I finished my newest song. This was my first Filipino written song so I was constantly struggling with the right balance of simple to complex pinoy words. I wanted to make the sentences simple enough for normal speech/singing, but complex enough to sound… lyrical (for lack of a better term). Anyways I still don’t know if I got it right – and ultimately I could never personally judge because I don’t really “compose” in a Filipino mindset.
Tell me what you think, it can be found in my music page, It’s entitled “Hiling”
I took a break and fiddled around with the BOSS GT-8 (with the T5 of course), and I thought I ought to at least try recording some of my new material. I have tons of them… but guitar and vocals only.
It’s simple enough to make songs with a guitar and a pen (in my case, the text application of the laptop). The real killer is coming up with the accompaniment to complete the song (bass, drums, strings, etc.). Even if I had a clear idea of the accompaninment – it’s still tedious to sift through the software and pinpoint a patch that is closest to what I had imagined (not to mention having to go surgical with a myriad of plugins and EQ just to shape the tone into what I want).
And that’s only the “laying in of the tracks” part of it. Mixing, then mastering is a whole different beast altogether. Read More
I did quick samples from a bunch of songs with the T5. Unfortunately, as Nono mentioned, the Powerbook has a lousy input jack: you have to have some sort of preamp before plugging it in the line-in before you can get a decent input level from the guitar.
It is also worth noting that the few “picked” songs don’t represent a true picked song – as I just used the hotel room’s card-key (I didn’t have a pick handy)
Just crank up the volume if you can’t hear it, or better yet, use headphones. But this should give you an idea how the T5 sounds like. I ran it through the GT-8 first, in bypass mode of course, just so I can use its volume controls. Still, there’s no effects, no EQ, and everything was in the detent (flat) position… straight to the line-in of the Powerbook. No post-processing as well.
Simply put, the samples below are the pure, unembellished voice of the T5. Read More
I’ve been opting to stay-in whenever I can while the rest of the group go on their respective “excursions.” I guess I’m lucky that so far, all the houses I’ve been to have WiFi (I’m not surprised, but it is a good bonus nonetheless).
I guess I might as well post since I got nothing better to do.
We’re in Los Angeles right now, and we still got 2 days till our concert… that means I’m staying in for two more days. It isn’t really a big deal since I’m used to it. Plus the fact that I pretty much have been to the places worth visiting here from our last tour. I’ve been able to save quite a lot because of it, so I’m not regretting it one bit.
To give you an idea, a safe amount I usually allot for a trip to the states (exclusive of plane fare) is at least 500USD for pure needs (e.g. transportation, food, etc.). That’s your minimum. Put shopping, theme park hopping, etc. in there, and that budget goes up dramatically.
We’re at the 2nd leg of the tour and I’ve only spent about 63 dollars. 34 of which, I could’ve avoided if I hadn’t let people persuade me to gimmick with them on our first night in NY and gotten a cheaper metro card (I got a 7 day unlimited pass… which I only used about 5 times) I’m making sure these things will never happen again.
In any case, that’s quite an accomplishment… and proof of sheer willpower hahahaha. Read More
I’m posting this to force myself to achieve this goal… nothing worse than the feeling of people asking: “whatever happened to that thing you wanted to get?” So this is the perfect way to get motivated. Pride has always been my favorite sin hahahaha.
After listening to the Interactive Demo, it made my Ovation sound like it sucked ballsack. Not that it was a good model to begin with, but being an Ovation should’ve counted for something… or so I thought.
Anyways, the audio samples, contrary to what the demo claims, aren’t high quality (who are they kidding!?) But nonetheless, they were enough to make anyone to grasp the general sound of the T5s. I’m particularly inclined to getting either a Koa or Spruce top, cuz the Maple sounded really muffled.
I guess this is the time when I actually hate my ears for noticing these little nuances, considering the price of this sucker, I was ready to get the cheapest model… until I heard the soundclips, now I have to force myself to save up for more just to get a decent sounding model for my tastes.
Anyways, that’s beside the point. We’re leaving for another US Tour this April, and though I’m not really counting on it, I’m kinda hoping that I could raise enough funds to be able to order it come April. So I’ve been doing some side-projects, which probably covers half as of now – assuming I don’t buy anything at all from tow till then (hahaha, good luck to me).
So if anyone there has a project they need someone to work on, don’t hesitate to gimme a holler! For those who have worked with me, you know I can deliver the goods, so if you have anything that needs finishing before April, you know who to call 🙂
I’d post more info why I chose the guitar… but to add to the motivation, I’ve decided to do so after I get it hahaha.
