MacJams.com - Song: Blow Your Mind (Instrumental) by Elevator

Blow Your Mind (Instrumental) by Elevator_Funk [Email]

Genre: NUjazz

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rtcooper

Char

Keywords:

Funk (170), Bass (225), Guitar (850), Jamiroquai (1), Musak (1), Elevator Funk (1), Smooth Jazz (14), Jazz (370), Disco (33)

Description:

Well, I've gotten over the rush of having my first post reviewed, I tried all the tweaks suggested for my first song on this one. I doubled the bass and guitar parts and thickened them up a bit, it sounded real tinny before I took the suggestions on this site.

I've read a post on cover songs and decided that this didn't fit, since it's not too close to the original, but close enough that I didn't change the name. I'm not concerned about tips on composition as this is not an original, but I wanted to try a muzak, elevator-funk style for fun. It's an instrumental take on a song by Jamiroquai for those who don't recognize it.

I played thru my electric bass and electric guitar (I made both of them myself from scratch, by the way, sorry for the shameless plug..)

I noticed that I'm still getting buzz on my tracks that I have to erase. All I have to use at this stage is a Digitech RP 350 that I plug both instruments into...then into the usb plug on my keyboard. The cord from my guitars may be too long...it's a 20 footer i bought for gigs, my 4 footer wore out. Can anyone tell me where in this chain you suspect my buzz is coming from?

I'm interested in seeing if I over produced this song after hearing all the tips on the last song, I tried 5 different production edits of this song before my ears stopped working properly. Thanks in advance for your comments!

Brian

Hardware:

Electric Funk Bass, Electric Funk Guitar, Digitech RP 350 (dry)

Software:

Garageband 08, all effects and drum loops provided by GB

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Just a note &mdash 01/27/08 - 12:28:46 AM

Elevator_Funk

I'm not good at genre's. At first I thought this was funk, but now i think it's nu-jazz.....

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much better sound &mdash 01/27/08 - 08:56:33 AM

drakonis

I'm sure you can hear it too (or could, until listen #2,543). Richer sounding guitar, little reverb gives some room ambience, bass sounds pretty good too. I'll let others chime in too, but a definite improvement over your first (which was already good.)

And you know... we're creating our own genres as we make music... don't worry about the genres too much.

ttfn,
Drakonis

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thanks &mdash 01/27/08 - 04:51:17 PM

Elevator_Funk

for checking in on the progress.

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Dig it &mdash 01/27/08 - 04:23:43 PM

egobandit

What impressed me is the fact you made your own guitar and bass! Unreal! No doubt about your playin ability you rock! About the buzz try replacing all your chord or mabye put an interface between your keys and computer? I could be way off, enjoyed this!

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SOLID &mdash 01/28/08 - 11:26:09 AM

rtcooper

Good Performance and Capture.
Not Over-Produced sounding, to me. Just Solid.
Nice, calm playing, nothing over done.
Kind of Brief, but is what IS.

When we're lucky, hum is just a Z-chord (20-footer invites interference) or something electronic too close to the computer when Tracking. It's likely something simple.

looking for more to come,
best regards,
Cooper

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the buzz on buzz... &mdash 01/28/08 - 11:30:07 AM

drakonis

not sure what buzz you're hearing... after you mixed this and added instruments/effects, whatever buzz you mention is undetectable in my ears here (with headphones.) It could be any number of things... if it is intermittent, shows up on every strummed note, it could be clipping (overdriven input to an amp) causing a raspy sound on notes. If it is a constant low-level 60-hz hum, it could be dirty connectors or bad house AC wiring, not enough shielding on cables (picking up nearby TV or flourescent light EMF) or the dreaded ground-loop. Lots of troubleshooting ahead of you to figure it out, unfortunately, but when you do, post the solution on the forums so we all learn! :-)
ttfn,
Drakonis

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thanks for the tips &mdash 01/28/08 - 12:30:54 PM

Elevator_Funk

I recorded a couple of new songs today to test it out and haven't found the issue yet. I turned off the tv and set my single coils to the hum-cancelling setting and I'm still getting it.

I'm going to go buy a new 4 foot cable today and record with it and see what happens, and I'll go from there,

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Cool Songs &mdash 01/29/08 - 12:20:39 PM

T Riffin

I like your songs and guitar playing..oh and the guitar. Tell me about the guitar...I made my own a couple years ago...I know what's involved. You should be proud of your acheivement.
I'm using the RP250 to run everything thru and so far it has been very quiet. I don't know if you got the buz fixed...it may be as simple as having power cords running too close to the signal lines.
Keep the music comming!

Trevor

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thanks for listening &mdash 01/29/08 - 01:02:25 PM

Elevator_Funk

I put a post on your site about the guitar. Theres more pics of my bass, weissenborn and a telecaster I built at this link:
http://www.luthiers-international.com/images_hold/brian.jpg

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Fingerman! &mdash 01/30/08 - 12:07:38 PM

sschedra

Again, your guitar playing is just captivating. As far as hum, I would check the output of the RP 350 with headphones. Are you getting the buzz there? The most important thing in any input chain is maximizing gain (and by extension, reducing noise). Adjust the volume pots on your guitar to max (unless it is essential to the sound you are making to do otherwise). Next, set the input gain on the rp 350 as high as you can without overdriving the channel VU meter in GB. This should give you maximum input gain and best signal/noise ratio. Sometimes, funky settings on a compressor can increase noise too. Adjusting the threshold will usually get rid of this. I also recommend using no effects when trying to establish optimum gain. Then recheck and re-adjust gain as effects are engaged. You want maximum gain (without clipping) to drive each stage in the chain. Does any of this make sense?
Stephen

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Hmm... &mdash 01/30/08 - 12:33:16 PM

Elevator_Funk

I understand most of it. I usually keep my guitar volume at 8 so I can do volume swells. I got a new guitar cord and and was going to try that first but haven't got around to it.

I'll probably refer back to your post and figure out the rest for the next song I record.

Thanks again for listening.

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Also... &mdash 01/30/08 - 12:35:24 PM

Elevator_Funk

I did notice that my guitar sound is almost non-existent when I record into GB even with the volume on the rp350 at max, I tweak it with all the GB effects until the volume is satisfactory.

The problem might be the gain that you mentioned..... I'll be trying that tip out next....

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