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Thread: Is anyone interested in laying down some leads? or Collaberating?

  1. #26
    Member Yodelgoat's Avatar
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    Stereo submixes are on their way up. I didnt realize I was using mp3's that were only 128k - These are no loss tracks sorry about that! I ought to listen to the mixes once in a while!

    KdrumsBass is the bass and drums submixed - sorry I didnt pull out all the effects on these. I just realized I forgot. Let me know when you have it and I'll put up the keys, then Vox and then Guits

  2. #27
    Member Koreabruce's Avatar
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    I downloaded Kdrums & bass. Thanks!

  3. #28
    Member Yodelgoat's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Koreabruce View Post
    I downloaded Kdrums & bass. Thanks!

    Okay, Keys are there now as well. By the way, there may be an edit or two in the mixed versions that will throw off the multitracks from the mixed versions - I'm not certain as its been a while since I really did the changes...

    Incidently... Is any of this interesting to you? I havent gotten a lot of feedback. Can I assume this is not a complete waste of time for me? I have other tunes that are almost as far along musically (scratch Vocals are still being created) , if this isn't exactly floating your boat...

    So, do you have the keys? Oh wait. let me make it downloadable... duh.
    Last edited by Yodelgoat; 02-12-2018 at 07:44 PM.

  4. #29
    Member Yodelgoat's Avatar
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    OK Keys and #1 guitar track is up there. I cant add any more until I delete those two, so grab em while they're hot. Next I have the main Guitar track and the Vox as a stereo mix. I may get them all to you tonight. Let me know so I can upload the last 2 tracks.

  5. #30
    Member Koreabruce's Avatar
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    Got 'em! Keep 'em comin'...

  6. #31
    Member Yodelgoat's Avatar
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    Guits2 is there and Vox is on its way. I want to get the Vox off quickly, as its the thing I am most vulnerable for... ("sux factor")

    Let me know when you have them. Good luck!

    Oh, I dont have the mandolin on a separate track - I would have used a hundred tracks up if I'd kept everything separate, and my PC kind of craps out after about 30 or so - depending on the effects.

  7. #32
    Member Yodelgoat's Avatar
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    Oh crap! looks like I deleted the wrong Guitar track.... Okay... I will delete and try again....

    Never mind - Its Okay, I dont think this is the best way to share individual tracks, as I think they got confused by all my uploads and deletes...

    Let me know when you get the Vox and Guitar2 tracks.
    Last edited by Yodelgoat; 02-12-2018 at 09:53 PM.

  8. #33
    Member Koreabruce's Avatar
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    Got 'em both. Thanks again!

  9. #34
    Member Yodelgoat's Avatar
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    So, is it importing to Reason OK? are the tracks synched up?

  10. #35
    Member Koreabruce's Avatar
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    I'm using REAPER. As long as they're WAV, mp3, or some other kind of audio files and they're stems (i.e. each file starts from the beginning of the song regardless of what parts it contains), it's not a problem at all. They synch up pretty well.

    I'm starting to listen to the different guitar parts independently to get a feel for them. I like the short section that has the simple progression on mandolin. I'll see if I can get hold of one myself and replicate that.

    I guess you recorded the guitar parts with the effects on them (chorus, delay, etc.) That's usually what guitarists do though some insist on recording dry and adding the effects later. Both ways can be useful depending on circumstances. Recording with effects forces you to make choices that you have to live with, which I think is a good thing. The fact that you have these demo tracks with effects on them allows me to hear what they sound like in the context of the song, which is a useful place to start. I'm going to experiment and see what I can do. I don't have much gear - one electric 6-string in the style of a Gibson 335, an oddball Epiphone Les Paul 12-string electric (yes, you heard that right), and a Seagull 6-string acoustic. One of my Korean friends who does music for a living has quite a bit of gear, so I'll see what I can borrow from him, or record at his home. School here starts on February 28, so I'm hoping I can get a fair bit done by then. I tend to work slowly, but you said you weren't in a hurry, so I'll take you at your word... . Seriously, this should be fun!
    Last edited by Koreabruce; 02-13-2018 at 05:09 AM.

  11. #36
    Member Koreabruce's Avatar
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    Contra-Mantra is a very good album, Mr. Johnston. Nice work! I bought it on CD Baby.

  12. #37
    Member Yodelgoat's Avatar
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    Take all the time you want. It's the journey that is the important thing here, there is no destination. I had no idea you - or anyone else at PE bought Contra Mantra - Thank you! For me it is a fine album. Now I do this just for the love of Creating music. You can see why it gets addictive. I will look forward to hearing what you come up with. I can redo the mandolin part if needed. As far as the effects, it never occurred to me to play guitar parts without effects. That's a little too much like dancing naked. Fun if your 16, but just gross in any other circumstance. I love my Seagull (Seagulls in general) - so I assume you'll get some great tones out of yours.

    The one part I could never get to sound anywhere close to right on the song, was on the first heavy part after "They're getting what they deserve..." I hear that first note and following guitar melody as a huge wall of sound, yet its pretty wimpy. In That part there should have great sustain and power in the guitar melody, I'm not sure I am saying it right, but When I play that riff, I hear Hells Bells meets 2112. I always blamed the guitar arrangement for it not sounding right. I may be mistaken, but I think an Alex Lifeson inspired guitarist would do it justice.

    I also think the guitars in the part following that "Highways star" snare introduction should be stronger - Like a Ritchie Blackmore would play... Dirtier and heavier - The organ kind of Rocks that part, but the guitar should certainly have a lot more hair on it.

    The general Idea is... Make all the guitar parts sound like someone good is playing it, and not someone who plays guitar as his third or fourth instrument would play it.

    We also should talk about leads... We may want to add additional parts where here can be extended lead parts. I always thought I should loop some of the parts so that a guitarist could add some nice leads, but the more I think about it, I may have to re-cut some drum parts, because to me the solo's should have dynamic drumming behind it. Since I have a nice Roland digital kit (18 piece) I can pretty much replicate the existing drum sound, but can add punches, etc... The Bass parts to back solos would be a no-brainer.

    Better yet, I could find a Drummer who could really do it justice and let him do the whole thing over. Its cool when you have no time limits.

    I hope some of this makes sense. I havent worked with anyone for years and years, so I dont know when I should just shut up and let you work.

  13. #38
    Member Yodelgoat's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Koreabruce View Post

    Exactly what instruments are you playing on this? I'm curious to know.
    Sorry never responded to this.

    Drums (stereo mix) from a Roland TD-12 and TD-11 combined 21 piece Ekit (Awesome!)
    Bass Ibanez Roadstar II through Boss ME-70
    Acoustic Guitars 6 string Seagull Folk. 12 string Taylor, Martin LX1E
    Electric guits: '94 mexi strat, Taylor T5
    Keys: Maudio Axion 25 thru Proteus 1000 sound module, Yamaha MX-49 Synth. Various online synths
    Monitors: Mackie 6" w/JBL sub mains, KRK V4 and Yamaha NS 6" near fields
    Mic's: Carvin, Rhode, XLM,Sure sm57
    Sonar 8.5 producer multitrack Software. Windows 7
    Various 3rd party Effects, Lexicon etc....
    M-Audio 10x6 interface

    I can post picts of the studio if you like...(I'll clean it up first!)

  14. #39
    Member Koreabruce's Avatar
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    All good info, Thanks!

    I was wondering.. since those are Roland VD-11's and 12's, could you generate a midi file of the drums? If so, that would be good to have. If not, could I bother you again to send a file that's just the drums without the bass mixed with it?

    I too have seldom jammed with people or played with others for many, many years. I was in a Top 40 rock band from 81~83, and the drummer and I used to get together at his place and just rock out endlessly before and after that band was a thing, but since then collaborations have been sporadic (real life stuff, being in the army, moving all over the place, and all that). So... I'm not a pro guitar player, but I think I can do the rock stuff pretty well. I lean more toward the bluesy end of things - think Jimmy Page, Brian May, early Alex Lifeson, David Gilmour, etc. I don't play much that you would call fast, so... rock/hard rock/blues rock is more my thing. An important point is that I prefer that the lead lines are emotive and for the most part singable. When jamming we used to play tons of Rush songs (from the glory days of True Rush, that is ), so your song is right up my alley. Keep in mind that, lead-wise, I'm not nearly the player that your Jaugernaut guitarist is. Though I'm definitely competent, I'm not a virtuoso by any stretch. And that's okay, I think, because I play what I like to play.

  15. #40
    Member Yodelgoat's Avatar
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    I did not record the MIDI information for the drums. I learned my lesson years ago with that - because people HATE "drum machines" - Contra Mantra used MIDI drums, where I recorded my drum parts on an SPD8 and then "quantized" it and added some additional parts using MIDI... People who know music, heard the drum machine a mile off, and gave the album a big fat zero because of it. These drums are digital, but they are being played by a real person (me), no quantization, no "drum Machine" involved. So I didnt record the MIDI information, the drums are an actual performance (though I did not play the entire 22 minutes in one take!) I didn't preserve the MIDI information. By the way, are the drums adequate to your ears? - I just keep wondering where a Mike Portnoy-ish drummer could take the performance. I did the drums, because I could, I enjoy playing drums, but I am not a terribly good drummer. I have been tormenting a few drummers in fort worth, to come in and help, but to this point, no one has been willing to do it.

    Happy to cut out the Bass and give you just drums. Give me a day or two. - Do you want the Bass part soloed, or do you just want it dropped?

    FWIW, I do have the MIDI information for the keys - somewhere. But I mixed down the keys to Audio when I reduced the overall # of tracks, because I wasnt ever going to change the keys.

    If you can play Alex Lifeson parts, you're a good guitarist. He is unlike any other guitarist I've heard. He is no Steve Vai - (which is what Jim Brammer IS - the guitarist who played on Contra Mantra), but his approach is so unique it is just amazing. There would be no Rush without Alex Lifeson.

    Jim Brammer used to play Zappa's music on our way to gigs, and would analyse and explain what Vai - or whoever the guitarist was playing. I have never known any cover band guitarist who could match him, he could literally play anything. During Contra Mantra, I would just tell him "do a Kansas solo here" or "Brian May" or hysterically "Aerosmith" and he totally nailed them all!

  16. #41
    Member Koreabruce's Avatar
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    Thanks for the info (again!). The reason for wanting the MIDI is that I have Toontrack's Superior Drummer 2, which is MIDI-driven software that plays back excellent sampled drum sounds, and that would allow me to edit the drums, but I do NOT want to quantize them! I'm totally with you on that. MIDI would allow me to hear them with different sounds, and I could add or subtract sounds/parts to satiate my need to experiment. I'm not totally sold on how e-drums sound. There's an inexplicable quality, a sort of faint hollowness to them that I don't care much for. Some of the samples just stick out too much for my ears. I could instantly tell that's what they were because of the toms and the ride cymbal in certain places. That said, it's clear from this demo that you love to play the drums. Overall it's a pretty solid drum track. The parts you've created work well for the song for the most part. I would caution you on trying to put in too many fast double-kicks or tom rolls. Granted, most of the ones you have sound fine and are a good fit, but if flashy parts draw too much attention to themselves, then they become a distraction. Over-the-top instrumental parts done just for the sake of doing them don't really serve any song, in my view, though some actually prefer this sort of thing in the music they listen to. Also, there are a couple of places where the bass and drums are a little out-of-synch, and there's a section about 3/4 of the way through where the drumming is a lot busier than it needs to be because it distracts from the vocal that's going on over top of it. When it gets too busy, the forward momentum can get lost. This is a minor criticism, though. For the most part, the drums rock!

    It will be perfect for me if I can have both the drum and the bass tracks separated. That will allow me to slide them around and line them up more tightly. I use the split function in my DAW to do that sort of micro-editing because it allows for really solid alignment, and I can also move parts slightly ahead or behind to get a different feel. I'm pretty finicky that way, but then it's essential to do that because to do the guitar parts, I need to lock in with the rhythm section as accurately as I can. That's what made Rush such a tremendous musical unit. I always marveled at how in-synch they were.

    The keys are mostly fine. The organ and synth parts are very well-suited to the song. They fit in great: not overly busy, and adding just the right touch. You chose just the right chord voicings that compliment the guitar parts, too. The only thing I would do is lose the piano. Those little flourishes that appear briefly don't work in this song. I'm a little on the fence about the sax solo, too. It kind of comes out of nowhere... not that it's bad, per se, but a bit jarring the first few times I heard it. It may grow on me though.

    I can play Alex Lifeson's rhythm parts pretty well (those that I've attempted to play, that is), and I can do a few of his solos such as those in Tom Sawyer, Red Barchetta, Fly By Night, Bastille Day, The Big Money, etc. However, it's one thing to have a good ear and be able to pick out parts on guitar, and it's entirely another to come up with those parts from scratch. You're absolutely right - Alex really makes the band. He's such a natural musician!

    I've been listening intently to your guitar parts. I'm more and more impressed with your overall musicality. Despite your mild self-denigration on your abilities on guitar, I'm enjoying jamming on your riffs! A couple of them have become ear worms. They're pretty fun to play. Okay... I'll await the separate drum and bass tracks.
    Last edited by Koreabruce; 02-14-2018 at 10:46 AM.

  17. #42
    Member Yodelgoat's Avatar
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    Hehe! The sax is also me playing... Its a crappy solo, but I was planning on my friend Marty Prue to come in and replay that part much much better (he's a great sax player in the Dick Parry vein). Its a place holder. That solo is there, just because I felt like since I play sax - not that well, that I ought to try to use it somewhere... a great sax player could kill that solo, and I think help preserve for me, a lifelong tie to the sax.

    If you listen to some of the pop songs on my soundclick page, you will see that I am not averse to using horns in music. I have often criticized Sax in some music (King Crimson, Jethro Tull), not for the performance, but because I can "taste" the reed in my mouth when I hear sax parts. It makes my teeth ache. But the overall sound itself is not a bad thing. I also think it helps emphasize the blues component in bands like Pink Floyd. I could go on forever about my love/hate relationship with Sax - and horns in general.

    The piano, I think can be isolated and removed. Originally there was a lot more piano parts and it has dwindled over the years. I'm good with losing it altogether.

    The "sound" of the drums, I think, is not the weakness in the track. Its the performance that I find by far is the worst part. I have heard drummers play those Roland Ekits and to me its just like hearing real drums. I used to have a big acoustic kit - and I spent years trying to get decent sounds out of that kit in my studio. I finally sold it and picked up the Rolands instead. I have another song - 22+ minutes in length where I recorded it all with the acoustic kit. I'll send it to you once it gets a little further on with the Vocals. It sounds OK, but you definitely hear the acoustic "suckness" in it. I am pretty invested in the Vdrums, as far as my own playing. If I ever find a great drummer who has an acoustic kit, who would be willing to play with me, I am totally into that. Just for me (and that's all I have for the moment), the Rolands make me a better drummer.

    It's always easy to come up with ideas on how to make things better. But producing that improvement is often problematic. I do not want to use software to replace a real drum performance, though I know it is current widely practiced. Consider me a purist. I like having real musicians in music - I consider it a major mistake what I did that on Contra Mantra, and its something I would love to change one day - get a real drummer to replace the pseudo-drums. The critics did not know I actually played those drum parts. they just shouted "drum machine" and after reading their observations,I have to admit, they were right, Quantizing killed the performance - the Hi hat and ride in particular.

    The Bass... yeah there are some clunkers in the bass track, once its isolated you'll hear definite edits where I have moved the punches around. Those out of sync bass parts are likely a result of an edit, not necessarily bad bass playing - though I make my fair share of mistakes. I have always considered the bass parts as "temporary", because I can record them better anytime - Bass is my main instrument, so of course, it gets the smallest attention. After all the work is done to get the song "right" I am always rewriting the bass parts in my head, thinking: What would Geddy do? - of course I am unworthy to even consider myself anywhere in his league. As far as singing goes, I was never a 1970's Geddy Lee vocalist, but I am better now than he is at hitting those high notes. and, I do consider myself a decent vocalist. Not the best ever, but not a slouch either.

  18. #43
    Member Koreabruce's Avatar
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    Great! I too have a love-hate relationship with (alto) sax. It often sets my teeth on edge. Done well, though, it can really add depth to a song.

    I realize this track is a demo that you used to get the whole song down by playing all parts yourself to hear how it would potentially sound. I'm pretty impressed with what you can do. Lots of passion and raw talent in the vocals, great backing vocal arrangements, clearly no slouch on the bass, tasteful keys, and a solid guitar and SAX player. Wish I could do all of that!

    I need to get to bed. It's 1:49 am here... Good talking with you as usual.

  19. #44
    Member Yodelgoat's Avatar
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    Yes, I am a retired musician with lots of time on my hands! So I keep up my "chops" or lack thereof by doing this. Not a bad hobby. Plus, because no one hears it (limited people anyway), I'm pretty much immune from criticism! I can do what I want. I think that's more being an artist than writing songs to be sold Speaking for myself, not everyone. I am grateful for bands that still put it out there and sell it on the road!

  20. #45
    Member Koreabruce's Avatar
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    "Retired"? You're not that old, I think.

  21. #46
    Member Yodelgoat's Avatar
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    You're a very kind person... I'm old enough to have been a musician in the 80's

  22. #47
    Member Koreabruce's Avatar
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    So you must be around my age then? I'm 57. I was also a musician in the 80's!

  23. #48
    Member Yodelgoat's Avatar
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    yep 1960 was a good year for musicians huh?

    I haven't had time to re cut the drums and bass separately today, but I'll git er done tomorrow. Like I said no hurries here. I dont imagine that is going to hold you up on your guitar work. Let me know if you have any questions. I even had Jim Brammer once ask me just how I did a certain picking section. Its what you get when a person learns bass first and then picks up guitar after a while. Chords and picking patterns are not always by the book. There was a part in the song "Vanity" on Contra Mantra that Jim was doing - and I asked him why are you making that so difficult? I showed him how I played it and he said " You think different from a guitarist" - so it was fun that I got to stump him... But once he got it, he played it a whole lot better than I ever could.
    Last edited by Yodelgoat; 02-14-2018 at 11:08 PM.

  24. #49
    Whoa, you're from Jaugernaut? I've seen Contra Mantra online before! I never realized that was you.

    I'm gonna have to check it out!

  25. #50
    Member Koreabruce's Avatar
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    Thanks. Don't feel pressure to get that done immediately. There's no rush. I'll spend time practicing the guitar parts in each section. A jigsaw puzzle, indeed!

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