SoundCloud - Love and a .45 - Todd Russell Hall
YouTube - Love and a .45 - Todd Russell Hall




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Style is _BUSTER.STY (Buster Ska Punk)

RealTracks in style: 3489:Bass, Electric, SkaPunkPopAB Ev 180
RealTracks in style: 3493:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm SkaFastPop Ev16 180
RealTracks in style: 3494:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm SkaFastPunk Ev16 180
RealDrums [in style:SkaFastPopWes^3-a:Snare Open Hat , b:Snare Ride

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I exported the tracks from BIAB and imported into Studio One 4

I used Melodyne to turn the bass into midi, and then I used Trillian for the virtual instrument.
I used Superior Drummer to generate a midi from the drum track.
(I realize that a lot of the real tracks have midi associated with them, but I've found that often the midi is not exactly the same as the real track.)

On the bass, I used SoundToys EffectRack with LarryG ThunderFunk preset
On the guitar solo I played, I used SoundToys EffectRack with EchoBoy Trio Lead
On the 2nd guitar, I used CLAGuitars
On my vocals, I used a bunch of effects, depending on where I was in the song: TR5British Channel, Ezmix, Doubler2, Doubler4, TR5 Master EQ-432
On the mix itself, I used Basic Vintage Punch from SoundToys Effect Rack
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Love & a .45 was born out of the translitic songwriting process. This was my January 2020 submission to my Facebook translitic songwriting group.

I'd like to go back and re-record the vocals, write & record a new guitar part, re-mix, re-master. I might also like to add some ambient sounds similar to what I've done in several of my other songs I've posted here. In my attempt to eliminate some noise from the vocal track, I cut off the ends of some of my words--mostly the "s" at the end of words.

This is still a work in progress, so if you have some suggestions, I'd love to hear them. I think maybe I need to change the quality of my voice in this song. Perhaps it doesn't sound punk enough? Does the guitar solo sound too cheezy? It was another one of those first thought best thought things, and apparently my default guitar playing is stuck in the 80s or so. ;-)

BTW I don't have the video posted to my Todd Russell Hall YouTube account yet, so I'm linking to my TexasFrets YouTube acct. I have several songs on both channels if you're interested in finding more of my music.

Oh, one final thing, I have a DVD of Jean Cocteau's Orpheus. I needed a video for my Facebook group, so I cut scenes from the movie and stitched them together. They very loosely go with the lyrics.

Thanks for watching &/or listening. I really appreciate everyone's wonderful songs they've been sharing on the forum, and I'm thankful for the kind comments and helpful feedback I've gotten on my songs.

This, to my ears, sounds like a really professionally done job. It's not the kind of thing that I first listen to, I must admit; BUT you kept my attention from beginning to end here - despite the repetitiveness of some of the lyrics (not a criticism!). It made me wish to write an upbeat song soon, myself ... and that's a top compliment in my book :-) Thanks so much for sharing this, would love to hear more!

Good song but all the vocals are WAY too far forward in the mix.
Yes, the solo sounds like a 70s Styx/Toto/Boston sound - doesn't fit too well.
The kick drum is VERY clicky even in the full band mix...you should be able to deal with that now it's MIDI.
I'm not sure the MIDI bass VI works too well - it has no aggression of pick attack.
I like the vocal for the most part...retracking should be fine if you need to. the "femme" vox work really well.
The general guitar tone isn't much chop - but I have noted that BIAB "punk" guitars are mainly distorted semi metal tones. The ska ones are usually better but they seem pretty dirty in this. You might get a better result with other, cleaner, guitars and some added overdrive.
The vocal style and treatment reminded me more of rockabilly than ska punk.
Excellent song.

Well now!
That was bizarre.

Video is certainly compelling and the music is snappy and punchy.
I'm not sure they go together though.
Watching gave an uneasy feeling of dissonance.
If that was the intent, job well done.

moto

Thanks, James, for your kind words. I'm glad the song kept your attention. It's really not the sort of thing I listen to either, but I thought I'd try to shake things up in my Facebook songwriting group. Looking forward to your upbeat song. I'll definitely keep an eye out for it. I've enjoyed your songs I've had a chance to listen to. Cheers, Todd

Hi, Ray. I always look forward to your responses. I appreciate the actionable feedback you provide. Yes, listening back, I agree with you about most if not all of this. I probably agree with all but won't know until I've tried your suggestions in a new recording & new mix.

Ha, Boston is the band I was trying to think of when I went back and listened to my guitar solo. My solo is like a very bad version of Boston. ;-) I agree it doesn't fit. Any ideas of who to listen to so I can borrow the feel/territory of their solo?

I'll see about putting another kick drum in. I'll need to listen to it more closely. For the bass, I think I will go back and use EZ Bass to generate midi of the BIAB bass part. EZ Bass seems to do a better job at it than Melodyne. And EZ Bass seems to have more aggressive bass sounds than Trillian, although Trillian just released a new version and might have some new bass models.

I'm glad you thought the "femme" vox worked. It was late the night I recorded this song (and it was due the next day) and I only had my own vocals but wanted some female backing.

I'll give the cleaner guitars a try as you've suggested. Amplitube 5 is coming out any day, so I'll try running the clean guitar through some overdrive in Amplitube.

Thanks again for all your help and encouragement. I'm happy to have your input.

Cheers, Todd

Hi, Moto. Thanks for giving the video a watch/listen. I only had a few hours to turn in my project to my Facebook songwriting group, and many elements in the lyrics suggested Orpheus to me, and this was an easy way to get a cool video together for the group. I think the original movie is pretty dissonant, so perhaps some of that is coming through. Also, my cut of the movie was pretty rushed, so the scenes might not fit the lyrics as well as I'd like. Thanks for bringing up the dissonance though. I'll definitely keep that in mind when I post a new version of the song. I'm glad you found the music snappy and punchy. Thanks again for watching and for your helpful comments. Cheers, Todd

For solos and rhythm guitars go to The Clash - nothing later than the London Calling LP though. Rhythm usually a loud fender twin, (suggests more power amp break up than preamp pushing),...that's easily found amongst the VSTs available these days.
This bloke dooes good Clash tones using a Vox and an OD pedal for some parts. Les Paulish for one guitar,(humbuckers and less top end) & leads while a teleish for the other side rhythm (single coil bright). All of which is doable in almost any Sim pack https://youtu.be/7i_pA1VhkVA?t=1125
Again, excellent song.

I think it sounds great just the way it is!!!......somewhat unusual mix in some ways but sometimes that just works!! GREAT STUFF!! Take care. Greg

texasfrets.
my comments about your song follow.
please take my comments as constructive/in a friendly kind fashion. not intended to upset you. and only for the betterment of the song.
cos i know how it feels when someone comments on my own songs. of which ive written loads.
sometimes one is so deep in the song itself, its difficult to see the overall picture from other peoples viewpoints. been there , done that a million times.
i'm kinda leery commenting on others songs cos i dont want to upset anyone.
but i'm commenting on this one cos it grabbed me big time.

1. overall concept. GREAT, and the song has hooks which are very important to success with a wide audience.
2. i have a suggestion for start of song as follows.
a. no drums/stick at start.
b. start song with a "lonely" guitar all by itself. then BAM , FULL BORE INSTRUMENT TRAKS ONLY !
ALL TRAKS. BAM AND PUNK IT. people love this sorta stuff.
thus from quite lonely guitar for a couple of bars THEN BAM FULL BORE !
a typical songwriting trick. then the lead vocs come in.
3. i thought the use of femme vocs a good idea. BUT i would experiment with doubling the lead vocs.
you are obviously a good vocallist. but i too found the lead
vocs too loud.

i wish you only the very best, and a merry xmas.
you are VERY talented imho. the song just needs tidying up imho.
i really liked it.
muso.

Hi, Ray.

Thanks so much for your reply. Thanks for your suggestion of The Clash. I listened to them a lot when I was younger. I'll check them out again with an ear toward their solos & rhythm guitar. I have a Fender Twin in my Amplitube VST & also several Fender Twins in my Kemper. I could reamp the guitar through the Kemper, which would give a more authentic sound, probably.

Thanks for the link. I'll check him out for sure. Thanks again for all your help and your kind words.

Cheers,
Todd

Loved the song & production/performances

Can you offer any information on the title of the Film used in the video...? I'd love to see the movie...

I agree with Greg. I would not change a thing. Is this different than most of the posts here? Yes. But it is good and that is all that matters.

Sorry to take so long to respond. Had some health things going on and took a break from the computer & the internet for a while.

Thanks for your kind and encouraging words. I really appreciate it. It's good to hear you thought the mix worked as it is. Thank you!

Hi, Muso. Sorry to take so long to respond. Had some health things going on and took a break from the computer & the internet for a while. I really appreciate your list of suggestions. These are really good things to try. I'm totally open to reworking my song sketches. I particularly like that idea about the sticks and then the lonely guitar. I'll post it again when I've tried some of these changes. Sorry again about taking so long to respond. I really appreciate you taking the time to listen and to give so many good suggestions. Cheers, Todd

Thanks so much for watching and commenting. I'm glad you liked it.

Yes, the title of the film is Orpheus. It was directed by Jean Cocteau. It's one of my favorite older movies. I imagine you can pick it up on eBay for cheap. If not, here's a really good version of it that's available on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Orpheus-Criterion-Collection-Jean-Marais/dp/B005152C82/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=orpheus+cocteau&qid=1612651633&sr=8-1

Cheers,
Todd

Thanks so much, Mario. I'm happy you liked it the way it is. Thanks for your kind words. I might redo it a few different ways when I get time, just to see how it changes things. If I do, I'll post the changes here on the forum.

Thanks again! Cheers, Todd

I like the song.

But if you're going for a more "punk" sound, you might want to listen to this guy:



You must explain/why this must be...

Ooops, got distracted listening to some cuts from London Calling.

Back to comments...

Vocal: mismatched reverb, too much of it, singing is too smooth. Bass is boomy, not focused. The energy of the vocal is actually lower than the backing track, which is backwards. Keep the energy in the backing tracks, and have the lead singer drink some more espresso.

Guitars think they are playing in a different band. Lots of overlap between the instruments, in places they don't sound like they're playing the same song.

Ending (before the "wooo") is a boring, standard cadence. It needs something a bit more in line with the feel of the rest of the song.

After a couple of listens, it sounds more like you've got a Billy Idol sort of vibe going.

Looking forward to the next iteration, even if you ignore all my suggestions!

Hey, David. Those are all good observations and comments. I'll definitely think about them in the next iteration. I appreciate you taking the time to listen and comment. Very helpful. Best, Todd

Boy some very cool tones and effects in the song. I too got a Boston vibe in the guitars. Excellent vocal Very cool tune.. Well done