Topic: Descent Community Album 2

[Kaiaatzl]

SUBMISSIONS ARE NOW CLOSED

Big thanks to everyone who participated -- stay tuned on Halloween for the final album release, and don't unsubscribe this thread just yet either!  There is still more to be done!

This thread's being posted on the descent underground board, planetdescent, and descentbb.net
 
So I'm looking for original songs from descent-playing musicians to create a sort of compilation album. Somebody did this before on the old planetdescent and I think with a new descent on the horizon it's time to do it again.
There's a new twist this time-- as well as being part of a compilation album that will be released for free download on the interwebz, the plan is for many of these submissions to be used as level music on xfing's huge descent 2 singleplayer project "descent 1 and a half".
One more small change from the previous community album will be artist names – on the previous album all the track artists were set as the forum names of the artists. I think that's silly so if you have an artist handle already then if you set it in the song tags I'll keep it that way.
 
 
First of all, this is not a contest; any song that's submitted will get put onto the downloadable album unless there's a very good reason for it to be rejected. Xfing and I may be a little bit more choosy when it comes to what gets put into the game. Track orders will be decided after the songs are in.
 
Vocal and instrumental songs will both be accepted. Lyrics are encouraged, although their content may be a factor in deciding what gets put in the game.
 
 
Submission guidelines:
 
All submissions must be original songs, not remixes or covers, and must not have been released anywhere else prior to this compilation.
 
 
There's no limit on the number of submissions per artist now, but I might change this later depending on how many artists sign up. For now, if you send in multiple songs just make sure the artist tag is the same on all of them.
 
And with all that in mind, submissions are open now! So go crazy!
Read the next post for instructions on how to make a submission -- following these instructions is important cuz otherwise I won't be able to keep track of everybody and some songs could get lost.

If a moderator could sticky this thread I'd appreciate that.

[Kaiaatzl]

Submission instructions (IMPORTANT!  READ THESE!):
 
1. Create a post in one of these three threads saying you're signing up for the album. Don't attach the song file here!  This is just so I can keep a list of everybody who wants to submit a song.
 
2. Send me a pm with the title dca2 song submission. In the pm attach a link to the song file download.
 
3. Make sure the songs filename is in this format: (your forum name) - song title.filetype
It won't stay this way on release but until then I need to know who submitted what for the album and mission credits.
 
4. Make sure the song is a flac, wav, 320kbps CBR mp3 or high-quality Ogg and make sure the title and artist tags are set to what you want them to be. Album and tracknumber will obviously be set later.  If you absolutely can't set the tags yourself for whatever reason, include them in the pm you send me.
 
5. All songs should be mastered; if you absolutely can't do this yourself send me an unmastered wav and I'll see what I can do with it -- I'm a sound engineer as well as a songwriter.  Only thing is, if too many people send me unmastered tracks, I might not be able to get around to all of them, in between work and my other projects.  So if you can master it yourself, then do it.  If you need me to master it make sure to note that in your PM.
 
There's no submission deadline yet, because the release will coincide with the release of Xfing's mission pack.  I'll make sure to give a decent amount of notice when one is announced.  Until then go crazy.

[D2Disciple]

I unfortunately am not able to sticky threads at this time, but I assure you that I would if I were able. 

You know that I'd love to give it a shot, but no promises at this time. My job is eating up all my spare time these days (50+ hours a week), and I'm already pretty far behind on an album I've been working on (got 2 songs finished, was hoping for at least 4 by now).

Don't count me out just yet, if I can get an off day where I've got nothing better to do than lay down some synths and guitar, then I've got a few ideas cooked up. 

EDIT: It's apparently already been stickied. See, this is what happens when I don't pay attention to stuff. 

[Kaiaatzl]

Yep it has.
And don't worry about not being sure, it's better if I have a list of anyone who's thinking maybe they might than just a list of the people who definitely know for sure.

I'd certainly like to have something from you.

[D2Disciple]

I'm baaaaaack 

Just decided to track out some guitars. Used an idea I had cooking for while and I've just been expanding on it.



And just a little teaser for good measure  (note that this is pretty much completely unmixed at this point, final product will be much more polished)

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[Kaiaatzl]

Just a little curious, why are you miking your amp?  You should be able to use a direct line in to a soundboard or your computer and then you don't need to worry about unwanted feedback.
Unless there's some sound you're going for that you wouldn't get that way?

[D2Disciple]

Man... I've got to finish this song one day... I almost forgot about it...

To answer your question, direct input is generally avoided in electric guitar recording, unless you're using onboard modeling. I do not, because I don't have a DAW that would work it (and that would cost hundreds in addition to the cost of modeling software). All that said, many experienced musicians would advise against that anyway, as recording a physical amp is considered the best way to get a good electric guitar sound. There are several reasons for this:

1. The amp is literally half of the instrument, and the speaker is a major part of the amp. In fact, the speaker's delivery of the sound is one of the major reasons to mic up an amp. That one element softens and somewhat "naturalizes" the tone. Direct output of an amp usually results in a harsh, sterile, dry sound. Some amps use a "simulated speaker" output, but it's very imperfect, essentially boiling down to a simple parametric EQ shift.
2. Microphone placement greatly alters the sound of the final product. I used to have a Peavey 100W tube half-stack... Just walking around the amp in an arc would make the thing sound measurably and notably different. Those alterations are made that much more obvious with a microphone. I prefer mine backed up from the grille cloth about an inch, directly in line with the inside of the speaker cone, and tilted slightly off-center, facing the inside of the cone. This produces a spike in the high-mid range, where most rock guitar falls. Mixing in a microphone from the back of the amp pointed towards the speaker's also produces a clear bass. Together, it creates a very good representation of what the ear actually hears in the room with an amp.
3. Guitarists are generally old fashioned and prefer to do things the harder, old fashioned way. Dang it, we still even use vacuum tubes in our amps. (Mine is actually a digital amp, but that's only because I can't afford the Mesa Rectoverb 25 amp I would rather have).

Amplifier modeling software like Positive Grid Bias is getting really good though... Probably better than my cheap microphones can actually record, to be honest. But high end mics and high end amplifiers are still the very best way to go for recording. Give it about 5 more years though, and I'll be willing to be software will be the way to go for many pros.

[Kaiaatzl]

Interesting stuff.
I still plan to learn guitar once my post-secondary education is done, I'll have to keep this in mind.

[-<WillyP>-]

Yep... Tradition has a lot to do with it, but as more people use non traditional methods, ie. software modeling etc... younger listener's ears will become accustomed to the new sounds and the old ways will fade out, but music is very subjective and to some it will never change, while to others it is in a constant flux. And lately I've surprised myself by liking this duet:

(video removed by youtube and now I don't even remember who it was)

[Kaiaatzl]

Hey yalls.
Due date for submissions has been set, it's August 31st.  We're gonna try to get the whole thing out into the wild by Halloween.

[Kaiaatzl]

Submissions for the album officially close at the end of day today.  If anybody has something they're sitting on or still working with either submit it today or get in touch with me through PM or email before September 9th.