In the last 2 weeks I've FINALLY actually started working on my album project in earnest. (I use that term lightly - after all, spending a few hours in the studio here and there isn't exactly "earnest"...)
After a couple of short sessions doing a little clean up and light rearranging of some drum tracks, I have recorded my first audio tracks since moving into my new place. The song, "Free", is one of my "heaviest" songs - mixing dirty blues with a hard, modern rock edge.
The drums were originally recorded in my garage 10 years ago on a crappy kit with cheap mics in what was little more than an attempt to just capture an idea. Several times over the years I have tried to rescue the drum part, and turn it into a workable part, but I have always been dissappointed with the results... I wanted a live, somewhat "raw" sound, but it was just beyond anything reasonable. Last fall, I finally convinced a friend to redothe part for me - staying true to the feel of the original, while making corrections to the tempo and updating the overall sound. Because my friend was literally in the process of tearing down his studio to move cross-country, once again, the drums were hastily recorded. This time however, I was able to get several good takes, just in time before his move, and my own move.
The drums and the main guitar are the anchor tracks of this song. I replaced my scratch guitar track with a great sounding, dual layer main part. I was able to get a great sound by blending two different signal paths. The first path coming from my amp goes through a Vintech 273 preamp. There is just a tiny bit of bass roll off and the unit is set to saturate the track pretty heavily with it's trademark transformer sound. The other signal path goes through the other channel of the same unit but with some slight EQ and a different impedence setting - which changes the overall sound of the track and how the transients react. This second path then runs through my Empirical Labs FATSO Jr, where it is moderately compressed, limited, and saturated further. Both paths then go into my pro tools software via Apogee converters. When blending the two just right and getting the stereo spacing right, the two tracks sound like a single, fat, vintage - vibe track with a bit of modern edge to it, and good dynamics. I'm very pleased with the sound of the track.
Anxious to feel like I'm actually making some progress, I'll next move on to the second guitar part for this song - hopefully tracking some ideas this weekend and hopefully finding some ideas that stick. I've never fully developed the second guitar part because, welll... I can only play one guitar at a time.
Don't expect to hear a final song anytime soon, but I will definitely post some samples here at a later date.
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