36 posts
Yo people - still a fine group of members I see, good to be back amongst ya. (=
I'm still enjoying a 6505+ I got a year or so back, guess it survived the honeymoon stage and is a keeper, lol (though I WILL get something complementary sounding soon to track with it, something less modern I think)...anyway, this is a decent sampling of what I hear at fairly low volume, and I think thats the real beauty of this amp line, doesn't have to kill cats to sound good, wish they were ALL that way.
I recently had a major hard drive crash, lost every damn thing, almost a years worth of tunes in progress, plugins, software, those killer Rocket tutorial vids, games, vital shit, porn, the whole ball of wax, eh, lesson learned the hard way....so in light of that, I asked Richard to master some tunes for me and he said he would, so I'm guessing this can sound MUCH better if/after he has time to fatten it up to snuff.
Its just a rough thing right now, no bass yet (need to go get fresh strings), nothing done plugin wise here, no post eq yet, etc, just raw tracks in and out to mp3, bland EZ drums (Nashville) with no blockfish, etc, applied, yadda, yadda...
Tune/Tone Sample / down < EDITED...think I fixed some of the weirdness thanks to it being pointed out, though I'm not sure its perf, but eh, its better.
-derek
Yo Derek... glad to have you here. :)
Bummer on the crash...
That's a tasty sounding amp. Funny how we all sound like ourselves no matter what we play thru - I'd recognize your playing anywhere, thru a Supro or a Deizel...
My only criticism is it sounds like there are some tuning/intonation issues at times. Otherwise slap some bass on there!
The mix is pretty good as is, depending on how prevalent you want the rhythm. A bit of compression on the rhythm might help bring it up more if that's what you are after but get the bass on there first and see where you're at. I think the right bass will help fatten that up nicely.
Richard is a great resource, he has helped me dial in my mixes really well, really kind of helping me define "my sound", eqing and compressing things to fit well. He will help you get whatever you want, no doubt.
Good to hear you again man. Stop by PPR and chat when you get a chance. :)
Hey Paul, thanks a bunch! You're right, what happened is I got busy halfway though the recording of this and ended up having to put new strings on when I was ready to finish, I can even hear 2/3's of the way in where they become lifeless, lol! The other part of that is prolly because I used the Ibanez on all the rhythm stuff and the Jackson for the leads and I don't really use a tuner, just try to get them as close as possible and go - hopefully I can figure out where they stood out and 'fix it in the mix', be damned if I'm throwing yet another set of strings on and trying again, would probably make things worse! Thanks again.
The mix, heh, I can't even call it that - I'll let Richard have his way with it, will turn out much better anyway.
Bass strings this weeked, great excuse to hit the stores and amp hunt as well! (-;
Sorry to hear about the crash. The main reason no one has heard anything from me before Berry Jam was that I also lost everything that was on my music PC hard drive (back then, only one drive but, fortunately, not the same as the PC that has all of my Office files, music and porn on ;) ). I actually DID have backups of most of the stuff, but it was on some "cutting edge" technology called PD drives (Phased Digital from Panasonic). Since that technology didn't take off I was unable to restore my files anywhere (my PD drive itself had died and Panasonic's solution was to buy a new drive for $950 - WAY more than I had paid for mine before they became useless).
Anyway, fast forward to about a year ago. I discovered an internet backup service (thanks to being a registered user of WinZip) called Carbonite. It cost me $89 to have the service for two years. Anytime I modify a file it will discretely back it up to the internet (it's fully encrypted and they don't have the key). If you delete a file it stays in the backup for 30 days in case you later want it back. Since it backs things up right away (unless you're busy using your PC in which case it waits for a pause), you have less chance of losing anything. The part I like best (besides the no limit on how much is backed up) is that if this PC is destroyed somehow I can get another PC and download everything onto that PC or just the files I want.
Check it out at www.carbonite.com and, if you're interested, let me email you a referral. That way you get an extra month free and I get three! ;) :)
Sorry to hear about the crash...
When you are ready we can get mixes and mastering ironed out, clip sounds pretty cool...
Glad you are back...
Woot! Thanks so much Richard, good to hear from ya. \m/
Just got back from GC -- man, the GAS never really does end, every time I think I've made up my mind, something pops up and throws a wrench in. They had a more recent build of the Egnater Tourmaster 4100 head, had the little 'M' on the back, meaning its been modded by the Egnater folks, all the newer ones of this line are now fixed/moded (think they tightened up the low end some, guess they DO listen to people), but man, seriously considering it, has really tasty tones, very growly, Marshally, spongey stuff, melikes.
Just wanted to bump this one as I put a little more work into it and it sounds much better now IMHO. I added the bass, subtle acoustic, re-played some parts, etc....then, the real mojo comes by way of Richard perking up the drums, the ambience, etc, mastering the whole damn thing of course...props were due to him. Not that I ever sounded good to begin with, but I don't personally believe any piece of tuneage I've done has sounded better, Rocket would be proud man, thanks! =8^)
Completed Tune V
Kabala — Jan 29, 2009
... and I think thats the real beauty of this amp line, doesn't have to kill cats to sound good, wish they were ALL that way. ...
Good to see you've started caring about cats. I still have a video where you were endangering one with toxic gases. :D ;D
(In fact it's still in my Downloads area here!
http://www.nwdreamer.com/download/Room_Clearer.mpeg LOL! )
This is my first listen to this. The guitar playing is first rate. There is something about the recording of the lead parts that is not working for me, though. They sound a little too ambient or phased-out... are you using two mics out of phase on the cabinet? Or maybe using one way off axis and picking up some out of phase reflections? The lead guitars just does not sound right up front and biting, they sound slightly hollow. Am I imagining it?
Oy (@Craig) - thanks for reminding me. I actually forgot about that thing, lost that file anyway when my drive died on me. Thanks for upping it though, I'll save it for a goof...(though you coulda emailed it to me ;))
charger — Feb 13, 2009This is my first listen to this. The guitar playing is first rate. There is something about the recording of the lead parts that is not working for me, though. They sound a little too ambient or phased-out... are you using two mics out of phase on the cabinet? Or maybe using one way off axis and picking up some out of phase reflections? The lead guitars just does not sound right up front and biting, they sound slightly hollow. Am I imagining it?
You're not imagining it, though I won't pretend to know why it sounds like that. :)
charger — Feb 13, 2009This is my first listen to this. The guitar playing is first rate. There is something about the recording of the lead parts that is not working for me, though. They sound a little too ambient or phased-out... are you using two mics out of phase on the cabinet? Or maybe using one way off axis and picking up some out of phase reflections? The lead guitars just does not sound right up front and biting, they sound slightly hollow. Am I imagining it?
I'm not sure, it was a pretty basic thing, just slapped the bad monkey in front of the crunch channel of the Peavey, dialed in what I thought was a good tone, placed the 57 off axis and just beneath the cap and rolled with it. The intro notes sound the way they do from the guitars volume being rolled back a good bit, liked the way it sounded.
Heres an excerpt of just the lead guitar, this is what I gave Richard to work with.
Lead only
Funny vid - actually it is the only vid I have ever seen of schils :)
class guitar jamming.
mix wise - and this might be influenced by the comments.
But my reaction was the bass and/or some kind of reverb/spatial fx in the backing tracks or maybe on the mix as a whole in some mastering fx, creating a boomy competition for EQ space and smearing things.
I like the lead guitar tones - they sound lush.
Like to hear it with drier, less spatially produced sounding backing tracks and give the resulting space over to the lead, change the balance/focus of mix.
Thanks for the input! We'll see what happens - I do tend to like a more dry overall sound, but I did ask Richard to add a touch of ambience, maybe its too much though, dunno now. Hopefully/thankfully I kept all the files so tweaking from the pretty raw/dry tracks would be easy - well, not sure if Richard will see it that way, lol!!!
I would've given it a shot myself but when my drive died I lost all the handy tutorial vids Rocket made, plugs, etc, and I never really got that far along in the learning process when those threads were running at the Hole - might be a great time for a new clinic thing.
on the guitar only parts - is that the dry recording ? as in spatial fx was from the amp/kit ?
A while back we had this mix challenge, rocket started it as a teaching experiment, where he put up the 5 or 6 tracks and people mixed them to their taste - it was interesting to hear.
Yeah, that was it - thats a 57 off axis on a v30 and a little delay and verb from a lexicon in the amps loop. As is and dropped in with other instruments, you really cant even hear what you hear now, I think its subtle, Richard kicked it up a notch with something....hopefully he'll chime in here and bail me out, lol!
I actually like the mix of instruments level wise, the balance is great I mean...I guess maybe it just needs to sound more organic overall (if possible).
Yeah, I remember that Rocket mastering class/challenge, wish I followed it more closely, I hate being a scrub and having to ask somebody to master my music, but I honestly don't think I have the ears for that, and as I was telling Richard, I do believe it does go beyond simply having the gear, the time, knowledge, experience, etc, you most also possess some decent ears!
The balance volume wise is fine, I didn't mean turn one bit up over another.
You have any other mics besides the 57?
I have an Audix i5 but I thought it sounded kinda brittle, been a while though since I tried it.
Kabala — Feb 13, 2009
I have an Audix i5 but I thought it sounded kinda brittle, been a while though since I tried it.
I think i'm starting to get spoiled by the sound of a 57 + ribbon. I think this might be a more up-front sound if it's on-axis... maybe double-track with the i5 and the 57 and see which one comes out better?
As far as the phasey bit is concerned, it's also there in your lead only track, and it's because of the off axis technique you used. Nothing wrong with that, it's just a matter of individual taste and preference. There's been plenty of great solos tracked that way = if you like it, go with it.
Not sure what you are hearing Noel, the mix *is* pretty dry, at least to my taste. I'd probably go with a roomier kit sound myself.
LOL Derek, we all have different things we like. Don't chase your tail because of us...
Thanks Paul. My initial thought was 'wow' because honestly, its so much better than anything I could do mastering wise, but then to hear some guys say "heh"...well, what are you gonna do, you have to have thick skin and hear out all constructive criticism, folks are only trying to help, gotta like that...but you're right, I've listened to it enough, the way its sounds might not be perf for all, but it grew on me and its sure not on Dahlia level, lol, so you know, I can live with it. I did have a musician pal or two hear it and say 'wow' as well, that was encouraging I guess! I sure as heck can't go back and start fooling with the mic placement and start over, half the shit I record is pure luck, couldn't pull it off again with the same vibe if I wanted to - this one is done, next....
Derek - thoroughly enjoyed 'honour' - great playing, lovely tune and tones. :)
Oh it's still "wow!" but we were trying to focus on giving feedback. We can always revert to being fans again afterwards! :)
Thanks Vox, Craig, much appreciated!!
It may not come through in the tune, but this was the first song I ever sat down and wrote while something specific was on my mind. Though it sounds cheesy, I suddenly lost a friend and co-worker of nearly 20 years last Thanksgiving Day, poor guy had a heart attack and fell over dead on his front porch right in front of family and friends. Was rough on me, I get attached to friends and people easily, we used to go fishing together often, he was a ham at work, sorely missed, etc. He was only 50 - did not take good care of himself however - and yes, as a friend I tried to help him with that stuff, but he was one of those 'we all gotta go sometimes/quality of life' guys. Anyway, thus the sappy name of the tune and my desire to not try and dupe it with a different mic position and so on.
I did have a cam up for some of the initial takes though, and on that, I actually used the real mic on the cab, not the cheap cam mic, might share that here after some fun playing with the effects, lol. (=
I still have copies of Rockets tutorial vids somewhere.
I'd be happy to mail them to you if you want Derek.
I'd post them here but they are too large and I'm not sure if it's right with Rocket no longer here.
I think I have those as well and could easily upload them if necessary (I couldn't care less that Rocket's not here to approve of this or not - he needs to get his punk-ass back into these forums anyway, maybe if Charger made him a "Rocket's Mastering" forum? :D ).
In fact, I happen to have one that's entitled schils0001.avi (obviously made for some schmuck named Schils whoever that was ;) ). I have another called impulse.avi too.
Let me know! :)
Oh hell yeah, I'd love those, really angered me when lost 'em, I was making really good progress. He did make me a couple that I don't think he posted here, one was his personal approach to the specific Nashville EZ kit since he knew I liked that one and would be using it often, he literally walked me through the fine points/tweaks he'd use for the kick (like how much Blockfish, what freqs to boost/cut, other plugs he'd apply, etc), the snare, everything - had my drums sounding killer!
I agree, wouldv'e been cool to see his name on the list here as well as many others...he always put up smokin demo clips he was working on, inspiring sounds.
Here's the two I have. About 80 megs worth so be sure to right-click and save-as!
http://www.nwdreamer.com/RocketVideos/
Got 'em, thanks. Was hoping the shitz0001.avi was the super detailed one, it was named something similar, oh well.
KrankZilla — Feb 15, 2009As far as the phasey bit is concerned, it's also there in your lead only track, and it's because of the off axis technique you used. Nothing wrong with that, it's just a matter of individual taste and preference. There's been plenty of great solos tracked that way = if you like it, go with it.
Not sure what you are hearing Noel, the mix *is* pretty dry, at least to my taste. I'd probably go with a roomier kit sound myself.
LOL Derek, we all have different things we like. Don't chase your tail because of us...
I like the guitar tone a lot, so I guess I like the off axis sound.
I read the comments first so it got me looking for problems I suppose.
It sounds to me that something is smearing the lower frequencies - the bass gets a boomy from time to time and resonates, sounds like there is roomy effect down there - that's where the dry comment comes from, as an experiment.
But it's no biggy, just a comment.
If nobody else can hear what I am talking about then it must just be my ears :)
CraigBert — Feb 15, 2009Maybe Spud has others?
I'll check when I get home from work and let you know what I have.
so you know you have to redo this with the marshall, right? ;)
sounds cool, enjoyed it!
Already started, lol - thanks!