My Music Thread

[rbV5]

I've been playing guitar since my youth, and in recent years started recording some tunes when I got some Cakewalk software with my Johnson J-Station.

My influences started early in the 60's with my folks always listening to Rock Music. My Dad got me my first acoustic guitar back in 1968. Gary Thompson's lead guitar in Frigid Pinks "House of the Rising Sun" made me REALLY want an electric guitar, but it would be years before I could buy one and would have to rock out with my acoustic for all my learning years.

I've been thinking lately about putting together an Instrumental CD for my folks since they are getting up in years now and my Dad first got me interested in playing guitar way back when. I'm thinking a pretty even mix between acoustic and electric tunes, mostly rock and blues genre.

Here's a few potential song ideas I've put together over the last couple years when I get some time and inspiration. I've posted some of them before, and I'm going to pick up the pace a bit so I can finish late this Spring if possible. Please comment and or/rank them if you want. (I know some are weaker than others, and have a realistic view of my talents and pretty thik skinned)

Theses are all electric based, and MP3 encoded. I play all the instruments and composed all the tunes with the exception of "Cry me some Blues", which I only play the lead guitar over a Cakewalk tutorial MIDI file. I use a Johnson J-Station to connect to my PC, and use budget guitars ( Fernades Bass, Schecter Electric and a bit nicer Ovation Balladeer acoustic)

"Laughing" is my latest effort;

Laughing
AT Lifer (OMG)
Cry me some blues
On the Rise
Slow Burn

again, Please comment and or/rank them if you want I'll add more as I get them ready...Thanks!

 

[ForumMaster]

really nice! i really like laughing! slow burn is also nice. i'll listen to the others now. great idea though!

 

[ThePresence]

As a guitarist myself, there's no doubt that you have talent.
Some of your mixes need some help though, they sound kind of muddy and unclear.
You're not getting sharp clean sounds.
Probably worth it to invest in ProTools if you want to record.

Either way I dig your style. :thumbsup:
Certainly better than my effort a couple of years ago.

 

[rbV5]

Originally posted by: ThePresence
As a guitarist myself, there's no doubt that you have talent.
Some of your mixes need some help though, they sound kind of muddy and unclear.
You're not getting sharp clean sounds.
Probably worth it to invest in ProTools if you want to record.

Either way I dig your style. :thumbsup:
Certainly better than my effort a couple of years ago.

It doesn't look like could even afford the light edition of ProTools, so I'll have to make due with a bit less. I'm going to get a decent soundcard for recording, so I'll be recording the master tracks after I get all my ideas together in a couple months.

Hopefully I can do a better job with the mixing, I'm a piss poor sound engineer, so I really haven't a clue LOL.

Thanks for the positive comments!

 

[rbV5]

Bump for recording tips

 

[ThePresence]

Bump

 

[Fritzo]

Pretty darn good, but if I could give you some tips:

Laughing needs to be remixed. Laughing has the fader on the bass turned up way too high...it's drowning out your drums and making the lead sound muddy.

Slow burn has a similar problem- the rhythm section has the fader too high so it's drowning out everything else.

AT Lifer was my favorite, but it needs a hook. When people do instrumentals, you'll notice they have a "reference riff" they return to in order to make the piece recognizable. Give it a try

Cry Me Some Blues is a standard blues in what sounds like B. I was reminded of BB King's "The Thrill is Gone", but I gotta tell you- in blues the saying "less is more" REALLY applies. Break things up into 4 beat phrases- like your guitar is actually singing a phrase. ZZ Top's "Blue Jean Blues" is a good reference for this idea (as well as anything B.B. King plays). You'll get much more soul in your playing.

On the Rise is a faster blues in what sounds like C. You did a really nice job with this, but don't be afraid to pause, and find a home riff to come back to. Again, the rhythm is very BB King-esque here.

You did some nice work - worthy of showing off Good job!

 

[mrrman]

sounds great....I liked it

 

[Lithium381]

Yep, mixing is in order, otherwise, your fingers fall in some sweet places on that fretboard!!! Everything seems pulled back and "diluted" in the mix and a bit dull.......no sparkle in there at all........keep at it, you've got a great basis there!

edit - 'on the rise' felt the most alive the guitar had some sweet tone on "blues"

 

[rbV5]

Laughing needs to be remixed. Laughing has the fader on the bass turned up way too high...it's drowning out your drums and making the lead sound muddy.

Thanks for the advice! I'm not happy about my mixes, but particularly "Laughing". I am going to sit down and spend some time remixing, I think you nailed the issue with the Bass.

I wish I had some better basic skills when it comes to the recording end of things. Any tutorials that anyone has run accross suitable for someone like me, I'd love to check it out.

I also agree with the performance issues you brought up. The songs themselves fall a little flat, and do lack a catchy hook. I did try repeating my Lead Riff throughout with "laughing", but I'm affraid the poor mix overshadows the guitar work.


Thanks, again everyone, and please keep the comments coming. I'll be putting more stuff up, so please revisit and check it out

 

[darkswordsman17]

I like it. Gives you the feeling of the old timey just blues jam type sessions where you just play, nothing in particular.

Any idea what sound card you're gonna go for? E-MU has some nice cards for music recording. Just do us all a favor and record in good quality and don't kill the dynamic range.

 

[MikeO]

Originally posted by: rbV5
Bump for recording tips

I use Line6 PodXT + Audacity.

Easy to make sounds with and even easier to record with and it sounds good.

 

[Fritzo]

Originally posted by: rbV5

Laughing needs to be remixed. Laughing has the fader on the bass turned up way too high...it's drowning out your drums and making the lead sound muddy.

Thanks for the advice! I'm not happy about my mixes, but particularly "Laughing". I am going to sit down and spend some time remixing, I think you nailed the issue with the Bass.

I wish I had some better basic skills when it comes to the recording end of things. Any tutorials that anyone has run accross suitable for someone like me, I'd love to check it out.

I also agree with the performance issues you brought up. The songs themselves fall a little flat, and do lack a catchy hook. I did try repeating my Lead Riff throughout with "laughing", but I'm affraid the poor mix overshadows the guitar work.


Thanks, again everyone, and please keep the comments coming. I'll be putting more stuff up, so please revisit and check it out

I've spent a fair amount of time in the studio. When it comes to mixing, you want to fade in the part of the song you want to showcase, and fade out the things you want in augment the song. A lot of people get these backwards (especially in live performances). I like to have any leads (vocals, guitar, piano, etc) faded about 25% higher than everything else on the board.

So, when mixing, focus on the same thing you want the listener to focus on, and make sure that's what's out in front.

 

[rbV5]

Any idea what sound card you're gonna go for? E-MU has some nice cards for music recording.

Thats exactly what I'm looking at. MF has had some nice deals lately also. Since I moved to my new rig I lost my digital inputs, so I'm using analog for starters, its just not a good recording setup currently.

So, when mixing, focus on the same thing you want the listener to focus on, and make sure that's what's out in front.

Thanks, I seriously appreciate your advice. I'm going to spend a little time next week when I get a chance to work some things out.