Alright, I got time yesterday to actually play some harp, and I cam up with a new "song sketch". It's on it's way, but it needs some more work. I have my own ideas, but I'd like to hear any opinions y'all might have. Yes, it's another loopity, beatboxy, effects-laden one. That's my style now!
The low stuff- I like the percussion at the beginning, but the tongue cluck sounds a little bare compared to the much more processed sounds. Maybe some more bass, echo and volume on the rhythm to fill out the low end. Maybe even pitch shifted down?
The high stuff- The higher stuff is interesting. I like the organ grinder motif. There isn't much room for pause with a theme like that. To make up for that you might want crisper ends to lines than you'd usually have. I don't know what made me think of this, and I can't explain what I mean, but what Buckcherry does with the chorus vocals on 'Crazy Bitch' is sort of what I'm thinking. They synchronize the strong bass beat to fall just as the singer is about to take a breath.
You could also separate the parts out a little bit in the mix by panning the two instruments apart. I don't know enough about loop pedals to know if you can do that live though.
Your harp has a weird zither sort of sound that's really cool. I love when you switch from the single notes to the chords. With the effects you've got on it it sounds like someone is playing a zither, and then every now and then a second person is playing a concertina or accordion for just a second.
In my mind, I could hear this with the low stuff turned up to club levels and that melody being just relentless.
Sweet! Yeah Nate, I understand what you mean about where to take the breaths. I'm playing unfocused in the fills between the main riff. I've got a clearer pattern now for that part, so I think that will help. Yeah, I'm using the same signal path for the percussion right now, but I ought to make a seperate patch for it, and switch to the organ patch when I start the harp part... Thanks for the feedback, I really appreciate it! ---------- ------------------ The magnificent YouTube channel of the internet user known as "isaacullah"
Really interesting! I don't know the arctic monkeys but this had a kinda beginning of a journey feel to it. Sorry I have no helpful suggestions at the moment I'll boil it over the weekend. Should be cool to hear the final take.
---------- ~Ryan
"I play the harmonica. The only way I can play is if I get my car going really fast, and stick it out the window." - Stephen Wright
Pennsylvania - H.A.R.P. (Harmonica Association 'Round Philly)
I liked it : ) It sounds like you've got the basic idea for the song all set, and now you just need to expand on it a bit and polish it up.
Personally I would use the tremelo/vibrato more sparingly, it sounds like you're using almost non-stop through the song. Of course this is very subjective, but for me, I think it would be more effective if it were used more selectively throughout the song.
Good work, it's interesting to see how people are starting to create their own take on the type of stuff Son Of Dave has been doing. This uses the same basic concept that SOD has, but it sounds nothing like what he's doing. That's awesome, you're creating your own style and not just copying what he's already done.
Last Edited by on Mar 13, 2010 3:38 AM
Thanks Ryan. I realy appreciate that commentary, since it's exactly what I'm trying to do. SOD's setup inspires me because he's had to innovate to do what he wanted as a solo artist, and I feel like i'm in that same boat. If I want to make songs, I don't have a band, so i'm on my own, and the technology SOD uses is a good way to get around that. But I definitely want "my own sound", so I'm glad that's coming through.
As for the Tremolo, I think I know what's going on. A friend of mine noticed that the beatbox and the tremolo are going at different frequencies, which is clashing and distracting and makes it hard to hear both at the same time. Perhaps the solution is to speed the beat up to match the relative frequency of the tremolo, or to slow the tremolo to match the beat. The tremolo should be 2 or 3 per beat, I'd think...
