EP unmixed/raw cuts - KCWM's music v2 (11/24)

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KCWM

KCWM

My last thread was closed due to inactivity, so here's another one.

My friend and I have been working on an self-recorded EP of my music, tentatively untitled, though a couple of ideas are floating around. I've started blogging about the process, gear used, and whatever else comes to mind at Cold the Winter. I figured I'd post up the two songs we worked on before realized we were recording in an inferior quality setting, a possible change in recording software, and other software changes.

The only mixing done on the following two songs was raising the levels of tracks so that everything is in the same ballpark and some slight panning of the two versions of the rhythm guitar in So Far.

I do not have access to Soundcloud at work, so I am unable to upload there at this time.

Goodbye
Blog Post - Cold the Winter: "Goodbye" - 11/14/10
Song - http://www.coldthewinter.com/music/goodbye.mp3

So far
Blog Post - Cold the Winter: "So Far" - 11/17/10
Song - http://www.coldthewinter.com/music/sofar1117.mp3
Song - Cold the Winter - So Far (acoustic and vocals)

So Far was rewritten as we recorded it. I'm not sure how the vocals will change, if they will change, other than having more oomph to them. The lead guitar has already and the "solo" has been redone as well since this was recorded a week ago.

Edit - My friend and I have a session scheduled for Saturday, 11/27, to rerecord "So Far" and possibly "Goodbye". I'd like to work on vocals tomorrow but not sure if that will happen or not. I've been spending a lot of time trying to find a balance between my old and new singing style.
 
KCWM

KCWM

Thanks a lot! I'm really hoping that today will be a 10 hour session or so. It shouldn't take long to rerecord the two songs above in a higher quality format, so I'm hoping we can program and get another song done. The next song slated is called "Spin" and an old version can be found at Spin..
 
KCWM

KCWM

Thanks, Espy.

We rerecorded "So Far". My friend wanted me to use his bass stack to record bass, but I'm not all that happy with how the bass turned out...sounds muddy and flat, so I'll be retracking the bass.

"Spin" didn't come out like I'd like. The distortion sounds like I used a cheap Boss Metal Zone pedal, so we are going to rerecord another track of distorted guitars and either blend the tracks or use the new one.

I played him a couple of songs from your EP and he thought the name Fallen Empire sounded familiar. Have you guys done any interviews with any online sits/magazines?
 
Dave

Dave

Staff member
Wow. Just wow. Between you & Espy we have some damn fine artist on this board! These are both great tunes!
 
KCWM

KCWM

Looks like this last weekend's songs might have to be totally scrapped. The way we mic'd the guitars resulted in a really nasty, out-of-phase sound...almost no mids in the guitar, so it sounds really thin and hollow...in a bad way.

We were going to record this weekend, but I'm feeling sick AND this has been a beat-down of a week. I'm likely going to work on the drums for a couple of songs and that's it.
 
KCWM

KCWM

http://www.coldthewinter.com/music/altgdrumdemo.mp3

This is a revised drum track programmed through FL Studio 9 Producer using EZ Drummer and the Nashville EZX expansion. I made it into a .wav and set to a (lower quality) version of the song I recorded in 2008 (found at SoundClick artist: Cold the Winter - This is my music, both old and new.). I pulled the the guitars way down so that you can get a feel of the song, but focus on the drums. If you listen to the soundclick link, I think you can agree that the new drum track sounds better, both with transition fills and the overall sound. We need to tweak some levels (the ride cymbal is a bit low).

I've been told the song has a Smashing Pumpkins feel to it, even though I do not claim them as an influence, I'm going to embrace that when we record the guitars and go for a Siamese Dream sound with it. I recently picked up a cool fuzz pedal and my friend has an old fuzz pedal of his own, so we are going to record multiple tracks with the two fuzz pedals and a distortion pedal for whatever clarity is needed.

I'm hoping to get this song, ALTG, and Goodbye wrapped up by the end of the year.

For those interested, Guitar Center is currently running a special where you can pick up FL Studio 9 Producer for $99 and the base EZ Drummer program for $99 that comes with a free midi controller. The expansions are currently $39 each, and I already have the Nashville and Vintage Rock expansions. I decided that, after years of use, I should actually go the legal route with my software.
 
KCWM

KCWM

Here's an update.

Things have been progressing slowly...much slower than I'd like. But, in a way, it's good news. Let me get started

I recently upgraded from EZ Drummer to Superior Drummer 2.0, so the drums are going to get an overhaul. SD seems to be a pretty powerful drum program (and for a normal shelf price of $350, I'd hope it is), but it's going to require my friend and I to go back and revisit the drums. The big difference between EZ Drummer and Superior Drummer is that the drums in SD don't come pre-EQ'd. It has some cool EQ presets and "producer packs" which include presets by producers I've never really heard of. With these presets, the drums sound fantastic. I've always felt that the programmed drum samples were one of the weaker links in my music and I've taken steps, and thrown money at, fixing that.

My wife got me an iRig for Christmas, which allows you to plug your guitar into your iPhone/iPad. Amplitube makes a pretty cool program for this (they put out the iRig). I've been working on a rearrangement/rewrite of "Spin" and I've been using this to do it. The sounds need tweaking and I roughly put a demo to show my friend what I'm doing with the song. You can listen to it here. It doesn't have the reversed intro of the current version up on soundclick.com/coldthewinter and the sounds are nowhere close to being mixed, but it will give you an idea of where I'm taking the song. The previous rhythm guitar for the verse is now going to be played by the "lead" guitar, so I have to come up with something different for the verses, if I come up with anything at all. I'm trying to take this song in a Nirvana-esque quiet verse/loud chorus kind of direction.

In the mean time, I've been wrapping up programming the MIDI files that SD2.0 will use so that we will be able to focus on recording. My friend has to work every Saturday through February, so that's put a huge damper on us recording at his place. Fortunately, this has given me time to get my hands on a Marshall Class 5 and put a vintage silverface Fender Champ in layaway at a pawn shop. If I remember reading correctly, the Fender Champs played a role in the first two Led Zepplin albums. Good enough for that timeless band, good enough for me, even if I'm not a huge fan. This should allow us to get some good tube sounds at lower volumes. Unfortunately, this will also mean redoing "So Far".

Hopefully, I'll have something better to post soon.
 
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