I redid all of "End of the Line" over the weekend using the GS-10. It just sounds 100x better this way than using the VG-99. Everything is crisp and has no digital feel to it. Sustain is also a lot better. I don't know why that is, but it is!
This was liberating since I was able to pull back from using 10's on the high E. Why does that matter? Because 10's rip my fingers up. I used them because of the GK-3 pickup. Now that I have removed the GK-3 pickup from my main ax and put it instead on my secondary, my main ax is back to using 9's. They feel like butter.
I was so stoked about the new sound that I also went back and sang the song over again too. There was more punch to the vocals this time around, so that will help.
Now the song is off to Ron for adding in drums and percussion, and then for mixing.
...off to re-recording "Wielder of the Blade" this week.
Showing posts with label Music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Music. Show all posts
Monday, April 19, 2010
Friday, April 2, 2010
Re-recording with GS-10
Well, I re-recorded all the distorted guitars on Aeserian using the GS-10 instead of the VG-99. It sounds loads better in my opinion, so I'm glad I figured that out now instead of during the mixing phase. The sad news is that now I have to go through and re-record all the guitar bits for all the songs I've already done. Hopefully this won't take all that long. I have to redo the following tunes:
1. End of the Line
2. Mirnrith
3. Wall
4. Sings to You (Whisper)
5. The Wielder of the Blade
6. Sai
I still have to record the rest of the songs, so I'm glad I caught this now. At least I don't have to redo all of them!
It wouldn't be so bad if it was just the rhythm parts, but I'm not to just use a single guitar in my stuff. I think Wielder alone has like 15 different guitar bits throughout. On the plus side, I've been playing these songs for years so I know them like the back of my hand. With any luck, it'll go pretty quickly. We shall see!
1. End of the Line
2. Mirnrith
3. Wall
4. Sings to You (Whisper)
5. The Wielder of the Blade
6. Sai
I still have to record the rest of the songs, so I'm glad I caught this now. At least I don't have to redo all of them!
It wouldn't be so bad if it was just the rhythm parts, but I'm not to just use a single guitar in my stuff. I think Wielder alone has like 15 different guitar bits throughout. On the plus side, I've been playing these songs for years so I know them like the back of my hand. With any luck, it'll go pretty quickly. We shall see!
Kreth'x
What's a Kreth'x, you ask? Why it is a sword, of course! It's a sentient sword at that. It is the sword used by the main character in "The Wielder of the Blade" book based in the land of Phylean. The main character's name, if you're wondering, is Rais'Alon.
Kreth'x is also the name of the "band" (consisting of myself and Ron Burgoyne, so it's more of a duo than a band, but "duo" just doesn't have that awe-inspiring umph that "band" does) that is creating the heavy metal album "The Wielder of the Blade", which, if you're still following along, is a concept album based upon the book.
The domain for Kreth'x is already reserved, but I've not done anything with it yet because I'm still awaiting some images. Hopefully we'll have something to show in the next few weeks on the actual site. I will, however, try to post a few images and such here as they become available.
Kreth'x is also the name of the "band" (consisting of myself and Ron Burgoyne, so it's more of a duo than a band, but "duo" just doesn't have that awe-inspiring umph that "band" does) that is creating the heavy metal album "The Wielder of the Blade", which, if you're still following along, is a concept album based upon the book.
The domain for Kreth'x is already reserved, but I've not done anything with it yet because I'm still awaiting some images. Hopefully we'll have something to show in the next few weeks on the actual site. I will, however, try to post a few images and such here as they become available.
Roland VG-99 vs. Boss GS-10
I have both the Roland VG-99 and the Boss GS-10 and both are pretty nifty, but I'm finding that I really need both to feel comfy recording.
The VG-99 is a crazy unit that has all sorts of bells and whistles, especially if you use the GK-3 pickup (which I do). With this system, I'm able to play all sorts of sounds and even control midi-devices and record into Sonar the midi notes I'm playing on the guitar. This works because the GK-3 pickup has per-string pickups instead of the standard guitar one pickup model. I can essentially make my standard 6-string electric sound like anything: a flute, a 12-string guitar, a mandolin, violins, drums, a bass, etc.
The latency is a bit problematic when trying to control midi-devices, but it's not awful for recording the midi notes. The trick here is to have the midi notes recording while you're listening to a normal sound from the VG-99. Then you can manually tweak the midi notes and assign them to the instrument of choice. So you record using a standard guitar sound, but when you have Sonar (or you recording system of choice) play back the midi, it can sound like anything your midi-device supports. This is great if you're not a keyboardist but still want those keyboard sounds. Plus, using this method you can alter the notes by hand for when your timing or note placement is off a bit.
So what's the problem with the VG-99? Sadly, there are a few.
1. The pickup installation messes with your guitar's action. This is particularly bad if you're using heavier gauge strings. There is the slightest (barely noticeable) delay from when the string is plucked to when the sound emerges. It's so slight that the only person that will notice is the person playing 100mph. Slower players may not notice it at all.
2. When you play fast stuff, it starts to sound a bit digital. It's as if there are little wav files there just playing over themselves. It gets choppy.
3. Anytime I hit the D note (or chord), the guitar loses the proper stereo sound and hits full center. It only happens on D when the guitar is distorted.
4. The distortions sound iffy. There's just no really kerboom to them, if you know what I mean.
And this is why I hang onto the Boss GS-10. The Boss distortions are awesome. I get all the aforementioned kerboom out of the GS-10 for distortion and speed junk, and since it has the built-in speakers I can also move it around with me wherever I roam.
So for midi and clean sounds, the VG-99 is a pretty nifty unit. For distortion, I prefer the GS-10 greatly.
You'll get to hear them both on the upcoming "The Wielder of the Blade" album.
The VG-99 is a crazy unit that has all sorts of bells and whistles, especially if you use the GK-3 pickup (which I do). With this system, I'm able to play all sorts of sounds and even control midi-devices and record into Sonar the midi notes I'm playing on the guitar. This works because the GK-3 pickup has per-string pickups instead of the standard guitar one pickup model. I can essentially make my standard 6-string electric sound like anything: a flute, a 12-string guitar, a mandolin, violins, drums, a bass, etc.
The latency is a bit problematic when trying to control midi-devices, but it's not awful for recording the midi notes. The trick here is to have the midi notes recording while you're listening to a normal sound from the VG-99. Then you can manually tweak the midi notes and assign them to the instrument of choice. So you record using a standard guitar sound, but when you have Sonar (or you recording system of choice) play back the midi, it can sound like anything your midi-device supports. This is great if you're not a keyboardist but still want those keyboard sounds. Plus, using this method you can alter the notes by hand for when your timing or note placement is off a bit.
So what's the problem with the VG-99? Sadly, there are a few.
1. The pickup installation messes with your guitar's action. This is particularly bad if you're using heavier gauge strings. There is the slightest (barely noticeable) delay from when the string is plucked to when the sound emerges. It's so slight that the only person that will notice is the person playing 100mph. Slower players may not notice it at all.
2. When you play fast stuff, it starts to sound a bit digital. It's as if there are little wav files there just playing over themselves. It gets choppy.
3. Anytime I hit the D note (or chord), the guitar loses the proper stereo sound and hits full center. It only happens on D when the guitar is distorted.
4. The distortions sound iffy. There's just no really kerboom to them, if you know what I mean.
And this is why I hang onto the Boss GS-10. The Boss distortions are awesome. I get all the aforementioned kerboom out of the GS-10 for distortion and speed junk, and since it has the built-in speakers I can also move it around with me wherever I roam.
So for midi and clean sounds, the VG-99 is a pretty nifty unit. For distortion, I prefer the GS-10 greatly.
You'll get to hear them both on the upcoming "The Wielder of the Blade" album.
Sonar 8.5
In preparation for getting back on track with "The Wielder of the Blade" album, I upgraded from Sonar 7 to 8.5. So far I rather like it.
They changed the default menus and layout a little bit in the new version. It works better for me now that I'm getting used to it.
One of the nicer things is that the audio engine is more responsive. It's smoother. I haven't had any audio dropouts since the upgrade and I was getting them at least once per recording session before. I'm in the process of saving up for a new machine, which will make this puppy really purr (or, is that kitty?). For now, though, it's performing quite well on my elderly clunker.
The new vocal strip is going to be quite helpful in making my singing sound good...erm, less bad. It has a lot of nifty little features and presets. I can see that there will be a bit of a learning curve on it, but it promises to be worthwhile.
I plan on getting after more of the recording facets this weekend, so I'm certain problems will turn up. But my initial reaction is that Sonar 8.5 has potential.
They changed the default menus and layout a little bit in the new version. It works better for me now that I'm getting used to it.
One of the nicer things is that the audio engine is more responsive. It's smoother. I haven't had any audio dropouts since the upgrade and I was getting them at least once per recording session before. I'm in the process of saving up for a new machine, which will make this puppy really purr (or, is that kitty?). For now, though, it's performing quite well on my elderly clunker.
The new vocal strip is going to be quite helpful in making my singing sound good...erm, less bad. It has a lot of nifty little features and presets. I can see that there will be a bit of a learning curve on it, but it promises to be worthwhile.
I plan on getting after more of the recording facets this weekend, so I'm certain problems will turn up. But my initial reaction is that Sonar 8.5 has potential.
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