It has been a long time since I have had the chance to just record a free-form track.  I miss having the free time to do this whenever I wanted.

"Plus Haute" is French for "higher".  It's a completely improvised track, recorded in four takes, one for each instrument.  It features both rhythm and lead guitars, and shakers and a tambourine played as percussion.  The lead is sloppy, and maybe if I had more time I would have re-done it, but I love the improvisational nature of the track and may never change this.

I have no plans to have vocals or any extra instruments on this.

yes  it has been some time...good to see you post....this is sounding really nive AV....one good mix  and well put together...how i wish i could get a clean and well balanced recording like this...very chilled music...I think this stands alone...nothing else needs to be added....


Flyer

Will Rate

the beginning is really relaxing, and carries a melody that is really easy to like-- I like your improvised sound, as well, and I don't think it really ought to change.  It sounds great as is.  I thought that bass was lacking a bit in the track, and would have felt more fulfilled by the track if there had been something stronger there, something simple that doesn't compete for the attention of the lead or rhythm guitars.

But at any rate, the track as a whole is magnificent, and sounds like something out of a relaxed, getting-things-done part of a soundtrack.  I'm glad you don't have plans to put words to it   I agree that it ought to stay this way!

A nice song to end my BandAMPing afternoon to!

TLS

Flyer, TLS: thanks alot.  I appreciate the compliments.


My problem with adding a bass is that the entire premise of the chord progression is the harmony created by the pedal notes.  Once this was recorded, I played around with adding a bass by just jamming over, and it creates too much emphasis on one particular thread of harmony in the chord progression.

Now a cello and contrabass duet running under the piece...that would work for me.

Thanks!

yes, that sounds like it would be nice--- a standard bass guitar would be too much, I think.  I'm definitely thinking some sort of stringed instrument... something soft on the ears, without much attack on the notes.

My setup is not expensive, Flyer.  My basic setup all came in at under $100.  Here:

Audio interface: $30
Mic: $20
Mixer: $45

Total: $95

You can replace the mixer, for example, with something cheaper.  Behringer actually has a good cheaper mixer on sale at Musician's Friend.

It's not the greatest setup in the world, but with a modest PC's worth of processing power, I get real-time monitoring while running very complex effects, reasonably clean recordings and a reasonable amount of flexibility with the mixer (pan channels left and right and you have two simultaneous track recording).  To improve the quality further, I would add a passive DI box (Behringer has one for $20) for the guitar and a preamp for the mic ($30).

Add high-quality cables, a mic stand with a boom, a pop filter and a couple of shakers and a tambourine, and you've got my sound there.  I don't yet have a DI box or the mic preamp.

Very relaxing. Though everytime you said tambourine i was a little confused. Now i get it, tambourine in my language is called "Pandereta". Well, maybe is not the same but it sounds quite the same, is like a derived of the pandeiro. Nice one, it creates a nice and warm atmosphere. Good job.

Yes, I have to say that my own isn't very expensive either... I spent more than Avi, here, but perhaps the quality of his equipment is better :P  who knows.  When I bought my stuff, I was really new to the whole recording thing, and RadioShack seemed like a decent local place to look around.  In the end, I bought the following:

SSM-1850 Stereo Sound Mixer ... $130
Omnidirectional Mic (radioshack.com no longer shows it as a product for some reason... here's a picture.) ... $15

and then I had some good headphones that get a nice frequency response (for those low lows and those high highs) and had a good connection through a friend to get lots of cheap adapters and cables that I wanted/needed to make my setup work for me.  For instance, on this sound board, all the inputs except for a mic jack and a 1/4" phono cable are your standard RCA plugs.  The output is the same way.  It's got 2 outputs-- one that is amp'd via the master volume control, and then one that is for recording purposes, where the sound is just raw (individual inputs can still be level'd on the board before it goes through the output).

soo... my setup was $145 plus your tax (and plus adapters).  Granted, for myself, I didn't have an audio interface since I'm mostly recording staight acoustic guitar or my keyboard (which can just plug straight into the phono port).

You might want to go with the Muscian's Friend site, as I know it's a reliable spot to get good deals-- I'm simply explaining my own setup for your own informational purposes.

(beware, that $15 mic puts off a LOT of handling noise, and wouldn't hold a candle to Avi's suggestion.  My mic is a 1/4" plug one, too, and not your standard plug-style.  If I could do it over again, I'd get a better mic, but it's serving my puposes!)

TLS

This is the tambourine I use, Jorge.  I should mention they doubled the price...I paid $5 for it.  I guess tambourines traditionally look more like this though, right?

Thank you for the compliments though.

TLS: The mic I have is extremely cheap, but it's excellent for the price.

Nice, smooth. I agree that you don't have to add anything to this. It's nice and chilled.

Good job.

hey Avi:

This is a pretty good song!

I enjoyed so much.
I'm agree with TLS, you need a standard bass not a cello or something else, just to add a touch of the notes you play.

nice job

dodo

Thank you guys, I appreciate the compliments.

Nice and chilly track.

You guys have gear. Talking about me, I just have my computer and a $2 mic ( those white, thin and long ones, mainly used by gamers to talk) and, well, my PODxt Live, but that's part of my guitar gear, not my recording (though I use it for recording). So I Guess I have the crappiest recording gear ever!

         > Iszil

Hey! The POD is a legitimate recording interface!  You're not copping out of that one .

Thanks, glad you liked the track.

Yup, that's a "pandereta". And about recording gear, well, since i just record my keyboard, i guess that my recording gear are just a pair of cables and the interface =p. 2 pairs of whirlwind cables and an m-audio audiophile firewire. That's it.