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Thanks for the replies about songwriting! I found out that writing short stories where I can brainstorm what I'm going to write about helps me immensely when I'm starting to write the lyrics because by then it feels like I'm just picking out lines from the short story.
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May 22, 2014 03:09
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Yeah, lyrically it helps me to know ahead of time what I'm writing about, and usually I go through two or three drafts of lyrics before I'm happy. There is a place for instant "from the gods" inspiration, but there's a lot to be said for taking the time to craft the music and lyrics, for writing & re-writing until you end up with something good. Usually the more work & thought you put into it the better the end result. But you should like the song. If you work on something for awhile and it just doesn't do anything for you then it's probably best to scrap it.
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May 22, 2014 03:25
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Radiapathy posted:I use Cubase 7.5 and WaveLab 8. Thanks so much for this! You explained the benefits so much better than three hours of combing the internet did. Sounds like I may actually be smart to pick it up-- Editing and processing hundreds of different sound effects is not exactly expedient in Cubase, so it sounds like Wavelab may do me wonders. Plus I just got a MacProVideo account, so bonus points there!
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May 23, 2014 18:58
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I don't really know anything about this topic so I'm asking here. I'm shopping for vocal microphones to be used in a live guitar/singing performance. I wasn't able to find any threads on this entire forum about microphones so if I missed it please redirect me there. Right now the guy at the music store recommended this one, a Shure SM57 but I was curious what goons thought about mics and stuff. Keep the price range around $100 if possible. I'm also kinda looking for a mic to put on my guitar as well, since my guitar does not have an electric pickup. This isn't nearly as vital as I'm sure one of the mics I already have will more than suffice for my needs, but if someone has any input on that I'd love to hear it.
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May 25, 2014 12:34
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The SM57 is very much an industry standard, they are cheap, well built and have decent sound. It's not designed specifically as a vocal mic (but can easily be used as one with a pop filter), the SM58 is the alternate version with an inbuilt wind shield aimed more at vocalists and perfect for live purposes. I use an AKG D5 and I really like how it sounds with my voice, it's in the same price range as the SM58. I think there is a decent Sennheiser in the same price bracket, prettymuch any of these mics at this price point will give you a good result. Be careful who you buy them from though especially if you go looking on ebay, the Shure mics are heavily counterfeited so if the price seems too low it's likely a fake, but if you get it from a store then it's probably genuine.
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May 25, 2014 14:23
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SolidSnakesBandana posted:I don't really know anything about this topic so I'm asking here. I'm shopping for vocal microphones to be used in a live guitar/singing performance. I wasn't able to find any threads on this entire forum about microphones so if I missed it please redirect me there. Right now the guy at the music store recommended this one, a Shure SM57 but I was curious what goons thought about mics and stuff. Keep the price range around $100 if possible. As RandomCheese said, 58's probably a more logical choice for vocals (not only does it have the built-in pop filter, but it's the right kind of pop filter for recording vocals. (Not the fabric stuff that messes with your top-end.) But when you're talking about micing a guitar, the SM57's a lot more commonly used for that... I'm not a guitar person, so I really don't know if it really makes a difference for guitars (between the 57 and 58).
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May 25, 2014 19:05
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SolidSnakesBandana posted:I don't really know anything about this topic so I'm asking here. I'm shopping for vocal microphones to be used in a live guitar/singing performance. I wasn't able to find any threads on this entire forum about microphones so if I missed it please redirect me there. Right now the guy at the music store recommended this one, a Shure SM57 but I was curious what goons thought about mics and stuff. Keep the price range around $100 if possible. I use an Audio Technica AT2035 for all my vocal & instrumental recording, and it sounds pretty drat good. It's about $150 but worth the extra cost. It sounds much better than the SM57 I used to use. Does a really good job capturing acoustic guitar. I used it as the primary mic on this album (just a basement recorder with minimal equipment): http://snortworld.bandcamp.com/ beatlegs fucked around with this message at 01:16 on May 26, 2014 |
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May 26, 2014 01:14
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Radiapathy posted:But when you're talking about micing a guitar, the SM57's a lot more commonly used for that... I'm not a guitar person, so I really don't know if it really makes a difference for guitars (between the 57 and 58). But you should be using an e609 instead, either way.
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May 26, 2014 04:46
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My thirtieth is coming up soon and my wife has given me carte blanche to pick up something nice for myself as a present, but the problem is that I already have a great setup for both my guitar (USA Strat + Blackstar HT1) and my bass (CV 60's P-Bass and a Fender Rumble V3 100w - http://i.imgur.com/AfQgtFw.jpg) and I have completely failed so far to even get to the audition stage with any local bands or groups. I do have a drum machine and an eight track, and I have been doing a little recording there. If I had no care in the world, I'd likely go for a five-string fan-fretted monster bass or a Jackson Kelly so I could attempt to live out my retarded heavy-metal dreams - but I can't help but feel it'll just be throwing good money away for no reason: after all I specifically picked my gear for a reason. I'd really like some insight on this, because it seems like a nice opportunity for some wife-sanctioned GAS relief, but unless I'm missing something it's a bit pointless. Southern Heel fucked around with this message at 00:53 on May 29, 2014 |
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May 29, 2014 00:45
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Southern Heel posted:I'd really like some insight on this, because it seems like a nice opportunity for some wife-sanctioned GAS relief, but unless I'm missing something it's a bit pointless. In before iostream and agreed; have you considered any Moog products? 
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May 29, 2014 03:17
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Southern Heel posted:My thirtieth is coming up soon and my wife has given me carte blanche to pick up something nice for myself as a present, but the problem is that I already have a great setup for both my guitar (USA Strat + Blackstar HT1) and my bass (CV 60's P-Bass and a Fender Rumble V3 100w - http://i.imgur.com/AfQgtFw.jpg) and I have completely failed so far to even get to the audition stage with any local bands or groups. I do have a drum machine and an eight track, and I have been doing a little recording there. My usual opinion is then not to get anything if you do not feel like you need anything. However you have a dream to get a guitar (however impractical you feel it may be) so live it because you have one life and how many times is your s.o. gonna be cool with indulging in it?
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May 29, 2014 04:20
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Anyone know any good resources for getting started with jazz guitar?
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May 29, 2014 12:18
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Matt Warnock and Justin Guitar
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May 29, 2014 12:57
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Laocius posted:Anyone know any good resources for getting started with jazz guitar? Turn left
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May 29, 2014 16:32
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Southern Heel posted:My thirtieth is coming up soon and my wife has given me carte blanche to pick up something nice for myself as a present, but the problem is that I already have a great setup for both my guitar (USA Strat + Blackstar HT1) and my bass (CV 60's P-Bass and a Fender Rumble V3 100w - http://i.imgur.com/AfQgtFw.jpg) and I have completely failed so far to even get to the audition stage with any local bands or groups. I do have a drum machine and an eight track, and I have been doing a little recording there. Do you have an acoustic guitar? If not or if not a nice one why not take it as an opportunity to invest in a nice one that can become a family heirloom.
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May 29, 2014 22:52
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Southern Heel posted:My thirtieth is coming up soon and my wife has given me carte blanche to pick up something nice for myself as a present, but the problem is that I already have a great setup for both my guitar (USA Strat + Blackstar HT1) and my bass (CV 60's P-Bass and a Fender Rumble V3 100w - http://i.imgur.com/AfQgtFw.jpg) and I have completely failed so far to even get to the audition stage with any local bands or groups. I do have a drum machine and an eight track, and I have been doing a little recording there. Sockington posted:In before iostream and agreed; have you considered any Moog products?  In all seriousness (although, if you just want something to help spur some of the creative juices a bit, or to have some fun, yeah, join the Church of Moog) if you're considering auditioning and getting out and gigging, have you thought about picking up either a wireless instrument system or maybe (and I'm such a ridiculous fan of these things now, it's nuts, I'll never ever rely on wedges again) a wireless in-ear-monitor system? If you don't need anything to further your playing style or improve your sound, it might be prudent to pick up some gear to make gigging a better experience.
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May 29, 2014 23:18
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Hi. I really want the Fruity Loops stock sounds but I'm not sure I'm really into the idea of getting it just for the presets, so I'm wondering if there's a way (preferably legal, obviously) of getting those stock sounds with out getting the software. Is it possible? Is it feasible? Please tell me it is. Please.
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May 30, 2014 09:04
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Wasn't there a thread once about "Let's learn how to write sheet music"? I've been dabbling with it over the past years, but want to get more into it now.
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Jun 7, 2014 12:04
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What is the most accurate sound spectrum analyzer on the market? I am interested in something I could use like a microphone, to detect all noise in an environment, and accurately give me sound intensities at whatever frequency.
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Jun 14, 2014 05:49
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johnny sack posted:What is the most accurate sound spectrum analyzer on the market? I am interested in something I could use like a microphone, to detect all noise in an environment, and accurately give me sound intensities at whatever frequency. You're probably looking for something like Smaart, which is more in the acoustics measurement sector. Almost anything like that will necessitate a Real-Time Analysis mic to use it well, though.
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Jun 14, 2014 17:01
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So I've been making music for a couple of years now and I feel like I'm actually ready to try and make something bigger out of it other than just posting it on my facebook and on a forum I frequent, there's two tracks in particular that I'm very proud of, one 8bit and one that I really can't define in genre, friends&strangers have said it sounds a lot like The Doors/Santana and Amon Düül/Neu!, with some bluesy elements to it. Since I make a lot of different type of music (I can't focus on just one genre, making music is just too much fun for me to just decide that I only want to do one kind) I fear I'm going to have a hard time finding a label, but I figure I can at least get it reviewed and played on independent radios at least as singles? Which leads me to my question ; How the hell does one go about finding those places where people will want to play it (radio) or review it? I'm guessing 8bit and Kraut/Psychadelic rock is the two main genres I'm looking for right now.
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Jun 20, 2014 02:10
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How do sibilants work on a vocoder? You can't hear them at all from YMO, they sound like they're coming from a different channel when Daft Punk uses them, and I've heard everything in between.
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Jun 21, 2014 19:46
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Luigi Thirty posted:How do sibilants work on a vocoder? You can't hear them at all from YMO, they sound like they're coming from a different channel when Daft Punk uses them, and I've heard everything in between. There are lots of things you can do to bring out bits that seem to get left out in the vocoding. If EQ alone doesn't work you can layer the vocoded output with the dry original, or layer it with a whispered version that highlights the consonants.
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Jun 22, 2014 20:39
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I gig with a Philicorda organ, and I love the thing to bits but it's starting to take a few knocks. I tried to find a case but multiple searches have turned up nothing, so has anyone got any ideas where I could find something like that? This is in the UK by the way.
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Jun 22, 2014 23:29
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Lord Banana posted:I gig with a Philicorda organ, and I love the thing to bits but it's starting to take a few knocks. I tried to find a case but multiple searches have turned up nothing, so has anyone got any ideas where I could find something like that? This is in the UK by the way. Have you considered having a custom flight case made? Not sure of costs etc., but it might be worth looking into. A quick google turns up these guys: http://www.dragoncases.co.uk/custom-flight-cases
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Jun 23, 2014 02:22
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modeski posted:Have you considered having a custom flight case made? Not sure of costs etc., but it might be worth looking into. A quick google turns up these guys: http://www.dragoncases.co.uk/custom-flight-cases These guys look pretty decent, and it's something I'll look at in the future, but I should have mentioned I don't have a big budget. £150 is probably the max we could drop on a case. The organ itself only cost us 90 euros!
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Jun 23, 2014 02:29
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Lord Banana posted:These guys look pretty decent, and it's something I'll look at in the future, but I should have mentioned I don't have a big budget. £150 is probably the max we could drop on a case. The organ itself only cost us 90 euros! It's hard to tell scale from pictures on the net, but it looks like if you could find a case for an old Wurlitzer you might be able to foam it out to fit. I'm totally guessing here, though.
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Jul 10, 2014 07:15
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I usually have dozens of tracks going in Cubase on any given project, each sometimes with numerous automated effects. My timeline can start to look pretty massive pretty quickly. This might sound silly, but should I be in the habit of routinely exporting as .wav and re-importing certain tracks (or groups of tracks) once I've got their effects and automation where I want them, or is there some sort of drawback to editing this way? (Assuming I don't need to adjust the automation or effect on a track after I do this.)
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Jul 14, 2014 05:54
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Hopefully a quick one for any saxophanists. I've recently got a (very pretty) sax and I'm making the transition from Clarinet. The one thing that's bothering me is the embouchure. On the Clarinet it's quite tight and doesn't need to change (much). On the sax it's possible to get the overtones by changing the embouchure. All fine and dandy and I've got 3 octaves out of the sax for the same fingering. Problem is, it's not controlled and I'm struggling to get the low Bb naturally. I seem to naturally sit on the higher Bb (so I don't need the octave key) unless I really relax my mouth which feels like bad technique. I'm at the point where I'm running a chromatic scale and a few notes in, the drat thing jumps an octave - I suspect this is all because I'm used to a tighter embouchure from the Clarinet, but is there anyone who can provide a decent way to sort it out on sax? Youtube can only go so far and it's pretty hard to demonstrate it without someone grabbing my gob and showing me physically. If there's a trouble free way to explain, I'm all ears! Getting notes out is fine - no squeaks or anything - I'm just wanting to control the output 
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Jul 14, 2014 14:17
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Drink-Mix Man posted:I usually have dozens of tracks going in Cubase on any given project, each sometimes with numerous automated effects. My timeline can start to look pretty massive pretty quickly. This might sound silly, but should I be in the habit of routinely exporting as .wav and re-importing certain tracks (or groups of tracks) once I've got their effects and automation where I want them, or is there some sort of drawback to editing this way? (Assuming I don't need to adjust the automation or effect on a track after I do this.) If you're becoming CPU constrained, you can just freeze tracks as needed. If you check the "channel" option in the freeze dialog it will freeze effects plugins as well. This is a much quicker and less problematic way to deal with tracks because if you ever need to tweak something just unfreeze.
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Jul 14, 2014 16:59
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Drink-Mix Man posted:I usually have dozens of tracks going in Cubase on any given project, each sometimes with numerous automated effects. My timeline can start to look pretty massive pretty quickly. This might sound silly, but should I be in the habit of routinely exporting as .wav and re-importing certain tracks (or groups of tracks) once I've got their effects and automation where I want them, or is there some sort of drawback to editing this way? (Assuming I don't need to adjust the automation or effect on a track after I do this.) If CPU performance isn't suffering, I like to keep all of my source tracks and automation lanes in the mix. You can use collapsible folders to hide clutter without discarding anything. On the other hand, it can be a useful exercise to commit changes to a mix early and often, as it encourages you to be ballsy and decisive, and to listen to your first instinct. Putting off all decisions until the end can lead to over-thought, boring mixes.
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Jul 14, 2014 17:06
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I can't really work out WHY the main on this song sounds bad, although it clearly does. Can someone help me please? https://soundcloud.com/williamayerst/chromosphere-iii-crush Cheers!
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Jul 15, 2014 09:51
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For me it sounds bad because the guitar tone isn't very interesting, and is way too high in the mix for how clean it is. It sounds like you've played the track twice instead of just doubling one and panning which is good, I would try and make each track much more distinct from each other as far as guitar/pickup/gain choice is concerned (even play chord inversions on one side), that should give you a unique sound that is a combination of guitars A and B instead of just one guitar sound that seems like A and almost-A for a very A-ish tone. It seems like it needs a lot more grit on the guitars, those sort of riffs need a lot of chunk to them (especially with a name like Crush and having the genre label Thrash Metal), put a bunch of distortion effects on there and see how it sounds. Are you micing an amp up or using digital effects/amp sims? Timing is also an issue, especially when the change happens at 0:40 it feels very off, very loose and almost pulls the whole track down for a second. Metal stuff needs to be tight as gently caress, each strum should be lined up exactly with whatever drum hit falls beneath it, this is a huge part of chunky, chugging riffs. You can always align the waveforms in the DAW but getting it as close as you can while recording will help a lot. There are a couple of tuning flubs throughout the track but they might just be finger slips and whatnot, but it goes without saying to make sure the guitar (or guitars) are tuned before each take to make sure they all sit nicely together. The drums have no balls at all and are buried almost entirely by the guitars, they need to be up much louder, kick needs to thump and snare needs to snap. Have you done any EQ work to the track at all? The guitars will need the low cut out (150hz is a good starting point) to let the bass through, and the bass will need either a low cut (60-80hz) or put some mild ducking on the bass track sidechained from the kick drum so that the volume dips slightly when the kick happens to allow the kick to cut through. Look into parallel compression (or New York compression), it's a good way of fattening up a drum track (guitars and vocals work well too) without needing a lot of work. The basics of it is sending the drum track to another channel, heavily compressing it (like really heavy, get rid of all dynamics and just have it flat and loud), maybe EQing and effecting it a bit (mild distortion works nicely on a drum kit in this situation) and then blending it slowly back in with the original drum sound which should give a nice thickening to all the components in the kit. The solo is OK but it sounds like the only part of the track that has any reverb so it sticks out a bit (and makes the rhythm guitar almost unhearable when listening in mono. Always check your mixes in mono). Again with EQ cut out a lot of the low frequencies in the solo track (maybe up to 400hz, maybe more) as all you need is the high freqs to add on top of your already packed midrange. Set up a reverb channel with a spacious reverb sound on it (church, hall etc) at 100% wet and feed a bit of every track into this channel (maybe not bass but everything else for sure) and gradually blend this reverb track into the main mix, this will add some coherence to the track and make it sound like it's all coming from the one space. The more reverb you send the further back each component will appear to be so play around with levels depending on where you want each part to sit.
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Jul 15, 2014 17:02
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I mostly agree with the advice above. Drums are way quiet. Filtering and compression will help get them louder. If you have control of it, upping the velocity on your midi instructions might get a more powerful sound as well. Bass could be louder and more aggressive too. A Rat type distortion might help the rhythm guitar, or a high-gain Marshall or Mesa model. Being more particular about palm muting will probably make both sections sound better too. The B section really suffers from the guitar sound just not being mean enough. With a huge gainy sound you can pull more dynamics out of it too by making some attacks almost completely percussive and letting others ring out. Reverb sends are definitely your friend. I always, always stick an EQ in front of mine—usually just as a hi-pass but sometimes to do more detailed sculpting as well. I find this much faster than loving around with dedicated reverb knobs. I also always go in afterward and manually automate the send level to keep things from getting too wet. Rather than attempt double tracking with chord inversions or identical parts, you could try blending in a single-note guitar line mirroring the bass part or otherwise following the chords. This is easy to do, and allows you to thicken up the overall sound a bit without causing too many headaches about chord voicings, EQ, and panning. I think one thing that weakens the A section is that the guitar part has an accent that the drums never share. It's around beat seven; possibly seven-and. In most music of this style I'd expect a snare hit/cymbal choke/something to fall on one or both of those chords at least some of the time. As is, it sounds like you're using a canned drum loop to support a more interesting guitar riff—which maybe you are. The solo is a little bit directionless. It doesn't seem to build toward any particular point, and some of the playing is a bit sloppy. I agree has too much reverb in comparison to the rest of the track. The section would be a good opportunity to try some unison rests and accents ( under the solo)—I'm not a metalhead, but I feel like that's typical of arrangements in lots of subgenres and it's one of the things I like the most about the style as a whole. The lead itself doesn't need to be complicated, but I feel like the song calls for more aggression. I feel like very simple playing would work here if you can get that "oh god is the amp on fire?" sound. An octave effect can help that, and I'd maybe even try blending in a bit of ring mod. Probably not both though. I would definitely EQ the reverb on the guitar pretty aggressively to prevent low and mid frequency wash from taking everything over. The transition out of the solo section feels very uncoordinated and anticlimactic. If it were me (and again, I'm not a "heavy" music person) I'd try all quarter note slams on the drums with bass and all guitars locked in unison on that main riff. Fake edit: I said "metal" a whole bunch and I'm not sure that's exactly the intended effect here. But insert stoner rock, heavy rock, or similar and I think my thoughts still apply.
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Jul 15, 2014 22:16
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The start isn't tight at all. Was this one go all together rather than built off individual recordings? Sounds like the guitar doesn't have the rhythm entirely right in the first ~30 seconds and the drummer is adjusting his best to try and make it work.
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Jul 15, 2014 22:56
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Thanks guys, I will work on the timing in general, your combined, specific distilled advice seems like so: - Make the double tracking more interesting (note or tone-wise) - Bring drums up, compress and add an accent to match the four-and accent on the guitar - Resolve the solo I'm trying to record sketches rather than endlessly riffing to an empty house, and work on my production a little in the meantime. These tips help alot, thank you all.
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Jul 16, 2014 10:56
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I've a bizarre problem when bouncing a song in Logic Pro X: At one point early on in the song, there's one vocal track and two guitar tracks. About 30secs in, there is an audible 'glitch' in one of the guitar tracks as it cuts out for slightly less than a second and comes back in with a 'pop' sound. It's not obnoxious, but noticeable, and obviously a problem. It's a clean fingerpicked electric guitar rhythm track with a Tape Delay logic plugin and nothing else. The strange thing is: this only happens in the bounced file. Listening to the track in Logic, that part is completely fine. Happens both win an MP3 and a WAV bounce. Nothing's clipping - the song is quiet at that stage and the output level is firmly in the green. Anyone encountered such a problem before or have any advice on how to fix it?
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Jul 18, 2014 04:10
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What's your buffer size set at? Sometimes having it set low for latency purposes can cause weird pops and clicks, try boosting it up to 1024 samples and rebouncing.
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Jul 19, 2014 03:40
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I have a guitar instructional DVD. I want to be able to put certain clips of 10-15 seconds or what have you repeating over and over, so I can try to do what the instructor is doing. I assume I'll start by ripping it, and I'm not sure what to do after that. I'm on a mac, but I have access to PC as well, whichever is easier. Can someone give me some basic guidelines on how to accomplish this? I apologize if this thread is the wrong place for this.
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Jul 20, 2014 01:07
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40 OZ posted:I have a guitar instructional DVD. The latest VLC has an AB repeat function, just press shift-command-L at the point you want it to start, then again at the end point and it will loop endlessly, then use the shortcut once more to cancel the loop.
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Jul 20, 2014 06:22
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