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October Project (2)


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Description
"October Project" is a placeholder title for now. Maybe I'll try some lyrics
for it down the road, but for now the focus is on the sound bed. I'd like to
try to show some improvement from song to song.

Drums/Percussion.
Earlier efforts repeated a hat pattern all the way through the song. This
song avoids the "3-handed drummer" syndrome, and throws in a tambourine loop
over the second iteration of the 3 sections for a little different feel. This song has more fills then prior efforts. I used IDrum here. While I found it pretty easy to work with, I think the selection of crashes and toms is pretty weak, so I extended it with free samples from the internet.

Bass
Although I do own a bass, I can't really play it the proper way with the fingers.
Instead, I use a guitar pick. Although this approach may work for some songs, I
find it really tough to control "note-off" timing with the neccesary precision, for those songs that demand a "punchy" type of bass, So I used midi bass here. Since I don't like any of the stock GB bass samples, I grabbed some free soundfonts, and got them to work with the bs-1 soundfont player, thanks to a tip I found here from Michael2.

Guitar
I worked in an acoustic to this song - figured out how to use the instrument mike, and mix it so it sounds decent if not great.

Loops
The tambourine is a stock GB loop.

What's new in this version
I laid back on the rhythm guitars in response to Feter's comment about some alignment issues. Although the parts are not perfectly aligned now, the electric in it's rhythm role is now basically used for a pad at the beginning of
each measure. In the "A" section of the song, the acoustic is now more closely aligned with the bass. I raised the level on the bass in response to Calchas' (Micheal) comment. I redid the guitar solo just because.





Constructive criticism is more then welcome!

Copyright 2009 by David Brown
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Song Stats
Hits: 256
Comments: 33
Fans: 10
Plays: 52
Downloads: 14
Votes: 1
Uploaded: Nov 06, 2009 - 10:31:18 PM
Last Updated: Nov 06, 2009 - 10:31:18 PM Last Played: Nov 20, 2009 - 01:51:03 PM
Song License
Creative Commons License:
Attribution-NoDerivs-NonCommercial

Creative Commons

Song Actions
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Hardware:
Fender Strat, Martin D18, Line6 Pod, Presonus Firebox, Shure SM57, Mac Pro
Software:
GarageBand, Bismark bs-1 soundfont player
Comments
Feter said 14 days ago (November 6th, 2009)
October Project
this sounds lovely ...waiting for more progtress
good luck !
dave_b said 13 days ago (November 7th, 2009)
Reply
Thanks for dropping by again Feter, and thanks again for your comments on version 1 which precipitated some of the changes found in this version. I think now the song will better support a melody.
Check out my latest song called October Project (2)
crissew said 13 days ago (November 7th, 2009)
Like the guitar progression
Drums should be changed but I think you are just using it as a time keeper, at least that is what i often do at the beginning of a recording. Sounds like a country progression to me. Nice start
Check out my latest song called There Was A Time w/ kevmikwa
dave_b said 13 days ago (November 7th, 2009)
Reply
Hi Charles, thanks for the listen. You're right, the drums do need to be improved. On the best tracks, the drums can equal and sometimes surpass guitars and bass for creative content which furthers the song. My plan for improving drums starts out with visiting some "how-to-drum" websites like this one http://www.howtodrum.com/drum-lessons/ and programming some of the exercises.
Check out my latest song called October Project (2)
Vic Holman said 13 days ago (November 7th, 2009)
so far so good
i like what you have so far David. kind of a off shoot of the eagles
when you have the vocs in it should be a killer track.
Check out my latest song called November
dave_b said 13 days ago (November 7th, 2009)
Reply
Thanks for dropping by Vic. I did listen to a lot of Eagles growing up (or did you mean the Philadelphia Eagles :)) Lyrics and vocs are on the back burner for now but I do appreciate the vote of confidence!
Check out my latest song called October Project (2)
scofugate said 13 days ago (November 8th, 2009)
I like the direction
Midi or not the bass sounds good to me. I think the bass and pick is a preference thing and/or style of music. This is very well arranged and mixed. Its begging for vocals. Good job!
Kudos!!
Check out my latest song called Trains and Plains
dave_b said 12 days ago (November 8th, 2009)
Reply
Thanks for the listen Scott, and for your kind comments. I'm happy you liked the bass, but I just checked out your Chunky Cheeze tune. Now that is bass!
Check out my latest song called October Project (2)
TERRAPLANE said 12 days ago (November 8th, 2009)
solid
nice track so far ,,can't wait to hear the Vox,, keep on keepin on,T
Check out my latest song called * The Greys * MJ Space Race 2009
dave_b said 12 days ago (November 8th, 2009)
Reply
Thanks for listening Terry, glad you liked it.
Check out my latest song called October Project (2)
ShadowofNine said 12 days ago (November 8th, 2009)
Enjoyable
music...
Check out my latest song called Falling Star
dave_b said 11 days ago (November 9th, 2009)
Reply
Hi Dave, thanks for dropping by, glad you liked it. Enjoyed your Gobi piece.
Check out my latest song called October Project (2)
VicDiesel said 12 days ago (November 8th, 2009)
All vocalists to the white courtesy phone!
Nice background.
Check out my latest song called Desert Stars
dave_b said 11 days ago (November 9th, 2009)
Reply
Hi Vic,
Thanks for dropping by, and for the listen. You really play that flute well.

Check out my latest song called October Project (2)
sloparts said 12 days ago (November 8th, 2009)
It's all good Dave
I understand about the drum programming, it can be difficult if you've never had sticks in you hands. But your doing a very good job here.

If you vary the character of the snare drum, say using an occasional flam or stick rim hit that can help. Sometimes I'll use some drum loop fills from different kinds of drum sets so the fills have a more natural sound and feel to them. Doing that takes patience because you have to try out each one of the loops in place after most of the other tracks are finished to make sure they sound right.

When you change things for the drums, remember that when it really works in a real band, is when the Bass player and Drummer work together to make the rhythm section punchy and tight. So make sure the Bass player is keeping up with what the drummer is doing, and vice versa.

I like the structure and progression, the guitar sounds good and the bass is working for what you've got. I like it so far, it'll be interesting to hear it develop over time.

Ed
Check out my latest song called Just a little Something
dave_b said 12 days ago (November 8th, 2009)
Reply
Hi Ed,
Thanks for dropping by, and especially for your good solid advice. I do plan on dropping in on some drum websites to learn some drum rudiments. You've achieved some great sounding drums in the last two songs of yours that I've listened to, so I'll consider using some loops too. Thanks for the vote of confidence!

Check out my latest song called October Project (2)
michaelkoppenheffer said 11 days ago (November 9th, 2009)
I like the mix here
Listened to it on headphones--there's a nice diversity across the stereo field, and the whole thing sounds very polished. The drums sound great to me--I might be inclined to "humanize" them, manually (by playing the drum track through on a keyboard instead of using loops/patterns) or automatically using a "humanize" or "quantize strength" function. But they sound very studio-polished as is...
Check out my latest song called Alma Mahler Sings to P. Diddy
dave_b said 11 days ago (November 9th, 2009)
Reply
Hi Michael, Thanks for dropping by, and for your comments. I've just read some elementary stuff about mixing eg panning instruments right/left to emulate a real band, and adding reverb for depth. To my ear many other folks here are getting a bigger sound, so I'm happy to hear that you thought the mix didn't sound that bad. I used IDrum for this song, and the program has a "humanize" feature which I had set on 4 out of 20. Well, one of my offsite songwriter friends picked it up - very sharp ears - and he said that the kick and the bass were "flamming" in certain places, and it was going to lead to problems down the road, so I took it off!
Check out my latest song called October Project (2)
ste said 11 days ago (November 10th, 2009)
this
has a lot of potential. really like the lead guitar line, well thought out. agree that the drums could be worked on, though i also have probs in that area. Great work so far
Check out my latest song called sweet potatoes
dave_b said 10 days ago (November 10th, 2009)
Reply
Hi Ste, thanks for dropping by, and for listening. Yeah, it was fun to cut loose with the guitar a little after laying back for most of the song, so thanks for noticing!
Check out my latest song called October Project (2)
jiguma said 8 days ago (November 12th, 2009)
Dave
This is my first listen to your tunes, and I'm guessing you're testing the waters on how stuff works together. From what you have here, you're heading in the right direction. I notice that you're pretty focussed on drums and bass. I don't mind the bass sound you have, but for me, live bass is pretty important to getting a good feel, and although you don't play it "the proper way with fingers" - I think you'll find that lots of bass players use picks), for me it would always sound better than midi bass (which I've experimented with a bit - unsuccessfully). Drums are a different matter - I have a system which I keep expanding on, but which basically involves using midi drum loops to establish a feel and then going into sections of the song at a time (the intro, then the first 4 bars of the first verse etc through the song), join the loops and then modify the original pattern so it becomes my own. Use the pencil tool to add cymbal crashes, change kicks, add a tom fill etc. It takes a while to get it happening, but is time well spent in the long run - you'll be amazed how much better than straight loops it sounds. Here are some good "how to" pages http://www.tweakheadz.com/midi_drum_tips.htm and http://www.tweakheadz.com/how_to_make_original_drum_tracks.htm
Hang in there Dave - this has great potential. Neil
Check out my latest song called Lost In Translation (w Mike Watkins)
dave_b said 8 days ago (November 12th, 2009)
Reply
Thanks for the listen and your thoughtful comments. I am indeed testing the waters trying to find out what works. I agree that a good live bass is important for a track like this; I'll try and experiment some with the pick to see if I can get that punchy sound. Re improving the bass tracks, the other route that I've been looking at is the Scarbee Pre-Bass, which is a soft instrument running on top of the Kontakt soft synth. (http://www.native-instruments.com/#/en/products/producer/powered-by-kontakt/scarbee-pre-bass/). This product models a single bass, but includes controllable articulations such as sustains, mutes, harmonics,hammer-ons, pull-offs and slides. Re the drums, I will start trying some loops. At the very least I'll get some great samples of what a good real drummer sounds like. Thanks again for your advice, I'm glad you think the track has potential. I'll definitely be checking out your postings; Lost In Translation is a great track.
Check out my latest song called October Project (2)
ConnieO said 8 days ago (November 12th, 2009)
Mucho potential!
Nice arrangement of the song. Can't wait to hear it with vocals.
Check out my latest song called Greig Meets Chopsticks
dave_b said 8 days ago (November 12th, 2009)
Reply
Hi Connie, thanks for dropping by, and for the listen. I have to write some lyrics and I'm saving up for that vocal chord transplant :). Keep on rockin'
Check out my latest song called October Project (2)
blaky smith said 6 days ago (November 14th, 2009)
Nice
track, it's a good job Dave, this sounds lovely. Maybe an other dimension with vocals...
Marc
Check out my latest song called Sur le sable (w Jiguma)
dave_b said 6 days ago (November 14th, 2009)
Reply
Hi, Thanks for dropping by, glad you like it. Maybe vocals one day, working on "Happy Birthday" first ;)
Check out my latest song called October Project (2)
Char said 6 days ago (November 14th, 2009)
Very
mellow and singable. Good job. I like it. Thanks.
Check out my latest song called Break Away (Mark Holbrook & Awigze)
dave_b said 5 days ago (November 15th, 2009)
Reply
Hi Char, thanks for the listen. Glad you like it!
Check out my latest song called October Project (2)
segiperkasa said 3 days ago (November 17th, 2009)
3-handed drummer syndrome ...
very cool easy going song , relaxing to the ear ... I would love to put some guitar line in ...
Check out my latest song called Journey of the Soul
segiperkasa said 3 days ago (November 17th, 2009)
3-handed drummer syndrome ...
very cool easy going song , relaxing to the ear ... I would love to put some guitar line in ...
Check out my latest song called Journey of the Soul
dave_b said 3 days ago (November 17th, 2009)
Reply
Hi, thanks for listening. I've checked out some of your songs, you are quite the guitar player. I will PM you about a possible collab.
Check out my latest song called October Project (2)
SISTERS said 2 days ago (November 18th, 2009)
good sound
bass is beautifully clear. this sounds solid to me.
can't wait to hear how a vocal compliments it.
anne
Check out my latest song called HOW WOULD I KNOW
dave_b said 2 days ago (November 18th, 2009)
Reply
Hi Anne,
Thanks for listening, and for your kind words. I'll be following your postings, you have an amazing voice.
Check out my latest song called October Project (2)
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