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Conrad Wilson's and my first attempt at Surf Rock. Did we catch the big wave? Or should we paddle back to shore? The listing is posted below. Thanks for listening!




SURF ROCK INSTRUMENTALS are needed by a NON-Exclusive Music Licensing Company that specializes in music for videographers and photographers, as well as TV shows and Film projects!

NOTE: This company hasn't requested any music from our members in several years, so this could be a really good opportunity to build a new relationship!

They’re searching for Mid-to-Up-Tempo Instrumentals in the general stylistic ballpark of the following references:

“Dawn Patrol” by The Eliminators

“Pintor” by The Pharos

“Wipe Out” by The Surfaris

Give them well-crafted Instrumentals that are rhythmically creative, melodically captivating, and have a distinct California surf sound and style. Make sure your productions sound like a real band with solid musicianship and instrumentation that you’d hear in Surf Rock, even if you’re using Virtual Instruments. Adding real guitars played over tracks done with some Virtual Instruments will help give it a “real deal” feel.

TAXI TIP: Break out those electric guitars with tremolo if you want to get more in the stylistic wheelhouse and add some authenticity to your Instrumentals.

Your submissions should be at least 2 minutes long (give or take). Non-Faded, button/Stinger endings will work best for this pitch. Do NOT copy the referenced examples in any way, shape, or form. Use them only as a general guide for tempo, tone, and overall vibe. Genre-appropriate Broadcast Quality is needed.

This Publisher offers a NON-EXCLUSIVE 50/50 deal. You’ll get 50% of the sync fee and 100% of the Writer’s share. They’ll get 50% of the sync fee and 100% of the Publisher’s Share. You’ll keep 100% of the original Copyright and Master. You must own or control your Master and Copyright to submit for this. Please submit as many Instrumentals as you’d like, online or per CD. All submissions will be screened on a Yes/No basis – Short Critiques only. Submissions must be received no later than 11:59 PM (PDT) on Friday, October 25th, 2019. TAXI #Y191025SR

Other than the cymbals being so hissy I think you have it...
Nice One!

cassmcentee wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 15, 2019 6:24 pm

Other than the cymbals being so hissy I think you have it...
Nice One!

Thanks, Cass. Let me see what I can do about the cymbals hiss.

Hopefully, this is easier on the ears.

Hey there, here's my two cents worth. Chipping in 'cos I love me some surf rock.

Very cool vibe overall and stylistically on the money. I wonder though whether you might want to have a section where the lead guitar drops out for a while or does something more muted in a lower octave? Because the one thing I noticed when listening is that there's an awful lot of that 2nd fret E note (or 7th fret E note depending on where you're playing it) and you could maybe vary that a little.

Really love the feel of the track though.

Mark

VERY cool, Lamar! The lead guitar was up a tad loud for my ears, although I supposed it's probably supposed to be loud like that, since it's the focal point of the entire piece. Nonetheless, you may want to experiment with bringing that guitar down by just a few db's and see if it still sounds okay. I think the rest of the band would be more prominent that way, and keep the backing stuff from getting drowned out by the cool lead.

Also, the lead kinda sounded a bit dry to me? Maybe see what some more judicious reverb would sound like. I'm not at all a surf rock expert, so take this as the opinion of a guy who doesn't know much better.... but seems to me most surf rock stuff was swimming in reverb.

Again, grain of salt, and all that...

~~Matt

I agree with what Matt says! I think the guitar needs reverb-ing up a bit. That may be why that one note was sticking out too much in my ears.

Mark Crozer wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 16, 2019 9:17 am

Hey there, here's my two cents worth. Chipping in 'cos I love me some surf rock.

Very cool vibe overall and stylistically on the money. I wonder though whether you might want to have a section where the lead guitar drops out for a while or does something more muted in a lower octave? Because the one thing I noticed when listening is that there's an awful lot of that 2nd fret E note (or 7th fret E note depending on where you're playing it) and you could maybe vary that a little.

Really love the feel of the track though.

Mark

Thanks, Mark. Excellent suggestion! Conrad is going to cut the middle section an octave lower which should help vary the intensity of the track.

VanderBoegh wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 16, 2019 9:26 am

VERY cool, Lamar! The lead guitar was up a tad loud for my ears, although I supposed it's probably supposed to be loud like that, since it's the focal point of the entire piece. Nonetheless, you may want to experiment with bringing that guitar down by just a few db's and see if it still sounds okay. I think the rest of the band would be more prominent that way, and keep the backing stuff from getting drowned out by the cool lead.

Also, the lead kinda sounded a bit dry to me? Maybe see what some more judicious reverb would sound like. I'm not at all a surf rock expert, so take this as the opinion of a guy who doesn't know much better.... but seems to me most surf rock stuff was swimming in reverb.

Again, grain of salt, and all that...

~~Matt

Thanks, Matt. It seemed a bit loud to me as well, but I needed other members' input. After Conrad recuts the middle section, I'll revisit the reverb settings and track volume. Then I'll repost the results.

FWIW: one of my first LPs was by The Challengers.
Agreeing with others about 'more reverb' on the solo/main guitar... while I personally would like the drums up, too;
I'd suggest doing an A/B comparison of your track to several other hit-maker surf bands of that mid-60s era.
The over-the-top reverb of that style, IMHO, will help it stand out as clearly more surf-guitar than Country Tele... and there are some similarities.

Great tune/work, Guys.