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Certif1ed View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Topic: Post your (own) HM demos here!
    Posted: July 07 2008 at 08:00
Since my original NWoBHM "War" thread is currently borked, I'm going to stick my updates in here, until it's fixed - and also the links to my demos.
 
Things are not going according to schedule - I think I've averaged 2-2.5 hours per week "in the studio", which is half my original budget - and even less recently, with work and family commitments eating into the little spare time I have.
 
So I'm going to commit myself to the three near-complete songs I have, and try to get some mixing done - although all desperately need decent solos, vocals and drums, intros and outros.
 
Hopefully I can mock something up through software, using copy and pastes and fadeouts for the endings, but the biggest issue at the moment is mix - all 3 are at wildly different volume levels, and I need to get around that without using a ton of compression, which is going to be time-consuming.
 
As a taster, I've provided a link below to "Payback Time", which I've slated as track #1;
 
The verse vox are pretty terrible - it was a case of vocalising the first thing that came into my head, even if it was "rhubarb, rhubarb", just to get a melody established - and, since I didn't know where the melody was going to go, there are many iffy notes.
 
I also had a quick go at injecting some vocal harmonies, and occasional "screams" (falsetto drawls!) which are even worse, but serve their prototyping purpose.
 
The solo is just bluff, and full of bum notes - I just wanted something to fill in the gaps, but couldn't come up with anything in the half hour I spent that matched the decorative ideas I had for the final chorus.
 
There are no drum fills - but I did manage to put a few changes in which are pretty convincing.
 
I think the bass is a bit too much in the verses - the riffs are too busy to warrant such Lemmy-style noodling, but that's an easy fix.
 
On the subject of bass, as it's not mixed, there's no rolloff of sub 80hz freqs - so I wouldn't advise playing this on a HiFi setup, as it might knock the woofers of their cones!
 
Anyway, here it is Embarrassed
 
 
...oh yeah - the password is still NWoBHM Wink
 
 


Edited by Certif1ed - July 07 2008 at 08:27
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 07 2008 at 08:22
So. In confused, does this mean we can post stuff outside of NWOBHM in this thread given the title?

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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 07 2008 at 10:10
If you want to be true to the spirit of the moment, and the atmosphere that kicked off the whole idea, then NWoBHM style is the way to go - I'm suggesting NWoBHM only until 28th July, which is the 3-month deadline, as I started this project on 28th April.
 
I guess as long as it's metal, and all your own work, you can post whatever you like though. Generally this forum is for sharing Prog Rock, so it'd be cool to hear loads of different metal ideas.
 
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 08 2008 at 02:30
3 downloads... comments?
 
 
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 10 2008 at 03:35
Mark, unfortunately since my download limit per month is restricted to a measly 2 gigabytes before I get my connection speed cut back to 64bkps, I've been trying to conserve what I've got left to perhaps upload some of my recordings onto here.
if your files are individual, I might at the very least download one and listen to that.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 10 2008 at 03:40
Oh, wait, it seems that would only be one file there.
I already have your first posted download on my computer, test1.wav.
Mix them down to Mp3 format first if you can, it will not only take up less space, but you can upload them faster and I will be able to download more of them and more easily too.

As for how Test1.wav sounded, not bad, but not greatTongue Soloing was obviously kinda sloppy and the amount of treble/presence on the solo guitar track did admittedly have that quality that would make you want to turn it off if you were hungoverTongue
What amp model are you using for leads and what for rhythm?
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 10 2008 at 09:22
Obviously wavs sound better...
 
Test1 was just a quick experiment to get a feel for the idea of the sort of sound and style - I used the "British Metal Rhythm" setting on the TonePort for rhythm, "British Metal" for the lead, and "Tom Sawyer" for the bass (and I've stuck to those sounds for all my other tracks, for consistency). Those guitar preset "tones" are both based around the JCM800 Model.
 
I also poured compression onto the tracks to maximise the volume, and LPF'd the guitars to give them space from the bass (both of which are modern techniques) which is why the guitars sound much too modern - the treble/presence comes from me not rolling anything off in EQ, so you get the lot.
 
"Payback Time" would have been Test 19c, if I hadn't renamed it - I still can't stop myself from going off and cranking out other stuff while I'm supposed to be focussed on this project.
 
I'll re-render and re-up it as mp3 - but I'm pretty sure you can just stream it from the 4shared link?
 
 
/edit: Just checked - 5 downloads now... and you can stream it straight into embedded Media Player.
 
I've actually worked on the vocals, mix and solo since I upped this... maybe I can understand why there are no comments Embarrassed


Edited by Certif1ed - July 10 2008 at 09:35
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 10 2008 at 09:36
Lol, You're not really going to notice the difference between a 320kbps or even a 256kbps or 224kbps MP3 file compared to a 1536kbps wav file anyway, unless you have extremely good speakers (which for my computer, I don'tTongue), so I can't say I'm fussed about it not sound as goodTongue
Dial out as much presence and treble you possibly can before you start to lose clarity and good harmonics, so my guess is that about 25 per cent less which be good. A real JCM 800 doesn't even need the treble and presence all the up to get great harmonics anyway, too much and it's just painful ice pick tones.

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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 10 2008 at 09:41
I'll sort out EQ'ing and stuff when I come to do the fine-tune stuff in the mix.
 
At the moment, I need to finish the drums, work on the intro and solos, and sort the vox out.
 
If the treble hurts your ears, turn it down on your computer - it sounds just fine through my Sennheisers. Tongue
 
Anyway - try streaming it instead of downloading it. There's a Play button on the download page.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 11 2008 at 09:04
OK, I've upped an mp3 into the same folder.
 
It's called 19f, because the song "Payback Time" is based on the 19th idea I had since I began the project, and the letter refers to the number of times I worked on it, so I can diary the track.
 
I rendered a wav - and you certainly can tell the difference between it and the 320k mp3, no problems - as easily as you can tell the difference between the 16-bit wav and the 24-bit ACID project it originates from.
 
 
6 downloads and no comments?
 
Whaddya think?
 
Catchy song or not?
 
Does it have the right kind of sound and feel for NWoBHM?
 
Check here for some classic NWoBHM albums;
 
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 12 2008 at 03:53
Come on people, am I seriously the only other person that is going to respond to Mark?

Thanks for uploading it to MP3, I'll download it soon and comment on itThumbs%20Up
Honestly, the difference between a 320kbps mp3 and a Wave file is not enough to have any real negative impact on the listening experience, at least for me anyway, so I'm certainly not bothered by that.

EDIT: Very odd, can't find the mp3 versionConfused
My download limit per month is only 2 gigabytesOuch, so you can see why downloading wav format is a problem.
By the time I would have downloaded not only your stuff, but other stuff I need, I wouldn't have enough download limit left to upload my own stuff to be listened to.

I clicked on the original link on the first post again, and mp3 file still not showingConfused Try uploading it again if you can.



Edited by HughesJB4 - July 12 2008 at 03:58
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 12 2008 at 04:11
Now that Line6 finally managed to release Vista 64bit drivers, I might even record something next weekend ... I'll also download some tunes and give some feedback.Smile
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 12 2008 at 04:28
The 64 bit drivers are in, niceThumbs%20Up I'm eagerly awaiting something good from you MikeSmile
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 12 2008 at 05:30
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 12 2008 at 07:14
Downloaded 19f.mp3.
Not bad Mark, good song structure and playingThumbs%20Up But as expected, the vocals weren't exactly Rob Halford or Bruce DickinsonTongue
I'm gonna upload some sorta improvised stuff soon, mainly a riff I've written out, with some silly lead improvisation thrown in tooEmbarrassed
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 12 2008 at 16:00
What do you think about the overall production?
 
I spent about an hour re-EQing all the tracks, concentrating mainly on getting a good rhythm guitar tone; I rolled off the bass and treble on every track, although I was a bit light-handed when it came to the bass, as I hate spoiling the thunderous sound of my Thunder 1A. I may have pulled it back too much, though...
 
I also removed compression from everything except the bass (all bass players worth their salt use a compressor!), which means that the "acousticy" bit in the intro is a bit rough - but maybe that adds atmosphere?
 
Once I'd done that, I balanced the tracks through monitors (my HiFi speakers...), and finished off by adding a light hall reverb to the entire mix, then bringing the volume up to -0.3db. I completed the mastering using Wavepad (a freely donwloadable program), Normalising the entire waveform, before using Wavepad to render the Wav down to mp3. Hopefully there's enough volume and detail in the mix now.
 
 
I'm still using entirely free software (in the tight budget spirit of this project) - but I reckon I could get an even better mix out of it - it's just that my ears are a bit tired of that track now (I'm not a Pro engineer, and never have been!). Any thoughts would be helpful, as they may spark off ideas.
 
What about the mix sucks?
 
What about the mix rocks (so's I can keep it!)?
 
 
If I get some time alone in the house before 28th July (which is unlikely), I'll redo the vocals, but otherwise, that's pretty much it, short of going through the 6-7 takes I made and copying and pasting shorter sections (cheating, in other words!).
 
I'd like to hear Rob Halford improvise something better at 2:30 in the afternoon on a Sunday, in the space of an hour, including all the harmonies - and vox and harmonies for 2 other songs at the same time, none of which have pre-written lyrics or melodies.
 
I don't doubt he could do it, I'd just like to hear it, so I can nick some ideas Wink
 
Track 3 will be forthcoming shortly (track 2 needs a lot of work!).
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 14 2008 at 03:19
Originally posted by Certif1ed Certif1ed wrote:

What do you think about the overall production?

Does kinda mind me of the old 80s stuff, if that's what you're aiming forThumbs%20Up (And I'm listening to some old Judas Priest right now anyway).

I spent about an hour re-EQing all the tracks, concentrating mainly on getting a good rhythm guitar tone; I rolled off the bass and treble on every track, although I was a bit light-handed when it came to the bass, as I hate spoiling the thunderous sound of my Thunder 1A. I may have pulled it back too much, though...


Just realised we had one one of those basses at schoolTongue but think it a lower end version of what you have.
I couldn't hear a lot of bass, turn it up a little in the mix

I also removed compression from everything except the bass (all bass players worth their salt use a compressor!), which means that the "acousticy" bit in the intro is a bit rough - but maybe that adds atmosphere?

Getting rid of  the compression was nice actually, it just sounds better now and the sound isn't trying to slam itself in my face like over compressed pop, so good job thereThumbs%20Up
 
Once I'd done that, I balanced the tracks through monitors (my HiFi speakers...), and finished off by adding a light hall reverb to the entire mix, then bringing the volume up to -0.3db. I completed the mastering using Wavepad (a freely donwloadable program), Normalising the entire waveform, before using Wavepad to render the Wav down to mp3. Hopefully there's enough volume and detail in the mix now.
 
I'm still using entirely free software (in the tight budget spirit of this project) - but I reckon I could get an even better mix out of it - it's just that my ears are a bit tired of that track now (I'm not a Pro engineer, and never have been!). Any thoughts would be helpful, as they may spark off ideas.
 
What about the mix sucks?
 
What about the mix rocks (so's I can keep it!)?

The mix is fairly good, but not great, work on it a little.
 
 
If I get some time alone in the house before 28th July (which is unlikely), I'll redo the vocals, but otherwise, that's pretty much it, short of going through the 6-7 takes I made and copying and pasting shorter sections (cheating, in other words!).
 
I'd like to hear Rob Halford improvise something better at 2:30 in the afternoon on a Sunday, in the space of an hour, including all the harmonies - and vox and harmonies for 2 other songs at the same time, none of which have pre-written lyrics or melodies.
 
I don't doubt he could do it, I'd just like to hear it, so I can nick some ideas Wink

LOL


Haha, don't worry, you have the advantage of perfect pitch so even if your voice isn't 'great' at least it's in tune. Since I don't have perfect pitch Cryand have never had singing lessons, I couldn't ever expect to be in keyLOL I usually laugh at my own attempts to singEmbarrassedTongue

Track 3 will be forthcoming shortly (track 2 needs a lot of work!).

Looking forward to itSmile
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 15 2008 at 03:46
OK, here's track 3, AKA Test20e, AKA "Just The Way It Goes": http://www.4shared.com/file/55239174/75ac0f0e/20e.html
 
Apologies again for the soloing - I'm still trying to find a decent overall shape for it, so the noodle that's there will act as filler until I've worked out the tunes and chops. What's important at the moment is overall song structuring, melodies and general 1980s metal feel in the mix.
 
The vox are too far back in the mix, I realise that now, and the backing "ooos" aren't supposed to go with every chorus iteration - my fault for block copying and pasting - but I think I've got the bass guitar in the right place now.
 
I think this is my favourite of the 3 that are currently pencilled in for the EP - the lyrics make me laugh, as I'd just finished reading "The LIght Fantastic" by Terry Pratchett, so there's a lot of that in there.
 
 
I've also upped this (a 4mb mp3 - but again, you can stream it), which was something I wrote when I was supposed to be concentrating on this project - you know how easy it is to get side-tracked... I haven't mixed it at all, so all the boomy low freqs are there, along with the "ice-pick" highs.
 
 
The interesting thing about this is that I recorded all the guitar parts DI'd into the Pod (on which the JCM 800 was dialled up)  AND recorded live using my Shure SM-58 pointed at my Laney 45 combo amp, cranked up to feedback level - not so it fed back all the time, but as soon as I clicked in the active circuitry on my Thunder 1A guitar. So the rhythm parts are all on the edge of feedback, there's hum when the actives are kicked in, and I've basically alternated the two fun guitar licks with bass and feedback.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 19 2008 at 12:01
Originally posted by Certif1ed Certif1ed wrote:

and also the links to my demos.


Cert,
no matter how hard I try i cannot access this file...sorry.
can you upload it to your myspace and/or garageband pages ?

also, do you have your own personal web site ?






Edited by Utah Man - July 19 2008 at 12:02
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 20 2008 at 03:34
Tried to get a listen also, but it appears as if only registered users can access it....
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