Andreas Jonsson
- Thread starter Dark Lord
- Start date
lars k norberg said:
well it's truly great that you can join in on the topics and conversations... input from you, i'm sure, will be considered valuable from all Spiral Architect fans considering that you are the main contributor (musically) on "A Sceptic's Universe"... like the immortal "Insect" primarily... but my preferance to be honest is "Excessit"... it's the ultimate song on this album in my opinion... the logo under my nickname proves it
and you co-wrote it with Steinar,which is pretty cool By the way Lars... before i got the album, i heard it all on mp3 format... and to God, i really thought you were using a fretless bass throughout the album... the bass sound kinda felt like Steve DiGiorgio's on Death's Individual Thought Patterns... but more aggressive and trebly... but when i got the album and saw the inside cover, i noticed that you were using a normal 4 string bass... you must have used some GREAT effects to get this sound !!!
By the way, what kind of basses do you use ??ps:good one Asgeir... "Daily Basses" (LOL)
Dude, Gornitzka is a godly player.Dark Lord said:
Neil Kernon, the producer on ASC, has mentioned several times that, while credited as simply a rhythm guitarist, Kaj actually played several leads on the album. Also, a close listen will reveal that some of the solos on ASU are vastly different, and it's evident they're played by two different guitarists.
Booklets with false/missing information suck anyway. At least the ASU insert lists the correct lineup. I know bands who have pics of members who weren't even in the band when their albums were recorded, you know.
Asgeir Mickelson
Alpha male
All solos are done by Steinar. In fact Steinar did maybe as much as 80 percent of the rhythm guitars too. I remember walking into the studio right after he had started recording and I could only hear drums and bass from the monitors. It turned out that Steinar doesn't want to hear himself when he's recording rhythm. Now THAT'S insane!
- Asgeir
- Asgeir
Hmmm, weird. I wonder why Neil says Kaj recorded some leads. I can dig out the link and post it here if you don't believe me. Thanks for clearing things up though, Asgeir.
Asgeir Mickelson
Alpha male
I doubt it, but maybe he did a twin guitar melody or something (but he sure didn't do any solos). Uh, it's a while since we recorded this damn thing so...
- Asgeir
- Asgeir
NK
Complete Bastard
batmura said:
Asgeir is correct. Steinar did all the leads and most of the rhythm guitars. Kaj did play on a number of tracks though.
Also, I was completely amazed by Steinar's preference to not hear any of what he was playing while doing the guitar tracks. It took me a little while to get my brain around the idea, but in the end I really enjoyed that approach.
Neil K.
P.S. - a big hello goes out to all the SA guys!!
batmura said:
Hey dude... this is weird, yet cool... i mean you state something that you think Neil Kernon said God knows where to God knows who... and then all of a sudden, after a few hours, you got Mr. Kernon in the flesh setting things straight for you... God, I love this forum
oh yeah... and just to set the record straight... when you said:
...well you were sooo off-base on this one man... if you truly listen close to the solos... and if and only if you have vast knowledge in the domain of Solos... you'll notice that they're all played by the same guitarist... that being Steinar... well the thing is, and i don't entirely expect you to understand (no offense intended here), when you've been so long into this music, especially progressive like me, and mostly into solos of brilliant guitarists... you start recognizing certain patterns in their solos... each pattern is almost unique to its guitarist... what i mean is: if you heard Yngwie Malmsteen playing solos anywhere, even on a Britney Spears song... you'd know it's him... same for guitar greats like Eddie Van Halen, Allan Holdsworth, Frank Gambale, Steve Vai, Vinnie Moore, Michael Angelo Batio, and Joe Satriani... also for example Zakk Wylde (well cause he milks the living shit out of harmonic screams) !!! ... this also applies to prog and technical freaks... like for me, no matter where you'd put these guitarists, i'd know which guitarist is playing which solo... these guys are: Michael Romeo, James Murphy, Brendt Allman(Shadow Gallery), Johan Reinholdz(Andromeda)...batmura said:
Well Steinar's soloing style isn't really that well defined on "A Sceptic's Universe", since he sometimes uses jazz/fusion elements or even flamenco-ish styles as on "Insect" ... but the fast solos show a distinct pattern to Steinar where he shreds around a certain scale or mode, then uses tremolo dive bars at some points in a certain way unique to him like to break between a solo phrase and the other...most evidently seen at the end of "Cloud Constructor"... plus i noticed that he uses alot of legato in his soloing... not to mention that the soloing distortion effect is unique to him... if Kaj was actually playing solos on the album, he would have made a slightly different sound to his guitar, so we'd recognize him and differ him from Steinar... but that's not the case because all the solos have the same effect. I don't know if i'm being too clear about this... i just hope you understand what point i'm trying to make here
a good example would be evident if, by any chance, you've listened to Testament's "Low". Great album... 2 guitarists... now James Murphy plays most of the solos, but the other guy (Eric Peteron) also plays a few couple of solos... if you listen to them... you'll see a very distinct sound difference between James' soloing and Eric's soloing... this is how you know that there are actually 2 guitarists soloing on this album... well, maybe it's too obvious who's playing which solo's on "Low" because James Murphy's solos are very aggressive and highly technical, while Peterson's solos are considered sophomoric compared to Murphy's Grande soloing!!!... i hope i didn't bore you too much with that bit of information... i was just trying to make a point Originally Posted by Dark Lord
By the way Lars... before i got the album, i heard it all on mp3 format... and to God, i really thought you were using a fretless bass throughout the album... the bass sound kinda felt like Steve DiGiorgio's on Death's Individual Thought Patterns... but more aggressive and trebly... but when i got the album and saw the inside cover, i noticed that you were using a normal 4 string bass... you must have used some GREAT effects to get this sound !!!
There has been some confusion about the bass, whether I use fretless on the album or not. To end the confusion – I use a Steinberger Q4 on that record all the way through, and it’s definitely fretted. This is the story: That bass has actually a very ‘hard’ sound to it. That’s great for certain things, but can also be limiting. Anyway – in order to create more variations to my lines, I started to experiment with different approaches to simulate fretless bass. My goal at the time was to create a ‘hybrid style’, thus getting the best from both worlds. I used no effects in order to “accomplish” the illusion of a fretless bass. Basically I just tried to play more legato. For instance, one thing I did was to play a lot of parallel octaves in order both to get that richer ‘fretless-sounding’ sound and the desired glissando feel: Listen to the first half of Moving Spirit for extended use of this ‘technique’. It’s reminiscent to using an octaver.
Since then I’ve bought myself a fretless bass, a Gary Willis signature. I use that one in the new project with Steinar. I also have the fretted version of the same bass. As of now I’m not sure which bass I’ll use on the new SA. Perhaps a combination? Time will show.
P.S. - Occam's Razor: I know I know… Unfortunately I’ve been caught up in two pre-productions, but I will wrap it up ASAP.
lars k norberg said:
by parallel octaves, you mean you actually recorded two bass sounds over each other (octaved)? ... well that is pretty cool... i mean i've heard alot of guitars being played over each other octaved... but not bass... that's just plain amazing
... and i'm saying this as a guitarist... i'm sure bassists will appreciate this piece of info more than me, but still ... way cool Though what i like most about great sound, especially in guitars, is playing (in solos for example) the same respective notes of two different modes over each other... creates a unique hybrid effect/sound. Kind of like what James Murphy (X- Testament & X- Death) does on his solos... maybe you should try this with bass... could be really fascinating.
lars k norberg said:
Though i have one request i'd like to ask of you for the next album (whenever it comes out) ... I know that Sean Malone played the stick on Occam's Razor... which i think was massive... but can you please incorporate more of the stick sound into the next Spiral Architect album... it will give a great sound to the already amazing music you guys play... well, check out how Tony Levin makes Liquid Tension sound ALOT better when he plays his stick
Asgeir Mickelson
Alpha male
No, not dubbed but by playing two notes at the same time. Even I can do that - the problem is coming up with genious bass lines...
- Asgeir
- Asgeir
oh, alright i get it ... but my idea would have been cooler to try and play... don't you think ??
...and speaking of genius bass lines... i think the highest level of genius (bass-wise) is the eerie harmonics section played on Being and Nothingness in "Cloud Constructor"... great stuff... and just so you know, the last part of "Cloud Constructor" (Shuffled) is the best material on this album... out-of-this-world Amazing!!! .... thanx to Oyvind
... but my idea would have been cooler to try and play... don't you think ??...and speaking of genius bass lines... i think the highest level of genius (bass-wise) is the eerie harmonics section played on Being and Nothingness in "Cloud Constructor"... great stuff... and just so you know, the last part of "Cloud Constructor" (Shuffled) is the best material on this album... out-of-this-world Amazing!!! .... thanx to Oyvind
Etter
Member
lars k norberg said:
i really like SA but i don't really like the hard bass sound you use (sorry is just my taste!), i know a Gary Willis sounds really nice (Sean Malone uses it also) so plz use that one
NK
Complete Bastard
Please don't be too hard on Lars about this. The hard bass sound is largely my fault I'm afraid. I was just making sure that *everything* could be heard on the album at all times (as much as that can be possible of course) so I made the bass cut a little bit. The guys weren't able to be around for the mix so in order to avoid any disappointments like "the bass isn't loud enough" I compensated for it in the mix. This was one of the toughest albums I've ever had to mix, so I wanted to make sure everyone could hear themselves, especially after all of the crazy tracking. Once the mastering was completed the bass ended up popping through a bit more than I had hoped it would, so I take full responsibility for that decision.
Still, you CAN hear it at least!
Neil K.
Still, you CAN hear it at least!
Neil K.
I agree with your decision NK. I like being able to hear all the instruments, especially on tech albums where everyone is doing something cool.
NK
Complete Bastard
gypsyshred
The Anti-keyboard
I couldn't agree with you more. I find it disheartening to listen to music, open up the booklet & see a bass player, but hear no bass. I think the bass sounds great on ASU. One of the many reasons I like fusion is because there is good separation...and the bass is all up in my grill.jimbobhickville said:
sava
zoplek
I think ASU is the best sounding album of all times. I haven't heard a better production on any album. About the bass... It sounds great I think.
Yes... i agree with all of you guys ... except for Etter. The bass sound on " A Sceptic's Universe " is monumental, phenomenal... and very much essential... it gives a more aggressive taste to the music... that's why i'd refer to Spiral Architect's music as Aggressive Progressive (LOL).... and technical ofcourse... with lots of fusion/jazz elements bla bla bla.... you get my drift guys ... and by the way, gypsyshred makes a very good point about most bassists in rock/metal bands... you can hardly hear their sound !!
... and by the way, gypsyshred makes a very good point about most bassists in rock/metal bands... you can hardly hear their sound !!
