Cowtothesky Posted August 12, 2008 Share Posted August 12, 2008 Hey folks, I just uploaded a brand new song I wrote called "Find A Way". This is the 1st song with my new gear (synth and digital recorder). I would love to hear your comments about it! www.myspace.com/cowtothesky Thanks, Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1-0-0-1-0-0-1 Posted August 12, 2008 Share Posted August 12, 2008 You definitely know who to write and play a prog song. There's a lot about that song that impresses me, but a couple of things that bug me. I LOVE the keyboard intro. The sounds are perfect, and that little speed-up/slow-down moment in the background is killer. It all sounds kind of Floyd-ish, and it's cool. Love the heavy bass and guitar riff. Great riff, well played. But I do not like the guitar sound. It's fuzzy and buzzy and I think it takes away from the heaviness of the riff. That riff should hit you in the chest, but the tone is too thin and brittle. Love the one-bar deviation from the triplet feel. The vocals in the verses over that riff are missing something. They're a little weak. The chorus is very reminiscent of Pink Floyd's "Eclipse"...in fact, maybe TOO reminiscent. It fits the song, but sounds too much like you copied "Eclipse," almost like you were paying homage to it. I've listened to enough of your stuff to know that you don't have to copy ANYBODY. Love how the riff comes out of the second chorus with the crash hits to end the song. Even though the song is over five minutes long, I felt you could have made it a little longer, maybe with a little instrumental section or jam. See? Even with those criticisms I made, there's enough great stuff there to make me want more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cowtothesky Posted August 12, 2008 Author Share Posted August 12, 2008 Awesome suggestions. Yea - I have no intent to copy Eclipse, but admit it does sound similar once I added the lyrics. - I always write music first and then lyrics to fit the music, so perhaps it was a subliminal calculation on my part. It has been a long time since I've listened to Dark Side. I do love that album. Totally agree with you about the guitar processing. That will be my next upgrade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rushbass Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 Love it Dave! Is that your new keyboard on this one?! I think it sounds great... really love the key parts and that heavy riff rules! 1001 is right about the "chorus" section being a total Floyd carbon copy... very close - certainly shows their influence on your composition / writing style... I also heard a little of a Yes song in there as well... can't think of the same of the song right now, but there's nothing wrong with that either... Did you use your new Roland workstation for this recording? When do you want me to start emailing in the bass tracks for ya'?! I think it's a great song... you know I like all your songs... great job - the new album is coming along! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cowtothesky Posted August 13, 2008 Author Share Posted August 13, 2008 Thanks RB! Yea, this is with my new gear. I think it is an improvement on quality. The drums sound much better on this new synth. I re-cut the original lead vocal track last night and think it works much better now. I'm glad you like it. Who knows, maybe we can put something together and do some live playing again. I will look into emailing tracks - I still haven't figured that out yet, but I have been pretty involved with learning basic sound engineering with the new roland. That minimoog solo was just for you by the way! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hunter Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 Yeah, nice! I like it. I do agree on the chorus being too floydian. Maybe if the the first couple lines weren't so similar, all that you touch... it might not come across as so similar? And the Riff is cool, but the guitar is a little buzzy. I had a tone similar to that in one of my songs and I thought it sounded OK but everyone who heard was all "the guitar hurts my ears." I changed it and actually like it better now. There's nothing wrong with that tone. I do think it could be a little heavier though. But again great tune man. Keep it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cowtothesky Posted August 14, 2008 Author Share Posted August 14, 2008 Thanks Hunter! I agree with the guitar sound. It sounds fantastic on some speakers, others it sounds too sizzly or something. I will be tweaking that more in future projects. I wanted it to sound heavy, and I think it comes across that way, but it isn't perfect yet. This thing started out as a completely different song. The guitar riff section was intended to a bridge on another song I was working on and it sort of developed from there. Strange how stuff like that happens when writing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the masked drummer Posted August 14, 2008 Share Posted August 14, 2008 (edited) I give it a thumbs up, Dave! Sounds cool! The vocals remind me of a mix between les claypool and King Crimson's Gordon Haskell. Cool beats, bass and synth work, too! Edited August 14, 2008 by the masked drummer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
launchpad67a Posted August 14, 2008 Share Posted August 14, 2008 Dave, Very nice man! Well written and well played. I really enjoyed the arrangement. I too have the same issues with the song that others have. Guitar: Sound is just not good man. That super saturated sound is never good, on any song. It just doesn't sound like a guitar and might not be bad as a buried second track but you need a punchy sound as the upfront main track. I know what you were going for but you have to understand that a super saturated sound like that lacks fullness and makes the recording sound very weak. You would be surprised at what an upfront, loud and almost clean guitar sound does for a recording. Even when you think you need a bunch of distortion on a guitar you really only need a little, especially when recording. Vocals: Nice arrangement and performance. I do not like that distorted vocal during the verses. Again, I know what you're going for but it needs to be cleaner and more audible. It's a real trick to pull that off and takes very careful adjustments on the processing. Less is more. I don't mind the Floyd thing although it is nearly a direct copy. It's well orchestrated, very melodic and adss a nice huge change to the song just when it needs it. Keys: Great job all around, especially the intro. Love it. Very creative! Drums: Need to be louder, brighter and more upfront. Snare, Kick and cymbals need the most work. But all the parts are there and are exactly what the song calls for. Bass: It's fine. I would like to hear more a bit more punch from it though. Recording: It's ok but sounds nothing like say "Final Requiem". Just doesn't have any of the same sonic qualities and everything seems distant. Change the guitar sound and bring up the drums and brighten them. Then remix it. You'll get it sounding better that way. Overall: It's a great tune and I really enjoy it. Nice work as always Dave. Your a great songwriter and I always love hearing your new stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cowtothesky Posted August 14, 2008 Author Share Posted August 14, 2008 Thanks man. I appreciate you saying that. I will try changing the guitars up next week when I get back in town. Yea - I am trying to get a certain sound from the vocals during the verses and although the second attempt was better, it still needs something. I think it is too distorted, although I am going to keep it a little distorted. I guess I sort of want it to have the same processing as the vocals in Porcupine Tree in the song Fear of a Blank Planet. Perhaps my processing is too weak to accomplish this. I am already working on a new song. Ready to move on, but I will try to at least change the vocal processing and the guitar sound in the near future. I know you know what your talking about and I do take it to heart. Thanks again man! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Camera Eye82 Posted August 14, 2008 Share Posted August 14, 2008 Good job with the song. Excellant chops and it does remind me of Floyd a little but I think that the music kind of sets the mood and is a little different then Floyd. But , I have listened to everything on myspace and I love it. Great job. But not to beat a dead horse. The guitar sound is very different and maybe like you said upgrade that next. But all in all I would give it a solid B + Good Job Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cowtothesky Posted September 1, 2008 Author Share Posted September 1, 2008 I had some free time, so I took some of your suggestions and made some changes to the song. I changed the guitar and added a solo at the end. Also changed the vocals on the chorus to make it a little less floydy. It's not perfect, but hopefully it is better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1-0-0-1-0-0-1 Posted September 1, 2008 Share Posted September 1, 2008 QUOTE (Cowtothesky @ Sep 1 2008, 01:55 AM) I had some free time, so I took some of your suggestions and made some changes to the song. I changed the guitar and added a solo at the end. Also changed the vocals on the chorus to make it a little less floydy. It's not perfect, but hopefully it is better. Much better! The chorus sounds more original now instead of a copy of Pink Floyd's "Eclipse." It still reminds me of Floyd, but there's nothing wrong with that. You did a great job adjusting that while not altering the mood. It still provides that same nice mood change coming out of the verses. The ending is much better now. The solo is great, and it sounds like a complete song now. The guitar sound in the verses is better, but IMO as a tone freak it still sounds too thin and buzzy, like you used a fuzzbox instead of a tube amp or high-quality amp modeler. That fuzzbox sound works with the single-note atmospheric stuff (the Steve Hackett-type stuff you have in the intro) but not for a heavy verse riff. Again, that's just my opinion based on the tone *I* normally like. I know you're still shopping for better guitar gear...I'd love to hear those verses redone with a fuller, cleaner (but still heavy) guitar tone, just to see if it works right with this song. I think it would. The changes you've made have put the song to where it should be. You even have me sitting here learning that verse riff! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Aubrey Posted September 1, 2008 Share Posted September 1, 2008 QUOTE (Cowtothesky @ Aug 11 2008, 10:06 PM) Hey folks, I just uploaded a brand new song I wrote called "Find A Way". This is the 1st song with my new gear (synth and digital recorder). I would love to hear your comments about it! www.myspace.com/cowtothesky Thanks, Dave Cool song, Dave! I posted a MySpace bulletin plugging it. Keep rocking! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hunter Posted September 1, 2008 Share Posted September 1, 2008 (edited) Sounds fantastic. Now less floydian and little more beatlesque, but not really either, which makes it your own eh? I think the guitar sounds a lot better than it did. When you get your new gear you'll probably find some new tone you'll want to try. I know I went back and redid a bunch of stuff when i got my line 6 box. How are you with the hurricane and all? Edited September 1, 2008 by hunter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cowtothesky Posted September 1, 2008 Author Share Posted September 1, 2008 I want to thank all of you who gave me your suggestions for improvement. I really appreciate it. I agree that the guitar sound is better, but not perfect. It sounds really good on my studio monitors, but Myspace seems to muffle everything I upload. I think that a good re-mix would help a lot. Thank you for your honest opinions. I plan on buying a T-Racks plug-in to help with the final mixes on my Roland VS. I had a difficult time re-creating the harmonies because I forgot what effects I used in the original patch. For now on, I will be taking notes. heh I appreciate the plug, Jack! Hunter - We are not really affected in my area with the hurricane. We have a little wind and rain, but nothing bad. We may have some tornado warnings later in the day, but nothing major. Thanks for your concern though. I hope everyone on the gulf coast and in Louisiana is ok. It looks like the levees are holding up (thank God). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1-0-0-1-0-0-1 Posted September 1, 2008 Share Posted September 1, 2008 QUOTE (Cowtothesky @ Sep 1 2008, 01:05 PM) I want to thank all of you who gave me your suggestions for improvement. I really appreciate it. I agree that the guitar sound is better, but not perfect. It sounds really good on my studio monitors, but Myspace seems to muffle everything I upload. I think that a good re-mix would help a lot. Thank you for your honest opinions. I plan on buying a T-Racks plug-in to help with the final mixes on my Roland VS. I had a difficult time re-creating the harmonies because I forgot what effects I used in the original patch. For now on, I will be taking notes. heh BTW, I listened to this song on my new (from eBay) Yamaha MSP5 studio monitors. Dave, if you have an original mp3 of that song (unaltered by MySpace) I'd love to hear it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rushbass Posted September 1, 2008 Share Posted September 1, 2008 Hey Dave, we are doing well down here so far... I still got power and internet! We are in between the squall lines, but it is starting to pick back up... Hope the weather isn't too bad for you up north! Stay safe, and I will keep in touch! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hunter Posted September 1, 2008 Share Posted September 1, 2008 QUOTE (rushbass @ Sep 1 2008, 09:40 AM) Hey Dave, we are doing well down here so far... I still got power and internet! We are in between the squall lines, but it is starting to pick back up... Hope the weather isn't too bad for you up north! Stay safe, and I will keep in touch! Good to hear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rushbass Posted September 1, 2008 Share Posted September 1, 2008 Dave, just listened to "Find A Way" the redux... sounds a lot better... I still think you need a better preamp, and lose the 2120 (or just use it for chorusing / delays /reverbs, etc)... the distortion / tone you dialed in is better than before, but still lacks that "certain" quality that 1001 is eluding to... the 2120 is the weakest link. Just go get the Triaxxis, or another high end tube pre! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rushbass Posted September 1, 2008 Share Posted September 1, 2008 Still doing really well over here... I hope everyone that stayed in the Louisiana area are safe! Prayers going out to all affected! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cowtothesky Posted September 1, 2008 Author Share Posted September 1, 2008 QUOTE (rushbass @ Sep 1 2008, 04:18 PM) Still doing really well over here... I hope everyone that stayed in the Louisiana area are safe! Prayers going out to all affected! I'm glad to hear that man. I hope everyone is safe. We just had a tornado warning about 5 miles from the house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rushbass Posted September 1, 2008 Share Posted September 1, 2008 (edited) QUOTE (Cowtothesky @ Sep 1 2008, 05:23 PM) QUOTE (rushbass @ Sep 1 2008, 04:18 PM) Still doing really well over here... I hope everyone that stayed in the Louisiana area are safe! Prayers going out to all affected! I'm glad to hear that man. I hope everyone is safe. We just had a tornado warning about 5 miles from the house. Unfortunately, it will probably start picking up in your area now... there are some nasty bands on the radar up there - stay safe! Edit - my bad for getting this thread off-topic... not sure how I did this... This should have been in the Gustav thread... Edited September 1, 2008 by rushbass Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoenataArctica Posted October 8, 2008 Share Posted October 8, 2008 hot damn this stuff is good!!!!!! finally hearing something awesome around the gulf coast!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowman Posted October 8, 2008 Share Posted October 8, 2008 Impressive tune! And very good keyboardwork! Nice sounds! Love that spheric intro! I only wish it could have lasted longer! Love the mix with Pink Floyd/Beatles and the hard hitting themes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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