The Challenge Dec/Jan - VOTING TIME

FruitarGeek

Righto. We got some hot entries this month round. Because we only have 4 entries, there will be no categories, so instead, use your [u]2 votes[/u] to cast towards your favourites tracks. You have just over a week to vote. Without further delay, we have . . .

[u][b]1. V8[/b][/u] [i]"Here's my entry in the beginner's category for this month's Woodstock Challenge"[/i]

https://soundcloud.com/v8-aka-meron-rigas/hey-bro

[u][b]2. Hammeron[/b][/u] [i]"Just the Epi , BR 600 and I. Was thinking of Jimi when i did it" [/i]

https://app.box.com/s/7fy1c68byvvb5ezccpyx

[b][u]3. domhatch[/u][/b] [i]"howdy. little nervous, but here's my entry. forgot completely to label it properly. probably somewhere between beginner and intermediate, as i haven't properly sat down and done this for a long, long time."[/i]

https://soundcloud.com/domhatch/gfsadomhatch-woodstock

[u][b]4. Adrian Rogowski[/b][/u] [i]"Tried to go for that live/raw sound - so expect lots of reverb and low end hertzzz"[/i]

https://soundcloud.com/fruitargeek/woodstock

(old forum) Poll Results: Woodstock

V8: 6
Hammeron: 7
domhatch: 12
Adrian Rogowski: 12

Chocklit_Thunda

Wow! Adrian, hands down that was a winner for me! That's exactly what I'd like to hear at a festival!

But now I don't know who else to vote for.... I like the other 3 equally! The vibe of V8's, Hammeron's had that cool hard rock sound and Dom's song was brilliantly written! I'm torn... Can't we all just get along???? ?

Squonk

"Hey Bro" - V8 this was classic ? Good stuff

DH - completely folk-rock, rock-folk? with 60's lyrics. You could have gone on after Joan Baez ?

Hammeron - Hendrix widdling around , I almost thought you were going to do the anthem with your teeth ?

Adrian - brilliant as always ?

and the winner is .........

Will have to really think about this

Well done all of you

domhatch

sheesh. well, this is definitely going to take some thinking about. i haven't listened yet, but a week is a week, and i don't think i'll be voting any time before the weekend, no matter how often i listen between now and then.

congrats all you guys for entering, it's a different kind of feeling, voting when you're an entrant. this is gonna be tough
dh|

NorioDS

Awesome entries! ?

Loved how you made yours really sound like it was @ Woodstock, Adrian ? Very nice playing too!

Chabenda

Very tough to choose a winner. All four entries are very good and very different to each other. I think I'll draw straws! ?

Well done and thanks!

deefstes

Awesome entries, the bunch of yous. Dom, I loved your lyrics and the whole feel of your song. Lyrics reminded me of Cat Stevens a bit.

But really, I think each one of you nailed the brief and you all did it differently. I thoroughly enjoyed these.

FruitarGeek

Thanks to everyone for the kind words. Like all the challenges, I really enjoy all parts of them. So now, I guess its time for my thoughts and reviews haha ?

V8

For the first 6 seconds I had no idea what I was in for haha. Then when that double/triple vocal effect came on, then I knew 8) First off, vocals were great, I think you really captured the vibe of the woodstock vocal melody and lyrical content. I also really enjoyed that whilstle solo. Some might say that the seperate tracking of the vocal parts wernt as tight as they could be, but I think it was perfect, it gave it a sense of space. The fact that you did all of this in such a short perdiod of time is outstanding. My only 'gripe' was that I personally wasn't a fan of the guitar tone, it sounded quite thin/tinny but that is by no means a critique as everybody is entitled to their own tastes. I think Woodstock was captured in this, and for that you have my vote.

Hammeron

If anyone can capture the essence of Hendrix, it is certainly you. At about the 19second mark, I really thought this could be a tribute band. The only thing missing was his vocals and you would of had it haha. The guitar tone in my mind was perfect for what you were trying to do. The only thing missing for me was a fuller band. I would of loved to have heard this with bass and maybe another rhythm guitar or keys or something. I dunno what you use to record but I think that could perhaps be the reason for you only doing guitar and drums? None the less, a great entry, and true to the spirit of Woodstock

domhatch

Dom. I quite literally have nothing to say other than WHY DO YOU NOT ENTER MORE??? This track was so spot on, you hit multiple nails on the head. There is not a single critique I have for this. You have a really great voice as well, you need to sing more. This is woodstock! You stole my vote. ?

chris77

Whaaaaaaaat? ??? January is not even halfway yet....Thought I still had plenty of time for this one. >☹ Mind you, not that I've managed to get even close to the brief yet. Everything I tried ended up sounding like the work of the tone-deaf offspring off Cliche McBlues and Rock Delame. :-[

Well done to the entrants though. Will have a listen and vote tonight.

Hammeron

Whoaa! Just to be keeping up with you guys is a win!
Dom, who on earth do you think you are complaining about your voice?? Brilliant, vocally and lyrically.
Adrian, that you on the bass? What more to say?
V8, man!
No rush to vote, but I have to say, Dom will get one of them! ?

domhatch

ok, so i changed my mind. i've listened and i'll be voting tonight. but comments as follows:

adrian: dude. i call unfair. awesome idea to put it in situ, and the track feels so authentic; really well played as well
hammeron: yowzer. really delivered on the promise of your description, i got jimi so much out of this
v8: i think i mentioned, really cool and works as much for then as for now.

ok, so now what? who gets the two votes? dang
dh|

Bob-Dubery

A general observation: Not much of this sounds like anything that would have happened at Woodstock. This is not about GENRE (Woodstock was pretty diverse) but about modern sounds, production and techniques. The electric guitars, generally, sound too modern (more Eddie than Peter Green), the drums too. Maybe it's hard to sound like the 60s now.

Some good ideas though. Dom's song is very believable - I could believe that was song at Woodstock. V8's is clever. Hammeron so often has great ideas. Adrian's is very well executed.

doc-phil

My votes went to Adrian and Hammeron, but excellent entries all around!

I think Adrian's entry that was dripping with reverb best captured the theme of the challenge, and really gave me a sense of being at a festival.

Domhatch - your entry made me think of an early morning set at a festival where your audience pulls up to try and recover from the night before ?

V8 - I enjoyed the interesting vocal parts and how they worked together, great stuff.

Hammeron - quality entry as usual, and it would be great to hear a full band behind that!

I have posted what would have been my entry under the clips for review board, so anybody wanting to hear my track is welcome to listen.

X-rated Bob - the theme was pretty broad, and I think most of the entries stuck within the parameters, despite maybe not being exactly what you would imagine Woodstock in the strict sense sounding like. Recording and mixing engineers spend thousand of dollars and years of their lives trying to achieve that vintage sound, so you can't expect our entrants to get that perfect 60s analogue sound ?

V8

Great entries from everyone - as usual! Thank you to all for the comments - much appreciated!

A big thanks to Adrian for this topic and enthusiasm during the build up - I get a kick out of the challenges (participating or not), the deadline really helps get something out of this lazzzy hammer-chewer

Adrian - Genius idea for a live rock setting! Really dug the way it worked, at first listen I thought it was missing something, then on headphones I heard the keys (organ?) and it clicked. The solo guitar also had a heavy jam/improv feel - which added to the live vibe - Now that I think about it, all the instruments had a 70's flavour - real, real nyce.

Dom - Fine composition and execution, a very well crafted folk song, imho. I'm not a big fan of the piezo sound of the guitar, but as your recording skills develop I look forward to future offerings!

Hammeron - Rawkin'! Each entry just shows the work you're putting in, all fronts - playing, composition, recording - the rhythm tone from +/- 22s was especially jimi-esque - add a wah and it's all voodoo baby 8).

Adrian Rogowski wrote: V8

For the first 6 seconds I had no idea what I was in for haha. Then when that double/triple vocal effect came on, then I knew 8) First off, vocals were great, I think you really captured the vibe of the woodstock vocal melody and lyrical content. I also really enjoyed that whilstle solo. Some might say that the seperate tracking of the vocal parts wernt as tight as they could be, but I think it was perfect, it gave it a sense of space. The fact that you did all of this in such a short perdiod of time is outstanding. My only 'gripe' was that I personally wasn't a fan of the guitar tone, it sounded quite thin/tinny but that is by no means a critique as everybody is entitled to their own tastes. I think Woodstock was captured in this, and for that you have my vote.

Thanks for the comments Adrian - as always they are really insightful!

I recorded this lit' idea in November, just before Alan took the pre-amp-less Rig Kontrol off my hands, as a vocal experiment. When the challenge came along, I reckoned the idea was suited so I got inspired to take the one-take, click-track-less stems and make something out of it. Errr...real interesting exercise (getting the mix to -6DB and massaging the drums to fit - heish)

I absolutely agree on the guitar sound! That dreaded piezo quack, which I can't do much about now - to get a decent signal I turned the (very cheap) guitar's preamp volume to max and I see that I also had the mids on the onboard eq at +10db, which I now learn made it even worse. I had a quick jam on the guitar last nite and it sounds cheap acoustically, pretty much like it recorded =(

Squonk wrote: "Hey Bro" - V8 this was classic ? Good stuff

Thanks Squonk! I think the tune was a fond farewell to the recording interface, hopefully Alan rocks's out on it all night long, haha.

Bob-Dubery

doc-phil wrote: X-rated Bob - the theme was pretty broad, and I think most of the entries stuck within the parameters, despite maybe not being exactly what you would imagine Woodstock in the strict sense sounding like. Recording and mixing engineers spend thousand of dollars and years of their lives trying to achieve that vintage sound, so you can't expect our entrants to get that perfect 60s analogue sound ?

Yes. I said there were no genre issues. Woodstock was broad - Sha Na Na, Ten Years After, The Incredible String Band, Melanie, Sly and the Family Stone. It's just striking how the entries don't sound like the 60s and how some of the difference is down to the way people played THEN and the way we play NOW. Not a hanging offence, but still striking.

peterleroux

X-rated Bob wrote: It's just striking how the entries don't sound like the 60s and how some of the difference is down to the way people played THEN and the way we play NOW.

the technology has changed so much - even silly things like roundwound VS flatwound - I tried my first set of flatwounds on my J Bass last month and it finally sounds like the White Album/ Abbey Road tones I've been trying to coax out of it. As far as recording, it struck me yesterday that on my iPad I have access to more tracks and easier editing than the best studios in the world did in the 60s.

Aside from that, great entries, all four are fun

Bob-Dubery

peterleroux wrote:
X-rated Bob wrote: It's just striking how the entries don't sound like the 60s and how some of the difference is down to the way people played THEN and the way we play NOW.
the technology has changed so much - even silly things like roundwound VS flatwound - I tried my first set of flatwounds on my J Bass last month and it finally sounds like the White Album/ Abbey Road tones I've been trying to coax out of it. As far as recording, it struck me yesterday that on my iPad I have access to more tracks and easier editing than the best studios in the world did in the 60s.

Not just that. People played differently - which was at least partly due to plain old fashion. Drums are not just recorded differently now, they're played differently.

Aside from that, great entries, all four are fun

Indeed.

chris77

Wow, congrats to all the entrants on a job well done :applause:

V8 - Loved it! Can actually see a full song based around that getting plenty of playtime in my car. I love that it reminds me of some of my favourite bands without actually sounding like any of them, if that makes any sense.
Hammeron - Killer chops as ussual, well done! Would have liked to hear a bit more of it though. I think with some backing from an extra guitar and another minute or so added to it you would have strolled to victory here.
Domhatch - He-he, brilliant! How the hell did you come up with those lyrics ? I pictured it playing in the background with a circle of tripping bearded hippy types listening to your song and philosophising about Like, Whoh,The Truth Of It Man, It's Like, So Deep.... Great stuff, well done.
Adrian - Wow, a lot of work went into your entry and it shows in the result being fantastic. Good playing as well hey, especially that bit from around the 1:20 mark. I think you've set a good benchmark here and hopefully also set the tone for the year to come. Well done man, and thanks for organizing the comp :goodtimes:

domhatch

chris77 wrote: thanks for organizing the comp

+1, double triple fourple times. gave me the kick up the rear i seriously needed. i was really torn between who to vote for, all three of the other submissions were right up there, each had its own merits and, as someone's already stated, each had its own interpretation of the theme. really cool.
dh|

FruitarGeek

domhatch wrote: +1, double triple fourple times. gave me the kick up the rear i seriously needed.

No problem. I actually enjoyed hosting it. Perhaps I will do it again should Pete not be able to do a month. But Dom, I hope to see you enter more, it would be a sin not to haha.

chris77 wrote: Wow, a lot of work went into your entry and it shows in the result being fantastic. Good playing as well hey, especially that bit from around the 1:20 mark. I think you've set a good benchmark here and hopefully also set the tone for the year to come. Well done man, and thanks for organizing the comp :goodtimes:

Thanks for the kind words - I thoroughly enjoyed this one

V8 wrote: Adrian - Genius idea for a live rock setting! Really dug the way it worked, at first listen I thought it was missing something, then on headphones I heard the keys (organ?) and it clicked. The solo guitar also had a heavy jam/improv feel - which added to the live vibe - Now that I think about it, all the instruments had a 70's flavour - real, real nyce.

Thanks man.

doc-phil wrote: I think Adrian's entry that was dripping with reverb best captured the theme of the challenge, and really gave me a sense of being at a festival.

Haha, awesome. I'm glad my intentions were realised. Btw, I listened to your entry, I'm just as bummed as you are that it didn't meet the deadline. Had I known you would of posted it next day I would of put the comp on hold for a day. Your entry was truly solid - I enjoyed it from start to finish.

X-rated Bob wrote: A general observation: Not much of this sounds like anything that would have happened at Woodstock. This is not about GENRE (Woodstock was pretty diverse) but about modern sounds, production and techniques. The electric guitars, generally, sound too modern (more Eddie than Peter Green), the drums too. Maybe it's hard to sound like the 60s now.

Bob, I think you need to enter the next competition so you can show us how its done 8)