First song posted at HRC: 'Control' by Colonel Sanders
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Posted on Jan 16, 2005 04:16 pm
BoysMum
Member Since: Apr 22, 2004
This is my son's first song to be posted at HRC. It is called 'Control' and posted under rock in the HRC Pro section.
In this song, he plays lead, rhythm, bass, drums, does the vocal and harmony.
There are about 4 or 5 places in the song that need a bit of attention, performance-wise...and he is not entirely happy with the way the vocals sit in the mix.
But...he is ready to move on to his next song.
Any comments to do with the lyrics, performance, composition and mixing are most welcome.
Colonel Sanders will take it from here.
Cheers,
BM:-)
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Jan 16, 2005 04:25 pm LOL , I was just thinking, hey I'm gonna see if Colonel Sanders has posted a song yet, and gave it a review... and 3 minutes later there's a thread about it
Great song, Love the guitar tone, IMHO there's a bit to much reverb on the Vox and the doubled vox could be a bit tighter, but geez unbelieveble you're son plays all the instruments, I have trouble with keeping just my voice under control in one song lol,
Keep those songs Coming!
Rock on!
olddogMember
Since: Jul 02, 2003
Jan 16, 2005 05:12 pm Great song! Nice tone on the guitars, and kudo's on the drum playing! I agree with Presley on the vox, not so much too much reverb they just need to be more upfront. Really great job!
Dan
TadpuiI am not a crook's headMember
Since: Mar 14, 2003
Jan 16, 2005 05:29 pm Hell yeah! GJ, Col.! Make that Lieutenant Col...of rock :)
This is an awesome indie rock song. Right up my alley, and I'd snap up an album full of this sort of stuff. Reminds me of the early '90s indie acts like Pavement.
I love the start/stop motif going on, and the song's form is fresh and interesting. A+ on composition. This is the kind of format I strive for when I write: unconventional and interesting, but not meandering.
Love the doubled vocals, and the vocal style overall. Very dynamic and passionate.
I have to know what your guitar setup is. That is awesome guitar tone and sound (and playing, too!).
Great job for a first recording, and excellent job on the multi-instrumentalist front.
Now, just because our reviews can't all be butt kissing because we all need input on where to improve:
The drum playing is really good. The drums kind of get lost in the mix tho. I want to hear more snare. I don't really know what to suggest to make it more present in the song, but the snare is just so important in this genre. Also there are a few times when the drums sound a bit confused and hesitant, instead of commanding the song like they should in a piece like this. Maybe somebody with some drum micing experience can suggest ways to give them some life.
I don't really hear the bass guitar too much, either. I wonder if there needs to be more of a notch cut out in the low end from the other instruments to allow the bass more room to breathe in the low end?
One suggestion for the guitars: during the verses, it'd be nice to hear a bit less distortion on the guitars because they sound muddy behind the vocals. Maybe that's what's making the vocals sound low, because they have a lot of grit to compete with from the rhythm guitar.
Noize2uCzar of MidiAdministrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002
Jan 16, 2005 06:06 pm OK, I just replied in the compilation thread as well. So I take it there is approval of this tune. I have cast my vote to have it included in the comp.
If anyone else has some critique to refine it a bit, let CS know here and we will work it to fit into the comp.
Again, I am up on this tune for sure, as Tadpui said it has a sound sticking true to that straight ahead indie rock and that is good.
Jan 17, 2005 01:13 am Thanks guys for all the kind reviews, im pretty happy with the results of my first song, and ill try drying up the reverb a bit and see what happens.
Im happy with my 2 reviews too! (although BM's mum gave all 10's lol)
AS for the guitar setup Tadpui, I used my holling worth vintage series (simlar to a PRS, but a tad cheaper), my Tubefactor h&K pedal through a fender bassman re-issue. I left the guitar eq. flat in the song and mic'd it with a 57 angled towards the top of the top left cone.
Im quite happy also, that i used no pre-amps in the song apart from the aardvark.
Thanks again
C_S
Jan 17, 2005 04:11 am Oh, jeez i didnt see that there. Me on the compilation disk? Cheers noize, glad you like my music.
And presley, thanks for the words, it says in your profile that your a singer, where can i hear some of your work?
Good hard rocks the future, and i should be finished another song in the next day or so, its a lot more rockin'. so look out for that 1 if u liked control.
Thanks again for all the coments
C_S
Jan 17, 2005 04:36 am www.artistcollaboration.com/~son_goku/
there's some it's not all finished yet, but it'l give ya an Idea, It's late is a cover and finished
just needs everything replaced except vocals
lookin' forward to hearing your next tune~
Jan 17, 2005 07:12 am not too bad sanders, not too bad. I think the tracks need a little bit of EQing to separate them a little bit. The lead sounds good on it's own, but when everything else joins in it gets a little mushy. The vocals I think should be up a touch louder, but over all, very cool.
Jan 17, 2005 09:29 am As I said in another post, aye, its good and I like it!
So, with that..young Jedi - a good start made.
Probs, as dB said, a wee bitty eq'in would go doon well and I thinks, a couple of tweaks with the volume but overall, a darn good first mix and sure as hell, first song.
So - keep it up and thanks for pitching in on the collab...seems like this one could be a winner...
Cheers and good luck to ye.
Coco.
Jan 17, 2005 10:31 am love the guitar tone! kids got some talent.
Jan 17, 2005 10:47 pm Can't say anything of value that hasn't already been said. This is great! Keep on rockin'!
Jan 18, 2005 12:46 am Cheers for the eq. tips DB and coco, i've already tried reducing the reverb, and that seemed to work well, so i'll get straight onto eq'n. Seems every one likes my guitar tone lol.
My next song should be up tonight (NZ time) so keep your eyes open and comment on that one to please!
Cheers
C_S
Jan 18, 2005 05:41 pm Wow presley, I dowloaded "Its late", and thats an awesome song man. Great vocals. Did you do the song yourself?
Jan 19, 2005 11:23 am Well if you mean by did the song yourself IF I wrote it, well then I'dd have to say no, cuz it's by queen, but the rest is me and my synthesizer:)
thx for the compliment!
when's your new song up? I'm not at home right now so I can't check till friday night, but will review it when I get home
Noize2uCzar of MidiAdministrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002
Jan 19, 2005 09:49 pm CS, when you get that first track EQ'd and re-tweaked let me know via email or here and I will go get it for the compilation.
I will listen to the other track when I get home on Sunday as well.
Jan 20, 2005 07:00 am Nae worries...a little tweaking and it'll be top for sure.
And, a good guitar tone for sure ye have.
Good luck to ye.
Coco.
BleakA small pie will soon be eatenMember
Since: Aug 26, 2004
Jan 20, 2005 10:11 am Colonel, I know i'm late on this one but i must say the guitar rocks in this song.
I think you have an hit here! you clearly have writing talent!
Vocal melody is the only (very slight) concern!
I'm really looking forward to your next dig!
cooloFrisco's Most UnderratedMember
Since: Jan 28, 2003
Jan 20, 2005 02:56 pm I'm definitely not a rock conniseur (sp?), but this reminds me of some old Led Zepplin. I think its a cool song for sure. I'd agree with some of the previous comments that some eq tweaks would help the instruments stand apart from each other. Also aside from the crashes, I have to really concentrate to hear the drums. After re-reading the other posts again, I think Tadpui has hit the nail on the head.
Jan 20, 2005 07:44 pm Thanks for taking the time, I know you're all busy.
Old dog, thanks for the support, especially about the guitar tone, I worked really hard on that.
Guitar Jim, im glad of the support, thanks for that.
Cheers
C_S
Jan 20, 2005 07:53 pm Heres the update on "Control", I tried my hardest, but things are still a little muddy.
www.homerecordingconnecti...sic&id=1661
There you go Noize & Coco, as ready as I can get it. Is that cool?
Cheers bleak, thanks for the words. My next "dig" has been posted, what do you think?
Coolo, about the drums, thats a good point, I'll try some different Micing postions.
Cheers
C_S
Noize2uCzar of MidiAdministrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002
Jan 20, 2005 09:45 pm C_S, I think that will do just fine. I think the point here is that we are showcasing differant levels of were HRC members are at. I am definately not affraid to ad this track to the comp at all. In my opinion it has a very raw feel to it. I personaly like that when listening to some music.
I am listening to your latest track as well. Again a very raw feel to it. I will have to give it a better listen when I get home on Sunday though for sure.
Jan 21, 2005 04:09 pm Thanks Noize, in all of my recordings I try give them a raw as possible feeling, as I dislike that "digital" and "sterile" sound that things like direct in recording gives you.
Jan 21, 2005 04:11 pm oh, but there are some warm and wonderful ways around that "sterile" sound.
Be aware that the so-called "warmth analog sound" is really just noise and distortion that you have become so accustomed to hearing...
Jan 21, 2005 04:16 pm Oh, thinking about I guess it is. Its a shame to analyse things, Warmth sounds a lot better than noise and distortion lol
Jan 21, 2005 04:28 pm mda makes this plugin called Puncher i donno if it's just an eq curve or what, but i use that alot to "warm" things up.
Jan 21, 2005 04:50 pm hey like the new Mix of Control. I can hear the things a lot clearer now:
Gonna listen to your new song right now
Jan 21, 2005 05:06 pm Hey, whosyourdaddy, where do u think you can get this plug in? Is it Free?
Yea presley , I followed the tips, and the Mix ended up a lot better, thanks again guys.
Cheers
C_S
TadpuiI am not a crook's headMember
Since: Mar 14, 2003
Jan 21, 2005 05:18 pm I think that the rhythm guitars are cleaner sounding now, I can distinguish what they're doing a bit better now. I'd like to hear just a smidge of reverb on the solo guitar, just to make it sit in the mix a little better.
I really dig this song. That main riff is awesome.
Jan 21, 2005 06:26 pm Magneto and PSP Vintage Warmer are the two best saturation plugs available. They really add that analog sound nicely.
Jan 21, 2005 06:35 pm dB, I have heard a lot about the Magneto plugin, do you have a link that I could read it about from?
Thanks Tadpui, I tried to incorporate a bit of funk in the main riffs (who doesnt love funk?) to get a rock/funk fusion going on. And I'll make sure to touch up the solo.
Jan 21, 2005 06:41 pm www.mda-vst.com/
funny i don't see the Puncher though....lemme dig a bit more
Jan 21, 2005 07:07 pm sanders, Magneto is a plugin from Steinberg. Haven't seen much about it lately, dunno if they do much with it any more, for me personally tho, in my mastering work it's probably my second most used tool next to Har-Bal.
Jan 21, 2005 07:25 pm Hey whosyourdaddy, just a thought, isnt Puncher a Plugin in Wavelab 4.0? Im pretty sure of it. Thanks for the links as well, a few these are going on my comp. as soon as i get home.
Jan 21, 2005 07:49 pm yeah, thats what I thought too, the first thing I thought of when I heard the name puncher was the steinberg plug...
Oh, sanders, also, check out www.analogx.com and www.directxfiles.com
Jan 21, 2005 07:51 pm yeah i do have some steinberg plugs, so that is a possibility, but the mda plugs all look the same and that's what i'm recalling the puncher i use is, i'll hafta check at home and get back to ya tommrow.
Jan 21, 2005 08:00 pm *gasps! An Autotune plug in? Cheers dB, I've always wanted to try one of these. Man these links are king, thanks guys. This has been a very productive day.
TheTincanbugsloppy dice, drinks twiceMember
Since: Aug 05, 2003
Jan 21, 2005 10:33 pm hey colonel - I liked it! Nice strong guitar themes, cool drums, great bridge. The doubled vocals are cool, I did hear a couple disharmonies in there but it wasn't displeasing to the ear, and I really enjoyed the high energy level in your vocals. A few of the vowel sounds were sung with a sort of unnatural "whOA - whOA" feel, I'd like to hear that voice with a little more natural sound.
The composition was interesting, and developed nicely. The bridge kind of sucked me in, I liked that a lot. In terms of sound quality, I pretty agree with Tadpui's comments above.
Very cool! thumbs up, guy
Jan 21, 2005 10:48 pm Hey, thanks Tincan bug, I dont think anybody else has mentioned about my doubled vocals as such yet. Im still workin' on the vocals quite a lot (harmonies especially), and I'll try control my "vowels" a bit more. (heh)
So how would you make a voice sound more natural, but in terms of my song, still fit it in to the whole mix? I tried only using one line of vocals (instead of doubled) but it just doesnt sound to good.
TheTincanbugsloppy dice, drinks twiceMember
Since: Aug 05, 2003
Jan 22, 2005 09:50 am Well Colonel, I'd have to say definitely keep the vocals doubled... it didn't actually have to do with the quality of the recording (which was quite good, actually), I just meant that there was a kind of unnatural, booming inflection in some of the words sung, and it was only in a few parts. 0:41 and 1:00 are two examples of what I was talking about.
About how to make it sound more natural... well if you listen to the vocal right at 0:41 on "beauty" and 1:00 on "baby"; if the words were sung in a more even tone, for example at 0:41 beauty as "byoo-tee" instead of "bYOOO-tee", and 1:00 baby as "bay-by" instead of "BAYYY-ba" - then I think it would sound a little more natural in those parts without that extra rock-style inflection.
I thought the vocals were altogether very good-sounding aside from that, and the song was good too. I definitely enjoyed listening to it!
Jan 22, 2005 08:37 pm Cheers tincanbug, I'll make sure to run the vocals again when i get back home.
Noize2uCzar of MidiAdministrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002
Jan 23, 2005 10:09 pm C_S, if you go to PSP's web site I believe ther is a demo version of the Vintage Warmer. I have really forced myself to start using that pluggin more. It is much deeper type pluggin then Magneto was, and I dearly loved Magneto. And I have tired the MDA plug as well. But Vintage Warmer is way above either of those 2 plugs. But that said it is not as easy to run either. Although they have some awsome butt kickin presets to start off with, its when you flip it into the back panel mode that you find the really tweaked out controls that make it what it is. And yes, I said back panel. PSP thought they would be cheeky and make a virtual back panel as well.
Jan 25, 2005 03:02 am Thanks noize, im looking forward to hear how well it emulates analogue devices.
A back panel aye? so its just lets you tweak the program with more depth?
Noize2uCzar of MidiAdministrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002
Jan 28, 2005 10:28 pm Ya, its like having the same control as some of the old tube analog units. I tweaked it to the point now that I am driving my outputs as hard as I can in Sonar without any digital clipping. Not sure if I have stumbled across some kind of anomally or what, but I can push Sonars outputs into the red without digital distortion using the Vintage Warmer. But the outcome is very warm and full not digital sounding at all.
Jan 31, 2005 01:48 am Hmmm, I've noticed that my tracks have come out pretty quite, and thats because I take the master faders down considerably to prevent clipping. I will defintitely give that plug-in a try. Thanks noize
