Level 99 Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 Hey guys and gals. I started writing this in my head a few weeks ago, and last night I basically had to record it for fear of losing the ideas, or fear that it would make my brain explode if I didn't get it out of there. I posted it on #ocrwip last night, and got some great feedback from Hemophiliac and Dyne, but I'd love other people's ideas. It's an acoustic guitar rendition with three guitars, but I was thinking of adding some light percussion like a shaker and timbale, and someone mentioned adding a flute lead at some point. The suggestions given thus far to try out have been as follows: * fix the out of tune guitar/bad notes (I knew this before posting, the WIP was recorded in about 2 hours just so I could get feedback ) * try an acoustic bass/alternative bass to the one rhythm guitar doing the low-end * up the lead an octave during faster section so it sounds less muddled (acoustic bass might fix this as well) * do more bending and sliding * add a flute I'm sure there was more, but I don't have the IRC logs in front of me. Well, anyway, here's the WIP version one: ta-da! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gario Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 Hmm... pretty interesting - this is the third Metal Man song I've heard in the WIP forums recently. Nice overall sound to it - good job with the playing. I like the pacing and the overall sound to it. Some of the parts in the first half seem follow the source too closely for my taste, and I'm not saying that because of OC's standards, either - it just clashes with the style your going for, here (although the second half is pretty well done, overall). For example, that run that uses three descending notes then a rising note (and repeats this - it's used at the end of the source) just shouldn't be used note-for-note in this song. You have such a smooth feel going throughout that it sounds abrasive. There's a note in the beginning that sounds out of tune (a bit less than a quarter tone flat), but perhaps you can 'tune' it in your DAW rather than re-recording the song on your own - it's understandably difficult to make recordings of music and may not be worth trying to fix one note. EDIT: Oh wait, you knew that, my bad . I personally like the fact that the melody is in the same range as the rest of the arrangement - it gives the music a more 'warm' feel that you'd lose if the melody was higher. It can sound good either way, though. I like your take on this - it makes me feel relaxed. I can't say it's an OC track due to the conservative nature of the song, but I enjoy it nonetheless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackKieser Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Ok, that's awesome. It reminds me of "Vampire Spanker" a little bit, which is always good news. I can't wait to hear a not-rushed recording of this. EDIT: Yeah, I've totally chopped up and looped the faster part of this WIP for use in my Brawl disc. Now I REALLY can't wait for more updates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kizyr Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 I'm afraid I can't offer much advice here, but I'll try. The first thing that struck me was the lack of bass. I have to agree that an acoustic bass would really add a lot. I don't think you should try adding in other instruments (mostly flute, percussion also) just yet, at least until you've tried seeing how a bass part would affect it. The first half mostly was wanting for an acoustic bass. The second part sounds good to me as-is. KF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xenon Odyssey Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 this is hottt i pretty much agree with what your list says, although I have reservations about the flute. I wouldn't add it unless you don't feel as if the guitars keep it interesting enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Level 99 Posted July 22, 2009 Author Share Posted July 22, 2009 Awesome, guys. Thank you everyone for the feedback, and so quickly too! I'll have some time to work on some improvements later this week, and am talking to a friend about borrowing/buying his acoustic bass. Looks like I'll be trying that first before adding other things, though the percussion is still definitely in the back of my mind. Thanks for listening and also for the compliments as well. Even if this doesn't end up being OCR material, it's still something I wanna do Hopefully updates in a few days. In terms of recording quality and eq-ing, how did that stuff sound? I'm trying to increase the "professionalism and production quality" of my mixes... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TSori Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 I am really liking this. I'd agree that the arrangement is on the conservative side, which is not necessarily a bad thing at all. I'm actually going jump onto the other side of the discussion here and say I'd leave it without the bass. A lot of acoustic music like this is light on bass. And i feel like adding any more instruments to it may take away from what you already have (which is a pretty great start on a solo guitar arrangement). Of course, what direction you take it is up to you. this really remind me , style-wise of something you'd hear from andy mckee that said, one thing I think would help this out a lot, would be to think about adding percussive effects from the guitar, (i.e. that video ). I think that would add another degree of depth to your mix without detracting from it the way additional instruments might. best of luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bananabomberman Posted July 28, 2009 Share Posted July 28, 2009 No not sad as in bad, but I guess compared to the normally "happy" remixes. =] I think its actually fine as it is right now. Although it would be cool to have a climactic point or something =D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Level 99 Posted July 29, 2009 Author Share Posted July 29, 2009 Okay, basically my sound card broke last week. It's been fighting a losing battle over time and it finally kicked it, so I had to go out and get another one. Well, first, I'd like to say how surprised I am at the quality-to-price ratio of the Lexicon LambdA. It actually is making my guitars sound better right out of the box. Second, here's the list of things I will be doing to this before the next WIP (which I dunno when it will be, so many mixes on my list!!!): Re-record the guitars using new setup: Direct guitar pickup + MXL991 phantom-power mic recording simultaneously (hopefully will get that live acoustic warmth and reverb while retaining the brightness and clarity of the pickup, which always sounded hollow before). Smoothe out the transition from slow to fast Try different ways to getting the sound to be less muddy and over-crowded at certain points. Better mastering and possible additions of instruments (biggest one would be stuff for rhythm, either guitar "slapping" percussion or small hand-held percussion, possibly another instrument for a lead bit) Thanks to all the feedback again, I really appreciate it guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
audio fidelity Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 mmmmmm - this is fantastic i actually am liking the idea of just guitars if you don't want to do more production I think percussion would help (drumming on your guitar could be a really neat idea) - overall everything could be tighter - get that click solid the advice for bass may help, an acoustic bass guitar would be ideal, djembe would be cool, flute is a great idea, but your gonna have to work more on the arrangement with all that jazz - if you want to keep it simple i think it could work - i actually like the idea of you just doing everything with guitar and getting creative with it now some of the ideas could be a little more compressed and to the point - but everything feels really good - can't wait to see what happens with this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheHands Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 This mix made me smile. I can't offer too much criticism since I don't really know the source (didn't have Megaman as a kid), but I'm a sucker for any guitar music (played in a classical guitar ensemble in high school). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperiorX Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 I really liked this! Metal Man's theme is another waaaay overmixed song, but I haven't heard it (or any other Mega Man song for that matter) remixed this way with acoustic guitar. I do absolutely love acoustic guitar tracks though, so perhaps I'm a little biased Someone needs to get on making a whole acoustic Mega Man collab album. That would be awesome, like acoustic guitar, some well executed hand percussion, and some subtle string bass. Nice. Anyway... I don't think I really have much to say about the awesomeness of this track. I do think some light drums (either brushes, or hand percussion) could add a whole new level of depth to the track, but that's just my personal opinon. It stands alone as a pure acoustic guitar track just fine. The ending is a little anti-climatic, the rhythm just kind of fades out, I would have liked to see some kind of climax, but again that's just my personal opinion, it all depends on the direction you want to take the track. I'm looking forward to the next update! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dafydd Posted August 6, 2009 Share Posted August 6, 2009 Wow, this is really pretty. Don't get to see a lot of this type of music on OCR. I think the melody was played a little hard, and the guitar playing it is too loud. Usually, melodies and high-pitched instruments can do with a little more reverb than the rest and feeling a little more distant, but you've done the opposite, creating a convex soundscape rather than a concave one. Your choice, of course. I really hope this gets posted. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Level 99 Posted August 7, 2009 Author Share Posted August 7, 2009 Thanks for the continuous critiques and suggestions, people. I'll be working on this as soon as I can, as a little snag as come up concerning my left hand (Doc next week should be able to get me on my way to recovery, and I'm crossing my fingers that what's wrong is what I think it is!), so I really haven't been able to update. Can anyone recommend or comment on the following: I've recently been told that, for guitar, recording in mono and hard-panning for balance and mix yields a better result than recording in stereo and trying to balance it that way (this may have been in reference to rock distorted guitars, but I'm still checking). Any comments? What would be a warm-sounding reverb to put on these guitars? Are both styles okay in this version of the writing? I didn't know if they just made it seem like two versions of the same song on three acoustic guitars glued together or if it actually had some flow stylisticly. Also, in your opinion, do either the slow or fast parts need extending or cutting? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwordBreaker Posted August 8, 2009 Share Posted August 8, 2009 Didn't expect a Metal Man remix in this style. As most of the listeners, I'm a sucker for acoustic guitar music and I'm loving this remix. Nice playing. Nice sounds. Love the change-up in tempo mid-track. All this needs is vocals and drumwork and you've got your next "Incubus - Drive"...although that'll defeat the purpose of keeping it acoustic only. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Level 99 Posted October 24, 2009 Author Share Posted October 24, 2009 Newest version of WIP, completely redone guitars and temps, much better production-wise I'd say. Ready for your feedback, and probably almost ready for submission, I just need an ending and to clean up some of the sections: Clicky! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PROTO·DOME Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 It's wierd how perfectly this genre fits the source. I really like this, especially when it kicks into the next section. ^___^ It's gotta be nearly done hasn't it? I likey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Level 99 Posted October 24, 2009 Author Share Posted October 24, 2009 Yeah, it's nearly done, I just need to find some more spots for guitar layering for a little added pizazz, and writing an ending, and it should be good to go. I'm more concerned with the mixing and mastering than the performance, which I know has one or two little guitar f-up's, but that's easier for me to fix than shoddy production. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nubioso Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 I've recently been told that, for guitar, recording in mono and hard-panning for balance and mix yields a better result than recording in stereo and trying to balance it that way (this may have been in reference to rock distorted guitars, but I'm still checking). Any comments? I know you've already re-recorded so it doesn't matter at this point, but IMO, an acoustic guitar that's been recorded with a nice stereo pair of mics, (And recorded right via this means) sounds simply amazing, but that would be for more of the single guitar just wanting to be really full in the picture. Considering you have 3 guitars essentially with the center and 2 more going as doublers on the left and right, stereo-pairing the center guitar probably woulda been too much. Your mix sounds good man. I like the sound you got, nice clean sounding acoustic and you play pretty well. Like you say, there's a couple little blurbs in there but they are hardly noticeable and is something that doesn't really detract from the song. Overall, very nice. Good luck with the submission. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoulinEther Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 I too think it's got a good sound right now. You adapted it perfectly to this style, and I like it. I listened to it a few times and couldn't really notice anything wrong with it (but everyone is always their own worst critic, lol). I eagerly look forward to the next revision. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Level 99 Posted October 26, 2009 Author Share Posted October 26, 2009 Thanks for the feedback, folks. This has definitely been sitting in my to-do box since before the flood of recent projects, and it kind-of got lost in the bulk of things until I got most of my WIPs out of the way. I've never attempted a stereo-mic'd acoustic recording before, mainly for the reason that I don't have two identical mics and I'm not in the best room for recording but I see what's being said, and it would probably only be that much more noticable on a mix with a lesser number of acoustic guitars. The next version will more-than-likely be the final, unless I receive some really big complaints about something I've added. Should get the re-records done soon, probably by middle November at the latest (I really need to start working on a "finish this song before starting another song approach" again). You guys are all awesome. Wave-o'-babies awesome. Hocking the final version of this atcha soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkyWay Posted October 27, 2009 Share Posted October 27, 2009 Just have to say this : Awesome! I just have to listen to this over and over again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audity Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 The difference between WIP1 and 2 is insane. I just wish the higher-frequency buzzing/fuzz in the first half was somehow quieter, even though it's quite quiet already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Level 99 Posted November 1, 2009 Author Share Posted November 1, 2009 Ladies and Gentlemen...here is the proposed final version. I will be subbing it next week. If there is anything else you can recommend, PLEASE DO IT. Otherwise, I'd say this is final: http://www.mediafire.com/?kic44tcgqzq ^__^ Edit: New version of final, with some slightly tweaked mastering. Thanks to LuIzA and OA! Also changed the name. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperiorX Posted November 5, 2009 Share Posted November 5, 2009 Yes! I think this has really come together! WIP2 was a lot better than WIP1, and this successive update pretty much sounds complete. I think the solo at the end, although not quite what I expected, sounds great and fits in well. Overall I'd say it's great. I really like the interpretation and the style of the piece. We don't hear enough acoustic guitar remixes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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