Work-in-progress..."Us Mere Mortals"...kinda like rock

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Ron Vogel
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2011/07/12 15:57:59 (permalink)

Work-in-progress..."Us Mere Mortals"...kinda like rock

Wrote the lyrics about 20 or so years back...finally got around to structuring it last year. I laid down the tracks, and was never really happy with it. Last month I started tinkering with it, and I think the groove is there now.

Vocals were done when I had a bad cold...and I can hear it, so I will probably rerecord them with a lot less crap on them like I did. So for now imagine a better vocal! I didn't re-record anything new yet...just modified some of the drums and keys and focused more on getting rid of excessive plug-in use.

Anyway, I put a lot into this and am looking for opinions on the mix:
"Us Mere Mortals"
OurStage


I'm stuck in the past, but my foot's tapping forward 
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#1

16 Replies Related Threads

    jamesyoyo
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    Re:Work-in-progress..."Us Mere Mortals"...kinda like rock 2011/07/13 22:47:52 (permalink)
    That first line was just much too much too soon.

    I do like that organ sound quite a bit.
    #2
    Janet
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    Re:Work-in-progress..."Us Mere Mortals"...kinda like rock 2011/07/15 11:15:18 (permalink)
    I love the arrangement! Great playing!  Loving the bass line (I'm learning to play bass now, so I notice it more these days.)  :)   And for having a cold, you still sound pretty darn good. 
    #3
    Ron Vogel
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    Re:Work-in-progress..."Us Mere Mortals"...kinda like rock 2011/07/15 11:42:56 (permalink)
    Janet


    I love the arrangement! Great playing!  Loving the bass line (I'm learning to play bass now, so I notice it more these days.)  :)   And for having a cold, you still sound pretty darn good. 

    Yeah, bass is totally fun when you find the groove. As a guitar player it is very difficult to play bass; that is, to play bass like a bass...not like a guitar. Arrangement is so different. I ususally have to go back and fourth with the drums while I'm at it. Sometimes that cool bass part just doesn't follow the kick and it HAS to or the mix will never come around.
     
    I've been playing with it some more, but hopefully this weekend I can finish up the vox and wrap it up. I need to move on to another tune here...lol
     
    I stopped any new tunes until I can fix many of the ones I did last year, and the next one is a very ambitous production

    I'm stuck in the past, but my foot's tapping forward 
    Ron Vogel Soundclick page
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    Janet
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    Re:Work-in-progress..."Us Mere Mortals"...kinda like rock 2011/07/15 11:57:44 (permalink)
    I suppose it's also not good to play a bass like a piano then, huh?  lol  Yeah, it's fun....lots to learn.  I had to first get over the fact that there are no black and white keys.  And every C note doesn't look the same.  But it's coming and at least they let me play when there's no other bass player around. :) 

    Can't wait to hear your tweaked ones...For me to hear the difference, I'd have to a/b them right in a row, but I'm sure they'll be better.  I really should do that to most of my old ones.  Some of them even make ME cringe.  lol
    #5
    Ron Vogel
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    Re:Work-in-progress..."Us Mere Mortals"...kinda like rock 2011/07/15 13:22:29 (permalink)
    Janet


    I suppose it's also not good to play a bass like a piano then, huh?  lol  Yeah, it's fun....lots to learn.  I had to first get over the fact that there are no black and white keys.  And every C note doesn't look the same.  But it's coming and at least they let me play when there's no other bass player around. :) 

    Can't wait to hear your tweaked ones...For me to hear the difference, I'd have to a/b them right in a row, but I'm sure they'll be better.  I really should do that to most of my old ones.  Some of them even make ME cringe.  lol

    I actually use the piano quite a bit to figure out the bass, but it's not my main instrument...I may do it against normal practice.
     
    Once I get the melody/song on the guitar, I'll play it on the piano...then use the left hand part as the structure for the bass. Doesn't always pan out, but usually works pretty well.
     
     
    I have the same problem...the stuff I thought at the time was awesome is unlistenable for various reasons now. Mostly because everytime I work on my DAW something new is learned. Go back a year or more and you notice all the flaws in production, arrangement, mixing, etc. I'm facepalming myself not knowing what I was thinking putting 5 plugs on a track that probably didn't need anything. My philosophy has definatly changed. It's now only (as close to) perfection going into the daw; not trying to polish the takes on the back end.

    I'm stuck in the past, but my foot's tapping forward 
    Ron Vogel Soundclick page
    #6
    Janet
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    Re:Work-in-progress..."Us Mere Mortals"...kinda like rock 2011/07/15 14:45:07 (permalink)
    Well, fortunately, I seem to be able to hear what a bass is supposed to do, so that helped, once I figured out where the silly notes are.  :)  But as I watch videos and listen more carefully to good bass players, I realize there's a lot more to it than just playing the root and the 5th.  lol 

    Yeah, it's amazing what new plugs, new SW, and way more savvy will do, huh?  :) 
    #7
    alkie
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    Re:Work-in-progress..."Us Mere Mortals"...kinda like rock 2011/07/18 14:55:32 (permalink)
    You defo bring me back to the 70`s everytime ...yup when the music was damn good !!!!!!


    Whoa.... to you ...oh...earth and sea...
    for the devil sends the beast with wrath.....
    because he knows the time is short.....
    let him who hath understanding.....
    reckon the number of the beast.....
    for it is a human number...
    it`s number is.....
    666

    So if JESUS rose from the DEAD
    Does that mean he`s the ORIGINAL ZOMBIE?
    #8
    57Gregy
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    Re:Work-in-progress..."Us Mere Mortals"...kinda like rock 2011/07/20 22:37:23 (permalink)
    I like it.

    Greg 
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    #9
    Heavy_Sounds
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    Re:Work-in-progress..."Us Mere Mortals"...kinda like rock 2011/07/23 01:13:15 (permalink)
    Hey Ron, I just wanted to give you the heads up on something you might not be aware of. I clicked on your song link, and I use Firefox and the Web Of Trust Plugin, as soon as I clicked on it it sent me to Our Stage and Web Of Trust give me a warning for the site "Our Stage". I think what that's all about is not so much the site but it has to do with the advertisements that they have started allowing on their site. In my opinion Web Of Trust is a good defense against adware and spyware and such. Anyway I just thought I would let you know about that.

    Whatever the case, I knew your link was ok, so I continued on. I absolutely loved the tune! Awesome work there! +1 and kudos all around on this one.

    BTW I was just letting you know about my experience with the link and why I thought it was viewed that way, or site I should say, I was not knocking you or your song in anyway whatsoever.

    Excellent work! My only critic would be it sounds as though you need to take the final mix and pump up the volume a little bit. Or that is drop the mixdown file in something like Audacity or Sound Forge or something like that and throw in some VST's to tweak the mix to where the bass kicks up a little more, and the overall volume.

    I love the tune either way, nothing I said is a knock,  one of the best I've heard on the forums in a long time. BTW I haven't always been replying, but I have always been listening.

    I hope this helps you.

    Be Well!


    post edited by Heavy_Sounds - 2011/07/23 01:15:19
    #10
    theguitarplayer
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    Re:Work-in-progress..."Us Mere Mortals"...kinda like rock 2011/07/24 22:22:35 (permalink)
    Ron, Now that was quite a power house of music and vocals. I read the lyrics and they hit me in my heart. This has a very powerful message that I hope people will get and understand. Always nice to hear your work and a blessing to hear powerful lyrics sung with such intensity. Great piece and a great sound. Blessings, John

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    Ron Vogel
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    Re:Work-in-progress..."Us Mere Mortals"...kinda like rock 2011/07/25 10:16:39 (permalink)
    theguitarplayer


    Ron, Now that was quite a power house of music and vocals. I read the lyrics and they hit me in my heart. This has a very powerful message that I hope people will get and understand. Always nice to hear your work and a blessing to hear powerful lyrics sung with such intensity. Great piece and a great sound. Blessings, John

    Thanks!
     
    I have really come a long way with it over the past week, but got stuck on vox again and there's just no way around having to rerecord them. Mostly because I was distorting the preamps...and then got a little crazy with the v-vocal. Lots of clicks, pops, and distortion. I'm also tweaking the lyrics to the second verse, and it makes more sense. I started on the VOX last night, but stopped after I realized the phrasing could follow the rythm better. I made a CD for my commute to practice/work it out this week.

    I'm stuck in the past, but my foot's tapping forward 
    Ron Vogel Soundclick page
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    Thatsastrat
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    Re:Work-in-progress..."Us Mere Mortals"...kinda like rock 2011/07/26 02:41:50 (permalink)
    Ron,
    I gave your song a couple of listens and I like what you have going.
    My only real nit is the heavey chop you have going on the accoustic guitar on the left side.
    It just seems like the chop is to heavy handed. maybe you could put some volume automation on it to tame it some, or maybe you like it and want to keep it. To me it sticks out to much.
    Carry on!
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    theguitarplayer
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    Re:Work-in-progress..."Us Mere Mortals"...kinda like rock 2011/07/27 21:13:35 (permalink)
    Back for another listen! Yes, it sounds good to me, but you must realize, I don't know what exactly you are looking for, for your sound. I like it and it has a nice sound to it. Is it perfect, maybe not, but it carries a great sound to it and has a nice guitar jam going on that talks to me. I'm not big on critique, I just enjoy a good jam and a good song and so that is what I am listening to as I type. Thanks for sharing!! Enjoyed alot!!

    Blessings, John

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    timidi
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    Re:Work-in-progress..."Us Mere Mortals"...kinda like rock 2011/07/27 22:04:31 (permalink)
    Nice Ron. Sort of has a 'sweet home alabama' thing going on with the chords.
    Nice production. everything is crystal clean on my end. Ending is way cool.

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    Ron Vogel
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    Re:Work-in-progress..."Us Mere Mortals"...kinda like rock 2011/07/28 12:03:35 (permalink)
    Thanks, I wish you guys could hear what I've done with it...I'm stuck on vocals right now.

    We moved last month, and my new "studio" isn't really a dedicated space. It makes it difficult to do the actual recording parts (I'm right below our girls room). I got the first verse redone and it turned out really well. I skipped on to another tune until I can find and hour or two to finish up the rest.

    I can say other than finding the right time to record parts the room is MUCH better for mixing (when the furnace/AC isn't running). I can actually hear the bass and reverb trails now...lol.

    I'm stuck in the past, but my foot's tapping forward 
    Ron Vogel Soundclick page
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    bayoubill
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    Re:Work-in-progress..."Us Mere Mortals"...kinda like rock 2011/07/28 12:12:15 (permalink)
    This is great Ron! Bring up the guitar in the chorus! 

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