Blue Star

[Bojan]

This is my first sound file on the new site. I did it about a year ago, I think it was on the old msn site, but seeing as how there are many new members here, I thought it would be a good way to start my own series of sound files on this new site. The BT is from UB Hank. No amp, no echo, just good old VST plugins

http://www.4shared.com/file/57025481/29 ... _star.html

[Martyn]

Nicely played and a great vintage sound - I like it.
Which guitar/pickups/strings?
You mentioned VST plugins; which recording program do you use and were the plugin effects added post recording or as you did it? I ask because I use Audacity and Cubase4LE but neither allow 'live' playing of the effects (unless I'm missing something) - they can only be added afterwards. I'd much prefer to hear the results whilst actually recording and may need to investigate more advanced software.

Kind regards,
Martyn

[Bojan]

Hi Martyn, I use Cakewalk Guitar Tracks Pro 2.0 for recording. Usually I record a "dry" track first. Then I add the various plugins (amp simulation, echo, wow and flutter) and I mix that down and make a "wet" track and then by combining the "dry" and "wet" tracks I get my desired sound. In Blue Star, I mixed down the "dry" and "wet" tracks and made a third track to which I added some reverb. The right combination of echo, wow and flutter and reverb were crucial here, and I did that with the help of Charlie Hall.

As for my gear, I use a Brason "Strat" with CS54 pickups fitted with Gibson 12-56 strings.

Regards,
Bojan

[Lensor]

Hi Bojan

What a great vintage Shadows sound you manage to get with 'Blue Star' - well played. I enjoyed your version of that great Shadows tune.

Cheers
Len

[Bojan]

Thanks Len. It's one of my favorites. I still get the chills when I listen to the original. It's really incredible how Hank played it so maturely and with such great feeling -- and he was only 20 years old at the time!!!

[Martyn]

Hi Martyn, I use Cakewalk Guitar Tracks Pro 2.0 for recording. Usually I record a "dry" track first. Then I add the various plugins (amp simulation, echo, wow and flutter) and I mix that down and make a "wet" track and then by combining the "dry" and "wet" tracks I get my desired sound. In Blue Star, I mixed down the "dry" and "wet" tracks and made a third track to which I added some reverb. The right combination of echo, wow and flutter and reverb were crucial here, and I did that with the help of Charlie Hall.

As for my gear, I use a Brason "Strat" with CS54 pickups fitted with Gibson 12-56 strings.

Regards,
Bojan

So why the need to make separate tracks (presumably copy & paste type duplicates?) with each effect singularly added to each and not make just one track with all the plugins and reverb added in one hit, so to speak?

Some people have questioned the wisdom of paying extra for custom made guitars saying the difference in sound isn't in direct proportion to the extra cost, but I've heard a few Brason strats now and they do have a distinctive something that really does set them apart from others. Have you been in a position to make personal comparisons with other strats and is that why you went for one?

Regards,
Martyn

[Gary Allen]

Hi Bojan...Nice thick sound and well played.....Gary

[Bojan]

Thanks Gary

Martyn, to respond to your message, I don't do paste and copy. I record a dry track, which is just the guitar, and to that I add amp simulation, possibly equalization, etc. and that track remains as my original track, which I can always go back to if I don't like the end result. When I add the echo plugin to the dry track, I make sure that the master mix on my echo is 100% (wet) and when I mix that down I get a new track, a second track, and that second track is the pure echo of the first track. Then I add wow and flutter (if necessary) and get the right balance between the two tracks. Sometimes I mix those two tracks into a third track, which contains both dry sound and echo, and to that third track I add reverb. Of course, in such a case I mute the dry and wet tracks and use only the third track with the BT as my final product.

I have attached four clips from Temptation (Blue Star was recorded before I had a hard disc crash and I no longer have the original dry track) to illustrate the dry and wet tracks and how they sound mixed in together. Listen to the dry track first, then the wet track, then the two together, and finally with the BT added.

I hope this helps. If it is sounds confusing, perhaps someone else who knows the process could explain it more clearly.

Regards,
Bojan

[Bojan]

Martyn, as for Brason "Strats," the situation with cost is quite the opposite. My custom hand-built "Strat" built to perfection by Alan Brason is about three times cheaper than it would have been if Fender had made it. I was able to choose every single detail to my own specifications. The body was made from a single piece of alder, the neck from finest quality birds-eye (AAA) maple, I chose an old-style chunky neck which is unbelievably comfortable and has fabulous sustain. I also chose the hardware to my specs (Fender CS54 pickups, Fender vintage tuners, Fender vintage bridge, etc.) plus special wiring giving me extra sound possibilities. The workmanship and attention to detail are stunning. These are all reasons why I decided in favor of a custom Brason "Strat." The only drawback to this is if you are a collector, because this is not a guitar made by Fender, which is why I always say "Strat". But I am not a collector and I would never sell my guitar. Instead I will leave my guitars (Brason Strat, Burns Apache, Rickenbacker 340/6) to my three grandsons.

The only problem is that I am now getting a fourth grandson!!

[Martyn]

. But I am not a collector and I would never sell my guitar. Instead I will leave my guitars (Brason Strat, Burns Apache, Rickenbacker 340/6) to my three grandsons.
The only problem is that I am now getting a fourth grandson!!

The sad news, then, is that you'll just have to buy another guitar as you wouldn't want one of them to feel left out . . .

Thanks for the information and the detailed demos of the track construction - most helpful.

Kind regards,
Martyn