Future Mr. X - new song
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Posted on Jul 22, 2007 11:16 pm
BeerHunter
www.TheLondonProject.ca
Member Since: Feb 07, 2005
Hey all,
This is the song that will have the lyrics changed to a gangster theme (*other thread*). The title will be changed to Future Mr X. We sort of changed direction in the middle of writing this because the basic groove reminded us of a 30's gangster sort of song. Plus it is more fun - ha
Anyways, the basic feel and melody of the song won't change. Still needs work but i thought i'd throw it up here anyways. Its in my profile.
Oh ya, thanks for the gangster ideas in the other thread. If you have any more send 'em my way.
Cheers
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Noize2uCzar of MidiAdministrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002
Jul 23, 2007 06:43 pm Dang tootin that is a rocker for sure BH. If that is the scratch I cant wait to hear it as it moves along. Loved the guitar hook for sure, and the chunky guitar sound was killer.
Again, can't wait to hear what this ends up like.
BeerHunterwww.TheLondonProject.caMember
Since: Feb 07, 2005
Jul 23, 2007 06:57 pm Thanks noise, we should have it all done tonight and I'll post it if I have enough time to mix it. We are retracking all vocals and the clean guitar so it shouldn't really take too long. The structure is all there and that is what we struggle with the most.
We are also putting in some spoken word stuff to support the story. This song has come together quite quickly. It's nice to have a clear theme in mind. It seems to make the creative process move along so much quicker.
BeerHunterwww.TheLondonProject.caMember
Since: Feb 07, 2005
Jul 24, 2007 05:08 pm OK, we retracked the new lyrics and other vocal parts. Didn't have much time to mix but I uploaded what I had anyways.
Starting to come together but it still needs work. Lots of the tracks are still pretty raw.
I'm curious if anyone else get a "gangster" vibe from this song. I still need to add some spoken word gangster lingo to support the song but its getting there.
Take care all,
Lonnie
PS - if a admin/mod could change the title of this thread to "Future Mr. X" I would appreciate it. Thx
Jul 24, 2007 05:09 pm done
Jul 24, 2007 05:16 pm Cool tune, I dig it, my 9 year old was on the other PC playing her "Webkins" thing (some kids online game thingy) and was groovin to it too...she actually asked what it was "it sounds neat"...was her official review.
Vocal need to come up and out, the guitar part had a great hook with the...ummmm...hook.
cooloFrisco's Most UnderratedMember
Since: Jan 28, 2003
Jul 24, 2007 05:31 pm will listen later, but for now, i'll leave you with:
what're yous muggs looking at. now scram before the bluebirds show up.
BeerHunterwww.TheLondonProject.caMember
Since: Feb 07, 2005
Jul 24, 2007 06:31 pm Quote:
sounds neat"...was her official review awesome! Glad I took out the "parental advisory" type stuff. Its pretty hard to come up with gangter type lingo without the occasional "f" word.
I still need to spend some time mixing which is why the vox are a little weak. We just tracked this last night and I was too tired to keep mixing.
Noize2uCzar of MidiAdministrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002
Jul 24, 2007 08:45 pm Quote:
Sounds Neat
Works for me as well. But like I said before, it rocks along great and has a nice drive to it. I liked the little breathing break in there, it really adds a bit to it. The bass sounds pretty good during the heavy parts but is a little light during the chorus part. And I do agree the vocals need to come up front a bit more.
I think the gangster thing would work real well in this, and I do get a feel for that in the song structure. The tune already has a pretty good sense of urgency and that would add to it with the clips.
The drums are killer for the track as well.
BeerHunterwww.TheLondonProject.caMember
Since: Feb 07, 2005
Jul 25, 2007 12:26 am OK, spent some time on mixing tonight. Here it is in all the glory - ha. Still a couple areas to work on but otherwise this one is done.
Cheers,
BH
Jul 25, 2007 12:38 am Thats a live room shaker for sure! Just get out of the way of the head bobbin.
cooloFrisco's Most UnderratedMember
Since: Jan 28, 2003
Jul 25, 2007 12:29 pm Cool song! Seems like the vocals are not loud enough for the guitars. Or in other words the main heavy guitars are kinda loud for the rest of the tracks. But overall this song rocks kinda hard.
BeerHunterwww.TheLondonProject.caMember
Since: Feb 07, 2005
Jul 26, 2007 10:44 am This song has been a challenge in the vocal department. All of our voices cut through differently. I always have to cut back Chelsea's vocals to almost half of Don and I. Don's voice can almost be clipping and still not have enough punch. I have to back off all the other instruments to allow room for him. I'm been messing with some heavy doses of compression to try and help him out a bit and it is working but it is a very time consuming process. Also, I try to stay away from compression if at all possible but I'm not sure how else to deal with it?? Suggestions anyone?
Jul 26, 2007 10:51 am To me, a little hard limiting sounds more natural than compression, and gets the same desired result. Just a personal preference though. If you want to get labor-intense, you can use a volume envelope on the vocal tracks, and selectively boost the quieter passages. I've done that on occasion. Takes a bit of time.
BeerHunterwww.TheLondonProject.caMember
Since: Feb 07, 2005
Jul 26, 2007 11:22 am I ride the faders all the time but it won't help in this case. With compression or hard limiting I really have to squash it for it to be effective. I have a feeling that Don's voice is competing with the low frequencies of the guitars/bass. His vocal track is panned down the middle right now. I'm thinking of duplicating his vocal track and panning them both about 5% L/R and see how that works. Spending some time with the EQ may help a lot as well. Currently his vocal track is totally dry except for just a small amount of verb.
TadpuiI am not a crook's headMember
Since: Mar 14, 2003
Jul 26, 2007 12:48 pm Yeah it sounds like you're going to have to do some EQ notching on the backing band, plus EQ each vocal so that they each have their own dominant frequencies and aren't competing for the same frequencies.
Noize2uCzar of MidiAdministrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002
Jul 26, 2007 08:52 pm The drums got some nice crack to them! I still like the guitars for sure. I do see what you mean about the vocals though. You could try and pump the comp a little harder on his vox, but then again it might crush the life out of it. One thing to think of in the future is maybe using a reverb, convolution or regular that has an EQ section on it which tweaks the reverb itself, not just the incoming audio. I find myself doing that and going to a very tight small room or wood room reverb when I get a vocal part that doesn't want to come out fully, then I compress and limit the track to keep it in control
And lastly are you going to add in any spoken word? Or did you decide against it?
BeerHunterwww.TheLondonProject.caMember
Since: Feb 07, 2005
Jul 26, 2007 09:02 pm I tried some of the spoken word stuff and it was hard to incorporate. I tried some sound fx stuff like guns loading and such but they just sounded like noise. I would have to bring the overall volume of the track down to allow for it. I don't think there would be any other way... ideas??
I'll try out the reverb trick tonight and how that works out. Do you use it on a track by track basis or on a bus? (Thanks for the tip)
Noize2uCzar of MidiAdministrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002
Jul 27, 2007 06:56 pm When I'm trying to get a vocal to come out more I use it on a single track basis. You can do a vocal buss as well, but I think it is the single voice you are really after so I would go on the single track myself.
Remember to keep it a pretty small reverb but use the EQ portion to find the spot to bring the voice forward. The reverb itself will help keep it from jumping straight to the front.
Jul 27, 2007 07:32 pm I finally got the chance to listen to the tune at home on decent monitors.
All good suggestions so far. I think I would try starting the mix over from scratch, bringing up the vocals first, then slowly building the instruments around them. Not in the timeline of the arrangement, but you know what I mean. Maybe this will help to avoid drowning the vocals. Another idea is a nice tight delay on the lead vox, maybe with a tasteful presence boost a la aural exciter to bring it out more.
I like where you're going with it.
tonyd1970The fat one always watches us.Member
Since: Nov 08, 2002
Aug 02, 2007 05:20 pm hey beer, sorry im late, good stuff. im a words guy, and some stuff got lost in the mix, but i like it. my head was rockin, then my neck hurt from rockin so you owe me 100 bucks for doctor visit. nice and may i say rock on.
BeerHunterwww.TheLondonProject.caMember
Since: Feb 07, 2005
Aug 02, 2007 10:10 pm ok, I had a chance to re-mix this song. I put in some spoken word stuff but I'm not sure if I am going to keep it or not. Just kind of messing around with some ideas.
Thanks all for your feedback. I'm hoping that you feel the vox cut through more now.
Noize2uCzar of MidiAdministrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002
Aug 04, 2007 09:44 pm Ya, now thats what I'm talkin bout'!
The vox come through now cutting nicely, and they fit perfectly. Now you can hear Chelsea's haunting voice in this one great as well.
I have to agree with you on the spoken stuff though as well. I'm gonna listen a few more time tomorrow with a fresh head. I've been working on a clients stuff partly tonight and I think my head is just spinning.
Anyway, I think it sounds great now with the vox a bit more upfront for sure!
Noize2uCzar of MidiAdministrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002
Aug 06, 2007 09:42 pm BH, that is tight as all get out now. Not a huge change but it works great. I still love that hook, it kicks arse!
And ya, after I listened to the one with the spoken word a couple more times I have to agree it is better without. The vox change worked great so I agree this one is cooked proper!
BeerHunterwww.TheLondonProject.caMember
Since: Feb 07, 2005
Sep 14, 2007 01:08 am *shameless bump for a newly uploaded mix*
Cheers,
Lonnie
Noize2uCzar of MidiAdministrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002
Sep 14, 2007 09:30 pm No need for shame when bumping a new mix. Its good you you follow it through with one thread for sure.
On that note, I'm off to bed early as I gotta drive to the lake and cut grass at 5 am so I'm hittin it.
I will be eagerly waiting to get home tomorrow and give the new mix a listen. Looking forward to it actually.
BeerHunterwww.TheLondonProject.caMember
Since: Feb 07, 2005
Oct 14, 2007 09:58 pm Well here we go. This is the first upload (in my profile) of 4. We tracked drums for all 4 songs on our EP this weekend. Check out Future Mr. X with real drums. I'll be spending the next few weeks mixing and then we go to print.
Noize2uCzar of MidiAdministrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002
Oct 15, 2007 07:07 pm BH, that was sweet. The stream was skipping a bit so I'll try it again later but it got the point across. Nice kit by the way as well. Why did I not see headphones on the drummer though, I'm confused? And what was that contraption behind him? It looked like an LDC hanging from it.
Either way pretty cool vid. And still one of my favorite tunes as well.
Noize2uCzar of MidiAdministrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002
Oct 15, 2007 07:45 pm OH ya, by the way. The tune rocks with them drums in it for sure.
BeerHunterwww.TheLondonProject.caMember
Since: Feb 07, 2005
Oct 15, 2007 07:57 pm Hey Noise, the kit was very sweet. In-ear monitors instead of headphones. He had a really nice set of custom molded (3 driver) in ears. Really cool. You could use them as a full block out plug or open a small hole for -25 dB.
I think what you see behind the drummer is actually in front. It looks rather strange now that you mention it but I'm pretty sure its the Beta57's that you are seeing. I actually started a different thread over here that talks about the setup a bit more. www.homerecordingconnecti...14152&frm=1
Looking forward to spending some time mixing. We have all the songs tracks so I'm going to be pretty busy over the next while.
BleakA small pie will soon be eatenMember
Since: Aug 26, 2004
Oct 16, 2007 12:40 am Didn't sync for me but looked and sounded fine otherwise.
Dude is this a live version?
I love the [heavy] guitars but i can carely hear 'em which is a shame as i think the song is geared around them.
I really dig the whole shabang but it needs some serious re-mixing.
The Bass is way to Muddy (but awsome riff)
The Vox could use a bit more grunt but are sung well.
I hope i'm not sounding too critical, i wouldn't bother if i didn't really like the song! and i really do!!!
Despite all that when the heavy guitars come into play i get all tingly :) Fu**ing Love it!
BeerHunterwww.TheLondonProject.caMember
Since: Feb 07, 2005
Oct 16, 2007 09:13 am Hey Bleak, if you are referring to the audio that is with the video above then ya, it sucks. It is not even mixed... just slapped it together for the sake of the video. The song in my profile is a better representation.
Noize2uCzar of MidiAdministrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002
Oct 16, 2007 07:07 pm Ya, I noticed the other thread after I posted of course. I can see now, it is simply an illusion of the video.
BleakA small pie will soon be eatenMember
Since: Aug 26, 2004
Oct 16, 2007 07:28 pm Quote:
Hey Bleak, if you are referring to the audio that is with the video above then ya, it sucks.......
Oh sorry dude! my bad
I'll give it a listen this arvo.
