Hi All. Well, can’t seem to get this one quite right. Just been having a fiddle with eq on various elements (bass, guitars, organ) and tweaked the drum groove (mainly bd) to get it to flow better. Dunno. Anyway, I’m done for the night so I thought I’d stick it up once more to see if anyone can suggest anything overnight.
New version: SoundCloud - Hear the world’s sounds
Old version: SoundCloud - Hear the world’s sounds
There isn’t a massive amount of difference but I’m not sure I’m tackling the right bits. Anyway, cheery-bye, I’m off for some zzzzzzzzzzzzs.
Thanks,
C
I really like the song a lot- is it an original composition?
You’re doing something interesting with the vocals, but they get a little lost in the mix sometimes and they don’t sparkle they could. Look at some ways to carve out a space for them and make them shine. The drums sound a bit drum-machiney, which doesn’t really suit the kind of retro arrangement you’ve got. Some ghost notes and variety in the fills could add some life there.
It’s on its way to being a great track.
Thanks. Yes, it’s original and not just that - it’s also a riddle with an answer. And no, I’m not telling 
. Now…
Vocals: I wrote this song years ago and have smoked far too many roll-ups since, besides not doing very much singing, so when I came to record it I found I couldn’t hit the notes anymore so ended up dropping them an octave (key change on the guitar just sounded wrong…). It didn’t sound as bad as I feared. The intro is VariAudioed, which is where the peculiar sound comes from. I wanted a very tight 3-part harmony, didn’t trust my voice and find VA a very useful experimentation tool anyway, so they stuck. They sound really odd soloed but together it’s monks-in-the-cloister! Thinking about it, I think I used VA to tune the main vocal up too, as it didn’t sound good enough once I’d done the intro! The good news is that I’ve started singing again, can now hit the notes - down a live mic, anyway - so may give it another go in the right octave. Not yet, I want to get the groove right and thought if I do the vocals again it would be too different from the older version and I was after a fair comparison.
Drums: Yep, they’re programmed and I’ve had a right old time with them. Can’t get them to rock right. Bass is also programmed and probably contributes. But I’ve heard other efforts round here with programmed drums and they sound better than this. I was hoping a drummer might be able to tell me I was on the wrong side of the beat or something like that. Or that the sounds were all wrong.
Thanks for spotting the retro idea, it’s deliberate. I have Deep Purple in mind, although it isn’t that kind of a song, really. Any excuse for a Jon Lord pose, though. 
Thanks for the encouragement,
C
I think I prefer the second version. Sounds a little smoother and rounded out (or something) to me.
Really cool song! I can’t imagine the vocals in a higher register, myself. I like them in this style.
I’m diggin’ those bass lines!
Good job, Duncan!
Thanks, Scab. Sounds like the eq tweaks may be on the right lines, then. You know, I think I was getting so paranoid about my lo-mids that I forgot I actually needed to have some in there. I think they have filled things out a bit. I love doing bass lines and I think I was thinking about Faith No More or was it Bon Jovi - something like that (some over-dressed rocker, anyway) - glad you like 'em, wonder if they’re actually playable (heh, heh!).
I think I’ll have to give the vocals a go in the higher octave now I’ve thought of it but maybe dark and threatening is the way to go after all… I’ve tried giving them a little polish like UO suggested so I’ll try and get a latest version up tonight but not till after the footie (¡vamos muchachos! - or maybe “allez les blues”, can’t decide, got divided loyalities…)
This is a good song. I think I like the newer version better too; smoother, although it is a littler quieter. I agree with the comments on the drums. They sound good but too regular maybe, and I’m not sure about the kick, sticks out or something. The bass part is maybe too good. Nice to hear an interesting bass part on a song like this, but maybe you can make it a little raunchier. Listening to the monks at the beginning, I was expecting some sort of British Folk thing but it turns into something more western/cowboy… I also can’t imagine the vocals an octave higher, but post it, and I’ll listen to it!
A strangely attractive and hypnotic song…I think it would do well if it got radio play…Kevin
I was listening to the bass and drums on their own last night and they sound a bit pants. Got some work to do there. (Didn’t get round to doing anything about it thanks to the neighbour mentioning something about a bottle of whisky, and today I’ve been a bit busy watching a very exciting GP and trying to explain arcane theory to some poor sods who shouldn’t be in the position of having to understand it. Not to mention trying to send mp3s to a Hotmail account. Won’t be doing much tonight, I fear, as we have the Italians to knock out of the Euros so we can do the same to the Germans on penalites on Thursday. I am in the doghouse for this because I’m supposed to be at an open-mike night and will be late and possibly a bit drunk by the time I get there.)
Anyway, enough about my personal life…
Again, thanks for all the encouragement. Something must be working. I’ll be taking all these suggestions on board, including the one about the bass-line maybe needing simplifying (that was lurking in the back of my mind, now you mention it).
But I think Kevin is straying into the realms of fantasy about radio-play!
I didn’t mean simplify the bass line, I meant make it raunchier, or a little less perfect… more distorted maybe or some fret noise. Good luck tonight!
Oh good, because secretly I quite liked it (but did nonetheless feel something needed to be done). Raunchy it is!
Good tune I agree about drums/bass. I hear it as kick being too busy for what the bass is doing. Try to to simplify the kick and maybe a steady eight note hi-hat part at different times??? Good idea about grunge on bass part, maybe make one track clean and one with distortion on amp (side chain thing)? Like the vocals a lot
But I think Kevin is straying into the realms of fantasy about radio-play! [/quote]
I’ve heard a lot worse than your song on the radio mate !!! success it’s all about timing, luck and a million other variables, if your song was heard by a million people and only 2 or 3 % liked it and bought within the space of a week or so…you’ve got a hit record…
Forgot to mention talent but that’s a given innit !..
If only it were that simple it wouldn’t all be beatz and pants-rock. Anyway, pay no attention, I’m just an old, embittered cynic 
I’ve been tweaking things up a bit all morning - groove mainly, retarded the AcG, added bass amp, no edits to the BD part although I think there’s work to be done as kzarider points out. Did give it a go but…
Anyway, it’s dinnertime so I’m just linking to a 128k mp3 of the Kit, Bass and AcG so you can hear a bit better what’s going on.
Cheers for all the advice, I feel progress is being made…
http://soundcloud.com/cactusjuice/smc-c6-10-intro-kit-bass-acg
damn fine arrangement, enjoyed the lyrics. the vocals at times sounded like a vocorder, very cool. neat style for sure, I like it. I’ll listen again to the next version, I think it needs to stay light and bouncy as is.
I’ve heard this song before…
Still like it.
Someone mentioned that the vocals are burried in the mix?
I don’t agree, the vocals are spot on.
I do find the left organ a bit penetrating, but I can imagine turning that down
will do more damage then good. Maybe a warmer drive, saturation and gentle roll off to fix that one.
greetz Dylan.
Hey, Dylan, you have a good memory, it was a while ago…
Since the comment about the vocals being buried, they have been dug up and given proper rites but I haven’t posted that version yet so we’ll see once I’ve got the groove sorted. I find organs very hard to eq. I know what you mean about the harshness. I’ll probably leave that till later and see where’s left for it to fit. Maybe a different sound, as you suggest.
Anyway, I was just here to link to the new version of the loop I posted before. All that’s different is the BD. I’ve moved the early beats to on the beat and thinned a few other supplementaries. It doesn’t seem to have affected the drive any so that probably means it was a good idea to do this, kzarider. See what you think. I’m no drummer so always open to advice on this.
SoundCloud - Hear the world’s sounds - early kicks
SoundCloud - Hear the world’s sounds - straight kicks