First post here. Hello, everyone! I need some feedback from fellow surf fans. I've been trying to turn this project I'm doing into more of a surf rock thing, but to me it still sounds quite like the old garage-y pop stuff I was doing. Could I have your feedback? Not sure what's keeping it from having that "surf vibe." Thanks in advance!

Here's the link:
https://soundcloud.com/loveinathens/tall-ice-lung-tandang-sora-aoi-mix-test/s-5LKar

http://facebook.com/diagnosticrecords

Last edited: Oct 24, 2014 04:00:51

Hey tallicelung,
I went to listen to your link and I couldn't cause it said it was private. Might be a problem on my end. Anywho, I'm new at it too and I just follow the basics:
Heavy strings- 11s are good, 12s are better and 13s are Dick Dale territory.
Tons of Reverb- the wetter the better. Classic Spring reverb is best but if I don't have enough I add more. Echo is great too. Careful or you'll end up rockabilly but that's a nice too.
Fast is usually better than slow.
Single coil pickup guitars are also the main choice of axe. Fenders of course. I'm a Danelectro man myself. They're cheap and they ring like a bell!
I'll let the pros weigh in. The talent on this site is like beyond the 3rd Star to the Left.
Let me know if that link is more available.
Welcome to Surf 101!

Da Vinci Flinglestein,
The quest for the Tone, the tone of the Quest

The Syndicate of Surf on YouTube

http://www.syndicateofsurf.com/

http://sharawaji.com/

http://surfrockradio.com/

What djangodeadman said. The drums seem a bit too much....

I did enjoy listening to it - which I guess is more important than whether it's "Surf" or not..?

Wherever you go, there you are

http://rogerfowles.co.uk/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKUsTNis44w
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKauwombaC8

Agree with everyone above (including myself!), but it's not just the volume of the drums, it's the drum sounds, most specifically that reverb on the snare.

Los Fantasticos

Welcome to the forum

it sounds good man!
It has a lot going for it. However I have to agreed with the others that the drums are a bit to much. A bit to dominant and "industrial"
I also think that some more percussive guitar would sound good here. Perhaps not have all the notes ring out, but palm mute some of them.

I hope you will stick around an post more of your work.

All the best.
-James

MantisRex_ wrote:

I like it, man.

I'm just gonna say this: I know it's your project and you should do what you want, but are you saying that you want it to sound more like "traditional" surf? I think it already sounds quite surfy as it is, instead of going back and doing what thousands of people have alrready done decades ago, why not just take elements of what inspires you and incorporate it into your own sound?

Just my two cents.

Thanks man! Sorry I wasn't clear. I meant from a production standpoint.

http://facebook.com/diagnosticrecords

Noel wrote:

Welcome to sg101, tallicelung! Very glad you're here.

I'm speaking strictly as a fan of surf music, and only because you asked. Good tune. I think it's well within the boundaries of surf music. But, as djangodeadman wrote, I think the drums are too prominent in the mix. Too many overtones that overwhelm the guitars. You could try slowly lowering their volume in the mix until they don't dominate the song. I'd like to hear a mix of the same music with the drums pulled back until the guitars are more in front.

Keep up the good work!

Here you go, guys. I think all three guitars are a bit clearer here:
https://soundcloud.com/loveinathens/tall-ice-lung-tandang-sora-aoi-mix-test-v2/s-isR6D

Thanks for the feedback! I'm not trying to just copy the old guard. I have ideas I want to mix in with surf rock, but I kind of wanted a little nod most surf fans would readily recognize. Thanks!

http://facebook.com/diagnosticrecords

If I was the engineer, here's what I would do:

Back down the room reverb on the lead guitar, which will make it even more prominent in the mix. In instrumental surf/rock music, the lead guitar is "the vocalist". But you don't want that track so prominent that it overwhelms the rest of the instrumentation. What I am hearing through my headphones is mostly lead guitar and drums.

The second (rhythm) guitar track needs to come up a bit, I can barely hear it. But don't go overboard...the rhythm guitarist in my band would like to play as loud as the lead guitar and that results in sonic cacophony.

I'd bring the drums down some more - they are still a bit overwhelming and lastly, crank up the bass guitar to the point where it meshes well with the kick drum. Also, if there is reverb on the bass, remove it. Reverb-y bass "washes out". A little compression on the bass is all you really need.

I really like the song, great potential there! Hope this helps. But every engineer's ears are different, so what I like may not be your cup of tea.

Jack Booth
(aka WoodyJ)

The Mariners (1964-68, 1996-2005), 2025
The Hula Hounds (1996-2000)
The X-Rays (1997-2004)
The Surge! (2004, 2011-2012)
Various non-surf bands that actually made money (1978-1990)

Syndicateofsurf wrote:

Don't you just love it when it hits you to cover of one of your all time favorites and you never even thought about the song structure cuz it's just this magical entity that you never even considered analyzing and you figure it out in like 3 minutes and you go "Well of course those are the chords!"

I just love that.

And then 2 days later you realize you've got a chord wrong and you have to start all over. Man I hate that!

Dud, whatcha talking about on a three year old thread?

Last edited: Oct 04, 2017 01:38:21

Syndicateofsurf wrote:

Brian encourages the recycling of old topic threads. This allows for a greater pixel to datapoint efficiency.

And I was talking about music crap, ya dig?

Hummmmm.
Well hey everybody, look over there!
Surfs Up!!

Last edited: Oct 04, 2017 23:01:01