, if you're not careful, with reverb when doing surf style...a little goes a long way IMO. I thought the bass and drums sounded great. I thought everything was really cool. I guess my only nit is what IBB pointed out...sounds like the guitar in the background needed tuning.
Fantastic work Bubba Po!

 

[fat_fleet]

Pretty good.. sounds kind of half-done though.. which makes sense as you say you're going to add words. It does need something to break up the sense that it's basically the same 8 chords over and over.. though that little break in the middle is quite nice. More stuff like that please.

Also, purely subjective but I keep wanting less gain and more reverb (blend ratio not feedback) on your lead guitar. I think anything vaguely surfy is eventually going to get held up next to Dick Dale and the Ventures for comparisons. It's not really a sound you can cop without certain sonic expectations. Interested to see how this develops.

 

[JDOD]

Listening using a bucket with a garden hose attached to it over my head to transmit the sound directly from Castleford so take my advice with a pinch of salt...

The left guitar is a little quiet and that whammy does just make it sound out of tune. What about using a tremolo for a similar effect?

The bass seems a bit quiet too, particularly in the middle bit. I think you need some more guitar to ring out over that.

 

[ido1957]

The first note(s) are like whoa then everything sounds level lol...
Drums and bass sound tight, like the growl in the bass....
The reverb on the guitar makes it seem slightly distant in the mix, maybe just a hair more volume?
It's just that the rest is pretty much in one spot and the guitar isn't right there with them.
Yeah that background guitar is .....
I'll follow up as it grows - will no doubt be another good one

 

[Bubba po]

The first note(s) are like whoa then everything sounds level lol...
Drums and bass sound tight, like the growl in the bass....
The reverb on the guitar makes it seem slightly distant in the mix, maybe just a hair more volume?
It's just that the rest is pretty much in one spot and the guitar isn't right there with them.
Yeah that background guitar is .....
I'll follow up as it grows - will no doubt be another good one

Thanks, JDOD and Ido. I've re-recorded the iffy guitar, also the rhythm guitar. It sounds tons better! There was some disagreement in the parts as to whether the G was a minor or a major. Rookie mistake! I've settled on Gm.

 

[Bubba po]

Mix update:

Sorted out the "clean" guitar by re-recording. Added some sound effects and Armistice has kindly supplied some nice parts for the middle section and ending.

Just waiting now for the Hammond track and I'm in the middle of writing another National Geographic voice-over.

View attachment Vesuvius.mp3

What do you think of it so far?

 

[heatmiser]

That is very cool! At first I was thrown by some of the tones, perhaps expecting something lighter and more wide open sounding in the surf vein, but then I saw that it's actually described as surf punk, which probably explains the fact that it has a bit more of an edge to it.

Bass sounds great. Main guitar part had a tiny bit more gain than I would have liked maybe, but it still sounds really good. I loved the little understated rhythm guitar part tucked away to the side. Probably not an exciting tone on it's own, but it perfectly plays the supporting role it should in it's current form and level.

I was thrown by the little lead guitar bits towards the end. They kind of sit right on top of that quiet rhythm guitar part I just mentioned and they get a bit jumbled. Maybe they could be separated more? Some of the drum fills were a little awkward, but overall I thought the drums were good.

Really good job on this man.

 

[Chili]

I felt like that left side rhythm guitar could come out a little more. Maybe because I was interested in it and thought it worked well. Do you still have the whammy thing going on with it?

I think the whole mix is like a contemporary version of a classic genre. It works really well. You have enough elements to keep it surf, yet the panning, levels, etc, are today's mixing style. A 'clicky' Hammond organ will sound good. But please, not more drivel from Armistice!!! just kidding.

Looking forward to the completed version.

 

[Armistice]

I was thrown by the little lead guitar bits towards the end. They kind of sit right on top of that quiet rhythm guitar part I just mentioned and they get a bit jumbled.

I'm going to re-record that bit for bubba - i recorded against the second stanza and I'm not happy with the timing of it against the fourth now I hear it, so I'll do it against where it now lives. Not entirely sure it adds much anyway, but bubba can decide on that.

But please, not more drivel from Armistice!!! just kidding.

Oi! Back in your box, chocolate...

 

[fat_fleet]

Wow, guitars sound so much better. Snare sits kinda proud for me, just a little louder than the rest of the kit.. Drums are killer.

 

[rayc]

I commented last night but HR ate my post.
This is better anyway.
I like the urgency the rhythm guitar gives the piece.
Atmospherics abound.
Is that the boy on skins & wires again.
Cool stuff al through - I like the change with Clashesque reggae/ska guitar.

 

[VomitHatSteve]

Only listened to the second mix so far.

The lead on the left is pretty quiet, but I think when there's vocals over it, it should sit pretty nicely.

When I read surf punk, I was expecting something much faster. Maybe more like the DKs!

 

[JDOD]

Well done Bubba,

I think the lead on the left is still a little quiet too. As are the descending scales towards the end. 3rd? 4th guitar?

 

[heatmiser]

I'm going to re-record that bit for bubba - i recorded against the second stanza and I'm not happy with the timing of it against the fourth now I hear it, so I'll do it against where it now lives. Not entirely sure it adds much anyway, but bubba can decide on that.

Ah, I didn't realize that was a guest appearance there!

My point was just that to me, your part seemed panned more or less right on top of an existing guitar part. So, I heard the two as kind of jumbled together. There didn't seem to be enough of a difference in tone or spatial location for those two parts to coexist so closely together. That could just be me though. I was listening on phones.