I wrote this one about four years ago. I had posted a version of it on the old forum back then; it was one of my early tries at home recording. In the meantime, the band learned it and changed it a bit. The band seems to be fading away, everyone is so busy. So this is not the band, this is just me and my computer. I re-recorded and mixed it from the ground up. I’m playing the guitar and the bass; the keys and drums are VSTi’s. I’m eventually going to finish a collection for friends and family. Appreciate any comments or suggestions on the mix or anything else!
Nice, Early! Your tunes always seem to take me on a little journey. Are those the NI drums again? They sound really natural to me. The mix sounds clear and detailed. I like it!
Yes, that’s the NI Studio Drummer again. I’m finding they suit what I’m after without tweaking for days. Thanks for the comments… taking the listener on a journey, that’s what I’m trying to do, I guess!
that’s really nice - agree with the comments about the drum sounds, they fit beautifully. You’ve got a great way of developing a relaxed vibe. The guitar sounds very nicely on the cusp of mellow breaking up valvey (tubey?) tone - is that a vst toneshaper or an amp?
Thanks for the comments, Steve. I confess. It’s Guitar Rig. Found one amp sim in there that sounds right to me. Same one I also used on Ball To The Wall and Same Old Dawn. I do own a very nice small valve/tube amp, which sounds just the way I want it to in practice, but the recording part is always variable based on exactly where the mic is. So I recorded both, and I concluded that I was actually happier with the sound of Guitar Rig. I understand that is heresy these days. I haven’t given up on recording the amp; one day I’ll give it another try. But I also love the convenience – silent playing, ability to change after tracking, ability to track at any odd hour without bothering the locals. You can’t get that sound out of my real amp without a fair amount of volume, even with the master volume control.
For full disclosure, you can hear a real amp (Fender Custom Vibrolux Reverb) in Perky Moms, but I was not happy with that amp, and traded it in for the one I have now (Egnater Rebel).
Amp or not, it sounds good. I’ve just bought a Hughes & Kettner Tubemeister 18 - lovely little amp head that has a power soak to take it down to 5 watts or 1 watt, and it also has a simulated direct out for silent use. I bought it for exactly the reason you say - a good tube tone doesn’t normally come at low volumes. Frustratingly I’m without a place to play at the moment but I’m looking forward to giving it a workout as soon as I can. The search for the holy grail goes on.
man I love your guitar work, fluently changing keys and feel. you’ve done a great job reproducing this, nice bluesy laid back feel. I’m liking the break with the snare marching. great! you hung the end perfectly, to me when songs have a natural end without being contrived, its the sign of a song that had to be.
good stuff early
Have heard good things about Hughes and Kettner, but never have had the pleasure of playing one. Hope it serves you well.
Always appreciate your input Bob. The basic idea for that long ending was contributed by our keyboardist, and the band eventually evolved it into something close to what I recorded here. I listened closely to the way our drummer handled it, and programmed what I could steal of it.
Thanks, Ian, for listening and commenting. Is there still radio in the world?
Thanks for listening, Dylan, and the kind words. The guitar is my instrument, kind of a hack compared to some of the people here… Bass was always a sideline, and I can attribute any moderate success there to simple parts and the wonders of Cubase lane comping!
This sounds very good. I like the guitar sound a lot. Getting a great guitar sound is not all about gear. The player is the main contributor to the sound IMVHO and this sounds good, sim or not!
Every aspect of this tune sounds accomplished to me.