Studio sessions...a little alternative and a little industrial

[PlunderSteed 1,252]

Some of my studio sessions from the past couple years. These two are covers. Mostly intended to experiment with various recording methods and breaking in new gear. I have some original work, but it isn't ready just yet.

 

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Weezer, "Don't Let Go" (Green Album, 2001)

 

TECHNICAL NOTES:

 

Drums (2 tracks): "Pop Up" kit from the Alesis QuadraSynth rack module. Like my previous projects, I had to hand-craft the drum lines and/or hammer them out on my Yamaha KX8. Now that I have room for a kit, I'm shopping around for a real digital set.

 

Guitars (2 rhythm, 1 lead): LTD H-100 with Rocktron Rampage R80 amp and the classic CryBaby Wah. Nothing all that special here. Wah is always fun, and the green album uses tons of it.

 

Bass: Squier P Bass with a Line 6 Low Down Studio 110 amp. I learned a lot about bass post-production while working on this project. In particular, I ended up spending a long time tweaking the EQ so the bass could stand on its own without muddling the floor tom or the lower rhythm guitar line.

 

Vocals: AKG Perception 120 condenser mic. I wasn't too thrilled about the need for so much vocal compression on this project...it ended up coming out a little squashed. At least the actual harmonizing was easier than I expected. I don't think I practiced much, if at all. I just fired it up and ended up with usable takes right off the bat. Between the time that these tracks were recorded (about 8 months ago) and now, I've increased my range about half an octave on the high end. I'm not sure if it would be noticeable if I redid these two tracks since they use a very limited range as it is. Oh well. My next project will require a little more dynamics in the vocals department.

 

Studio: Lexicon Omega I/O interface running Steinberg Cubase 4. For this project I was less lazy than usual. I even took the time to properly fade in/out all tracks where applicable. That means there should be no more noticeable breathing, fret noise, clicking/popping, etc. I think I applied each track's EQ in a more structured way, too. In the past I didn't spend much time balancing the tracks' EQ against one another, but I kind of had to for this song (mainly due to the big difference between the two rhythm guitar tracks). After tweaking the fade ins/outs, the project ended up being exactly three minutes long. I'm not sure, but I think their studio version was 3:04. The difference is probably due to some extra white space at the beginning, since it's the album's opening track.

 

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Fear Factory, "Final Exit" (Mechanize, 2009)

 

ARTISTIC NOTES...

 

The song was written as a tribute to the book of the same name. It's about a belief in every human's right to decide how and when they want to die. This is a topic that strikes a chord with me, since I too resent the various cultural and legal institutions that would rather keep a person in perpetual pain rather than let them face their end with dignity.

 

PRODUCTION NOTES...

 

This project was a little rushed. Hell, I had to do all of the vocals tracks within a 2 hour window...it's pretty obvious that I did the outro vocals about an hour before singing the (cracking, out-of-tune) last chorus, following the bridge. Anyways, I'll redo those when I get the chance. It's easier to take 2 minutes to unload the (padded) walk-in closet and run my 1/4" (headphones) and XLR (mic) cables and lay down some vocals tracks than it is to tweak the guitars, preamps and track configurations anyways.

 

The original album version is nearly identical, note for note. However, it includes a ~4 minute outro segment (since it's the final track on the album), which I have not included in my version. Eventually I'll add it...it's just a piano and some miscellaneous synths, feedback, delay, reverb and compression to elongate the refrain a couple dozen times. There are a few long-ish segments with no lyrics. This is because the 3rd verse in the album version is audio exerpts from the book itself. I might add these into my version or just remove the 3rd verse entirely.

 

TECHNICAL NOTES...

 

For the most part, I'm using the same PC-based setup as before. It's Steinberg software controlling a Lexicon Omega for all audio and MIDI I/O. Bass amp is a Line 6 Low Down Studio 110. Vocals mic is an AKG Perception 120. Some things about this project that are different from my previous projects...

 

Guitar:

- Using an Ibanez S7420 (2010 model) for the first time...

- Through a DigiTech RP1000. I used this for compression, distortion, chorus, delay and reverb on the 3 guitar tracks.

- No amp this time; just the RP1000. Later this year I'll pick up the legendary Peavy 6505+ and a stack.

- Standard 7 string, detuned to A.

 

Bass:

- Using the same bass, but restrung it with Ernie Ball strings.

- E is now a 120, detuned to A (rather than buying a 5 string model).

 

Synth:

- Actually getting some use out of my Yamaha KX8 and Alesis QSR's string sections. On that note, same Alesis DM5 drums, as usual.

 

Sequencing:

- Had to dig out the manual (on PDF) to figure out how to get Steinberg's Cubase LE4 to dynamically change time signatures and tempo. It's subtle, but it changes to 5/4 timing at measure 89, then right back to standard timing. Also, the tempot fades from 110 down to 90 between measures 116 and 132. This was a huge load off of my back, and it might inspire me to do some of that whacky 13/8, 7/8 and 6/8 stuff that's been bouncing around in my head for the past 5 years.