Barber Electronics forum.

"First Tracks"

i've uploaded a 320kbps mp3, that can be streamed or downloaded:
(select the player, then hit play again)

http://www.nowhereradio.com/artists/alb ... 02&alid=-1

or
http://tiny.cc/XZgvY

First Tracks, is a rock instrumental.
the idea is a pristine setting on a snow covered mountain, bluebird day, champagne powder, first tracks.

this is an unmastered first mix-

this features the Tone Press on the cleaner rhythm guitar part (hard left);
Direct Drive SS driving a humbucker in a custom strat thru the 1st solo section, both lead and harmony;
Direct Drive SS pushing a neck single coil on the same strat, for the 2nd half of the song.

amp is a '81 mesa boogie 60 watt mark2b, into a Roland 1x12 closed back cab, with greenback, miced with a 57 on some tracks, at4033 on others.

Hey Gonzo!
I could not get it to play, that website rejected my Mac fileplayer...i'll try on the PC later.

Thanks for the file!

hello david!!

sorry for the trouble with this, man, i wished there was an easier way....

i DO have download available....

look here:



the (4) buttons on the right, the one farthest right, that points down... that's the download button.
see if that works for you.....

guys, here's a view of my current pedalboard, that's been pretty stripped down over the last year:




i've been using the tone press quite a lot, as a pure clean boost.
with my old boogie, there's a weird thing that happens with the lead channel...
it's almost as if there is a GOVERNER on the circuit...
so no matter how hard i hit the lead channel (with boosts or whatnot), the end result doesn't get any louder, it just gets more saturated.
which as you know, is NOT the intent most of the time....

but on the rhythm channel, with the tone press, it's GOLDEN!
LOL

My PC got it open, you sound great as always!

What playback monitors are you using? The thing I notice after listening is your playback monitors might not be giving you the best picture of the bass and mid frequencies. The snare and guitar seem a little back in the mix, and the deep lows of the kick drum are sitting forward (but not the thud), the treble sounds like it about spot on. Maybe it is time for playbacks with better (deeper) bass and less mids? It could be your room too. The playing and guitar tone are really good, but I think your monitors might be keeping the mix from spotlighting you, and with the snare sitting back a little , it not as obvious to listeners how cool some of the timing is on your guitar parts...The snare would make your guitar timing more obvious. And of course. More cowbell!!

Thanks again!!!

(There goes David again, showing off his crazy-wicked-good ear for tone!) I concur--it sounds great. I'm very impressed with your ability to express the mood: from virgin powder snow at the beginning of the song, to the nasty-blues "look how I just defiled that mountain with my board" second half.

I sort of assume from the pic that you've got the SS's gain below halfway and the volume boosted beyond unity to kick the amp's front-end? With all that available saturation & harmonics on tap from the Boogie, where have you got the "harmonics" set on your SS?

hey david!

thanks for listening and commenting.
good ears...
i've gone back and tweaked this quite a bit..
i think the low end has opened up, like you say, less roll off, more level, and dips in certain freq's that are just muddy.
this drum track was created in ACID at a friend's studio, i don't have access to edit it again, so i'm more or less stuck with it.
you know, it's an obvious thing sometimes, to mix guitars too hot, when you're highlighting the guitar, i tend to like to mix for the whole....
almost as if i want everything to blend and work together...
i did go back and automate some level changes on certain passages of the guitar, that just happen to drop in vol because of frequencies or whatever...
on this one, especially the 2nd half, the guitar kind of floats on top of the timing...

i'll tell you, the DDSS really helps the solo voice sing.
this is the guitar i used for this one:



hobbyist-
thanks for listening, i appreciate it!
you got the visuals for sure..... i mean, it's one of those things where you're allowed to create your own interpretation, so that's cool....

the picture is not showing my settings for this song....
it was taken at a later date...
and just so you'll know, as far as my recordings go, those knobs never sit in the same spot.
i change them song by song, and track by track.
i have no settings that are 'the' settings.
typically, i've got the harmonics dialed back, because i get so much off the amp the way i'm running it.
i use the SS as a grind generator, and a EQ of sorts....
with the boogie, and it's 'built in governor', i can't push the level into the lead channel without simply choking it.

now, on the clean channel, with the DDSS (which i've started using a lot more of) i can push it maxed out, and it only gets better.

so, i match the use of the SS with the amp setup..... and i just twist them knobs til i hear and feel what i want.
they work great!