Troubles of Mr. Meeget 7 1/2 minute epic

I wasn't going to post a new thread for this song but I decided to go ahead because it is probably my favorite thing I have ever done. One of my friends and I recorded it all in one day. We had the basic ideas before that but everything came together that one session. It's kind of two songs in one with a transition. I guess I would say the first song is more of mine and the second one is his with the exception of the ending. I sing for the first half and at the end. He sings the second part and does harmonies on the first part. I did all the guitar work and editing except the keyboard parts which he did. I really enjoyed working with him and I hope we start to work on stuff some more. We're living in the same apartment this coming fall so I think we will. He plays drums, very well, so we will also be able to record some drums which will help a lot. Well I hope ya'll give it a shot because I think it's worth it. Looking forward to hearing what you think

www.soundclick.com/hammanjamband

Wow.... that song was really {censored}ing good. I think that's my favorite song I've heard from you yet.

I especially liked the keyboard (?) sounds at about 4:00. Sounded sorta like a backwards track. And I love the long ending. Where did you get those sound clips?

I must say, however, that I didn't really like the xylophone in the early part of the song. It wasn't what it was playing, it was just the sound itself. I felt like it would've sounded better to have something else playing that same part. The xylophone was really just kind of bugging me . I liked all the other sounds, though... but I must admit that I also think your guitar tone could be improved... but I dunno, that could just be personal taste. I think what bugs me about it is the reverb. It has a lot more reverb than any other track in the song, and at times I think this makes it feel out of place. Depends on the context, I think, because during the fade-out it sounded right at home. So I guess what I'm trying to say is that you should experiment with using more variation in your guitar tones.

Tonal issues aside, you've got a really great song here with lots of wonderful melodies. :thu:

thanks for the comments first of all. I got the voices from just googling something like "free text to speech software" then it would spit out mp3's of whatever I typed. Then I just tweaked them in Adobe Audition 1.5 and cut and pasted them end and that was that. I remember I was doing it at my house and that was at the end after we had been working on it for quite a long time and I was pretty into it and my dad was yelling at me "turn that stuff down" or something like that.

The xylophone sound was from a really cheap keyboard through a pretty crappy amp so it just plain doesn't sound good but it was a different tone to work with. It has never really bothered me but I'm glad you pointed it out, I had never even really thought of it as being prominent enough to be aggravating.

As far as guitar tone goes I'm a real beginner in that area. I haven't ever messed with changing my sound that much. I guess it might be because I've always thought it didn't matter too much because of the crappy gear I have that it wouldn't be worth the trouble to spend a lot of time on tone. I'm getting some new gear so hopefully that will change soon. Do you have any tips as far as getting a better guitar tone? Should I just twist knobs till I find something I like?

Once again thanks for the suggestions, I really appreciate it

I 'm only half way through it and I'm already calling it brilliant. A full band treatment would just flat rock my world.

The transition between the two songs is a little iffy - I think it was probably too long. I like the 2nd part too, I'm sure the two together will work, so fooling with the transition is probably your only hurdle here.

Excellent, I love the end. Somehow the different voices make it seem deep and meaningful. Really outstanding work.

I'll stop typing superlatives here, but I could have gone on.

Wild stuff...great work. I will have to reserve full judgement for when you record it full band. I think a lot of its success hinges on how you handle the arrangement. It works in this form too although the voices at the end are too loud in the mix...there are also some barren stretches of guitar strumming waiting to be filled with foreground elements. The mood of the whole thing reminds me a little of a cross between early 70s Genesis and a bit of Radiohead...but you guys have your own spin on it.

I dunno man... it just sounds like a cheap solid-state amp . It's sort of muddy... the bridge pickup would probably be less muddy, if you like the tone of it. Also, how are you mic'ing it? You might try micing it very very (very) close with the amp volume turned down low, this should make it sound a bit more clear and it should also eliminate some of the ambience that was contributing to what I was interpretting as reverb. Some things to experiment with

thanks for the suggestions, I'll give them a try

I'm going to add an addendum to the "Want More Opinions on your Posts" thread that you shouldn't mention that your song tips the scales at over 7 minutes. That's an eternity in internet time. I really looking forward to it--I've liked your stuff so far--but I'm going to have to mix a drink and pack a snack for something that long.

I got much more of a 60's vibe - I was thinking Buffalo Springfield, Love, and Smiley Smile era Beach Boys for the first part. I can kind of hear Radiohead in the second part - the chord progresssion sounds like something from "OK Computer". I thought the text to speech went on too long - for the first 30 seconds I was thinking "This is f*cking brilliant" but after the second 30 seconds I was thinking "This is f*cking annoying". The guitar tone IS lousy, but I think it adds to the charm of the song.

Interesting stuff. Hope it works out with the drummer/housemate/co-writer.

Good point, I think the 1 and 1/2 minute song may have worked to my advantage but this one not so much.

"I got much more of a 60's vibe - I was thinking Buffalo Springfield, Love, and Smiley Smile era Beach Boys for the first part. I can kind of hear Radiohead in the second part - the chord progresssion sounds like something from "OK Computer". I thought the text to speech went on too long - for the first 30 seconds I was thinking "This is f*cking brilliant" but after the second 30 seconds I was thinking "This is f*cking annoying". The guitar tone IS lousy, but I think it adds to the charm of the song."

I've never listened to the first two bands you mentioned so I'll check them out soon. I can understand the annoyance of the length of the voices. I think I was really in the moment and got carried away and it was a one day recording that has never been revisited so that might explain it. I have a crappy guitar amp (http://www.zzounds.com/item--FEN0231502000), That could be the next thing on the equipment to be procured list. Thanks again for the suggestions and honest comments. It is much appreciated.

PS: I couldn't figure out how to quote things I wanted to, so I could only quote one time and the whole post in its entirety. Sorry you only got quotation marks rsadasiv:)

Haha, I KNEW it was that amp! My good friend has that very same amp and the whole time I was thinking "that sounds just like devin's {censored}ty amp..."

I really liked that, i also liked your other songs a lot. Kind of reminds me of The Shins. Im wondering what effects do you use on your voice? or do you just double track it. I like the sound of it.

Hmm, I'm thinking instead of the xylophones try a nice chime-like sound. Crystal is a good synth for it if your keyboard has that preset. As for guitar tone, try this: Add NOTHING before you record, just record in the straight clean tone, low volume. Add noise reduction and compression, then use software to get your tone. You don't need good gear to get a good sound if you have the knowledge of how to use software.

I just double track my voice and record it through a really crappy computer microphone so yeah...

Thanks for the suggestions on the guitar tone. That's good to know because I probably won't be able to spring or a new amp for quite a while. I'll be using cubase sx3 and reason soon so hopefully those will help with that once I learn how to use them pretty well.

Nice work! I happen to like the xylophone/marimba sound near the beginning, but if you're going to use it there, I'd bring it back later as well. I agree that the speech in the second song lasts too long, but it's also too forward in the mix. I really dig what's happening musically during that section, though.

I know a lot's been said about guitar tone, but I like the low-fi sound for this tune. To me, it's reminiscent of a strange cross between 60's Zappa (We're Only in it For the Money era) and early Guided By Voices.

dbd1963 played some bass on it so I posted the new version on soundclick, it's the one that says (w/ bass) Well I hope ya'll enjoy and let him know what you think.

Don't blame him for the crappy production, I take full credit for it. He just had an mp3 of it to work with and put bass over it.

Nice job dbd... sounds great with the bass! Fits the song 100%. I also like the bass line during the wordless vocal break.

I find myself singing this song to myself at work sometimes. I want to hear more music from the Ham Man Jam Band!

Also, about my comments a while back regarding the xylophone. It's really grown on me. I definitely wouldn't think of replacing that now.

Thanks Dubb. But that song is so good it'd be hard to screw it up.

Not that I couldn't have.. I have rare talents..