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Post by woody5358 on Feb 9, 2008 16:57:35 GMT
Hey Guys, It's been a long time since we've been here. You old timers may remember a bunch of 13 year old kids called "The Third Half" from back in 2004, 2005? Well they are still around. We owe most of what we have learned about recording with the PS5 to you guys! Below is a link to a few of our "original" songs. In case you are confused, "The Third Half" is now a "cover band", "Hello Avalanche" is the same guys playing "originals". The acoustic Demo's were recorded in one take with the PS5, two Behringer C-2 condenser mics, a Behringer Multicom Pro XL compressor, a couple of acoustic guitars, and some amplification and slight offset by Audacity. (the song "The New Drug" is supposed to stop abruptly, it isn't a mistake!). Hope you enjoy them! Hello Avalanche
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sgulley
Superstar
If you really like music and recording it then never stop trying to get better at it.
Posts: 2,994
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Post by sgulley on Feb 9, 2008 17:52:08 GMT
Hey Woody, I like the demos and they show some really good creativity. I don't know how they were recorded (in a miced room or individually by one track at a time) I noticed that all of the demos have a bit of a tin sound (guitars and vocals) I think the thinner consendors tend to be that way. I just got a AT3035 which is about $200 that replicates a very natural sound w/o introducing artifacts. It will give the acoustics and vocals fuller ranges (more mids and lows). Another large condensor mic to consider that is affordable is the Rode www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/NT1A/They are both really quiet & accurate, plus you will be pleased at the results they make in your recordings. Stan
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Post by Tom on Feb 9, 2008 19:16:21 GMT
Hey kid... watch who you're calling old! (Just kidding -- I am old Nice tunes. I like the acoustic ones best. The electric one is a little ... how do I say this ... a little to youthful for my older tastes. Still and all, nice work. Keep at it. Tom
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Post by woody5358 on Feb 9, 2008 21:24:01 GMT
Thanks guys!
Stan, the acoustic songs were recorded in our sunroom, three walls of mostly glass with a vaulted ceiling. We just set up the two C-2's in their stereo holder on one stand, pointed them at the two of us from around 3 to 4 feet away and played away. One track with both vocals and guitars on it (not mulittracked). We bought the C-2's for live drum overheads, but they record better than the Shures (SM58) Carvin (CM68) and Senheiser (E835) that we use for vocals live, and I can buy 4 for the price of 1 SM58 (or 57). We're trying to save up for some studio time, but the mics you suggested would be great if we decide to expand on the home studio idea. We pretty much just record with the PS5 to get some ideas down so that everyone can work on their own parts at home.
Tom, the acoustic songs will probably sound like the electric one once the drums, keyboards, and electric guitar and bass get into it. I like the acoustic sound of them now, but we are talking about 16 year old kids!
Thanks for listening and commenting!
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Post by chrisr on Feb 9, 2008 21:57:04 GMT
Another oldtimer here, from France this time, with some comment on your music rather than on the recording :
Well, for 16-year old kids, you've done a very nice job : well on the way to become a lot better than most of us oldtimers, and who knows even ...
As Tom says, your original music may well be a little too youthful for our old tastes, but I would strongly suggest that you continue developing your personal and indeed original style of music : it certainly has some potential.
Keep at it, guys !
Chris
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Post by woody5358 on Feb 9, 2008 22:51:38 GMT
Thanks Chris,
In my first post on this thread I mentioned "old timers". I didn't mean "old timers" as in age, I was referring to the fact that it has been a couple of years since we've posted anything here, and that the "old timers" (people who have been a member of this forum for several years) may remember us.
Sorry if I insulted anyone, it was unintentional.
Thanks to everyone who has commented!
Woody
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Post by Tom on Feb 10, 2008 17:02:27 GMT
Tom, the acoustic songs will probably sound like the electric one once the drums, keyboards, and electric guitar and bass get into it. I like the acoustic sound of them now, but we are talking about 16 year old kids! Hi Woody, I could hear in the acoustic songs how they will translate to electric. My son is 15 and a learning drummer, and the feel of the chord progressions is quite similar to what I hear some of the stuff that he listens to. I wish the guitar playing friends that show up here now and again could do half as well. It is cool that such young kids are taking the time to put together original stuff -- even if it is in a style that old R&B players like myself don't appreciate enough. Tom
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sgulley
Superstar
If you really like music and recording it then never stop trying to get better at it.
Posts: 2,994
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Post by sgulley on Feb 10, 2008 19:07:45 GMT
Good point Tom; the earlier you start something in life, usually the better you are at what you do. A lot of the great musicians were aborbing every track they could get their hands on and starting to write their own songs. Who knows what kind of musical tastes they will have in 5-10 yrs. Woody you can call me old, everybody else does. No really, I knew what you meant.
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Post by woody5358 on Feb 14, 2008 0:00:11 GMT
Hey Tom,
I just listened to some of your stuff on SoundClick. Is that you playing the keyboards and guitars? Great Stuff!
Woody
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Post by mcarp555 on Feb 14, 2008 0:15:57 GMT
Not bad, not bad at all. Demos by their very nature don't have to sound good, just get the idea across. And these do that just fine. Certainly they have technical flaws, but you don't listen to demos for the production value. It'll be interesting to hear how these eventually sound when they get proper multitracking. I get the impression that Dad's been feeding these fellas lots of Led Zep. My only real critical comment is that 'Journey of a Lifetime' is seriously overlong. One of the most important things a young songwriter needs to know is how to edit his own material. I'd suggest a good hard think about cutting it back somewhat. My opinion (for what it's worth) is that it tends to meander around and around. Halve it, and tighten up the focus.
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Post by Tom on Feb 14, 2008 3:45:28 GMT
Hey Tom, I just listened to some of your stuff on SoundClick. Is that you playing the keyboards and guitars? Great Stuff! Woody Thanks for the listen and the kind words Woody. The keyboards on the later stuff -- Anna, Dawn Marie, Time After Time After Time, K1004 were put together on my Yamaha keyboard with me first playing the chords using the Yamahas auto-accompaniment and styles functions, and them playing piano, strings, organ and square wave pad over that to make a MIDI file. After that I recorded the final result onto a PS5 track and layered guitar over it. The guitar solos are me, as are some of the rhythm guitar, but some of the more reptitious rhythm guitar you hear is part of the yamaha style, not me. I must confess that on the piano stuff I played, the harmony notes were added by the Yamaha harmony function that automatically add harmony notes based on chords played in the backing. e.g. I am strictly a one handed player. The earlier stuff was done in similar fashion using only the PS5 patterns. I kind of abandoned that approach when I got the Yamaha, as inpriation seems to come easier at the keys. Regards, Tom
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Post by woody5358 on Feb 16, 2008 21:26:25 GMT
Thanks Mike,
I try to tell Matt not to drag out songs so long and he is getting better at cutting out the non-essential parts. In "Journey of a Lifetime", he actually had four seperate mini-songs (each about 2 minutes), and stuck them all together for one 10 minute song. On his MySpace, he has them cut into 4 songs (MySpace wouldn't allow such a large music upload). Matt listens to and has been influenced by a lot of guitar players including Jimmy Page, Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Clapton (the Cream days), John Frusciante, Slash, Claudio Sanchez, and others.
Tom,
I wish I had some idea of what you are talking about with the keyboard. We just bought a Roland Juno D and I am just past the plugging it in and turning it on stage (I can get sound out of it too!). Hopefully, we'll figure it out, and be able to use it for recording and live applications, and be able to do the things you are doing. That's what is great about this forum, I learn stuff, take several years off learning how to do what I learned, and then come back!
Thanks guys,
Woody
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