13 Feb
2005
13 Feb
'05
7:30 a.m.
Last Sunday 13 February 2005 09:12, Shayne O'Connor was like:
well, it's taken awhile, but i've managed to
complete my first song on
linux!
Congratulations!
http://www.machinehasnoagenda.com/downloads/The_Girls_-_The_Sailor.ogg
(please be kind in any comments - i'm especially open to tips on
mixing/mastering).
i recorded bass, guitar, vocals into ardour and sequenced the drums
using hydrogen.
i used the ladspa plate reverb for the guitars, but the drums and bass
are dry ... i couldn't get a nice enough sound for the vocals using
ladspa, so i plugged them through ik multimedia's amplitube with
dssi-vst. i also used ik multimedia's TRackS to master the track, as
it's got a bunch of good presets ...
this song is a bit of pastoral yearning from the back of my brain ...
i'd written the lyrics some years ago, but had forgotten all about them
until i stumbled upon this chord progression - at which point, it all
came flooding back :)
this was the song i was working on when i decided to "try-out" linux ...
so i'm pretty happy to have finished it.
a few caveats though:
* i'm not that technically proficient at any of the instrument i've
played on here (though guitar is my favourite).
Instrument Proficiency is one of the most overrated things when it comes to
recording a song like this. There are two things which are required; being in
time and in tune. You could afford to be a bit more fussy about the tuning of
the guitar, that's all I can hear that would make a major difference.
* i can't really mix.
Neither could Holger Czukay or Mark Kramer when they started, who cares? Trust
your ears.
* i can't really sing.
Neither can Bob Dylan or most Rappers. Pas de Probleme.
* i can't really master.
This is your first song. Play with JAMin for long enough and you will
learn. :-)
* i may have gone too far with the echoes?
I think that's largely a matter of taste. Not far enough for mine. The drums
really need some reverb.
I always say 'do what you can with what you've got'. It sounds like you've
done just that. Fair play. I look forward to your next offering.
cheers,
tim hall
http://glastonburymusic.org.uk