You Don't Even Know What You're Sayin'

A lightly shimmering anthem about all manner of hustlers who move their mouths without their brains engaged. Influences: The Damned, Warren Zevon, The Misfits, Tom Petty Rickenbackers, jangle and vitriol.

Recorded using Logic Express 8, MackBook, Apogee Duet, Ricky 360, Schecter PT Std, Vox AC15, Rode NT1A, Sure SM-58, Langevin DVC

• play
• pause
• min volume
• max volume

posted by ZenMasterThis (7 comments total)

(Couple of edits are a little rough; still learning the software.)
posted by ZenMasterThis at 1:03 PM on October 31, 2010

I really like the basic idea here. I'm going to listen to it again but my first thought was that you kept us waiting a while for the hook 'you don't even know what you're sayin' but it was good when it finally arrived.

I think there's a good song here so take all this in the spirit it's intended: the drums seem to be dragging a bit, maybe because the rest of the instruments are playing ahead of the beat? Also, the EQ is a bit woolly... with a Ricky and an AC I'd expect a bit more bite on the guitars (although Rickys are always woollier than you expect). You have some good gear there so you should be able to get everything sounding spanky.
posted by unSane at 6:57 PM on October 31, 2010

Really cool song. I'd like to hear the drums a bit punchier/upfront (but I dont even know what im sayin :P )

Reminds me of Husker Du meets Lou Reed.
posted by ian1977 at 7:25 PM on October 31, 2010

unSane: Thanks for the feedback. I think I had the mic positioned at the center of the AC15 cone instead of the edge; also, I had the Ricky's bass control all the way up instead of at 3/4 like I usually do (center switch position). Come to think of it the AC 15 is up against a hard wall, and I had the pickup mix pot on the Ricky fully clockwise. Maybe I'll re-record the guitars someday!
posted by ZenMasterThis at 8:49 AM on November 1, 2010

I listened again. Few more thoughts -- don't make the listener wait so long for the hook. Get to it on the first verse.

There's a bit of hesitation in the guitars on one of the chord changes, like you weren't totally on top of it, or it may be the kick drum not being on the same beat as the guitars. If you find yourself with a difficult change like that my trick is to record the guitar in two takes and comp them together.

Finally, it could really use some hi hats, cymbals and drum fills.

All the EQ business sounds like it could be fixed pretty easily in the mix without rerecording anything. If you look at pro mixers it's always scary how much EQ they use.
posted by unSane at 10:14 AM on November 1, 2010

Yeah, I slide down from a barred B in the "E" formation at the 7th fret to a barred E in the "D" formation at the 4th fret. I actually thought about doing two takes and comping it, but I got impatient!
posted by ZenMasterThis at 11:37 AM on November 1, 2010

This sounds kinda Huskery to me too, and that's a GOOD thing! Aside from unSane's excellent observations, I think this is pretty darn strong. It sounds like something that wants to be played loudly and for an audience. Good stuff!
posted by snsranch at 4:00 PM on November 4, 2010