Brand new original recorded with PRS and Katie

markd21

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Tonight I finished the rough mix of the first original song that Katie has ever sung. The song was written by my old singer and I back in 1998. We demo'd it back then, played it live a couple times, then dropped it.

I decided to revisit the song with Katie after she was listening to a CD of my old band's "Greatest Hits". She said she liked the melody on this one. So...off I went to the studio!!

The first version was all heavy, all the way through. However, I am very much into progressive music these days, so I reworked the arrangement significantly.

The verses are laid back with a jazzy feel, while the bass rides under the drums, organ, and guitar. The organ is Arturia's B-3 from the V-Collection 7. The guitar on the verses is virtual!! My 'jazz chords' library is limited to knowing NONE in real life, lol. This was a lot of fun....

To get the chords right for the verse I used Toontrack EZKeys. I built my progression using sustained major chords. From there I went through the playing style browser until I found a progression that fit the vibe I wanted. From there I played with different chord inversions until I had a verse with a groove. Then I exported it as a MIDI file. Once loaded in as a track in ProTools I loaded up a virtual jazz guitar from my UVI Jazzistic sound library. It came out exactly as I wanted and let me experiment with a new technique.

Bass and drums are my standard deal. German Warwick with Line 6 models for bass and self-played drum MIDI manipulated in EZDrummer. The bass patterns keep the drive from the original 1998 demo. The drums add the progressive element in my opinion.

I used my PRS SC245 57/08 for the opening lead and the middle lead. I used the top boost channel on my AC-15 with an EVM12L impulse response. The opening lead is the neck pickup blended with the bridge pickup split. The middle lead is the bridge and neck blended with the neck split.

The little harmony parts were played on the ME-V. I don't remember specifics of how the guitar was configured for each take, but the L+R are single coil combos. The center is bridge humbucker with the middle single. All three parts were recorded using the Victoria Electro King model in the Line 6 Helix. Intervals and pickup combos created the tones.

The heavy parts are the ME-V on the bridge humbucker. I used the Victoria model on the left, and a Vox AC-30 model on the right. The only thing I changed from the stock model is the EP Booster I put in front for some kick.

Vocals were done with a hand wired U87 clone straight into the interface. It took a lot of "producing" to get Katie to "own" the song. Once she found her own phrasing in the melody we worked on placement and building confidence. The verses were natural for her. The choruses were tough. She is not a rocket, so building her up was crucial to getting the performance. It worked. We ended up doing the chorus with harmonies; she and I each.

I missed having a Vela on this song. It would have sit well in this mix. I ended up doing 16 tracks of guitars. It's interesting only having two guitars now. When doing a session I really need to look at what I can pull out the instruments I have. It has been fun!!

Sorry for the details. Some may enjoy them....well, here's the song!! Remember, it's the rough mix...

Listen to One Way Home by Katie-Did on #SoundCloud
https://soundcloud.app.goo.gl/kFJy
 
Last edited:
Mark,

The link was wonky but I cut it to work. Not having heard the original, I like with you did the the chord progression and melody.

Haven’t listened yet on hifi, but preliminarily, fatten up the singers voice, do your instrument mix, and you have a winner.

Thanks for sharing this!
 
Thanks man!!

I fixed the link. When I listened to the tune this morning I was aghast. Yeah, it needs some work. Guess I thought it was more balanced due to the ear fatigue. I pulled 11 hours in the studio yesterday.
 
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