Hands of Time (short demo)

[ButchA]

This is the original tune from my (late) buddy Tim Adams who wrote the lyrics, and we collaborated on the guitar chord progression, melody, drum tempo, etc... Man, I miss my friend and co-singer/songwriter with a harder edge.... My songs were all happiness, unicorns, rainbows, etc... as I'm still happily married. But in contrast, Tim's songs were dark, harsh, marital breakups, child custody, greedy lawyers, etc.. we balanced each other out.

Anyway, this is his song "Hands of Time" from back in 2001 or 2002, when we collaborated on it. Thankfully, I kept the sheet music and lyrics that we hand wrote all these years later. Now that my buddy Tim has tragically passed away, I decided to get out his song and re-record it, playing all the instruments.

Track 1: Drum track (rock beat @ 126 bpm), recorded directly from my big Yamaha DGX-505 full size keyboard.
Track 2: Me, live on my Fender Stratocaster, clean tone with a touch of reverb
Track 3: Me, on my old worn out, POS, Samick 4 string bass (P-bass copy).

This is just a brief, very rough mix, of the song. No vocals yet, as I can't sing like my late buddy Tim. I can't hit those notes! I'd have to sing the song an octave lower...

Anyway, tell me what you think of this rough mix (so far) -- recorded on a Tascam DP-03SD, but then imported into Audacity on my laptop to finalize into a real basic rhythm demo MP3.

https://soundcloud.com/butch-ammon/...d&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

EDIT: I am wondering about the mix with the bass riffs in there, chromatically going from A down to F#, all over the place. It might clash with the vocal track (to be recorded soon). Should I bring the bass down a little more when mixing?

 

[shredd]

This is just a brief, very rough mix, of the song. No vocals yet, as I can't sing like my late buddy Tim. I can't hit those notes! I'd have to sing the song an octave lower...

Anyway, tell me what you think of this rough mix (so far) -- recorded on a Tascam DP-03SD, but then imported into Audacity on my laptop to finalize into a real basic rhythm demo MP3

Hey Butch - VERY disappointed. This doesn't sound like RUSH at ALL. (J/K!!!)

Actually, I really liked it - terrific chord progressions, and the bass has great "movement", while staying 'with' the git'r (Tom Scholz is GREAT at this). The git'r sound has a ways to go to be a final product, I think...but that's me.
As far as vox: you n I share the same problem - a low "register". Hearing me sing "Closer To The Heart" should be categorized stand-up comedy, not live music!!! So - consider a guest vocalist. That's what I do, when I can get a woman to return my phone calls.

I wouldn't deign to advise as to the 'process'' - for one, I'm as rank an amateur as there is. And more importantly, EVERYone has their own process and figures out what works for them and their music. Mine is actually pretty well-evolved, as I'm an old guy and have had plenty of time to develop it. Works realllly well, although my vocal-recording is still pretty "meh".

That said - here's a nickel's worth of free advice:
I've found that as a solo musician (like you, I play all the instruments, vox, drum programming, everything!), it's hard for me to envision the OUTCOME of a song - it's more of a finished product evolving from a set of ideas that I start with.
Perhaps think more about what you want the individual parts to sound like IN the mix, and record them like that; there's plenny opportunity to tweak/mix later. And, of course, you can always do more takes later, if you want a part/instrument sounding different.

Hope that helps!

 

[Old No7]

I like it! The chords and bass, as shredd says, work well with the guitar.

Just a thought though -- "if" (and that's an if...) the lyrics have that hard edge that your late friend did so well, I wonder if the Strat needs a harder edge, as it seems to have a "happy" tone to it.

That said -- the BEST thing about the DP series is you can record it, mix it, overdub, punch in/out etc and ultimately save several versions of the same song or mix/master until you find the ONE magic recipe you're looking for ("a little of this, less of that, some more of..." etc.). Just like shredd said: "you can always do more takes later, if you want a part/instrument sounding different."

Old No7

 

[Old No7]

...when I can get a woman to return my phone calls.

Sorry, I didn't find anything to help you with that in the DP manual............

Old No7

 

[shredd]

...when I can get a woman to return my phone calls.
---------
Sorry, I didn't find anything to help you with that in the DP manual............

I KNOW. And there aren't any youtubes about it either. Must be my breath...

 

[ButchA]

Thanks guys... Yeah, my Fender Strat was basically totally clean with nothing but a touch of reverb. The song (technically) ROCKS back when my late buddy Tim and I wrote it. He wrote the pissed off lyrics over his failed marriage and disastrous legal proceedings with his ex-wife, child custody, etc... I wrote the chord progressions, melody, arrangement, and then Tim agreed with it, so we proceeded on with and started sketching out rough arrangements on an old, ancient, Tascam 414mkII cassette recorder.

Tim's lyrics:
VERSE 1
"As I wander weak and weary
Your memory echoes all to clearly
But now you've gone away
It seems like yesterday
You were right here by my side"

VERSE 2
"I search in all our favorite places
All I see are stranger's faces
There's been no sign of you
I don't know what I'll do
If I never see you again"

CHORUS
"Let's turn back the hands of time
To a day when you were mine
So I could take you in my arms
And baby... (abrupt stop)
Never let you go... (chord instrumental).. (abrupt stop)
So baby, give me one more chance
So I can try to make you see
Your love is all that matters to me"

GUITAR SOLO

VERSE 3
"I stare into my drink for hours
Completely captured by your power
You've had that magic touch
And now I need you so much
I break down screaming your name"

VERSE 4
"Now my heart's so full of sadness
I just can't escape this madness
It all comes from losing you
I know deep down we're though
And that's the cause of all my pain"

REPEAT CHORUS
REPEAT GUITAR SOLO/FADE OUT

 

[ButchA]

MAIN CHORD PROGRESSION FOR ALL VERSES

A....................................F#
As I wander weak and weary
A.............................................F#
Your memory echoes all to clearly
D..........................A.......G
But now you've gone away
D....................A.......G
It seems like yesterday
D..............A...........................G....(G..E)
You were right here by my side
(continue to verse 2)

CHORUS CHORD PROGRESSION

(no chord)................D.............A...................
...............Let's turn back the hands of time
........G...............................A....
To a day when you were mine
...............D.......................A....
So I can take you in my arms
................GGGG GGGG...G
And baby...........................(abrupt stop)

(no chord).......... D....A..G.... D.... A..G.... D.... A..G...
Never let you go

(no chord) D............................A........
So baby, give me one more chance
...............G.........................A...
So I can try to make you see
.........D.......................A...............D....
Your love is all that matters to me"

GUITAR SOLO
(Chords - D, A, G, A, etc.. repeat...)

 

[ButchA]

Thinking back to the lyrics of my late buddy Tim's song....

He completely ripped his heart out and poured it out onto a piece of paper of his disastrous marriage, evil spiteful nasty ex-wife, etc... divorce lawyers, etc... custody battles, etc...

I guess that's why the two of us hit it off musically, as we represented both ends of the spectrum, as the saying goes:

Tim: Ex-military, I.T. professional, singer/songwriter, etc... Tim was a "big dude" if you know what I mean. It's totally wrong to speak of someone who has passed (RIP, Tim!) but Tim was basically seen as an NFL defensive tackle who has gone to seed. Tim was like 6'4" and 350+ lbs. But yet he had the voice of an Angel! OMG, so many times I can play my guitar and hear Tim's voice in the upper tenor register. Meanwhile, I'm more baritone and either harmonizing a 5th lower or a complete octave lower, in the Johnny Cash range.

Me: Retired military, worked with Tim in the I.T. industry for years before it folded, and we all had to move on to other opportunities. Tim was way more skilled than me, and easily bounced back in I.T. Meanwhile, I struggled and ended up trying my hand at Armed Security with a gun, a 2-way radio, and a nightstick. It just wasn't for me. My wife was constantly horrified, that I'd get shot, because it wasn't "who I am". I quickly realized that I don't have the "street mentality" as they say, and immediately moved onto another profession. I decided to take a 180° turn, go through CDL training, and public school transportation training, and became a school bus driver.

Way more personal.... My own lovely wife Margaret has met Tim's ex-wife back in the day. My daughters met and played with Tim's daughter (roughly the same age). Tim was awesome and well liked and respected by everyone he met. His ex-wife? Uh... well... let's just say that my wife Margaret was "creeped out" by meeting Tim's ex-wife. You know where I'm going with this... I mean, Margaret likes everybody. She has never had a bad thing to say about anything! But, she was "unnerved" (as she put it) by meeting Tim's ex-wife.

Now you know the whole story behind the lyrics, and how Tim poured his heart out onto a piece of paper. If anyone wants to help me work on this, collaborate with me on this, in honor of my late friend Tim Adams, let me know! I know right down deep in my soul, he would be thrilled!

 

[Arjan P]

@ButchA I like what you got, but to me the Strat is too loud in the mix, the bass could use a bit more definition (I'd say it's a bit too muffled sounding) - and the drums could be a bit louder, even if they're a drum machine from a synth.

Then, I have no clue how the lead vocal melody would be but if it's in my range I would like to give it a go. BTW, to me the words are not that bitter at all, or "pissed off" as you say. I get more of a regret type of vibe, like 'too bad it's over', but that's ofcourse without knowing anyone involved..

 

[ButchA]

Thanks, @Arjan P !!! I appreciate it. I will rework it and try (in an attempt) to sing a vocal track the way my late buddy Tim sang it. It will be most likely be strained, off key, screaming loud, as I can't sing up high like that... But I'll give it a go, what the hell, you know?

 

[-mjk-]

@ButchA I say - go for it! You can sing it in the lower register if you want. Why not? Work with @Arjan P and make it a hit record.