Some making of info: Reverb used in the guitar solo is Native Instruments RC24. One RC24 instance is also in the snare drum track. http://www.native-instruments.com/en/products/komplete/effects/rc-24/ RC48 is used in various tracks in the song.
http://www.native-instrum...omplete/effects/rc-48/
 
I used NI Solid EQ and Solid Bus Comp in busses.
http://www.native-instrum...ects/solid-mix-series/
 
Drum tracks have a couple of Waves CLA instances. In drum bus there's L1 limiter to cut 1-2 dB highest peaks.
 
Guitars (Les Paul Traditional) and bass (Fender American Deluxe Jazz Bass) are recorded using AXE FX II.
 
Drums (Pearl Master Custom 10-12-14-20, maple snare DW Collector's Series, Zildjian K Custom crashes, Paiste 2002 china) are recorded using Neumann KM184's (drum oh), AKG C414B-ULS's (drum room), AKG 451s (snare bottom, hihat), AKG D112 (kick), SM57 (snare top, 10" tom, 12" tom), Sennheiser MD441 (floor tom). Heads: Snare: Remo Ambassador coated, Kick & toms: Remo Powerstroke 3.
 
Master bus: Solid EQ to cut bottom rumble, otherwise flat. After EQ there's another Solid Bus Comp to compress 1 dB.
 
...and last but not the least: X2 is powered by Duckbar and Space Age Theme. :-)

Excellent production ( in that it's coming across very well on laptop speakers). I thought the lead vocal could use a little more presence / thickening though. The chorus is epic and I love the whole feel of that. Gonna upset you now though......I liked the guitar solo in itself, but it doesn't fit the song for me - felt like it lost direction a little at that point. Just my opinion as a listener, I'm no kind of expert.

From the end of the vocals at around 2:03 to the start of the Guitar solo proper at 2:18 - I love that bit. In fact I like the whole track its right up my street.

I agree with those how have mentioned thickening or bringing up the vocals. They need a little bit of extra something, I am not sure what but you have had some good suggestions already.

I think the keyboard / vocal pad part at 3:00 and the keyboards at 3:53 I feel could benefit at having a more gritty sound. I would have preferred something that sounds more like 70's Keyboards rather than 90's keyboards, however from your post above I think you achieved what you set out to do because you say "but Korg M1 has futuristic sounds for 70's influenced prog rock band"
 
Edit - is the Singer Volker, or Wolfgang?

paulo,
Thank you!
Artistic explanation for the guitar solo: purpose of the solo is to describe main character's fear when he's lost alone in the foreign city.
Truth: that's another part in the song I improvised out of my head without further thinking. ;)
 
Glyn,
Purpose of the clean keyboard sound after solo is to express main character's mixed feelings. If guitar solo was about fear, keyboard part is about relief and new hope.
Truth: I picked some M1 presets randomly and made up the explanation afterwards.
It's Wolfgang singing. He's our new lead vocalist (the guy on the left):


 

panup

Glyn,
Purpose of the clean keyboard sound after solo is to express main character's mixed feelings. If guitar solo was about fear, keyboard part is about relief and new hope.
Truth: I picked some M1 presets randomly and made up the explanation afterwards.
It's Wolfgang singing. He's our new lead vocalist (the guy on the left): 

 
 

Explaination works, you should have kept the truth quiet . I reckon I would replace the e-piano sound with a Wurly A-200 with just a touch of bark and the vocal pad with a Mellotron mixed choir (or something from Camel Alchemy's "Dream Voices" expansion if you want something cleaner and more modern), but thats just me.

That was so exact suggestion I may try how it works in the song.  As a futuristic band producer I'm not afraid to test new sounds (even guitars are distorted). :-)

panup


paulo,
Thank you!
Artistic explanation for the guitar solo: purpose of the solo is to describe main character's fear when he's lost alone in the foreign city.
Truth: that's another part in the song I improvised out of my head without further thinking. ;) 

 

Oh I see I thought it was the representation of his subliminal realisation that what he had always perceived as real was in fact an halucination brought about by too many pills and the disturbing dream about his dead grandfather. Now that you explain it, it makes perfect sense ! ;) 
 
 
Chorus still sounds ace though !

*Laughing on the floor* :D

alright, so now that we are talking in depth...what is the bands name about? Die Schwarzen Ladas...I am from the former West Germany, and I the few know is that Ladas were a Russian car brand. I believe a more upscale (compared to Trabants) - does "the Black Ladas" mean like the cars the higher (socialist) politians drove, representing the former communist block? Or am I totally wrong ;-)

Name mystery solved. You guessed it perfectly right! :-) Out former singer made up the name as a half joke after your first jam session. Story tells our band was formed in Köln in 70's already. However, band members were born in East Germany. In 80's they moved to Finland and after 25 years break band began to make music again. I'm not sure if I am the original member from 70's or if I joined the group later (story does not tell). "German progressive rock band, hometown: Köln." Still our first sessions weren't prog rock at all. It was straightforward, lo-fi, improvised desert rock. I didn't know how to play desert rock properly - soon the simple riffs began to get more and more complicated and song structures exploded from two parts to one long part (whole song with no repeated parts).