Third Rate Tactics... (and Wrestling Hedgehogs)

[d2k]

(for 2windy) FIGHT DAMN YOU!!!! FIGHT!!!!!
[cough, cough]

Seemed appropriate from the response to the 'kitten' thread I should post something about other "3rd Rate Tactics":

http://www.redilated.com/mp3/thirdrate.mp3

First thing to note is that this is a very rough-cut track, cobbled together quickly and (irratatingly) uses a drum-pattern on loop. Secondly, it comes from the 'darker-side' of my music - so if you were expecting some silky lady-vocals you'll be a shade disappointed. [soz]

Also, it contains strong language (some of you have children in listening range so fair warning should be given).

That aside, Ecru, the Streets-stylee MC on this is quite Englishly 'eccentric' - so I've tacked a couple of his insane ramblings onto the beginning and the end... makes me laugh at least (I love out-takes).

erm... what else; oh yeh- bonus points for anyone who can recognise what the string part is a minor-key interpretation of (Classical).

Basically- I don't know what to do with it. Where to take it. It is quite monotonous- but that gives it quite a groovy 'character'. It's quite dirty (not well mixed)- but that sorta fits the mood. But I would love to develop it further.

Lemme know, and enjoy.
D

[raymond]

i don't like how the strings are hard left, and the synth stuff is hard right in the beginning. i like your flow, the words, and the dirty mix on the vox

but yeah your mix has too much hard left hard right. makes my ears go, why is he doing that?

[AndrewSimon]

Not my style but I like it.
The hard left a right is OK.
It actually makes a lot of room for the voice.
How do you create this "dirty vox"?
Do you just add distortion?
If so what did you use?

[d2k]

cheers both!
raymond - hmm... never thouht of that one as being particularly hard-left/right... but now that I listen to it again... yeh, you could be right. Is a little bit 'unnecessarily wide'. Think I was leaving space for the vocal.

AndrewSimon - Ah! Good 'ol dirty vox. Right...
Ingredients:
Several copies of the vocal on 2 (or more) tracks.
A 'tunable' distortion where you can set the central freq (Logic has a generic overdrive/distortion) or a guitar distortion like GreenMachine with a couple of tubes/simulations + EQ. Oh and you need to like the distortion it does.

Science-bit:
With vocals "less-distortion is more" imho. Intelligibility is lost very quickly with anything that becomes too distorted - but you can cheat the ear quite easily to give it the impression of a lot of distortion without losing clarity.

"But how (you smug git)?":
Basically you need to layer the vocal with the loudest vocal part being the least distorted, the next quietest a bit more distorted, and the quietest being the most distorted.
Keep the loudest part fairly dry in terms of anything else (except for a slight boost to high mid-range, and a large bass cut), but play around with all the other parts (change distortion turning, EQ, delay, reverb etc.) and you should get an intelligible dirty-vox with a lot of depth.
Different tunings give different resonant qualities, and a nice stereo/tape-delay makes it sound erm... 'well good' (the voices and distortions all build up/interact, but the main vocal never get's swamped coz it's so dry).

Sorry for rambling. Hope it's vaguely useful. D

[mystahr]

Been said before about the hard-panned instruments, and also the doubled voice should be something that should happen occasionally as it seriously fills the mix up. Still that said, this is not bad at all.

Nice and dirty, but do something more about the percussion and get a distorted (acid) bassline in here to obtain an even more industrial/trippy track (which is I think the direction you should take this)

[d2k]

Nice idea with the bassline Mystahr (reckon I have something right up that alley). Cheers for that.
And will definitely get beat splicing this evening...
[boom-chaka-chak-br-b-b-bzzzz-bm-ch-chak-k-k-ka-chak...]
... back to the loony-bin now.

[xoxos]

nice.