Tower In The Sky (Demo track linked) (lyrics, ambient, instrumental)

[Zachary Lewis]

Tower In The Sky
Lyrics and music by Zachary Lewis.
Demo track available at http://iLike.com/s/8vTD2.

Verse 1
I watch the world burn
From my tower in the sky. x2

Verse 2
And I light my cigarette
From the flames. x2

Verse 3
The ground beneath me feels warm.
And I smile.
And I smile.

Bridge
I smoke Reds,
Cuz smooths burn my throat.
And I drink water,
Cuz whiskey burns my throat.

And I smoke Reds,
Cuz Smooths burn my lips.
And I drink water,
And watch the flames.

Verse 4
And I smile.
And I smile.
And watch the flames.

No deeper meaning here, kids. My amp blew out, so I was messing with my recording pre-amp and electric guitar. The lyrics evolved from the bridge.

I'm aware of the sketchy transition into the bridge. I've been trying to figure out how to handle it, so if you have any suggestions, I'd be more than willing to give them a shot.

I need some percussion to add to the intensity, but I'm no drummer. Drums will probably be added if this thing gets recorded for real.

[Stone Birds]

nice, but for the final recording of the vocals you should try to record the with the mic at a low input setting then just turn up the track till it's good that way you get rid of that extra clatter and stuff.

[Zachary Lewis]

Will that distort the vocals if I record it quietly then turn it up loud later? I'm still trying to figure out the best way to record.

[Freebase Dali]

Originally Posted by Zachary Lewis

Will that distort the vocals if I record it quietly then turn it up loud later? I'm still trying to figure out the best way to record.

Actually, you don't want to record at a low volume and raise it later in your program. What that does is raise the noise floor in your recording.
Gain-staging is important. Your levels need to be proper before you start recording.

Set your mixer or what ever you're using to control the input volume of your microphone so that when you test the mic, it's topping out at about -6db. (you should have a decibel meter on the channel you're recording into) This will give you the correct noise floor and the full range of particular frequencies at a proper and workable volume.
You can always turn your vocals down at the mixing stage, but having to turn them up too much at the mixing stage is only going to increase the level of noise associated with your recording.

Record in as quiet a place as possible and eliminate all acoustic anomalies prior to recording, and you won't have to worry about not getting a proper cut.

[Stone Birds]

very good but when i record jayden i have to do that or it sounds like your in a car engine. what should i do for him.

[Freebase Dali]

Originally Posted by Stone Birds

very good but when i record jayden i have to do that or it sounds like your in a car engine. what should i do for him.

Record in a quiet room with any running appliances or ambient noise stopped. Also, if your mic pre-amps are noisy, you won't get around it without replacing them.
If you're using a condenser microphone, it will pick up ambient noise FAR more than a dynamic microphone will.
Try using a Shure SM58 for vocals if you can't eliminate all noise in the recording environment.
Make sure your microphone input level is set at unity gain, then test the mic and monitor the decibel level on the recording channel. If the db's are hitting at less than -10 db, you need to raise it. Between -10 and -6 db's is prime area for correct signal-to-noise ratio on a 16 bit recording. On a 24 bit recording, you can be more lenient with your levels.

[Roemilca]

I'm going off to the tower in the sky (in the sky)

oh, wrong song...?

[Zachary Lewis]

I'm still figuring out my recording setup, but I just recorded a new song tonight and kept the vocals around -6dB. It made it a lot easier to volume-match the instrumentals. Thank you for the tip.

[Stone Birds]

i listened to your stuff and for a good recording you should record the vocals like you did on "Go! Go! Grow Wings!!" and the guitar like you did on "Falling Through Time"

also what's with "Eastah Eggz"? you're talking about putting them up your butt, that's just weird man.

[Zachary Lewis]

Those are two of my favorites. I've really been messing around with recording techniques, so I'll give those a shot on a re-record of this song.

Originally Posted by Stone Birds

also what's with "Eastah Eggz"? you're talking about putting them up your butt, that's just weird man.

It's surprisingly not that weird once you get to know me. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing.