Sunday, April 29, 2007
I Need To Fix That Stupid Preamp
More often than not, a musician will define themselves through the intrument that they play, or prefer to play, usually through statements such as 'Yeah, I'm the drummer', or 'I play the keyboards in this band, but I'm a guitarist at heart' or something similar.
Most people who read this should know that generally my stance is essentially:
I AM ARE BASS PLAYAH
If you didn't figure that out already, what planet have you been on?
I bring this up because anybody who knows me probably knows that I'm interested in creating songs more than writing basslines, so it makes little sense for me to just focus on my instrument of choice at any time. I happen to be drawn to playing bass because of how it affects a song's progression more than any other instrument you can think of. There's also the idea that a conventional clean bass tone could never be considered to be out of place in any genre of music, be it jazz, radio-friendly rock, hip-hop, sample-driven stuff like Radiohead and Massive Attack, metal...the list goes on. Also, there is a saying that the bass is the sound that is felt, not heard. How cool is that?
I've developed an interest in song structure and recording technique over the past year that's made me care less about what instrument I'm actually playing at any point, as well as how I'm playing it. This means I'm not at all opposed to sitting behind the drumkit and coming up with a beat to play something else to, much to Lucas' annoyance (not that he doesn't come across as totally cool with it, but I'm sure I'd be pissed off if some n00b tried telling me how to play my instrument, too - especially if it's a line I don't want to play). Further to this, I no longer care as much as I used to about making music that can be produced in a live setting, instead being more insterested in just using abstract sounds musically.
That means that I'll just be more inclined to totally mess a sample up and just give it a musical (work with me here) quality. If you've checked the MySpace, you'll have heard (probably) a song made of a sampled, sloppy, Meg-White-after-she's-had-a-few-too-many drum beat, droning over and over, a fuzzy bass line that, like the drum beat, cuts in and out at odd moments, and nothing else that could be reproduced live (also, Craig deserves props for that bassline - He came up with it, as he was present during the recording session that spawned many of those samples that are used on the same track). There's an M&Ms wrapper being screwed up, some water pouring into a bottle, and Lucas doing some bad (then later some good) throat-singing, among other effects. All this has been rendered unrecognisable. Sure, you might recognise Lucas' throat-singing in the track (did I mention its name? Martian Chorus Bells?), but you'd be surprised how much of said throat-singing is there that you're not hearing - a lot of it's been rendered unrecognisable by yours truly.
This sort of stuff is basically hella fun. I've just finished (I think) my second track along these lines. Again, live drums, although it's been run through distortion and reverb channels to make that exact sound that unreproducable live. But nothing else is conventional instrumentation. I've used backwards-masking, pitch-shifting, a lot of overdubbing. I'm still learning how to use Cubase, and when I get my head around that, I'll move on to other things.
It's entirely likely that the majority of the music I make will be like this. It's easier with my setup/skill level now anyway. There's that romanticised view of having a 'band' and physically playing music live in front of people which still appeals to me, but at this point in time, it's proving difficult to get live recordings of Lucas and I sounding as I like them. That, and I need to be able to play my instrument. My improv-ing skill sucks.
Basically, what I'm getting at is that my instrument of choice is becoming my recording setup. Recording live music with the expectation that one's sound will be reproduced faithfully is just silly, especially if your mic preamps are still broken, like you blogged about months back, preventing you from getting any sort of clean sound out of any instruments recorded live, 'cause you need those preamps for your wonderful condenser mics (yeah, I'm looking around for a stand-alone preamp now anyway...)
P.S - I've also checked the MySpace last night. Frustratingly, Martian Chorus Bells doesn't sound quite as clean as I thought it did through my headphones at home. It could be that I didn't listen to it through other speaker setups enough or that the track's quality on the page is not as high as when I mixed it, but it's incredibly muddy. I might see if I can fix that. You heard me...it's NOT FINISHED! HAHAHAHAHHAHAA! EAT DAT, LUCAS!)
Most people who read this should know that generally my stance is essentially:
I AM ARE BASS PLAYAH
If you didn't figure that out already, what planet have you been on?
I bring this up because anybody who knows me probably knows that I'm interested in creating songs more than writing basslines, so it makes little sense for me to just focus on my instrument of choice at any time. I happen to be drawn to playing bass because of how it affects a song's progression more than any other instrument you can think of. There's also the idea that a conventional clean bass tone could never be considered to be out of place in any genre of music, be it jazz, radio-friendly rock, hip-hop, sample-driven stuff like Radiohead and Massive Attack, metal...the list goes on. Also, there is a saying that the bass is the sound that is felt, not heard. How cool is that?
I've developed an interest in song structure and recording technique over the past year that's made me care less about what instrument I'm actually playing at any point, as well as how I'm playing it. This means I'm not at all opposed to sitting behind the drumkit and coming up with a beat to play something else to, much to Lucas' annoyance (not that he doesn't come across as totally cool with it, but I'm sure I'd be pissed off if some n00b tried telling me how to play my instrument, too - especially if it's a line I don't want to play). Further to this, I no longer care as much as I used to about making music that can be produced in a live setting, instead being more insterested in just using abstract sounds musically.
That means that I'll just be more inclined to totally mess a sample up and just give it a musical (work with me here) quality. If you've checked the MySpace, you'll have heard (probably) a song made of a sampled, sloppy, Meg-White-after-she's-had-a-few-too-many drum beat, droning over and over, a fuzzy bass line that, like the drum beat, cuts in and out at odd moments, and nothing else that could be reproduced live (also, Craig deserves props for that bassline - He came up with it, as he was present during the recording session that spawned many of those samples that are used on the same track). There's an M&Ms wrapper being screwed up, some water pouring into a bottle, and Lucas doing some bad (then later some good) throat-singing, among other effects. All this has been rendered unrecognisable. Sure, you might recognise Lucas' throat-singing in the track (did I mention its name? Martian Chorus Bells?), but you'd be surprised how much of said throat-singing is there that you're not hearing - a lot of it's been rendered unrecognisable by yours truly.
This sort of stuff is basically hella fun. I've just finished (I think) my second track along these lines. Again, live drums, although it's been run through distortion and reverb channels to make that exact sound that unreproducable live. But nothing else is conventional instrumentation. I've used backwards-masking, pitch-shifting, a lot of overdubbing. I'm still learning how to use Cubase, and when I get my head around that, I'll move on to other things.
It's entirely likely that the majority of the music I make will be like this. It's easier with my setup/skill level now anyway. There's that romanticised view of having a 'band' and physically playing music live in front of people which still appeals to me, but at this point in time, it's proving difficult to get live recordings of Lucas and I sounding as I like them. That, and I need to be able to play my instrument. My improv-ing skill sucks.
Basically, what I'm getting at is that my instrument of choice is becoming my recording setup. Recording live music with the expectation that one's sound will be reproduced faithfully is just silly, especially if your mic preamps are still broken, like you blogged about months back, preventing you from getting any sort of clean sound out of any instruments recorded live, 'cause you need those preamps for your wonderful condenser mics (yeah, I'm looking around for a stand-alone preamp now anyway...)
P.S - I've also checked the MySpace last night. Frustratingly, Martian Chorus Bells doesn't sound quite as clean as I thought it did through my headphones at home. It could be that I didn't listen to it through other speaker setups enough or that the track's quality on the page is not as high as when I mixed it, but it's incredibly muddy. I might see if I can fix that. You heard me...it's NOT FINISHED! HAHAHAHAHHAHAA! EAT DAT, LUCAS!)
Comments:
Nah, I get snippy when you're on my kit not because you're a n00b (well, you are), but because if you get too comfortable behind the kit you'll just start doing your drum lines yourself. And then I'll be REDUNDANT! Also, as I've said before, just because you can puzzle out a way to do something, it doesn't mean I can replicate it. Look at Venetian Snares. Having a sense of traditional rhythm would be a detriment plaing that.
And I like making wierdly-sounding-thrown-together stuff too. If you recall, it was me on the M&M wrapper, water jugs, and sliding bolts (my love of Foley and Sound Engineering has blossomed. I blame the Lord of the Rings Special Featurettes on creating sounds). That kind of what I was going for with the Voodoo Acid Housse, but it's not quite getting there.
As for playing live, it's something I would like to do, as I've done it before and it's fun. However, it's not the be-all-and-end-all.
And leave Martian Chorus Bells alone. We have things to do. Damn artists. Remember, you're a musician first!
And I like making wierdly-sounding-thrown-together stuff too. If you recall, it was me on the M&M wrapper, water jugs, and sliding bolts (my love of Foley and Sound Engineering has blossomed. I blame the Lord of the Rings Special Featurettes on creating sounds). That kind of what I was going for with the Voodoo Acid Housse, but it's not quite getting there.
As for playing live, it's something I would like to do, as I've done it before and it's fun. However, it's not the be-all-and-end-all.
And leave Martian Chorus Bells alone. We have things to do. Damn artists. Remember, you're a musician first!
Also, all of those samples were specifically your idea, that's true. I'd have to say the lugnuts turned out the best. Combined with the pouring water, they made it sound reverby without adding reverb.
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