\"Let's Fall\"

[Jeraz]

Another one of my straightforward ballads. Acoustic Guitar & Vocal. I plan on making a duet version. With the latest tweaks, I have it to the point where I think it sounds OK, mix-wise, but I am at my limit of expertise and submit here for further advice.

256K Stream
http://www.artistblast.com/music/play.p ... =song_hifi

128K Stream
http://www.soundclick.com/util/streamM3 ... 93247&q=Hi

256K Download
http://www.soundclick.com/util/Download ... ID=2193247

UAD parts: LA-2A (changed to 1176SEs) on guitars, Fairchild on main bus, Realverb and RS-1 as sends, Pultec Pro on vocals & guitar

Non-UAD: Voxengo Voxformer, Gliss EQ, Elephant, Bic Tic for dual delay.

Thanks in advance

 

[Himiona]

Great subtlety but still lots of clarity.
My only comment would be I would like the guitar to be a bit more upfront, the tone is a little thin for my ears.

Anyway - great stuff.

S.

 

[Jeraz]

Great subtlety but still lots of clarity.
My only comment would be I would like the guitar to be a bit more upfront, the tone is a little thin for my ears.

Anyway - great stuff.

S.

Himiona, thanks. Yeah...I am listening and want to agree with you on that one. I will see what I can do. I fussed with it a bit already. I was trying a new mic when I recorded it, and now I may just go back in and re-track with fresh strings and my old standby. :|

Thanks for the listen and the thumbs up!

 

[Himiona]

I think the Fairchild on the main bus gives the whole thing a good dynamic as well. Can't wait to try it on some of my mixes.

S.

 

[Jeraz]

I think the Fairchild on the main bus gives the whole thing a good dynamic as well. Can't wait to try it on some of my mixes.

S.

I love the Fairchild. It this big mysterious thing that you are always finding out new stuff about, and yet, the good news is that all you have to do is turn it on in the master chain, and SOMETHING good is going to happen. You only have to think 'subtle application' (unless you want special effects).

A new mix is up. I thickened the guitar, reworked the Pultec Pro settings on the vocal...tweaked the pans a bit. See what you think. My next step is to add a harmony somewhere--still looking for the right female voice for a duet.

Thanks for listening!

 

[Himiona]

Yeah nice man, that's more like it.

Lots more warmth and I like the 'air' in the vocals. Great work.

Si.

 

[Jeraz]

Yeah nice man, that's more like it.

Lots more warmth and I like the 'air' in the vocals. Great work.

Si.

Thanks again Si. Say, I went out to your site. Pretty cool business you have there--great at what you do. I had a blast running through some of your demos!

 

[Himiona]

Thanks, the site's getting a bit stale, I've been so busy. I'll be updating with more current tracks in the coming month, production quality should be noticibly improved.

Right now I'm working on a sports video game and I'm feeling a little 'metal-ed out', so your track is a nice change.

Cheers

Si.

 

[Suntower]

I guess I have three wee niggles:

1. I'm not sure about the stereo placement. It sounds like the singer is on one side and the guitar is on the other. I guess I would prefer that, from the audience, I heard them both more down the middle--voice in front and guitar behind.

2. I don't think there's -enough- compression, either on the voice -or- the guitar. In some spots, the voice really -jumps-. And in a -lot- of places, the treble notes on the guitar are -way- more prominent than the bass notes so it makes the ostinato kind of 'jumpy'

3. It sounds like an old parlour guitar---like my old Seagull or one of those old small Gibsons. Which is great for jangly backgrounds, but I couldn't help but wish you had a D18 handy. Just not enough -ooomph-.

Not trying to be snippy---just -specific- What with everything laid so bare and all.



---JC

 

[Jeraz]

I guess I have three wee niggles:


Not trying to be snippy---just -specific- What with everything laid so bare and all.



---JC

No no...it's all good! I appreciate the listen and will take another (critical listen) later and see if we can't improve things. Then I will post back. At this point, the niggles are what I need. I wish I were knowledgeable enough to return the favor! But I will always listen to your stuff...just in case I can add value.

 

[Jeraz]

I have to tell you that is a Martin, but not a D-18...an OMC-16RE Premium, Rosewood...I simply Mic'd it wrong. You can hear that same guitar on my other stuff, and it isn't near as thin. I can fix the other niggles, but that one will have to wait a few days!

 

[Jeraz]

OK, I fixed the panning, narrowed the stereo spread on the guitars, and thickened the bass (slightly) with some harmonics. I changed the delay a bit, adjusted the reflection engines and verbs, adjusted the compression on everything, including the Fairchild, and eq'd the chain a bit different. See what you think. Links are the same.

 

[Suntower]

For what I am about to say, please forgive me...

The guitar part just doesn't work for me. The picking pattern just doesn't seem right to -me- for this song and/or the tone of the guitar.

I guess I was hoping for a straight finger-picked ostinato (straight sixteenth single note arps) in the verse.

It's your call, but the guitar/recording just doesn't have the 'jumbo' sound. The bass notes just leap out almost like a dulcimer.

I'm really sorry. Maybe it's my personal problem---I used to play in all these Irish bands with -exactly- that tone from an old Seagull and it's PERFECT for cutting through fiddles/uillean pipes/bodhran etc. But then when they'd want to do a guitar/vocal ballad, they'd DEMAND I switch to a jumbo for just this reason.

Anyway, I don't think it's a 'tweak' thing. If it were -me-, I'd re-think the whole guitar part. Something -soft- and deep. Maybe -one- mike down next to your right knee pointing up at the lower bout?

I know that's not what you want to hear, but I can't concentrate on the vocal---the guitar is -that- tinny to me.

Really sorry, but you -did- ask...

---JC

OK, I fixed the panning, narrowed the stereo spread on the guitars, and thickened the bass (slightly) with some harmonics. I changed the delay a bit, adjusted the reflection engines and verbs, adjusted the compression on everything, including the Fairchild, and eq'd the chain a bit different. See what you think. Links are the same.

 

[Jeraz]

JC,

LOL, don't sweat it. I know that the song needs something to take it to the next level. I appreciate the listen!

For some folks, it will work as is, and some folks even love it that way, but I am not OK with it, yet. I had a duet lined up and that isn't working. I think it has potential...I might add a bass line tonight and start making a more complex overall tune. I will most likely re-record the guitar, though I don't know if I will change the picking...maybe add something there, or just make the whole thing more of a production. EDIT: (I said I thought it sounded OK; I didn't say that I was finished! )

Thanks again!

EDIT/PS: OK, I just tried a straight arp. ostinato--now, I don't know if it is what you had in mind, but MAN is it a lot prettier that way. What was I thinking? If it is possible to play an arp with more feeling--well, that is exactly what I feel is possible now. Tonight I will lay down the new track. Thanks a lot...whatever I do with the rest of the song, I like this change already. Also, through the magic of mic position preamps and tubes and UAD Cubase, I believe that I can make my Martin O-body sound bigger...we will work on that, as your jumbo point is well taken.

EDIT: 4/11/2005 Tracked a couple of things, but what's out there is still the old arrangement. Didn't get to the new arrangment yet. Too busy fixing dumb mistakes I made so that the existing arrangement doesn't sound too bad the way it is as I am the week's "featured artist" on ArtistBlast.

For what I am about to say, please forgive me...

The guitar part just doesn't work for me. The picking pattern just doesn't seem right to -me- for this song and/or the tone of the guitar.

I guess I was hoping for a straight finger-picked ostinato (straight sixteenth single note arps) in the verse.

It's your call, but the guitar/recording just doesn't have the 'jumbo' sound. The bass notes just leap out almost like a dulcimer.

I'm really sorry. Maybe it's my personal problem---I used to play in all these Irish bands with -exactly- that tone from an old Seagull and it's PERFECT for cutting through fiddles/uillean pipes/bodhran etc. But then when they'd want to do a guitar/vocal ballad, they'd DEMAND I switch to a jumbo for just this reason.

Anyway, I don't think it's a 'tweak' thing. If it were -me-, I'd re-think the whole guitar part. Something -soft- and deep. Maybe -one- mike down next to your right knee pointing up at the lower bout?

I know that's not what you want to hear, but I can't concentrate on the vocal---the guitar is -that- tinny to me.

Really sorry, but you -did- ask...

---JC

 

[Jeraz]

JC (and whoever else is interested),

OK, I'm back. I still have more to do, but I took your advice. New arpeggio/ostinato, WAY DIFFERENT guitar approach. Also, the whole song is a half-step higher in key.

The mic (A Rode K2), though way offset from the soundhole, is pointing at it. I SHUT OFF the onboard Fishman. Also, the Rode is set one click left of Cardioid. The 1176s are SEs. The attacks are around 6, and the releases around 7, with ratios set at 8. The Martin has a punchy, super-articulate midrange that I had to work with a bit. I mixed this to my taste, I wanted an in-your-gut bass punch every now and again to underscore the earnestness of the singer's entreaty.

I will probably re-record the vocal later tonight. Aplogies in advance for the few missed notes; I don't use Autotune.

 

[Suntower]

Conservatively? I'd say it's about 4,000% better.

I still think it could use a tad more bass in the guitar but that's 'coz I really like the whole Dreadnought vibe.

---JC

 

[Jeraz]

Conservatively? I'd say it's about 4,000% better.

I still think it could use a tad more bass in the guitar but that's 'coz I really like the whole Dreadnought vibe.

---JC

Thanks, man. As I am typing this, a new vocal is uploading to the ArtistBlast site. Bass, you say? I took some off. I wanted to run it on a sub-woofer to hear it, before adding some back. I am sensitive to those that download and listen on cheap PC/SUB setups. On my KRKs, I prefer more bass too. You just might get your way. :wink:

Love dreadnoughts. Love jumbos too,though I am not tall enough to play one comfortably. Oh well...someday, I will have a bigger collection.

Thanks for stopping by to listen again!

 

[tele]

Nice tune, Jeraz.

tele

 

[Jeraz]

Nice tune, Jeraz.

tele

Hey Tele,

Thanks! I am glad that you liked this version.

I have another version I am working on now with some strings and a more powerful vocal (in spots). There are others on my site that are also evolving. I am redoing "Don't Ask", the "If Only" tune is under construction in a full production model. I just redid and posted "When First We Met" as an instrumental, and am working on a few more of those too.

Where can I hear some of your stuff?

 

[tele]

Where can I hear some of your stuff?

I'll provide some links.

tele