Instrumental Surf - not forwarded

[paults]

Instrumental SurfHello,As an intro, I've been a Taxi member on and off since the early days, and have been lurking on the Message Board since it started. Reading the board, I've seen many well-informed and insightful posts. I?ve recently re-subscribed, and sent a piece in for this listing:1960s-style SURF ROCK INSTRUMENTALS (no vocals) a la the Ventures, Dick Dale, the Surfaris, etc. are sought by an LA-based Music Library owned by veterans of that industry. Great performances are essential. They offer a non-exclusive, 50/50 split deal - you keep your original copyrights. Broadcast quality needed. Please submit one to three songs online or per CD. All submissions will be screened on a YES/NO BASIS ONLY - NO CRITIQUES FROM TAXI. For ground submissions, please enclose a S.A.S.E. if you would like a response. Submissions must be received no later than Sept. 28, 2007. TAXI # Y070928SRThis submission was returned, and I would appreciate your ideas on why it was not forwarded. Since it was a yes/no listing, I didn't get any feedback directly from Taxi. Here is the link:http://www.taximusic.com/song.php?song_ ... hanks!Paul

[hummingbird]

Welcome aboard, Paul! I'm not an 'expert' in Surf-style Rock. When this began to play I thought it had a kind of Western feel - certainly the main riff has that feel.... it's like an old western movie theme that's been updated with a rock vibe. It doesn't feel "light" enough to be surfin' a la Beach Boys. The atmospheric feel of it is a little dark. That doesn't mean that it might not suit another listing. I find that happens to me fairly frequently - I create something specifically for a listing and find it takes on a life of its own and becomes something else.Hummin'birdPS - Larry got a forward on this, if you listen you can hear the 60s rock feel (rock around the clock) and there is that 'light' 'fun' feel that I'm talking about. His mix is stellar, too.

[paults]

Thanks for the reply! Points taken- this one is heavier than Larry's- its more Dick Dale than Beach Boys (kudos to Larry- his really nails that era!). I'm not a surf expert either. This one was a bit of a lark. If its just a "not on target" issue, I'll watch for the next listing for "Heavy Spaghetti" Westerns : )

[matto]

Paul,yeah definitely heard the Dick Dale influence in there, so I think it's on target. I'm not listening on my studio system here, so take what follows with a grain of salt, but I'm hearing some issues in the track which may have prevented it from getting forwarded to this broadcast quality listing.There seems to be some kind of strange artifact in the track, sounds like some kind of pumping from improperly applied compression...this*could* be an mp3 conversion artifact so you should carefully listen to your master to hear if it's in there too. Second, there are some spots in the song where the timing gets pretty shaky...tracks like this have to "feel" spot on to deliver that easy going surf vibe, so timing issues that disrupt that feel are gonna be a problem.Just my 2c.matto

[paults]

Thanks for the comments! I'll try to listen to it with "new ears" in terms of the timing, and listen to the compression on the master.

[ljweber70]

Hey Paul,Thanks for the kudos on my forward. I listened to your track and thought it was good. Especially the guitar tone (what kind of guitar did you use? I used a Fender Tele through a Hot Rod Deville)Here are a couple of things I noted that may have helped the song:1. I think a double snare hit on beats 2 and 4 would add the "fun" element the others mentioned and would give it more of a 60's sound. 2. It could use more reverb on the drums and bring them back in the mix little. This would perhaps give it more of the "live" feel. Also, when I was researching, I noticed that the drummes were usually heavy on the ride cymbal throughout the entire song and stayed away from the hi hat. 3. Finally, I think the overall melody is good - I like the minor key. However, I'd consider getting rid of the clavi sound towards the end and go back to a guitar riff. Also, consider using the organ spraringly -- the surf rock instrumental stuff was 99% guitar work.My two cents worth... Good luckLarry

[billg]

Hi Paul, well I had one forward & one return for this listing. my return was also a minor key song so I think they were looking for more of the fun, upbeat sort of thing. Here's my song that was forwarded if you want to listen. http://www.billgaunce.com/song/46

[horacejesse]

Friends, there is nothing light about Dick Dale or the Ventures, the two artists mentioned. Fun, yes. Light, no. So you can forget about that. Instrumental surf music was way different from vocal surf music, especially in the drums. Mel Taylor could never have been the Beach Boys drummer, but he was perfect for the Ventures. If the Beach Boys ever did an instrumental, then not many of them. I believe they actually did a couple. They were not raucus enough to be full on surf instrumentalists.At least half the famous surf instrumentals were in a minor key, so really you can forget about that too. Walk Don't Run, Penetration, Pipeline, Hurricane, Lullaby of the Leaves, Calhoun Surf, et al.Bird is right about that Marlboro Man vibe the piece gives. But that should not hurt it for a surf listing, since they incorporated that too. well, I guess that has an outside shot at being the problem.This piece is dead on target IMHO, so it must be a production issue. I, too, loved your guitar tone. But I seemed to feel sort of a rumblig in the piece. I am not the man to set you aright on production quality. Much better than me hath spoken, and the truth was probably in it.

[horacejesse]

Can anyone who got forwarded for this listing please post the pieces or direct me to where they are. I'd like to hear those too.

[paults]

Thanks to everyone for your comments! I appreciate the production/instrumentation suggestions and the notes on inappropriate use of compression and rumble being heard. I’ve been using Ozone for mastering, and it can be easily abused : ) This one will get remixed/revised when the next appropriate listing comes along. Also, thanks for the guitar tone compliments. I used a Clapton Strat into a Pod XT (Fender Twin model) for the guitar parts, direct into the computer.