How I Did It
Tools I Used
A Fender Telecaster, a Vox amplifier, a Fender p-bass, a BOSS drum machine, Reaper
Samples I Used
snowflake's "Goodbye Shadow" and libraryowl's vinyl scratch sound.
Original Samples
Three guitar parts, the bass part, the drums.
Process
I remixed right off the preview, because the vocal mix was superb.
I played the drums first, using just the push buttons - no sequencing or quantizing. This gave me a very realistic drum pattern, since the buttons are velocity sensitive. I let the timing mistakes hold, because old records often have a few.
The Telecaster/Vox amp is the same equipment combo that George Harrison used on later Beatles recordings and I wanted this sound. So I recorded this way, with the Telecaster on the bridge pickup, and threw a tape loop echo on all the guitar parts. I left and right tracked the first two guitar parts, and threw the last guitar part through some EQing to make the tone less harsh.
The bass is where, aside from the drums, I threw the dynamics, alternating between fast octave thumbing during the middle bridge, to quietly properly-fingerstyle plucked out notes during verses.
In mastering, I boosted the mid frequencies and flattened the others, in order to enhance the vinyl effect somewhat. I really wanted this to sound like an old record.
Other Notes
I'm very happy with this. I wanted the additional music to amplify the emotional message of the song, alternating between the overwhelmed sorrow of the verse and return chorus, to the overcoming power of the uptempo choruses. And I ended it on one hopeful note of melodic defiance.
So to the shadow, I say... bugger off!
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