20:01 to Montilla - Halloween song

[vomitHatSteve]

Hey folks. Working on a new song about E.A. Poe

Mix 4

2001ToMontilla4.mp3

Mix 3

2001ToMontilla3.mp3

Mix 2

2001ToMontilla2.mp3

Mix 1

2001ToMontilla1.mp3

Things I suspect need to be fixed:
The synth drums (the snare that sounds like a sheet of paper) probably need to come down.
The "real" drums aren't cutting through. I'm not sure if I've done something wrong with the submix or just need to turn it up
Are the vocals at a good level? I can make out all the lyrics, but I also already know them.
I could probably use some more automation to make specific parts pop when they're supposed to

Anything else?

Lyrics:

Who's got a clown chained up in his basement?
I've got a clown chained up in my basement!
Oh Fortunado! Oh frabjuous day!
This jester's skelly is here to stay.
Until I learn to reanimate
my spooky army of mirth and hate

Who's got a grudge, and he'll solve it with murder?
I've got a grudge, and I'll solve it with murder!
My motley friend, you shall soon be gone,
Your rosey cheeks turning guant and wan.
No more the butt of your mocking song
Left in the dark by the best mason

Wine mocks, and beer fights
Jesters cry when you turn out the lights
My friends, I am haunted by the things I did that day
A waste of wine, a waste of life

Who's hiding out from the plague in an abbey?
I'm hiding out from the plague in an abbey.
Prince Prospero will throw a ball
And tho death comes for both great and small
I shan't think we shall be found at all
Hidden safe behind high stone walls

Wine mocks, and beer fights
Jesters cry when you turn out the lights
My friends, I am haunted by the things I did that day
A waste of wine, a waste of life

Memento mori x4

Who's got a corpse hidden under the floorboards?
I've got a corpse hidden under the floorboards!

Wine mocks, and beer fights
Jesters cry when you turn out the lights
My friends, I am haunted by the things I did that day
A waste of wine, a waste of life

[rayc]

a) Vocal levels are fine.
b) Yes turn the real drums UP
c) Lyrics could be clear if there was a lyric sheet - often too fast to catch/compute.
&
d) COOL but is the Montilla in the title the sherry or the town the sherry comes from or something else?

[vomitHatSteve]

a) Vocal levels are fine.
b) Yes turn the real drums UP
c) Lyrics could be clear if there was a lyric sheet - often too fast to catch/compute.
&
d) COOL but is the Montilla in the title the sherry or the town the sherry comes from or something else?

Rock. Thanks.

I decided "Cask of Amontillado" was too long a title. So 20:01 to Montilla is meant to sound like a train. (yes, Montilla is the town amontillado comes from and 20:01 is the verse in Proverbs "wine is a mocker, and beer is a brawler" comes from)

[WhiskeyJack]

This is awesome. Catchy as hell. As per usual.

I think your vocals are good as is. Yea bring up the real drums. i can't really hear them vs the synth drums all that well. And if there is a real kick i am struggling to pick it out.

That could be out to lunch though becasue i have a horrible head cold currently. It might be there it's just mushing together in my cranium somewhere?

[musicturtle]

I agree with the others. Vocals are good(as usual) and the real drums can use a bump.

Fun song, if you would post the lyrics, as Ray said, it would increase my enjoyment I think

[TripleM]

I think the vocal level is fine. They're definitely not too loud, but I can hear the words. I'd dry them up a little. But the level seems OK to me. They're a bit hard to make out, but that's mostly because they go by pretty fast.

I think the bass is real rumbly. I think if you took out some low-lows it would really clear things up.

The drums were coming through fine to me. Maybe nudge up the snare a bit, but not by much. The snare was a bit dry. If you clean up the low end of the bass, the drums might be a bit more clear - at least the kick.

[Lt. Bob]

song is great ..... bass is real tubby and everything except the vocal sounds muffled for some reason ... to the point that if the vox wasn't clear I'd nthink there was something wrong with my speakers.

But cool tunage as always

[vomitHatSteve]

Thanks all!

New mix (and lyrics) in the OP.

I fixed that one loud randomized snare and turned the "real" drums up substantially (especially kick and snare)
Plus a little more automation.

I'll look into the rumbliness, muffling, and 'verb, but I hadn't seen those comments yet when I exported mix 2

[vomitHatSteve]

There's a third mix in the OP. There's a little more automation, but it's mostly a pretty significant overhaul to the guitar and bass tones (this has traditional guitar and bass in addition to abomination)

[rayc]

BIG changes but it's more "rock".
That synth on the left during the chorus made me think of the Stooges I Wanna Be Your Dog style stabbing piano on the chords rather than a counter melody...odd that I thought that.
COOL.

[JD01]

Steve, I've been busy lately so I'm coming straight in on Mix 3.
I know you normally have a pretty bassy sound but you normally get it all to hang together better than this. Its actually boomy and muddy.
Its fine until the all the instruments come in after verse 1. But I think its something to do with how your kick and bass are fitting together, the kick is a bit weird in verse 1, but then the whole thing gets covered in a dark cloud when the band comes in. Your vocal isn't even cutting through and your vocals are normally prominent and clear.

[vomitHatSteve]

BIG changes but it's more "rock".
That synth on the left during the chorus made me think of the Stooges I Wanna Be Your Dog style stabbing piano on the chords rather than a counter melody...odd that I thought that.
COOL.

Interesting. I have not listened to that song in a long time.

I know you normally have a pretty bassy sound but you normally get it all to hang together better than this. Its actually boomy and muddy.
Its fine until the all the instruments come in after verse 1. But I think its something to do with how your kick and bass are fitting together, the kick is a bit weird in verse 1, but then the whole thing gets covered in a dark cloud when the band comes in. Your vocal isn't even cutting through and your vocals are normally prominent and clear.

It is a different set of drum sounds for the first verse.
Do you think the kick and bass not sitting together is a mix thing or a timing thing? The kick pattern is a little unusual, and I didn't match it to the bass in any meaningful way.

[JD01]

It is a different set of drum sounds for the first verse.
Do you think the kick and bass not sitting together is a mix thing or a timing thing? The kick pattern is a little unusual, and I didn't match it to the bass in any meaningful way.

its definitely a mix thing - its really weird.

[TripleM]

I listened to Mix #3.

I like the "down in a cave" reverb. I don't usually like reverb, but I liked it here.

The mix sounds good with only one exception to me. The kick is really heavy/rumbly. Mix #3 is lighter weight than mix #1. But I'd still lighten up the kick. Then I think the mix will be there.

[vomitHatSteve]

Mix 4 in the OP

Turns out a big part of what was going wrong is that my cab sims didn't load correctly. So that's fixed, and seems to be brightening up the Abomination a lot.
I also panned the abom and normal guitar much farther apart from each other as I've done historically.
And added some little bits and bobs.

[JD01]

Sorted - that's how a VHS mix should sound.
The only thing with this now is that the kick still sounds woofy and fluffy - don't expect me to help with this, I have a whole thread about how I can't sort my own kick sound.

[vomitHatSteve]

Sorted - that's how a VHS mix should sound.
The only thing with this now is that the kick still sounds woofy and fluffy - don't expect me to help with this, I have a whole thread about how I can't sort my own kick sound.

Lol! I did see that thread.

Somehow, we need to find a hybrid of my fluffy kick and your basketball, I guess!

[JD01]

I've actually improved mine today by taking away a daft EQ tweak, I'll post about it later if I get time.

[TripleM]

Mix #4...

Very good. When the song kicks in, the kick gets a little thuddy. But we're getting down to personal preferences. It's sounding very good.

[vomitHatSteve]

Thanks, TripM!