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Posted by: Andrew Cockburn Jul 27 2007, 12:42 AM

Hello everyone!

I had a bit of luck with this -

I was in a bar and they had a kind of rocky Jazz act going, called the Dave Lopola band - they gig a lot in Southern Connecticut, good band, professionals. Anyway, long story short, I got talking to Dave and told him about GMC, mentioned the collaborations and he offered the bands help to make a backing track for us!

I couldn't refuse, so I went down to one of their rehersals yesterday with a couple of mics, my laptop and copy of reaper and got this after a little mixing. That's me on the microphone calling the changes, felt like I had my own band Oh, and Daves only condition was that he could put a sax solo in the middle, it didn't seem a lot to ask!

Its an A minor progression, based on an old standard called "The Work Song", 140 bpm, would suit minor pentatonic well. There is room for 6 solos, 16 bars each. Who's up for it?

Thanks to Dave and the band, in order:

• Dave Lapola on Sax
• Chuck Smith on drums (sorry about making you play to a metronome dude!)
• Frank Morotta on Bass
• Jim "pick" Avercourt on lead guitar
• And yours truly playing the rythm

I had a great time and we got a cool backing track out of it!

The rules are the same as for Daves collaboration, first 6 takers are in, please make sure you can record before you volounteer ....

I will be travelling on business all next week, so won't be able to mix this until the weekend after this, so sign up quickly, but take your time practicing and recording!

Posted by: Guitar34 Jul 27 2007, 01:02 AM

Sweet! Good job on finding this!




Them guys!****

Posted by: ezravdb Jul 27 2007, 03:13 PM

Sounds cool!
So, when you say take blabla and then after the sax your part starts?

Posted by: Andrew Cockburn Jul 27 2007, 03:17 PM

Doesn't really matter where you record it - your solo should be once through the entire chord progression. 16 bars. There are 6 of those free in the entire song, so record it any place you want and when I edit it I'll put them all in some sort of sequence.

Are you in?

Posted by: MickeM Jul 27 2007, 03:32 PM

Andrew!!!! You're the coolest!

That rocks, count me in for sure!

EDIT: Got to restring my LP, the Ibanez doesn't cut it
EDIT2: I know my pentatonic scale. If there are too many interested I'm offering my spot.

Posted by: jeff Jul 27 2007, 03:53 PM

I just did Walliman's so is it ok to get in on this one as well? I want to pass the gravy around though, but this tune would be killer to play so let me know - if so, yes I am in!

Posted by: Andrew Cockburn Jul 27 2007, 03:55 PM

Strictly first come forst served, so you are in along with MickeM, and Ezra as a possible ...



Wow, I'm honoured

Posted by: jeff Jul 27 2007, 04:14 PM

Mike - did you use the Ibanez on Walliman's? I thought it sounded good.

Posted by: MickeM Jul 27 2007, 05:43 PM

Thanks, yes it was, neck pu and with the Guitarport, a Marshall setting if I remember well.

For this I was thinking LP with a clean(ish) setting. I wish I had my Peavey at home so I could mike it up.
...or I wish I had the Laney 5W Lionheart

Posted by: Nick325 Jul 27 2007, 05:53 PM

so you would have to write a solo in pentatonic?

Posted by: jeff Jul 27 2007, 05:57 PM

So many choices so little time! I was thinking of a distorted bluesy lead but clean would be cool too! Now you've got me thinking too much!

5W? Do you need all that power?!

Posted by: ezravdb Jul 27 2007, 05:59 PM

Yeah, yeah count me in

Posted by: Andrew Cockburn Jul 27 2007, 06:35 PM

Yep, would be nice

A mix of clean/bluesy distortion will work really well I think - I would put the clean stuff in first, then turn up the power by including more distorted solos later on



OK!

Posted by: Nick325 Jul 27 2007, 06:52 PM

is it just a pentatonic solo?

Posted by: Andrew Cockburn Jul 27 2007, 07:52 PM

No solo is JUST a solo

Its up to you - pentatonic/blues/minor would all work well.

Posted by: Nick325 Jul 27 2007, 09:43 PM

alright let me just finish my other one for david and ill let you know

Posted by: Andrew Cockburn Jul 27 2007, 10:32 PM

3 Definates so far - any more takers?? C'mon guys!

Posted by: MickeM Jul 27 2007, 11:11 PM

I can only agree! Come one! Or else I will make 16 bars

People, you must realize this backingtrack so rocks!!! \m/


I have a solo ready but will try this weekend to see if I can record it better. It's not entiry clean but overdriven and I had no strings home to restring the LP so I played the Ibanez.

Posted by: Andrew Cockburn Jul 27 2007, 11:14 PM

Heh, the assignment already is 16 bars, but don't make MickeM play 32 bars!!!

Posted by: MickeM Jul 28 2007, 12:04 PM

Don't you hate what beer does to you... heh

Posted by: Andrew Cockburn Jul 28 2007, 01:59 PM

No

Posted by: Layzer Jul 28 2007, 02:07 PM

Im in if i have some time... how long till it's "due"?

EDIT: woops i got 2 finals next week and can't get in done by next weekend!! boo.....good track tho!

Posted by: Andrew Cockburn Jul 28 2007, 02:23 PM

No probs - I am suggesting that everyone takes several days to put something high quality together - absolutely no rush since I won;t be able to mix it until next weekend, so you are in!!

That makes 4, 2 slots left, we are still in danger of MickeM playing 32 bars

C'mon everyone, what have you got to lose???

Posted by: Iluha Jul 28 2007, 08:44 PM

Ok I'm in, as long as I'll manage to find the time.

Posted by: mattacuk Jul 28 2007, 08:53 PM

Andrew, call me dim ( please ) but im not exactly sure how this works!

Posted by: MickeM Jul 28 2007, 10:59 PM

No problem, Dim.

You download the backingtrack from Andrews first post.

Then you add the mp3 to the sequencer of your choise. After that you record your solo part over 16 bars.
Listen through the entire song first and you'll know where to start your solo.

After you recorded your solo you mute the backingtrack and export your solo to a mp3 file. Post it here and Andrew will if his time allows mix all the mp3's with the original backingtrack and post the final song for us.

You're in, right?

You need to be able to record your playing to your computer and make it an mp3.


Me neither

It actually struck me in the car this morning wether I said 16 or 32 and crossed my fingers I said 32, but usual luck. Wierd thing to think of all of a sudden.
I'm just glad I'm no samurai since a mistake like mine would call for harakiri.

Posted by: mattacuk Jul 28 2007, 11:55 PM

Sounds good if i had recording software id do it myself

Posted by: Andrew Cockburn Jul 29 2007, 03:26 AM

Matt, You're dim But MickeM explained it pretty well!

Are you in???

Posted by: JOhn Jul 29 2007, 03:41 AM

ill do it if no one else wants to

Posted by: mattacuk Jul 29 2007, 08:49 AM

Id love to have a go but i really have no clue how to use a sequencer

Posted by: JOhn Jul 29 2007, 09:12 AM

i don't even know what one is

Posted by: Layzer Jul 29 2007, 09:47 AM

Whoops! sorry Andrew... you misunderstood, i can't partake! sorry!

Posted by: MickeM Jul 29 2007, 10:33 AM

Download Reaper, it's free. It's URL is in the recording sticky.

You have to have a soundcard where you can connect a mike or your guitar.


It's a software program or a hardwar thingy where you can record/edit music.

Posted by: JOhn Jul 29 2007, 11:48 AM

so i can connect a cheap mic to my computer and just play right?

Posted by: AudunESP Jul 29 2007, 11:52 AM

is it any spaces left for me?

Posted by: MickeM Jul 29 2007, 12:01 PM

That would be possible. Put the mike close to the amp aimed to the cone, center or sideways aiming for center or side of cone.
If you just put it war away you'll end up with a bad youtube kind of recording.

You would have to have ASIO drivers for recording. They provide low latency. Blindwilly linked to ASIO drivers in a previous post a week ago or so. Look for it.

Posted by: Andrew Cockburn Jul 29 2007, 01:23 PM

If you do it this way, you need to make sure that you do not record the backing track as welll - it has to be JUST the guitar otherwise mixing will be very hard. This is possible if you have a sepoarate AMP and a microphone, and use headphones to listen to the backing track as you play.

According to my calculations we now have the following people:

MickeM
jeff
Ezra

Possibles:

Matt
John
AudunESP

So if all the possibles sign up we are full!

But, PLEASE make sure you have the right equipment to record before you sign up - if you didn't understand MickeM's recording explanation, you probably don't qualify ... but, its worth taking the time to download Reaper and play with it, that way, next time you will be ready!

Ok, a couple of rules that I need you all to understand.

1. You must record exactly 16 bars. To do this you need to use software that understands bars and timeing - like Cubase, Logic Repaer etc. When you import the backing track, you tell the software the tempo and it then displays the bar lines so you know where you are. After you record, I need you to cut your recording to an exact number of bars - this makes it possible to import the recording and get the timing to l;ine up with the backing track., If you don;t get this exact I have to guess and that can be hard, so please please make sure you do this.

2. 16 bars only! Your solo must be done by the first note of the 17th bar or I will cut it short - its not fair to the guy after you if you have some monster feedback note fading off into oblivion all through the start of his finely crafted solo.

Ok, one agaion, whos up for it???

Posted by: mattacuk Jul 29 2007, 02:04 PM

OK im in. Just one thing, how do i know which 16 bars of the backing track am i playing for?

Posted by: Andrew Cockburn Jul 29 2007, 02:25 PM

Cool !

Pick any 16 that coincide with once through the progression - there are 6 slots available discounting the Sax sols. I'll take the various solos and arrange them in some sort of order through the song.

Posted by: AudunESP Jul 29 2007, 08:33 PM

OK! im in!

Posted by: ezravdb Jul 29 2007, 08:36 PM

So, when I set Reaper at 140 BPM, the green lines tell me at how much bars I am right?

Posted by: Owen Jul 30 2007, 01:24 AM

I'll have a crack at it if theres still spaces left.

Hopefully I wont mess up the sound aspect too bad

Posted by: Andrew Cockburn Jul 30 2007, 03:37 AM

Exactly - thwe mp3 starts at a bar boundary, so as long as the temp is set right the bars will be exact (you can change the ruler on the top from time to beats and bars by right clicking)

Ok, no we're officially full:

MickeM
jeff
Ezra
Matt
AudunESP
Owen

Dont rush it guys, looking forward to hearing the solos

Posted by: JOhn Jul 30 2007, 09:22 AM

aww i was gonna do it lol

Posted by: Iluha Jul 30 2007, 07:36 PM

Dude! I said I'm in before half the guys you put in, and you didn't include me! me sad

Posted by: Owen Jul 30 2007, 07:41 PM

Your right, you asked before I did, if you really want to give it a shot you can have my place if you want?

Posted by: Iluha Jul 30 2007, 07:44 PM

No man go ahead, I'll probably won't have enough time to record it anyway, next time I'll jump in a collaboration sooner looking forward to hearing this colaboration

Posted by: muris Jul 31 2007, 01:20 AM

would love to play here!!
How many bars may I take,duration?

Ahh,I missed post above,it's closed ...

Posted by: Andrew Cockburn Jul 31 2007, 03:16 AM

My Apologies I have been a little rushed over the last couple of days, obviously didn't read the posts right ... I'll make the number one spot for you in the next one of these I do, ok?



Would have loved to have had you onboard .... but, theres already 2 of you, so maybe we can do 2 versions if enough others are interested ...

Posted by: Owen Jul 31 2007, 03:32 PM

I'm having fun with this one,

First I thought I'd DI it into my pc, but the hum of the amp being on is just unbearable and I couldnt get rid of it in Reaper.

So I thought, great, what can I do now, my mic stand is broken... so, with some major sellotaping (pics to come ) I finally managed to get my mic to hold in it for recording the amp speaker, and its sounding much better now.

Unfortunately I was improvising to the track this morning and my Dad comes in and starts shouting how I'm out of key, ¬__¬

Conversation went like this :

"Thats by far out of key, thats flat"
"It cant be out of key, this is the A minor pentatonic, the track is in A minor and I tuned up my guitar five minutes ago"
"Your still out of key"
"No, thats impossible"
*He Picks Up My Acoustic and gets a few notes in key, then flops out of key*
"That's out of key, you moved out the box"
"No it isnt"
*Random arguing for the next half hour*

Posted by: mattacuk Jul 31 2007, 05:42 PM

Ok guys i need some help on recording my work please

can you tell me how to ;

A: load andrews mp3 into the sequencer.

and

B: Record my solo once ive plugged everything in !

thanks

Posted by: Owen Jul 31 2007, 06:17 PM

Assuming you've got your ASIO4ALL set up.

First, half the window so its taking up only half of your monitor, then drag andrews mpeg file into the blank area of the sequencer.

Once you've done that, right click underneath the panel that is labelled "GMC collaboration blah blah blah" and select insert track.

After you've done that, press the little dot under the track number so that it turns red and is ready to record.

Then just click the other record button at the move to end/start/pause ect ect, and it should start recording.

Andrew, here's my solo, its by no means brilliant, but I've been sitting here all morning trying to get something coherent and I'm pretty sure I'm in key for all of it.

Posted by: mattacuk Jul 31 2007, 06:36 PM

Andrew - great instructions thanks. Whats an ASIOALL though??

Posted by: Owen Jul 31 2007, 06:49 PM

Andrew!

ASIO is sounddrivers specifically designed to lower the latency of your recording on the pc.

If you use a line 6 product like the Pod Xt then chances are you already have something like that set up automatically.

But if your just recording directly into a sound card then it'd be advisable to download the ASIO4ALL drivers http://www.asio4all.com/

To use them you simply run the installer, when its finished go into reaper and choose from the dropdown menu:

Options >> Preferences >> Audio >> Device

Then change the Audio system to "ASIO" and apply.

Hope that helps

Posted by: Andrew Cockburn Jul 31 2007, 06:58 PM

That was Owen not me

Ok, ASIO is a low latency driver standard for audio recording. Most high end cards come with ASIO drivers, yours likely doesn't ASIO4ALL is among other things a universal driver and will add ASIO support for your soundcard, so download it, install it and set your audio driver to ASIO in reaper preferences.

Now, this part is important ...

In order to make this collaboration work, I need to take 6 mp3 files and importthem to a project. Since mp3 files have no built in notion of musicalness, it can be hard to get them to start and end in time to the backing track as I basically have to manually align them. Sometimes it is not at all obvious how to do this as I don;t know the timing an intention of the solo, it is always up for interpretation.

To get around this we need to do the following.

1. After you import the track, set the temp of the project to 140bpm

2. Set the time units of your ruler to beats and bars (right click on it and select the appropriate option)

3. The backing track is aligned to a bar boundary, so make sure that wehn you import it you slide it along until it starts at an exact bar.

4. When you record and output your solo, give it to me starting on an exact bar boundary.

If you do all of the above the timing will be exactly as youintended it. If you don;t I will have to guess and may get it wrong.

So, go ahead and get something recorded - your next challenge will probably be to get the mp3 track output in isolation - let us know when you are ready for that and we'll tell you what to do






Cool - can't check it against the backing track for a few days, but it seem like the right length, and very nicely recorded - looks like mic + speaker worked out well!

Regarding the whole out of tune thing ... sounds like you have a chorus or other pitch effect on it, that might be causing that. It doesn't sound too severe though and should be fine against the backing track.

Posted by: Owen Jul 31 2007, 07:11 PM

Thanks, I think I have my mic to thank for that, it's quite good despite the amount I paid for it.

Nah, earlier I never had the chorus on, so it wasnt that, I quite like the chorus sound though, its got a nice symphonic effect methinks.

I had it marked as starting around the 27th beat, so its probably best situated there if thats possible.

Posted by: mattacuk Jul 31 2007, 07:12 PM

Sorry I did know it was Owen and i meant to thank him - but I guess andrews brain washed me with his Jazz music

Posted by: mattacuk Jul 31 2007, 07:25 PM

Andrew which is the exact option to set the ruler to beat and bars? Also, i have installed the drive but i cannot find the option in the prefrences to use that driver.


thanks!

Posted by: Owen Jul 31 2007, 07:48 PM

Like so:



and to set the beats:





Edit : My apologies, I stretched the page there. Image has been sized down.

Posted by: Andrew Cockburn Jul 31 2007, 08:02 PM

perfect!

Posted by: mattacuk Jul 31 2007, 09:43 PM

VERY nice work Owen thanks

Posted by: Owen Jul 31 2007, 09:46 PM

Your welcome!

Posted by: mattacuk Aug 1 2007, 03:42 PM

OK guy, i managed to record a solo but when i played it back it had this horendous dirty hissing sound ! really really bad,any ideas wat causing this?

Posted by: AudunESP Aug 4 2007, 05:44 PM

well, now i've recorded the solo and stuff! what shall i do now? shall i E-mail the file to you, or make it into an mp3 file and post it on the page?
BTW, i used Cubase LE to record it.

Posted by: MickeM Aug 4 2007, 05:55 PM

Andrew, I have a clip that I did with the Ibanez. On the other hand I've got strings now for the LP so I will try to get that clip posted in time. Just have to clean the fretboard, frets, oil it and restring it. *puh*


make an mp3 and upload it to this thread

Posted by: atomix1337 Aug 4 2007, 07:27 PM

Is there still room?

Posted by: JVM Aug 4 2007, 07:59 PM

I'd be willing to sign on for a second version if that's still an option

Posted by: jeff Aug 5 2007, 03:51 AM

Andrew - here's mine. I must say it's a little sloppy though. I definitely need metronome practice. I appreciate any and all feedback from everyone. Thanks for doing this. You help to make GMC a great place!

Posted by: Nick325 Aug 5 2007, 04:00 AM

jeff could you send me the tab for that. i like some of your licks you put in there

Posted by: jeff Aug 5 2007, 04:39 AM

Thanks! I'll have to tab it out. To be honest, I never write anything down, but I'll give it a shot. Do you have GP5?

Posted by: Andrew Cockburn Aug 5 2007, 03:16 PM

Cool - keep 'em coming guys, I'll have a look at these tomorrow now probbly.

There is no room for this one but I might re-run it soon, as I think we probably alreadu have 3-4 takers.

Posted by: exorcyze Aug 5 2007, 08:45 PM

I'd probably be game for giving it a shot on the next one. I was already planning on playing around with this when I got some time. =)

Posted by: Nick325 Aug 5 2007, 08:52 PM

no but is that the one you have to pay for or is it the free one?

i just downloaded the demo for it but will it still let u send me it?

Posted by: AudunESP Aug 5 2007, 10:11 PM

Now im done with mine! its my first attemt making a solo, think i messed the rythm up in some parts.
It doesnt sound THAT bad to the backing track

 Worksong_AudunESP.mp3 ( 426.13K ) : 193

Posted by: jeff Aug 6 2007, 04:46 PM

I'll post it when I'm done in GP5 format. But I think I can also export it to text format and send it to you that way. I'll check it out when I get home from work. I paid for mine but I think you can use the free demo version for a while. I'm not sure but give it a shot.

Posted by: Andrew Cockburn Aug 6 2007, 10:36 PM

Ok, I have 3 solos so far - Owen, Jeff, and AudunESP. Feel free to berate me soundly if I missed anyone ...

Still waiting for MickeM, Ezra, and Matt. No pressure, just want to make sure I haver it right so far Take all the time you need to get it right.

Posted by: MickeM Aug 6 2007, 11:13 PM

My LP is polished, cleaned and I've oiled the fret board. It's getting new strings tomorrow, 010 - 046.

And what's more(?) interesting(?) is that I isolated the bridge pu (Super distortion) with aluminum tape, the neck pu is left untouched. We'll see if there's any improvement.

Don't expect any miracles, I think the tone will be right but the playing unfortunately stays the same

Posted by: Andrew Cockburn Aug 6 2007, 11:39 PM

No worries, I can put up with the playing as long as the guitar is clean and restrung

Posted by: jeff Aug 8 2007, 07:27 PM

nice pick screams you put in there. It's kinda weird listening to it without the backing track isn't it? that's what I found with mine. On the other hand, it really gives you good opportunity to see where you can improve. Next time I'll set the metronome to the beats of the song and see if I can play without any backing track at all. Maybe paste in and experiment with it that way. Good job man!

Posted by: Nick325 Aug 8 2007, 07:29 PM

i downloaded the free version of gp5 so u can send it to whenever you want or however it works

Posted by: MickeM Aug 9 2007, 04:25 PM

Andrew, sorry about the late post, I should have had something posted last weekend already but the extra time allowed for me to post something I'm happy with.

Les Paul on the bridge DiMarzio Super distortion., bright tone setting. Soldano SLO-100 amp in Guitarport + vintage 30's.

One without backingtrack and one with
With BT -  Andrew_collaboration2_w_bt.mp3 ( 1.05MB ) : 209

Without BT -  Andrew_collaboration2_wobt.mp3 ( 1.05MB ) : 187

Posted by: Andrew Cockburn Aug 9 2007, 04:49 PM

Sounds great, and don't worry, you aren't the last ... is he Matt/Ezra?

Still no rush guys, get something you are happy with before you post it.

Posted by: AudunESP Aug 9 2007, 05:27 PM

HEHE! well, 2 of the 3 pick screams i had wasnt actuallty pick screams, it was me righthandtapping with my pick, holding it there, and doing some bendings/vibratos with the left hand, something i came up with myself *proud*

Posted by: Andrew Cockburn Aug 18 2007, 04:04 AM

Calling Matt & Ezra - any ETA for your contributions?

Posted by: mattacuk Aug 18 2007, 04:06 AM

Hi Andrew! Sorry im nearly there. I started recording but then i caught some crappy virus again. Will be post soon!

Posted by: Andrew Cockburn Aug 18 2007, 04:10 AM

Oops! Get well soon!

Posted by: jeff Aug 20 2007, 10:55 PM

Hey Nick, sorry for the late response but I've been away on vacation last week. I've tabbed out what I think is closest to what I played. At least it's close enough to get an idea of some of the riffs. actually tabbed they way it should be played minus all of the mistakes that I made. Since it's improv and tabbed afterwards there may be a note or two in the wrong place and I apologize again for my messy lead. Anyway, let me know if this works for you or if you have any more questions. Done in GP5.

[attachment=1359:attachment]

Posted by: ezravdb Aug 21 2007, 02:38 AM

Sorry for the late response...
I'm really busy with the lessons on the Aspiring instructors board.

If somebody wants he or she can take my place !!

Posted by: exorcyze Aug 21 2007, 04:32 AM

I'd love to take the spot if you're sure you're not going to have time - though I'd probably want a couple days to solidify if that's ok.

Either way, just lemme know.

Posted by: Andrew Cockburn Aug 21 2007, 04:43 AM

Fine with me if you guys work it out - still waiting for Matts contribution so there is no rush.

Posted by: ezravdb Aug 21 2007, 06:02 AM

Exorcyze you can take my spot.
Good Luck

Posted by: Andrew Cockburn Aug 21 2007, 06:16 AM

Done ! Over to you Exorcyze!

Posted by: exorcyze Aug 21 2007, 12:09 PM

Smooth, thanks. I threw together something that I think I like and got it tracked, but would am going to try and spend tomorrow evening refining it to get a cleaner take. =)

Posted by: exorcyze Aug 22 2007, 08:18 AM

Yay, my third solo! ( sorry these are fun and exciting, heh )

Here's mine, quickly improved something I kinda liked and then just refined it - didn't want to hold things up too long!

Feedback is welcome and appreciated! =)

Posted by: mattacuk Aug 22 2007, 09:07 PM

Hi guys,
Im really sorry but im going to have to give up my spot. As you know ive been really ill recently i have alot on my plate. Im sure gmc has many talented members who can take up this challenege!

Matt

Posted by: Andrew Cockburn Aug 22 2007, 09:12 PM

Sorry to lose you Matt, you'll join in the next one right?

Ok, I think Muris was next in line - Muris, are you up for it?



Thanks for this - sounding good!

Posted by: muris Aug 22 2007, 09:20 PM

Yep,I'm in!
I'll do recording tomorrow tho.

Posted by: Andrew Cockburn Aug 22 2007, 09:27 PM

Cool, glad to have you on board Muris - hopefully you've take Daves comments about the Lydian collab on board and improved your playing a little

Posted by: mattacuk Aug 22 2007, 09:47 PM

Of course id love too! I also thought of maybe Muris for this one as hes so darned good

Posted by: muris Aug 22 2007, 10:17 PM

I did it already

Used straight A min pentatonic tho.
And David was right so I've practiced a lot.

Thanks David!! :


 Pentatonic_Rock_Collab_Muris_w_BT.mp3 ( 753.16K ) : 187

 Pentatonic_Rock_Collab_Muris.mp3 ( 753.16K ) : 157

Posted by: Andrew Cockburn Aug 23 2007, 09:59 AM

Cool!!!!!

We're all done, I'll mix it an let you all hear it with comments tomorrow

Posted by: Andrew Cockburn Aug 27 2007, 08:47 AM

After a delay I have finally mixed this - and let me say, everyone has made an excellent contribution, the end result speaks for itself !

I wasn't entirely truthful when I told you what was going on on this backing track - in fact it wasn't just me at the Frank Lapola band rehearsal, our very own MickeM was going through JFK on business, and was able to make the rehearsal too - he recorded his lead live along with the band - thats him tuning up at the beginning

As is customary I will give you all my feedback on your efforts, feel free to argue or ignore. To make it a little different I'll also give you all mixing notes and my observations on your tone and recording technique so we can all learn something extra.

So, the brief was a pentatonic rock solo - but we were free and easy about that.

So, kicking us off was:

MickeM

Very competent solo - nothing too flashy, but some great articulation tone and vibrato, it was well worth dusting off the Les Paul. Bang on in terms of the brief, a powerful well but together solo, played well within your abilities.

Tone was excellent - did you mic up an amp for this? To mix this I just threw it in, no eq or other adjustments necessary. The tone cuts very well through the mix and didn't need any help, apart from a little reverb to widen it a little and sit it in the mix better.


Auden

A very different style of solo here. Definate shred elements going on, the speed picking runs fit well, and I particularly liked the wailing bends - outside the pentatonic but extremely effective. The last 4 bars seemed to be a little off the scale, and the ending note definately was, making the ending a little weak, but overall an great effort.

Your tone had a little high end fizz to it - I cut that out with a steep high ciut filter above 3khz, which tidied it up nicely and brought out more of the character of the guitar. Finally I added some reverb.

You seem to have a lot of hum on your setup which I couldn't filter out - not sure why that is but its definately worth fixing that if you want to do more recording.

Owen

A very solid pentatonic solo, all notes on scale with the exception of the last note. Like MickeM you did a good job of playing within your abilities which I prefer to see over someone pushing the limits and sounding strained (we've all done it - me included!)

Your guitar seems to have a heavy chorus effect on it or similar. This has the effect of making it sound like the tuning is drifting in and out. I know it isn't your pitching but it still sounds like you aren't hitting the notes right. I would suggest for future lead you dispense with this (its fine chord for work though).

Youe solo need some fairly mild EQ to make it sit in the mix and to tame the pitch shift a little. I added a 4.5db boost at 400hz to give it a little more body, 6db cuts centered around 1400 and 7000 to tame some of the pitch shifting, and take some of the top end off, since it allready was cutting through well. Finally a little reverb helped sit it into the mix.

Exorcyze

Another great performance, a nice rythmic pentatonic riff that really grooved along with the backing. A couple of triplet passages really added to the variety - well played , with a nice harmonic at the end

Your tone was extremely fizzy and didn't sit well in the mix until I drastically cut the high end above 4500hz. When I did this I discovered a pretty pleasant tone. After the cut it sounded a little lacking in brightness, but it was better than the fizzing. Some reverb added as well.

Jeff

An extremely good performance Jeff - a very classic rock/blues kind of vibe to your solo. Well played, extremely expressive, with an interesting climax, excellent job!

Your tone as I have noticed before is really excellent - I am guessing you miked up an amp to get this - if it is effects I want to know what they are! The only slight criticism I have is that assuming you did mig up an amp, there is a lot of the room coming through which makes it a little harder to mix. In this case, not a problem but something to bear in mind. I made some very minor tweaks to tame a little of the rooms boxiness, but barely touched it, and added a little reverb.

And finally Muris ...

Muris

I'm glad to see that you took Daves advice from the last collaboration and went back to basics. Its clear to see that you have made a lot of progress playing individual notes, you now need to concentrate on stringing them together to make a coherent solo, rather than playing random notes. I suggest you learn the minor pentatonic scale as a first step, starting woth the first box, and using a metronome to help you with your timing at about 30bpm.

Who am I kidding ? Muris aced it again That was amazing man - quirky, expressive, perfectly timed, technically impressive, about as far from Pentatonic rock as you can get, yet every note was bang on and perfect.

I wish I could give you some advice with your tone, but annoyingly, your tone was perfect too. Undefinable, it sounds almost like a synth in part because the playing is so amazingly clean. In addition, the delay you have on there sufficiently widened the sound so no reverb was necessary, avoiding addition of muddiness.

Not only can you play, you can also record too

Thats it, I hope you guys enjoyed this as much as I did

Regards,

Andrew

Posted by: Iluha Aug 27 2007, 10:12 AM

Great job, really liked it!

Posted by: JVM Aug 27 2007, 10:37 AM

Good job everyone!

Posted by: Wallimann Aug 27 2007, 11:20 AM

Just listened to the final mix and read all the comments.
This was a great collab!
Very cool stuff in there and Andrew, you did a great job mixing the whole thing!
Sounded very coherant all together.
Bravo!!!

Posted by: MickeM Aug 27 2007, 05:31 PM

Thank for not cutting my track this time around

I recorded with the Line6 Guitarport. Hope next time I will be able to mick up an amp.

Thanks for your effort Andrew!

Posted by: jeff Aug 28 2007, 12:19 AM

Andrew,

Thanks for allowing me the opportunity to play on this. It was really fun. I appreciate your hard work and comments. I am much harder on myself and was not very pleased with my results. Thanks for the positive feedback!

For my tone, I used a PODxt straight into the PC and used Reaper as the recording software. I didn't mic anything. I used Lavendell's file that I downloaded from Winding Roads. The difference this time around is that I used a 50th Anniversary Stratocaster vs. a PRS on the first collaboration. I state 50th Anniversary because the pick-ups are different vs. a standard Strat in that is has the SCN noiseless pickups which are hotter. I used the bridge pick-up. Perhaps there is a setting in the PODxt which I hit by accident that made it hotter and gave it that roomy sound? I'll have to check it out.

The only other thing about my solo is that I either had it out of time or it got mixed a little late because it sounds out of time compared to the others. I might have to look again at what I sent you because perhaps I sent the wrong version or started the lead out of time and you had to try to fix it??? Sorry about that.

Anyway, again I really appreciate it and I'd like to start one of these myself because they are fun!

Posted by: Owen Aug 28 2007, 01:28 AM

I sound a bit better in this one, but man, I just realised I bummed the last note now that you mentioned it... ahh.

^__^

Muris,dude it pains me to say this, but I couldnt stand your solo! - it hurt my ears, your technique lacks consistancy and it was just a complete mess

Posted by: Andrew Cockburn Aug 28 2007, 02:37 AM

Cool - looks like everyone gets better tone than me out of Line 6 stuff

I think that you must have used a small room reverb on the patch then - that made it a little harder to mix, but the plus is I thought it was a real amp

I'm happy to fix the timing if I messed it up - I'll go and check it now.

EDIT: Maybe you could send me a version with the BT mixed in so I can hear how you intended it to be?

Posted by: AudunESP Aug 30 2007, 03:07 AM

I like your comment! im glad for that!
but i have to argue about the last four beeing out of scale.
Well, as much as i remember i played them all in E-minor pentatonic, except from the second last note at the 12th bar.
You'r right about the ending though note though, i dont remember what i played

-btw. my name is Audun, not Auden

Posted by: Andrew Cockburn Aug 30 2007, 03:29 AM

Sorry, Audun

The song was actually in A minor, so an EM pentatonic wouldn't quite fit all of it, perhaps that was the problem?

Posted by: exorcyze Aug 30 2007, 04:23 AM

Andrew,

Thanks for the great collaboration and wonderful feedback. I'd like to work on the issues with my tone / recording setup when I get some time in the near future if you'd be willing to help give feedback on that?

Thanks again!

Posted by: Andrew Cockburn Aug 30 2007, 04:24 AM

Absolutely - glad you enjoyed it

Posted by: Kristofer Dahl Sep 7 2007, 10:02 PM

I completely missed this one being finished!

Awesome work Andrew - one can tell you have a lot of recording experience!

The sax lead was awesome and all contributors did a good job, except Muris of course. (Sorry to join the bashing team - but that last run was reeaally cool )