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Post by mattl on Sept 25, 2004 20:57:13 GMT
just going for upbeat rock.. trying to get the sound of the jams we have around here on occasion.. cheery poprock i guess.. on soundclick, wondering if you all think maybe some kb embelleshments or leave as is...
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Post by mcarp555 on Sept 25, 2004 22:39:23 GMT
The rhythm guitar has this funny 'oscillation' to it, which is pretty distracting. Overall it still feels pretty downbeat to me. How does the tempo compare to your other songs? I get the feeling they're all about the same speed. I don't think this sounds cheery at all. Bemused is about the closest guess.
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Post by mattl on Sept 25, 2004 23:13:07 GMT
that funny oscillation is called tremolo. yea i agree its distracting to the beat. too bad as i like it alot but truith is its not recorded as well as it sounds in the room .. the tempo is actually fastest ive attempted recent;y.. 150 or 160bpm (i forget) perhaps its that its the same ol drumbeat. i guess it does have an edge of that same ol melancholy ok you guys have me pegged. yea thats why i named it such.. i have considered redoing rythm without the tremolo i think that may help or just lower the volume of the guitar track is another thing ive considered but , the simplicity of the bass/drum isnt enough to hold it.. so maybe a redo of rythm if im up for it.. ive been trying to avoid it with eq for days.. hoping for a magic settings..
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Post by mcarp555 on Sept 25, 2004 23:25:19 GMT
It's not that the song in and of itself is bad. It's just not what I would consider a 'cheery' song. Maybe it's just your forte to write material tinged with a dark edge to it. I thought the drums were okay, the other parts didn't seem to have any problems. And that's tremelo on the guitar? You must have really been working that whammy bar. . .
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Post by mattl on Sept 25, 2004 23:33:54 GMT
Maybe it's just your forte to write material tinged with a dark edge to it. thus, i was born to apparently... nope just the amps tremolo, also on the overdrive channel. its the peavey delta blues it has a unique sound.. the tremolo/overdrive combination almost makes the percussive attack of the guitar disappear, its really noticeable as you mention.. well anyhow., just fixup trhe rythm then with probably alot les tremolo if its throwing the ear.. i thought it distracted from the actual rythm so perhaps wasnt a good choice. maybe i could do what cam does is add a faded back acoustic rythm to back it..
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Post by mattl on Sept 26, 2004 3:17:50 GMT
you gave me whammy bar ideas.. im workin on a blues /jazzy version..
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Post by mattl on Sept 26, 2004 4:46:16 GMT
wow.. talk about a different sound.. i cant believe all the time wasted on eq.etc i should redid the guitar from the start.. anyhow this REALLY gets rid of any intimations of happiness in the song at all but gosh i like the groove better.. will do some fixup of small things and add a solo later when im not so tired.. (4 nights in a row up till 2am)
this guitar was the jazzbox ibanez plugged in direct using some ps5 effect. with 800hz removed at the mixer on recording sounded a little better.. (do that w/acoustic sometimes too)
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Post by Objecks on Sept 26, 2004 14:28:28 GMT
Hey Matt!
I listened to your original version last night, and my initial reaction was the same as Mike's -- this is happy?
I like this version much better -- just in its overall sound.
Charlie
P.S. - are bpm calculated on quarter notes or eighth notes?
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Post by mcarp555 on Sept 26, 2004 14:38:13 GMT
Technically it depends on what the time signature is. If it's 3/4, 4/4, etc. then it's quarter notes. If it's 6/8 and so forth, it's eighth notes.
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sgulley
Superstar
If you really like music and recording it then never stop trying to get better at it.
Posts: 3,000
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Post by sgulley on Sept 26, 2004 17:55:46 GMT
Matt, How did you get so good with the tremelo bar? I thought the sound was fantastic. Amp effect I feel that this song is an excellent choice with sound advise for the pesimistic-optimist, or depressed and having the blues, target listeners. Yea it has a bit of a dark edge but with a positive message behind it. Good one. Definitely unique in all its ways. Stan
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Post by Rob on Sept 26, 2004 22:51:46 GMT
hehehe! is this the happy one?!!! thats classic....at least you use the word "cheerful"...but you know its brimming with quality. i like it.
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Post by mcarp555 on Sept 26, 2004 22:57:39 GMT
will do some fixup of small things and add a solo later I'll give it another listen when it's done. Listening to half-finished work makes it hard to give it a fair hearing, if parts are coming and going all the time.
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Post by mattl on Sept 26, 2004 23:05:52 GMT
yea the tempo was 150 at 4/4 i just checked. i am relying on a drum rythm thats easier for me, thus i consciously broke it up on the chorus. stan i dunno ive always had a whammy bar (strats, tele plus deluxe) so who knows.. i cant leave it alone, popular or not i like it to a degree. this goes to show how the wrong effects choices, recording technique, etc all add up to affecting a song dramatically. I had a really nice upbeat rythm, found the tempo & locked in the clicktrack. my first mistake was probably the trem, although cool, right off the bat ive inserted something that sorta leans toward the psychedelic/spacey and that in retrospect is probably not a good choice for a supposedly "driving rythm". then add my vocal type/style, some words that are ambiguously positive in the theoretical/therapeutic way, not overtly "dont worry be happy" and all those elements add up to influencing the song into not even really being happy again.. this i thought was apparent from the name of the song and even added some jokes about it in the song ( i read it in a book), and yet you guys still mention that its not happy. is subtle humor gone? i was gonna call it "dont worry take your medicine". i suppose ill have to wait till i can play for one of theose crowds with the "laugh" signs.
well anyhow .. moving on.. no direct box at all stan, right into the mixer, compressor,ps5 , just some electric effect from the ps5, recorded mono and cut a few db's of 800hz. i think it probably sounds better this way than say my tele or strat.. it even comes through direct as being "sort of" acousticy as a hollowbody. well im glad if you liked it.. heh.. myself im digging this.. as often happens these sometimes evolve on their own and often thats alot fresher to the ear. in any case im really enjoy listening to it myself. its perfectly happy blue to me.
new approach on the bass too: i used 2 synth samples this time.. one is that funk slap bass and once is the usual patch i use of acoustic bass.. i so i recorded 2 complete seperate bank basstracks and copied just a few key thump notes for accent and then deleted the rest of the funk bass track, i think that worked out well.. the rythm guiitar was one exhausted take the first time through the whole song playing it that way.. i had to move a few chords around though for timing of course..
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Post by mattl on Sept 26, 2004 23:08:05 GMT
have yourself a pretty good daaaaaaaaaayyyyy... ionstrumentation fades to a lone drum beat. hahahhahahajhaa i kill myself
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Post by mcarp555 on Sept 26, 2004 23:13:48 GMT
some words that are ambiguously positive in the theoretical/therapeutic way, not overtly "dont worry be happy" and all those elements add up to influencing the song into not even really being happy again.. this i thought was apparent from the name of the song and even added some jokes about it in the song ( i read it in a book), and yet you guys still mention that its not happy. is subtle humor gone? i was gonna call it "dont worry take your medicine". i suppose ill have to wait till i can play for one of theose crowds with the "laugh" signs. In all honesty, I never listen to the lyrics anyway because a) I can't make them out most of the time, b) they're never posted on Soundclick to read, and c) I'm listening to the music/recording, not the clever repartee. I'm applying the 'not cheery' moniker to this number solely from what I'm hearing you play, not what you say.
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