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"This one was harder." You think? Wow, Paul, you took on a monster song here!

I have a few like this in my solo singer/guitarist repertoire. My wife usually deals the reality blow that I'm reaching just a little too far. That doesn't keep me from continuing to work on them, especially if it is just a vocal range thing. The more I sing the more usable range I develop, especially by reaching for "the impossible". So I keep a "one of these days" mentality.

I see in your notes that your "Linda" was the limiting factor on how far you could take this song in your recording session. So I'll take that into account.

I, too, approach solos by just strumming the accompaniment. Not ideal, but I personally don't like when others play a naked solo on an acoustic that was recorded on a screaming electric. One guy I know will vocalize the solo while strumming; that can work pretty well depending on the song. One of these days I want to come up with arrangements but that takes a lot of time.

Changing keys from the original can be tricky, too. I've used my karaoke machine to record a reference of a cover in a different key. Still, it can be hard at performance time when the "recording in my head" is still in the original key!

Eric, thanks for the kind words.
Indeed, one more take would have turned my spouse into a Queen Killer. She's been hearing me butcher that song on a nightly basis for some time now. Practice isn't pretty, I always say....

I typically enjoy me a little wraubmusique. This is no exception. Nice little soundcloud collection you're building. Fun times, hombre!

Ciao.
--s-uu

Here's what I did after work today. I put flatwounds on the lower octave of the 12 string. Going to do the same with the wound octave strings. No over dubs. Next time I swear I'll do a complete thing the multitracker instead of one take. https://soundcloud.com/paul-kempkes/overkill-11-7-14

I like it.

Hey guys...been awhile, hope everyone's doing well!

So, here's a tune that I'm trying to finish up (mainly, just getting mix/post-prod right)...the melodic instruments are all bass (bass guitar, bass w/ synth effect, fretless bass on the short solo...plus acoustic drums and vocals)...enjoy (or pick apart, whatever toots your horn):

http://www.reverbnation.com/gruuve/song/19622906-grand-pretender-rough-draft

Cheers!
Gruuve (aka DaveSisk)

Wraub...I'm diggin' it bro!

Gruuve

www.cirrus-minor.com or our live stuff at www.cirrusminorlive.com .....

Gig last week was stellar and it recorded well. Here's a couple. I did 90 minutes on 12 string and boy where my hands tires. I put the first set on a disc and will give them to the owner and the guy who books the gigs---just in case they weren't listening.

https://soundcloud.com/paul-kempkes/logical-song-the-dock-11-13-14

https://soundcloud.com/paul-kempkes/getting-in-tune-the-dock

Paul, very nice...the 12-string sounds awesome, and so does your playing. How did you manage to get such a clean recording of a live performance?

Gruuve

Thanks very much, Gruuve;

The mic is an SM86; it's their condenser that is road-sturdy. I like it a whole lot. It went into my Carvin powered mixer. Guitar went into a Digitech RP-355 with the right and left headphone output going into one of the stereo channels of same mixer. I mixed it so it sounded good on stage-- guitar and vocal balanced properly, reverb, tamed the 12 string zzzing. Then took the "left-right tape output" of the mixer to my Tascam DR-1 recorder set at 16 bit wave. (At home on my computer I added a little more reverb.) The trick is to set the record level of the Tascam unit at the right level, but without much of a sound check to do it. I record most of my performances that way, and have gradually found the appropriate level. So I just tune up, hit the red button twice, and go. Attendance wasn't so hot at the gig, and it's a big place, and the people weren't near the stage. So with the cardioid mic, the glass-tinkling and chatter noise was minimal. Ha! Sometimes the sound of one hand clapping works to your advantage, but I'd have rather filled the place (Oh sure.....in my freakin' dreams.....) And the lower octave on the 12 string are flatwound strings. That helped a lot to fill out the bottom.

For the house, I gave the sound lady the XLR left and right out of the Digitech pedal and asked her to pan it hard right and hard left. Out of the Carvin mixer I fed her a dry "monitor out" of just the vocals. For the house, she added reverb/whatever as needed. She was pretty happy because I didn't need to get a monitor mix from her; she only had to mix the house. I like that way better also because the usual thumb up vs thumb down thing doesn't really work like we wish it did.

That set was long--I've got a 79 minute disc out of it, and it'll be my new Gig-Demo disc. I was able to keep my attention level right up--almost no brain farts. And the brain fart on the beginning of "Deacon Blues" I was able to edit out;)

Hey bass players,

my name is Peter Muller, bass player and music producer. I have a new album out and i'd be glad if you check out my music and tell me what u think.

Berlin Street Funk - Peter Muller

Stagger - Peter Muller

Thanks for your time!

BASSt

Peter

Homepage of Peter Muller

Peter Muller on CD Baby

Very funky Peter! Good musicianship from the band. I was fortunate to have performed in Berlin in 1987 with Bo Diddley and my wife, Lady Bo. Although she was received well throughout our European tour the crowd in Berlin really showed their appreciation of her talent.

Wally

Great stuff, Peter. (It helps that you are playing music which is exactly the kind of stuff that I like).

So my band put out a live album. It's free on Bandcamp. You can pay for it if you want, but you can also just download it and pay nothing. Relevance here... Mr. Dave is kind of awesome at bass.

Riff Occult: Live

I'm too old or whatever to fully appreciate the vocals, but I really liked the music.

Fun blues jam where I live. Singer and lefty guitar rock it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbOF51RMAyg

Paul K...that bass in your avatar looks suspiciously like a Steinberger Synapse. ;-)

Gruuve

You are correct, sir! Fretless 5 string.
I like it, but have no use for the piezo pickup in it.

MySpace...what? still around?

Although a few years old, my former band's MySpace site is still active. There are rough mixes of four tunes up there. Listen if you dare. I just spent a little time on nostalgia lane yesterday, and figured this morning -- What the hell? I'll just post the link.

Taft's Bathtub on the interwebz, yo.

Peace.
--s-uu

For those who have nothing better to do at this particular moment in time, here ya go. There are some trainwreck moments in Evangeline ("What song am I playing, again? Oh, yeah, now I remember."), but I think Tightrope turned out ok. You gotta figure we had never played either of these songs together before, so 'tis what it is. At the least, I think my sense of time is improving somewhat. Maybe.

Now, if I can only get the link to work...

Nice...I have the fretless and fretted versions, but I do sometimes use the piezo...even old strings always sound new with the piezo bridge!

Cheers,
Dave

new song from carol clayton

i used to play in a band with carol, but she moved to olympia, WA leaving the rest of the band in detroit, MI. but she wrote this song and we did the recording pretty much the same way we've done any recording, just a couple thousand miles away from each other. so we didn't hang out, but the process was otherwise the same.

sounds good, Robb!

I posted this in the guitar part of the forum about 2 weeks ago; might as well post it here, too.

filmed by a friend at a gig about 19 months ago; the songs are:

right before your eyes (all of it)
i want to miss you (first 2/3 of it)
build your heaven here (most of it, although the intro got clipped off)

enjoy!

Here's what I did today. I'm pleased with the vocal performance, but there's some guitar brain farts that will make this take not quite a keeper. Don't click unless you're willing to commit to the whole 7 minutes.

https://soundcloud.com/paul-kempkes/scenes-from-an-italian-restaurant-draft

So, here's some learnin' fun with the new interface and junk.
It's not quite as bad as that may sound, but that really depends on your attitude. This is about you, not me.
Don't make this about me.
Alright, I may have some problems, but don't you judge me.

Fine, judge me all you want. It's gonna happen again. You just watch...

soundcloud

Well wraub, I have nothing negative to say.

Wally

I re-recorded "Scenes From and Italian Restaurant" today.
The guitar brain farts are gone, and the guitar has more swirly. I like swirly.

https://soundcloud.com/paul-kempkes/scenes-from-an-italian-restaurant-4-4-15

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