Not So Long Ago - swampthang.

[rayc]

Hello Folks,
Below is a link to the current track I'm working on.
As I'm without my Marshall at present and my little 5watter isn't cutting the mustard I thought I'd slip into previous old tones and patterns to fill the gap.
This song is inspired by Richard Hawley's Standing On The Sky's Edge album and it's drenched in FX, delay & reverb as a result.
the guitar tracks are a tiny Pignose double mic'd.
Drums by BIAB.
There're a couple of Mel9 tracks in this as well though I was uncommonly restrained with the use of the thing - I hope.
There're also a couple of track from my old FX500 which are swelling shoegazer things for guitar.
Solo guitar by JDod/James.
You've been pre-warned about the drench - sheep dip level.
NO vocals as yet. The lyrics will be below the link...

jan2016161117jnovox.mp3

Just for interest here're the stems isolated in different spots so you can hear the amount of FX or reverb on bits...

jan2016jstems.mp3

Not So Long Ago

Not so long ago I had a lover
It seemed that nothing could go wrong
Not so long ago there was no other
I had someone with whom I belong
Dreams seem to become nightmares
From REM to eyes wired open
So little time we’d known each other
Such a simple love you had to smother

Not so long ago I had a life where
Sharing air was something new
Wasn’t long before that breath was stolen
Suffocating déjà vu

Not so long ago I had a lover
It seemed that this love could be strong
Too soon we merged with one another
Swept in the torrent for too long
If I stay inside and hide
Or swallow my pride
Pretend it wasn’t you &
It was I that lied

CHORUS

Not so long ago I had a lover
It seemed that love would be prolonged
Not so long ago there was no other
Living lyrics for a song
I know I talk of nothing but it
No one wants to hear about it
So little time we’d known each other
Such a simple love you had to smother

CHORUS

Solo

CHORUS

[Lt. Bob]

now THAT'S some reverb!

I like it!

It reminds me of how reverb sounded to me when I was first exposed to it

The Mel9 adds an awesome texture ,,,,,, DUDE.
I'm liking this.

Thas way cool ...................

[rayc]

now THAT'S some reverb!
I like it!
It reminds me of how reverb sounded to me when I was first exposed to it
The Mel9 adds an awesome texture ,,,,,, DUDE.
I'm liking this.
Thas way cool ...................

Thank you Lt. Bob,
I'm chuffed that you like it.
Here's a snippet from the album that reminded me how much I like this sort of stuff...
[BBvideo=560,315]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtltaFE ... 0y&index=7[/BBvideo]
It's clearly the case that Hawley, whilst a fan of sonic textures, is a pretty good guitar player so his stuff has many a fascinating corner or tiny tucked away noodle. Interestingly most of his albums are very Roy Orbison in their dramatic crooning (not the vocal range though). He's a hired hand as guitarist for many British bands. He's also inclined to use several guitars when performing - he can afford a roadie I would venture.
[BBvideo=560,315]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rrC7eVf_UU[/BBvideo]

[rayc]

A bit more Orbisonish...
[BBvideo=560,315]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueMaYzvXX8w[/BBvideo]

[Audio Monster]

Talk about setting the mood. I agree, making that verb work for you. I'm a very morbid SOB, so in my head I hear a rather macabre thing going on. I hope you take that the right way, thumbs uppers!

[rayc]

Talk about setting the mood. I agree, making that verb work for you. I'm a very morbid SOB, so in my head I hear a rather macabre thing going on. I hope you take that the right way, thumbs uppers!

Murder Ballad psych?
I was morbid but became moribund.
Peuvent-ils danser à mon macabre'?
Thanks mate - kind of you.
[BBvideo=560,315]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqKPwK3YCQQ[/BBvideo]

[vomitHatSteve]

Dang... that is some reverb.

Did you apply it track-by-track or to the main bus?
I don't know if the mix is really holding together. The drums sound like a very different space than everything else. Maybe shorten up the delay time on the verb so that it's less slapback and more ambient?

The guitars sound pretty good tho. Are you going to verb up the vocals too?

Did you gate the drum track somehow? Around 3:50, there are a few cymbal crashes that cut off very abruptly. It kind of sounds cool, but definitely not natural.

It's a weird one you've got here, Ray!

[rayc]

Dang... that is some reverb.
Did you gate the drum track somehow? Around 3:50, there are a few cymbal crashes that cut off very abruptly. It kind of sounds cool, but definitely not natural.
It's a weird one you've got here, Ray!

VHS,
thanks for responding & listening in detail.
There's printed on reverb on 2 tracks - they came from my old Yamaha FX500 unit of which I used a "shoegaze" type effect. I forgot to mention that one in the OP.
Every thing else has it on the group/stem buss.
It's the same reverb throughout, even the drums though less of it on them, other than the FX 500 and the Mel9 tracks - the choir bits have an amp reverb on them.
The drum track is from Band In A Box and is assembled within the program from phrases recorded by a "known" drummer on a full kit. Long cymbal rings are cut off if they don't fit within the phrase. It does give a signature sound to BIAB RealTrak drums - their Midi drums are woeful. Inside the program they use quite a bit of reverb to compensate for that sort of thing as all of the RealTrak components have the same issue - nothing rings out longer than a bar & if that duration is across bars it's sliced. I exported the drums from BIAB dry.
Vocal reverb? That will depend on the performance etc etc.
Again thanks.

[Bubba]

Hey, Ray - I listened to this at work today... it's great. It's a real departure for you, and for once I really like JD guitar noodling! I think it's the tone as much as the playing that has improved on JD's bit. Bring on the reverb, I say - it's brought a different dimension to your stuff that I really love.

[Greg_L]

I like this Ray. I think it works great. The little pignose does a nice jangly sound.

[rayc]

Hey, Ray - I listened to this at work today... it's great. It's a real departure for you, and for once I really like JD guitar noodling! I think it's the tone as much as the playing that has improved on JD's bit. Bring on the reverb, I say - it's brought a different dimension to your stuff that I really love.

Thanks Bubba,
It's a bit like old middle period pygmy beat after Kim'd bought me more toys and I tried to incorporate them. It also has a lot of the elements used in Pygmy Beat Augmented but without the might of Gerry, Joe & Greg to get it happening.

[rayc]

I like this Ray. I think it works great. The little pignose does a nice jangly sound.

Thanks Greg,
I was glad to find something the Pig could do. I really don't like the fuzz/distortion thing it's renowned for & the cool nasal tone it can get seems impossible to capture so it's volume up on the Pig & WAY down on the guitar for jangle.
Getting a vocal it the next task.

[JD01]

Hey, Ray - I listened to this at work today... it's great. It's a real departure for you, and for once I really like JD guitar noodling! I think it's the tone as much as the playing that has improved on JD's bit. Bring on the reverb, I say - it's brought a different dimension to your stuff that I really love.

Lol. My noodling has always been 2nd to none, mate. Difference being lately I’ve started taking the time to actually plan and write solos before recording them.. I try to not stick too many notes in these days too.

[rayc]

Lol. My noodling has always been 2nd to none, mate. Difference being lately I’ve started taking the time to actually plan and write solos before recording them.. I try to not stick too many notes in these days too.

I had the solo running through me head all day. It's spot on for the song and was, clearly, made with the full knowledge that it'd be in my tepid bath of reverb and delay - you built it really, really well James...THANKS.
I did contemplate some spring reverb to give it a surf twang but it wasn't appropriate for this ditty.

[rayc]

I spent a couple of hours recording additional guitar tracks for this song. One with a Big Muff clone for creamy distortion another with an MBV sense for edge filling and finally a slightly chorused guitar for the chorus. each was recorded with a 57 center and back 30cm as well as an e609 5cm to the right of the dust cap. All were parts that I'd come up with in my head while listening to the track over the last week on a DAP with headphones.
NONE of them made the cut.
Each was superfluous and either muddied or cluttered the song.
So much for my adventurous head arrangements.
It's good to know that the original ideas seem to have worked and "completed" the backing track.

[Bubba]

Negative results are also important.