'hELP me" (ELP Tribute Song)

[Old No7]

Some forum members may have seen/heard this on the DP-24SD forum, but after a few weeks, I've posted it here for others who might have missed it.

Note --> "Tracking only" was done on this draft; no formal mixing or mastering efforts (yet).

I quickly recorded 4 tracks of a lick/theme to save & preserve the musical ideas and I plan to come back to it later to rearrange it -- maybe adding some lyrics too -- and then record it all again, fully mastered.

This was written as a tribute to Emerson, Lake and Palmer -- ELP -- and for that reason, the working title of the song is spelled "hELP me". There are some parts I really like, some not so much; and the voices came from my Hammond SK Pro 73 (organ) and Yamaha MODX6 (drums, synth bass & lead).

Cheers!

Old No7

https://soundcloud.com/user-7932208...d&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

 

[Tom Boyles]

No "Love" button, so I was only able to "Like".

 

[Rene Asologuitar]

Love your version.
Nice sounds from your keyboard!!!
Very crafty on hELP!!!
Great recording!
Rene

 

[-mjk-]

@Old No7 would you care to share some production notes with us?

 

[Old No7]

Thanks to Rene for his comments and to -mjk- for his interest.

You might be disappointed to hear, but I didn't make a track sheet on this... I'd come up with one of the Hammond licks the night before, then literally recorded 4 separate tracks (only 1 take each) over a 20-minute span. If it sounds decent, then I was either inspired or lucky! Or maybe both? As I can't claim to be an expert at recording yet. (Again, no mixdown or mastering was done -- I'll do that after I re-record it with vocals added... Some day...)

I can offer these production comments:
Boards = Hammond SK Pro 73, Yamaha MODX6
Routing = All boards thru Behringer mixer, output to Source A & B on Tascam DP-24SD
Track Mix = Unity gain settings on all tracks for initial recording, saved on the Tascam
Post Effects = I think I'd added reverb to the dry Hammond, I'd have to check again
Output of Audio = Sent to my iRig Stream App on my iPhone for recording via the unbalanced RCA stereo out plugs off the Tascam, rendered on iPhone using iRig, and saved as an audio MP4 file.

I only made a simple song sheet to note when I wanted to vary the 3 different drum patterns I'd used (to avoid the same pattern for the whole song). The bass synth lick and chord progression were written quickly the night before, and then I came up with the Hammond lead and synth lead tracks that you hear, literally on the fly for each take.

What I like about the iRig Stream is when I have these ideas and capture them on the Tascam, then I can quickly and easily save the recording for playback later. I can listen to them on my phone, on a Sony Bluetooth speaker and also in the car -- and those devices supplement the listening I can do with my JBLs or Mackie Thumps (off the Tascam) in my modest studio. So this gives me a wider variety of systems to check my mixes on; also to critique the song or any tracks. This use of various speaker systems will become more import as I get more into real mixdown and mastering projects.

Old No7