I decided to try my Boss GT-1's capabilities as a recording interface. I have to say I found it quite easy to set up and track with.

This track is a real hodge-podge: the bass is a VST, the drums are a live player, rhythm guitar was recorded with Amplitube 4, the clean lead and fuzz/octave solo were done today using the Boss GT-1.

Listening back to it, I think I should pull the rhythm guitar up in the mix a bit.

As well as the GT-1, I used Reaper, Amplitube 4, Garritan, and the pitch shift in Reaper for the octave tracking.

BTW - the fuzz line is lifted right from the original Mancini version.

https://soundcloud.com/user-51358469/a-shot-in-the-dark

edwardsand wrote:

Very cool - I've always loved this song. So far, I've only listened through my computer speakers, but it sounds like the bass and the rhythm guitar need to be more prominent in the mix. To me, that bass line is the soul of the song.

Interestingly, that guitar riff everyone characterizes as a bass line isn’t the bass line. Get out the good monitors or the phones and listen again; you’ll hear the ascending chromatic line that the bass plays.

Nice work, Merlin. You done Hank proud.

As for the mix, I think it could be mostly improved by just lowering the lead. Played at high volume, that part is really piercing. I think reducing it will bring the rhythm forward like you were wanting.

Another thing I was thinking is that maybe the drums could use a bit of studio reverb on them. There's a distinct contrast in the sense of proximity between them and everything else, particularly the not-the-bass accent guitar track. The effect is that it kind of sounds like you're standing next to a drummer while his band is playing across the room.

I've been experimenting with this recently in Reaper, trying to simulate a common space--a virtual room--for all the instruments to live in to give everything a unified feel. Which of course isn't necessary in a song, as there's no rule saying all the reverbs have to match, but it's just something to consider.

Redfeather wrote:

Nice work, Merlin. You done Hank proud.

As for the mix, I think it could be mostly improved by just lowering the lead. Played at high volume, that part is really piercing. I think reducing it will bring the rhythm forward like you were wanting.

Another thing I was thinking is that maybe the drums could use a bit of studio reverb on them. There's a distinct contrast in the sense of proximity between them and everything else, particularly the not-the-bass accent guitar track. The effect is that it kind of sounds like you're standing next to a drummer while his band is playing across the room.

I've been experimenting with this recently in Reaper, trying to simulate a common space--a virtual room--for all the instruments to live in to give everything a unified feel. Which of course isn't necessary in a song, as there's no rule saying all the reverbs have to match, but it's just something to consider.

Here's a remixed version: https://soundcloud.com/user-51358469/a-shot-in-the-dark-v2-remixed

Pulled the solo guitars back a bit, added a plate reverb to the solo guitar, and tweaked the overall mix reverb.

Redfeather wrote:

Much better! It's way more cohesive in this mix. Sounds great.

The lead guitar is still kind of biting, though. At least to my ears. At higher volume I find the spikiness uncomfortable. I think an EQ could roll some of the top end off to good effect. Or maybe some compression?

Interesting. To put it in context, that's the bridge HB on my Godin Session. I didn't split the coils, as I have a lot of issues with noise in my house. I would have expected that to be less spiky than a bridge single coil. The rhythm guitar track was done about a year and a half ago on a Squier Jazzmaster, tracked with Amplitube 4. The Godin was recorded through the Boss GT-1.

Finally got the chance to listen with some decent headphones. One thing that would help would be to make the bass more defined. Right now it is just low frequency without much character, so if you have some presets for it, you should play around with them or tweak the EQ. I still think the lead guitar could use some tremolo and more reverb, and maybe turned down just a bit more in the mix.

Merlin wrote:

Redfeather wrote:

Nice work, Merlin. You done Hank proud.

As for the mix, I think it could be mostly improved by just lowering the lead. Played at high volume, that part is really piercing. I think reducing it will bring the rhythm forward like you were wanting.

Another thing I was thinking is that maybe the drums could use a bit of studio reverb on them. There's a distinct contrast in the sense of proximity between them and everything else, particularly the not-the-bass accent guitar track. The effect is that it kind of sounds like you're standing next to a drummer while his band is playing across the room.

I've been experimenting with this recently in Reaper, trying to simulate a common space--a virtual room--for all the instruments to live in to give everything a unified feel. Which of course isn't necessary in a song, as there's no rule saying all the reverbs have to match, but it's just something to consider.

Here's a remixed version: https://soundcloud.com/user-51358469/a-shot-in-the-dark-v2-remixed

Pulled the solo guitars back a bit, added a plate reverb to the solo guitar, and tweaked the overall mix reverb.

Sounds better - I think it needs more Tank reverb - for some reason reverb has to be way louder to record the effect right than room etc.

I like digital boards and rack units too

The drums could be bigger in the mix - neat tune though

Last edited: Jan 19, 2019 10:00:37