Wind Through the Trees songwhore time (fans of funeral doom seeee here)

[MFJ]

Okay... here's an update, folks. Bob and I have scrapped our idea for the "Trauermarsch" EP (which was supposed to be an acoustic driven black/folk album) and we have a new idea...

[enthusiastic announcer voice]

Ancient Wind Records is pleased to announce "The White Death" by Wind Through the Trees. For those of you familiar with our older sound (as on the Rising Fog demo), this is something very new. "The White Death" is a concept EP about epidemics that have ravaged humanity throughout time (smallpox, the plague, etc). It is a single 30 minute funeral doom epic separated into 4 parts. This album is supposed to be a big deal for us, so I made this thread to get some feedback on the very ROUGH recording I have of "Part I"... let me know what you think.

Please note : The final version will have real drums, vocals, and snyths. And sorry to the people that are sick of my frequent song whoring... I am not confident in my writing!

download or stream "Part I" here : http://www.myspace.com/windthroughthetrees

[/enthusiasic announcer voice]

 

[Krilons Resa]

Well, the instrumental track is really good so far.

 

[MFJ]

yeah, part I

 

[JayKeeley]

Pretty good! I'm sure when it's 'fleshed' out with more dynamics, the repetitive bars might seems a tad less repetitive.

So, in reference to the thread I started about recording distorted guitars -- are you intending to fix your distortion/overdrive, because that is the exact kind of fuzz I'm trying to shy away from. You know, it sounds like it's coming out of a practice amp. Interestingly, it seems like the distorted guitars sound better on "Ashes of Ivy" and "Solitude" compared to the last segment on "Part I". So basically, what did you do differently to get the different effects?

The clean segments sound really clear. Nice tones there.

 

[Demilich]

Constructive criticism by Matt:
- very nice tone on those clean guitars
- it sounds great right now, but i can't wait to hear it with the other elements, and some nice, dynamic, real drumming!
- the distorted guitar tone is powerful weak, and must be fixed!
- the transition from the clean part to the distorted part was random and kinda pointless, but maybe the intended effect requires the complete recording or something

that is all, sorry if i'm being harsh or something, but these are just my thoughts on it.

 

[MFJ]

Yeah, I intend to fix the distortion. Let me explain-

Solitude and the Ashes of Ivy were out of a 15 watt Crate.
Part I is out of a 160 watt fender...

How many Watts is YOUR amp? Basically whats probably happening is that your cramming all sorts of crazy watts into your recorder... and it doesn't like it. I find it funny that you said the pro-amp sounds like a practice amp and the practice amp sounds better but hey- I can't deny that you're right.

 

[MFJ]

the transition from the clean part to the distorted part was random and kinda pointless, but maybe the intended effect requires the complete recording or something

do you mean that you don't like the fade and that it should just jump into the distortion ? please clarify - and I appreciate the criticism. Just everyone keep in mind this isn't final in anyway, the final will be a lot more polished.

 

[Demilich]

Sounds to me like there should be some kind of more bombastic and immediate instrumental buildup to the transition, instead of just a fade. It'd seem less disjointed. I'm getting a kind of old Opeth vibe from it, and kinda from the part before it too. Which isn't a bad thing, but some parts of their songs seemed tacked together too.

 

[JayKeeley]

How many Watts is YOUR amp?

I have a Marshall AVT412 (200W speaker/cabinet) hooked up to a Marshall Valvestate 2000 (115W pre-amp).

Be that as it may, my pre-amp doesn't even come into the equation. I'm coming right off the Line 6 Pod and straight into the 4-track just to record some bits and pieces (why transcribe I say?)....I think it's just a matter of me tweaking levels etc. to find the precise fucking tone. It is such a laborious task, tweak tweak tweak....play....start again....

Fuck, to be able to just pack my guitar and head off to a studio and let someone else do all the work. How much does it cost to get 30 minutes at Abyss Studios?

So what have we learned? Crate > Fender when it comes to amps?

 

[Krilons Resa]

Fuck the criticism, do what you feel is right and sound sright to YOU. That is all that should matter.

 

[JayKeeley]

Fuck the criticism, do what you feel is right and sound sright to YOU. That is all that should matter.

Oh come on...he's asking for suggestions.....

This album is supposed to be a big deal for us, so I made this thread to get some feedback on the very ROUGH recording I have of "Part I"... let me know what you think.

I thought this was supposed to be a collective thread of new ideas, etc. Otherwise, he could just post a link and say, "here you go, no feedback necessary" LOLZ.

 

[MFJ]

Words to live by, Doomcifer. I'm going back to my crate, the distortion is fuller and it doesnt give my PC bullshit with the overdrive. But as for structure, I'm leaving it as is.

Jay - I am looking for suggestions, and I've had good ones so far - but he's right to some extent. Part of what makes good music is an original idea, and sometimes you can get too carried away with what other people think. I've done it before!

 

[JayKeeley]

Yeah, the structure is fine, but if you switch back to the Crate, you'll be doing two good things: (1) getting better distortion, and (2) making the sound/tone similar to the other two tracks you have. That provides a consistent "Wind Through the Trees" delivery, as opposed to sounding like two different artists.

 

[JayKeeley]

Jay - I am looking for suggestions, and I've had good ones so far - but he's right to some extent. Part of what makes good music is an original idea, and sometimes you can get too carried away with what other people think. I've done it before!

Sure, but I think the thing that *truly* makes the song an original idea is the way it's written, no? You should write what feels right for you. However, talking about how one guitar tone sounds better than another is constructive criticism, at least to me. Obviously you don't have to follow up with any of it...these are just two cents. I imagine this falls in line with the way we discuss all music from all artists, whether it be me in my damp basement or Led Zeppelin in their houses of the holy.

 

[Demilich]

Yea, my structural criticism is purely subjective and a suggestion! Pay it no mind, of course doing what you think is best comes first! It's going to turn out great.

 

[MFJ]

This is true, but the other tracks on MySpace probably aren't ever going to be released. They were just on a promo that went to a couple people/labels. Bob and decided to stick with Ancient Wind for now, we like having all the freedom of an independent label!

My set up as of 10 minutes ago =

B.C. Platinum Mockingbird > Crate 15 Watt > Behringer Eurorack Mixer > Soundcard

And I just fucked with the EQ on my mixer and I like the results I have.

 

[JayKeeley]

When I eventually upload my shit, I absolutely DEMAND that it be ripped to pieces in constructive criticism. Whether I heed any of it or not is a different matter.

But my shit is just doodle - I'm not looking to get signed or make a demo to send to labels or anything. It's just collections of ideas. I could very well just fart into the mic in the key of Am.

 

[MFJ]

We were actually supposed to go up to Massachussets to record the album in a studio owned by Dan (of Shroud of Bereavement) because he know what he's doing with recording/mixing, but I'm not sure what the deal with that is. He agreed to write/record Part IV for us - which fucking rules (its all synth and I suck with keys).

 

[MFJ]

The thing with a 160 watt Fender head is that it IS going to sound like a practice amp UNLESS! you put it through a 4x12 cab and mic it at decent levels, rehearsal levels, earplug levels. I don't know if it's tube, in which case this is even more true but generally, if you want a good metal guitar sound, it needs to be loud. This is not generally something you fuck around with in the mix -- loud 4x12 miced with an SM57 and you can't go wrong.

Yeah, you are very right. I want to get an SM57, but I really just cant afford it (or a cab!) because I'm saving up for a keyboard. I'll stick with the crate now, it gets a fuller sound for what it is.

 

[MFJ]

Oh Erik... it's not a head. It's a combo - 2 X 12 clestion blues!