The Wagtunes Corner (Featuring My Best Yet)

[wagtunes]

I enjoyed "Where's The Bass." Very amusing and catchy! (Although the instrumental section dragged on for a bit.)

I could imagine an animated video with cartoon characters being a viral hit with children.

Yeah, of course the instrumental section dragged on. It's a jam. Jams drag. My friends and I used to get together back in the late 70s and we'd jam for hours. We thought we were doing some cool shit but trust me, I'm sure anybody listening beyond 5 minutes was already bored to death.

The track was basically (no pun intended) a bass test just to make sure I processed it properly. It was no more than a response to the complaints that my last track had no bass, which it did, but just not at the correct frequency.

This was to satisfy the bass police and for no other reason.

My next track will be an actual serious song.

But I am glad you found it catchy and amusing.

[layzer]

I enjoyed "Where's The Bass." Very amusing and catchy!

say what? oh i gotta check this.

[layzer]

Wheres the bass?:

BWAAAHAHAHA another brilliant Weird Al-ish Wagtune.
i like how you turned our little discussion into a song. its great...
i will have to borrow that line of thinking and make a song called "where's the originality"
for my next song!

wtb.JPG

and never forget:

[wagtunes]

Wheres the bass?:

BWAAAHAHAHA another brilliant Weird Al-ish Wagtune.
i like how you turned our little discussion into a song. its great...
i will have to borrow that line of thinking and make a song called "where's the originality"
for my next song!
wtb.JPG
and never forget:

All kidding aside, you've really helped me a lot. Whatever I may think of your opinions about synths and things, you know your stuff and your mixes demonstrate that. In a perfect world, I'd love to be able to pick your brain and even get you to help me with some tracks but I know that you've got better things to do with your time. But I'm learning.

If there are any other tips as far as frequency ranges and what instruments should and shouldn't go there that you'd like to share, I'm all ears. It's not something I ever really thought too much about.

Anyway, thanks for the feedback.

[wagtunes]

This month, it was 10 years since my CD "Stuck In A Fantasy".

I've come a long way since. Song was recorded using a Boss BR-600 Digital Multitrack Recorder. No recording skills evident on this one, including volume control. So make sure you turn this down a bit before listening. It's VERY loud, but oddly not too distorted. I wonder why that is?

Posting it because, as a song, it's very hooky. Probably one of my better songs over the years and probably one I should redo.

Some notes. That's actually me playing a real guitar. Vocals were sung through Digitech Vocalist. I still miss that thing.

For the songwriting purists, you might enjoy this hooky pop/rock piece. For the recording purists, my advice is to stay far away from this track. And no, I can't go in and fix it. The Boss BR-600 is long gone including all the masters. Only thing I have left are the actual CDs and the MP3s that I've made from them.

https://soundcloud.com/steven-wagenheim ... arly-years

[Etienne1973]

You are able to write solid songs like 'And The Angels Sang' and 'Peace Of Mind'. I like your voice and how you sing.

[layzer]

Yesterday's Man:
yeowwww! after lowering the volume and losing all dynamic range of the music
i can just try to get into the composition. it is good as usual.
i enjoyed the80's pop feel, lyrics and singing.

[wagtunes]

Yesterday's Man:
yeowwww! after lowering the volume and losing all dynamic range of the music
i can just try to get into the composition. it is good as usual.
i enjoyed the80's pop feel, lyrics and singing.

Yeah, yeowwww is right. LOL. And that's not even the loudest song I've ever recorded. LMAO.

Glad you were able to get something out of it. Shame I didn't know what I was doing back then as far as engineering goes.

[wagtunes]

You are able to write solid songs like 'And The Angels Sang' and 'Peace Of Mind'. I like your voice and how you sing.

Thanks. Appreciate the kind words. Man, not many people like my voice. LOL.

[wagtunes]

12th track from my upcoming CD "Untitled Masterpiece"

Early 70s pop mix on this one. Personally, I love the way this sounds but I can understand how this won't be everybody's cup of tea. Quite a lot of compression (Just listen to that piano) and the vocals are really dense on the chorus. Brass and strings at the end complete this "over the top" piece of pop fluff.

Listen at your own peril of sugar overdose.

I Stand On Solid Ground

Used to feel so insecure and lost
Life of sin and paying such a cost
Needing to believe that there would be
Someone to come and rescue me

And then one day he came
And from that day I praise his name

I stand on solid ground
Heaven's where I am bound
Jesus will shelter me for all my days
He walks from shore to shore
Comforts me forever more
To him my savior I will always praise
I stand on solid ground

And now my life is so secure
Jesus he came and brought the cure
Steadied the earth beneath my feet
Jesus he made my life complete

Because one day he came
And from that day I praise his name

Repeat Chorus

The Lord will be divine
Until the end of time

Repeat Chorus

https://soundcloud.com/steven-wagenheim ... und-master

[wagtunes]

Someone whose opinion I value greatly told me there were 2 problems with the above track.

1. Breaths in vocals really distracting.

2. Mix was dull.

So...

1. I took out the really bad breaths, leaving in the subtle ones.

2. I brightened the mix a bit.

So please give a listen to the track above and let me know what you think.

Thanks.

[lessera]

The use/overuse of compression is a polarizing topic. Personally, I've never had much of an issue with highly compressed dynamics. I find it more annoying when I listen to tracks that have such a wide decibel range, that I am constantly reaching for the volume knob, or throwing my hands over my ears. The debate will rage on... Considering the wall-of-sound mixing in this track, I think it's bright enough as-is.

You must have done a thorough job with cleaning up the vocals, because I don't hear any breathy distractions.

[wagtunes]

The use/overuse of compression is a polarizing topic. Personally, I've never had much of an issue with highly compressed dynamics. I find it more annoying when I listen to tracks that have such a wide decibel range, that I am constantly reaching for the volume knob, or throwing my hands over my ears. The debate will rage on... Considering the wall-of-sound mixing in this track, I think it's bright enough as-is.

You must have done a thorough job with cleaning up the vocals, because I don't hear any breathy distractions.

Yeah, I went into the wav file and silenced out all the really obvious ones.

The track you heard is a lot brighter but the original was pretty bad. Lot of extra work went into the final mix.

[Wopelka]

Glad to have the opportunity to review one of your track...! Heavily compressed, but not squashed. Very clear mix and nice upbeat feel. Well thought out harmonic progression and subtile back vocals. Drums are present without being... too heavy. The lead guitar gets the job done as expected.This song is very solid, indeed. I like it a lot. Maybe it's my condition of foreigner, and not knowing you enough, but I cannot fully grasp whether the lyrics are genuine or full of irony.

[wagtunes]

Glad to have the opportunity to review one of your track...! Heavily compressed, but not squashed. Very clear mix and nice upbeat feel. Well thought out harmonic progression and subtile back vocals. Drums are present without being... too heavy. The lead guitar gets the job done as expected.This song is very solid, indeed. I like it a lot. Maybe it's my condition of foreigner, and not knowing you enough, but I cannot fully grasp whether the lyrics are genuine or full of irony.

Thanks for the critique. Lyrics are quite genuine, I assure you. I serve as church treasurer and fill in for minister when he goes on vacation. Also sing in choir and write anthems for the choir to sing. And I play the drums on the upbeat anthems. You could say church is a big part of my life.