theHumps
Surfs Up
Ormond Beach, United States
Joined : 11th Oct 2009 - 16 years ago
Last Online : 28th Jun 2024 - 2 years ago
theHumps comments on tracks
theHumps has posted 2391 comments on other peoples tracks.
on Stiff-Arming Stars by Evisma
You said you were "learning guitar on the fly" to Alex. Explain to me, if you would be so kindly, your guitar playing experience. As a bass player, I didn't play the electric guitar until I started home recording a few years ago, a late bloomer in that regard. Just curious.
Cool idea. Thought the mix was a bit over compressed. I think what Alex was referring to was a lack of instrument separation when things get compressed too much. Things get a bit thin and the instruments lose their place in the mix. Trying not to be a Debbie Downer at the holiday season, lol. I just think there is a better mix in there somewhere.
Merry Xmas dude, enjoy that new ax.
Wayne
"Are you plugging directly in and using amp software or are you mic'ing an amp?"
I'm going direct into a multi-effects pedal for some treatment, then to the AudioBox. I have "Ampire", but it's pretty gnarly on CPU. If I have four Midi drum tracks and have more than one instance of Ampire going, it starts peaking my CPU bar and playback is crackly and computer gets generally stressed.
"A new PRS, you lucky #####!! I've only played one at the store and really liked it."
I played one here at good old Guitar Center and thought it seemed very smooth. Strat frets are too high and Ibanez sound like ass when you're trying to get a sweet, soaring tone. I had it shipped from Indiana to Missouri and it was still in tune. The only real ##### of the ordeal, was when it arrived, it was really cold outside, and there was a big sticker on it saying I need to wait 6 to 8 hours for the guitar to adjust to the temperature of the room to protect the finish.... So there I was,... waiting,... staring,... lusting. Longest 5 and a half hours ever. Didn't wait the six.
"Explain to me...your guitar playing experience. As a bass player, I didn't play the electric guitar until I started home recording a few years ago, a late bloomer in that regard."
Sounds like me. I got an Epiphone P-bass Fender rip-off at about 16. Played it for years and learned Tool's music. That was when I fell in love with the bass guitar. Justin Chancellor made it seem so much like a lead instrument, I didn't see why not. I had nobody to play music with, so the bass never too that secondary role that it usually takes. It was always the star.
When I started recording, I realized the Epiphone was not going to give me the clean sound I want. I bought an Ibanez SR600 and that it what you hear on everything of mine.
As far as the guitar, I've had an acoustic Squier for a while that I've learned some Floyd and Zeppelin on, but I've never learned any chords. I know three, and one's a bar! I'm learning "Amie" from Pure Prairie League, and was thrilled that it contained the three chords I know!!!!! What luck!
"Thought the mix was a bit over compressed."
After I read that, I went into the project and looked at the master, and I usually have a Multiband Dynamic Compressor on it with the mix at around 30 percent. That ##### was cranked to 100!!! Thank you for pointing that out. I have that effect templated to load in a certain way, so I must have brought it in with a drop-down or something. Anyway, yes. You were right. I'll do a new mixdown and upload soon.
Thanks again!
Evan
on industrial sleigh ride by DanGoldstein
This did remind me of something he would have done. Just throw in some bicycle played with a bow and some trashcan and you will be touted as a genius. ;)
Lyrics too? That should be interesting. Can't wait to see where you take this.
Wayne
on Claws In Me by Spivkurl
"It's a bit pop to me..." I chuckled. I was listening and saying to myself, "damn, this guy is on a totally different musical plane as me....and what the heck is this?" lol.
I think it def has the Spivkurl sound with the cool sounding synths and all. But it was the vocals that really set this song apart from your other tracks. I liked the catch phrase "claws in me", has a very visual, physical and emotional connotation. Quite a few instruments used, gave this a couple listens to try to let it all soak in.
Oh, I knew exactly what happened when I read the reply on that other track. lol.
Merry Christmas Pat!
Wayne
on Sunday Morning by Musicante
Dig your voice!
Bang a gong
Get it on
Bang a gong!
Wayne
Thanks allot, Wayne. Glad you like it and took the time to comment. We really appreciate it.
Ciao,
M.
on Samsara ft ferryterry by promenade2239
Very creative and well mixed. Nice use of the loops!
Wayne
I appreciate your nice words and am happy that you liked the song. Thanks again! Alex
on A lullaby by Ratsouk
Wayne
on The Immigrants by silverman
Wayne
on Pain You Will Never Know by ScottB55
Wayne
Thanks allot for chiming in and hitting me up with your kind words.
The guitar is my friend, Midiman James. The harp is actually from a Mellotron VST I have which James found for me after I told him it was one of my favorite instrument.
Cheers,
Scott
on Honey Mango Heaven by StaticNomad
Nice tempo changes and dynamics to the song. There seemed to be a build up of instruments and overall intensity to the track. There is more than enough to keep me interested. Lots of synths and electronic bits here.
Things began to get a little strange around the 10 min mark when the laser show came in but I liked how the guitars took over and ended it all for the 11 min version. I realize the 1,000 year version is beyond my listening capacity but congrats on finally finishing up that one!
Well done, creative and well mixed!
Wayne
So hard to say how long it takes to put this complex, lengthy stuff together. Many different sessions of varying lengths. I’ve made this one over the last 2-3 weeks whilst working on others as well as having a week’s break when it was pissing me off. So, pretty quickly made for me.
Yes, I can get tired of listening to long pieces over and over again. However, it’s also a damn good test of whether parts/sections are good enough. With this one, I found myself enjoying listening to it over and over again – a good sign. I’m always amazed at how many small things I can keep improving when listening again and again (and to different parts) and taking some action over anything and everything that pisses me off in any way. So, endless little volume corrections and small touches of automation, guitar edits etc
One difficulty in making such long stuff is that I’m generally working on fairly short looped sections at a time so it can be hard to see how the whole thing is coming together. I always start every new session by listening to the whole thing from the start, just to familiarise myself with every sound and element present.
I like the phrase “the laser show” and agree it’s a bit odd. Probably doesn’t quite fit in this track, which is much more on the beautiful side. I do have an idea to fix that – vocode that laser sound with a more beautiful synth sound and see if they merge in a way that softens the laser. Or maybe I won’t bother. Laser craziness ain’t exactly my signature sound but it is kind of fun.
“I liked how the guitars took over and ended it all”
That’s mostly distorted bass that you’re hearing, not guitar, though there is also a return to the very first, funky clean guitar part heard in the track. Strange having clean guitar over distorted bass. And now it’s uptempo, racing stuff rather than the original mid tempo funky.
This track has actually been No1 on the intergalactic Thousand Year Track charts for the last 3,000 years.
“the 1,000 year version is beyond my listening capacity”
Not if you make it into my heaven. Lots of time there for you to bask in this musical millennium journey. Whilst munching on some mangoes.
“congrats on finally finishing up that one!”
Yeah, it took quite a bit of computer processing power and I had to incorporate about a thousand genres to keep things interesting. Some have never been heard on this planet. So, that’s something to look forward to if you make it into my heaven. That and all the mangoes.
Thanks again.
on Driving Rock by S1lver
Did you play any of the instruments or was it loops? Either way, I Kapeesh!
Wayne
on Disko DisWay by ScottB55
Well done!
Wayne
Many thanks, my friend. You know, I was a disco hater too, when it first emerged. I thought it would hurt us playing musicians, but I joined a 9 piece disco/funk band and I loved it. I remember having to tie my bell bottom cause it kept getting caught in the beater of my kick drum pedal! I still don't have allot of disco in my collection, but smile when I hear it on the oldies stations.
Thanks allot for your kind words.
Cheers,
Scott
on Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas UPDATE 2 by Mykael
Merry Christmas Mykael!
Wayne
I am happy you enjoyed the track! It is always good to have a fresh pair of ears, so thanks for yours!
Love and Light,
Mykael
on Green Shuffle Aka SCCM by Orlando51
Thanks again for sharing your great music with us!
Wayne
With appreciation____Orlando
on HARLEQUIN by Planetjazzbass
From Zappo's incredible guitar to Slap's tasty sax, the overall feel and mood has a sweet flow. The drums keep the steady rhythm but the song takes on some interesting personalities as it goes.
What more can I say that many have already stated? Simply an awesome fusion track. Congrats on a successful collab fellas!
Wayne
on Lifes A Roller Coaster by brillbilly
And I couldn't agree with you more, life certainly can get crazy at times. I know I had to buckle up for this song!
Wayne
on Sunday by aelmen
Wayne
/Anders
on fusion7 ft ferryterry Janis71 by promenade2239
Is this the Jazz EZ kit? I may look into getting that one, sounds cool.
Nice dynamics here, well done on keeping things interesting throughout the entire track. I noticed the vocals, a nice touch and adds something positive to the track.
Well done!
Wayne
Great to hear from you again! Thanks for your nice words, Alex
on Stay featuring Farisha Haque by RichieWinn
Well done!
Wayne
Good to hear from you. I hope all is well.
Thank you very much for your kind words. It is rewarding when I get comments that make is all worth while and "superb, clean and clear" are just knockout. Thank you. Glad you liked the solo too.
Best
Richie
on Knee Deep In The Cosmic Overwhelm by StaticNomad
I must agree that this one is one of your best tracks I've heard. You said you trimmed some guitar bits. I find sometimes it is what you don't add that makes the track. Lately I have been seriously getting back into watercolor painting and that is the key to doing that, stopping when enough is enough. I am totally guilty of that in music and painting, not knowing when to stop adding to the composition.
Well done man, this is pretty cool, funky, chilled and bluesy all wrapped into this nice package.
Wayne
I really haven't. I changed my tuning to DADFsharpAD and that has remained my tuning ever since. I'm a bit lost if I play in regular tuning these days. So, I use that tuning now for all guitar playing, not just slide.
Slide would really suit a lot of what you do and it's an extremely sensual way of playing. Opens up all those microtones. I recommend a glass slide on the little finger. Can't understand people who put it on the third as that screws up your fretting hand whereas if you don't want to use it, you've still got three fairly unhampered fingers so can do all your usual shapes.
When I'm playing with the slide, I try not to overdo it so that when I add the slide, you really notice it. Some passages are pure slide (quite a few in this one) but it's a killer physical acoustic effect to hit from time to time.
Yes, this is a shorter one in which I don't switch into a whole bunch of other styles. It's a lot more consistent. Like a few ideas rather than my usual 10,000 in one track.
I've done slide playing across so many different styles (jazz, funk, electro, metal, grunge, blues, rock, d'n'b, reggae etc and more to probably come) but this is one of the more consistent blues ones, even though it's no regular blues.
"You said you trimmed some guitar bits"
Damn right I did! I do that all the time in every single track as I'm one of the laziest players out there. I'm the king of "fix it in the mix" though with me it's more "write the composition after jamming away for a while" as it is fixing bad notes and general errors/average and not especially interesting playing. I don't know if there's anyone else who has the same working method as me but I guess I'd only find out if I actually worked closely with someone on playing, recording, editing etc
"not knowing when to stop adding to the composition"
Yeah, you do that a bit and it could be said that I do it a lot. However, I try to make all that layering my special sort of unique sound. Complex and constantly changing but hopefully nothing interfering too much with anything else. So hard to know if I always (ever?) get it right. And that's partly down to the editing and mixing skills.
Anyway, I liked it, you liked it and that's the main thing, even if it is a bit rough around the edges in places. A bit like a lot of my work, I guess.
Good to hear from you on a pretty old track. Hopefully it's kind of timeless!
on Younger Days w ShortBusMusic by MWRatridge
sorry
Nice strong song construction/arrangement. Mark, great job on the vocals, you rock dude! Bear, well you are...Bear!! The bass is big, big in the mix. Way to go on the harmonica, didn't realize you played. I always like additions to rock songs such as horns and harmonicas, they add another dimension to a track.
Congrats on another smash single!!
Wayne
On a roll lol. Yes Bear is fantastic.
I started playing harp before I picked up my first guitar at age 11 and put it down when I started learning how to wield the axe. I picked up a harmonica at the local music store and everything I had learned as a kid came back fast. TY.
Mark.
on Starlight Soaked Bud Nova Burst Mix by visionarysoundsystem
Wayne
on Exit Countdown by Orlando51
Wayne
Anyways, thanks alot for another positive feedback...
Stay tuned______Orlando
on Opioid by StaticNomad
I can't think of what the intro sounds like but it reminds me of something I've heard before. I thought it is a cool way to start it off. The bass was particularly fun to listen to, lots to make the rhythm interesting. Jaco Pastorius always taught to learn the melodies to songs on the bass. To me it makes for more interesting bass lines.
At 4:50 the drums seem to expand and get noticeably louder, was that on purpose? i liked the guitar change about 5:50 where it gets like a disco guitar, lol, it's a nice change.
Lot's of good feedback on this one, well done, you did a great job on this piece!
Wayne
Yes, I'm not quite sure what that intro guitar sounds like. Probably many things! It's simple notes but I think it's all about the groove and the autowah tone. I like that and don't use it enough.
I don't actually have that many guitar intros in my stuff, especially considering how uch guitar there is in my tracks. There are certain lazy reasons for that that I won't go into now.
I'm not qute sure if you're saying that Jaco Pastorius WAS "always taught to learn the melodies to songs on the bass" ie he learned the main melodies of the song on bass so he could play them back? I only sort of do that. Maybe you're saying here that I seem to be playing other melodies in the track on the bass. Maybe though I'm terrible at learning parts and copying other melodies.
Yes, 4:50 new fat beat is supposed to be louder to give the track a lift as it kicks into that fat new kind of hip hop beat. Maybe you think it's too loud. Maybe it is. I will consider that when I go back and make finishing touches.
"guitar change about 5:50 where it gets like a disco guitar"
I never before thought of it as a disco guitar but I think you might be right. I thought of it as reggae and kind of backed it up that way with the drum groove. Even though the drum kit is partly a hard rock/metal one.
Thanks for the feedback. Some deep funk coming in the next couple of weeks.
Oh, and if you want some more funk basslines; while you were away I did a track that I actually stuck in the Funk category. I'd say it's pretty damn funky. And rocking when I switch things up halfway through. And it's only about 8 mins. Like a neat little pop song! Enjoy...
3,000 Miles Of Funk http://www.looperman.com/tracks/detail/160058
on So Deep ft KnowKontrol by RealProblemShuckers
Vocals are a tricky thing to mix, at least I find that to be true. I try different effects depending on the genre, feel and production on the song. I must also agree with the others that for 11 years old you seem to way ahead of the pack, that is impressive!!
Well done,
Wayne
on Proximal Vicinity Spivkurl Mix 13B Master B by Spivkurl
Way to go!
Wayne