Songwriting tips: how to write a good song - part 3/3

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Moving on with the construction of our song we have arrived to the moment of the arrangement, a word that means a universe and that we can summarize as "the dressing for our dish of pasta": we can leave the pasta completely without anything, or add just a bit of oil and salt, or we can go crazy with the most complex sauces and dressings, to the point that the pasta doesn't even have its original taste anymore.
All of these choices are completely legitimate, and the arrangement will turn out to be almost a reflection of our psychology, of what we actually want to express beyond the lyrics and beyond the pre-costituted conventions in terms of lenght, structure or chord progressions.
The musical variations that we will impress to the main melody (this is the basic definition of arrangement) will make the song minimal or baroque, will transmit to the listener feelings of happiness or sadness, thrill or relaxation.
Click here to know more about arrangements with our in-depth article.

The concept of choosing, giving an imprint, which is typical of when structuring and arranging a song, is the core value also of creating the tracklist of our record: the sequence of the songs it's a flow that must leave the listener wanting always for more, the various moods needs to be alternated and the record, if we want to make a classic that is listened from the beginning to the end without pauses, needs to follow certain proven rules in terms of distribution of the various dynamics (for example it doesn't make sense to put all the slow songs one after the other and then all the fast ones, because people would get probably bored).
Nailing the perfect tracklist is like dressing up, it's all about trying to draw the attention of the people on the parts that we know are good while "hiding" a bit the parts that we are least proud of, and this can be done also by predicting the parts in which the attention of the listener is higher and when it can be lower, or his/her ear fatiguing, assuming that he's listening to the album from the beginning to the end.
This and other informations can be found in our article about how to build the perfect tracklist for our record.

The final suggestion of this article is something that adds up to the building of the perfect tracklist for our record: building the perfect live setlist.
Once our album is ready and the band is all fired up to take it live, it's important also here to spend some minute in deciding the perfect setlist for the gig, since the live public follows dynamics that are different from someone who listens to the album from the bed, therefore we shouldn't just repeat the same tracklist of the record.
The audience live usually comes to be more entertained, so we need to keep the setlist on an average a bit more energetic, and to be able to regain the attention of the crowd if we see it's declining: Click here to read our article with 5 tips on how to compose the perfect setlist for your live gig!

I hope this was helpful!


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Review: Audio Assault RVXX (with video sample)

Hello and welcome to this article!
Today we're going to review a new guitar amp simulator from Audio Assault: the RVXX!

The RVXX is an amp simulator based on "an extremely aggressive high gain lunchbox amp with a very big bite"; even if it's not expressely said, I imagine that we are talking about the Revv G20, a 20w all tube little amp, which has a lot of gain and it is indeed extremely aggressive.

Right after you load the plugin you will find yourself in front of the typical Audio Assault interface, which is basically the same seen in the Sigma amp sim: a nice 3d render of the head, a simple one-knob noisegate, a one-switch booster, an IR loader with 12 custom SeaCow cab impulses, and the amp controls.

This head has two channels (clean and distorted) with common eq section, presence, depth, master (which adds also saturation) and two extra switch: aggression and wide, as in the original REVV head.
The wide switch adds bottom end (and some high end in the clean channel), while the aggression one adds some gain and changes a bit the frequency response, basically creating a different sounding channel.

How does it sound? Well, it sounds very good! Compared to the Sigma you can tell this one is modeled on a lower wattage amp: it's more high-mids oriented, which makes it a perfect djent amp (that's why for the sample I have been inspired in making some djent-ish riff), and the gain and attack are really great for modern metal, I would even dare to say that this is probably the best sounding modern metal/djent amp simulator I've ever played, even if it's good also at lower gain settings, being capable of pulling out also credible warm overdriven tones.
Plus, and this is the same also for Sigma, I must say that involving SeaCow Cabs has been a good choice: the impulse choice on these 2 amp simulators is better than ever, probably better than any previous Audio Assault product so far (even if I'm still particularly in love with one of their first ones, the Bulldozer).

Thumbs up!


Specs taken from the website:


- 2 channels

- Aggression and Mid Width switch

- 3 Band equalizer, Presence & Depth controls

- Master (adds saturation in the power amp section)

- Gate, In & Out controls

- Stomp, Amp & Cab engagement

- 12 Wild Built-in IRs (by SeaCow Cabs)

- IR loader


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Songwriting tips: how to write a good song - part 2/3

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So far I have assumed we're writing a song based on the melody, but the inspiration can easily start also from the lyrics: in any case (unless we're writing an instrumental song), sooner or later we will have to focus on whatever the singer will have to sing, and this to some is the easiest part, while to others it can be excruciating.

Writing song lyrics is directly related to the comunication abilities of the songwriter: singing is like writing a poetry, it starts with the basic communication skills but it has much more freedom than writing a normal text, and it's one of those cases in which breaking the language rules is allowed.
Nevertheless writing EFFECTIVE lyrics it's an art that it's been refined since literally millennia, and through the time the artists have developed some good common practices that can still today be used successfully: click here to read 6 tips to write better song lyrics.

Another staple of a song is the riff.
When we hear the word riff the first thing that may come into our mind is usually a classic rock riff, like an AC/DC one, and without any doubt rock, metal, punk etc are all riff based types of music in which the guitar plays a part that repeats and on top of which the lyrics are built, but we can say riff by extension also when talking about other genres of music, for example electronic music or rap, referring to the part of the base which repeats (sometimes it's directly a percussion loop).
Nailing the "riff" is fundamental, because this part will probably repeat in the song much more often than any vocal part, therefore it needs to be cool, fresh and not annoying to the ear.
If you want to know what I mean, check out the 10 best Rock/Metal riffs of all times.

Until now we have talked about "writing" in an ample way, but how do we actually put down the music we're working on?
There are basically 3 ways:
1) by recording it (click here to learn how to record a song).
2) by using musical notation, which means using the classic music sheets with staff.
3) by using tablatures.

A tablature is a way of writing music on paper (or also in MIDI if we're using a computer) which replicates the fretboard of a guitar or a bass, so you can choose the number of strings and then you can write on each string which fret to press.
Written like this it sounds very limiting, but in the recent years music written with tablatures has become very popular, because it's easier than notation, and because with the use of modern softwares it's possible to write music accurately for any instrument and to export it also as MIDI, so you can read it and listen to it at the same time.
A free software that can be used to write tablatures is TUXGUITAR, click here for a dedicated article.


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Review: Audio Assault Sigma (with video sample)

Hello and welcome to this week's article!
Today we're reviewing a new guitar amp simulator from Audio Assault, which has been released for free for a limited time to the subscribers of the mailing list, and now it's available for everyone (but it's paid now): the Sigma!

Sigma is a simulator of a modern high gain boutique head (judging by the name and the look I guess we're talking about one of the 2 Omega heads, the brand used by one of the Slipknot guitarists), a single channel head in which the gain knob goes literally from clean to very high gain, there is a 3 band eq section, presence (which regulates the high frequencies between 4000 and 7000hz), focus (which emphasizes low and high end), depth (which controls the low end resonance of the power amp section) and master.

In addition to that there is a boost function which adds a fixed setting tube screamer in front of the amp, a noise gate (with pre and post amp knobs) and an IR loader.

Aesthetically the plugin looks very nice, with a clean and minimal interface as I like, with the right amount of scheumorphism that doesn't get too much in the way of functionality (for example I have really enjoyed the fact that the booster is just a switch instead of dialing always the same setting in the stompbox interface), or the way the noisegate works: just one knob to choose the threshold for the the input and one for the "loop" of the amp.

How does it sound?
It sounds very good! A modern, american metal tone which has a lot of beef but also clarity, tightness and note definition, and it sounds so aggressive that is perfect for death metal and similar tones, but also for fat overdriven cleans, At The Gates style.

Also, SeaCow cabs did a great job offering a set 12 of cool, usable IRs which goes very well with this amp simulator and lets you achieve many different types of tone, but if you have some specific Impulse you use often, the IR loader of Sigma allows you to create a "list of favorite impulses" which lets you recall them quickly, instead of having to browse through thousands of folders, and I think this is a genius idea, and it's absurd that noone has ever thought about it until now.


Specs taken from the website:


- Versatile Gain (Get from clean to a lead tone with one knob)

- Focus Enhancer

- 3 Band equalizer, Presence & Depth Controls

- Master (Power Amp Saturation)

- Noise Gate, In & Out Controls

- Screamer Emulation

- 12 Wild Built-In IRs (by SeaCow Cabs)

- IR loader with favorite slots

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Songwriting tips: how to write a good song - part 1/3

Hello and welcome to this week's article!

Today we start another of our omnicomprehensive articles for the "start from here" serie in which we will gather the best songrwiting articles written so far for this blog.

How to write a song?
Asked this way the question makes little sense, because all must start from the inspiration, from having something to say.
What this article is about is how to take an idea, a concept, a message of any kind (it doesn't have to be necessarily something too complex of phylosophic, it could be as straightforward as "I love you") and turn it into a song, analyzing some inspiration sources and giving some tip on to improve it and make it more effective.

Let's start from the basics: we need an idea. If you have stumbled upon this article, it means that probably this idea is not quite there yet, but don't worry: you just need to tune your antennas to the right frequencies to be able to hear in your inner ear some melody that does not exist yet, but that is already there, up in the air, waiting for someone to find it and turn it into actual music.
This is a theory that many artists believe (for example John Frusciante of Red Hot Chili Pepper): the one that the artist is just a "medium" that can hear or see something the others cannot and that his/her role is just to make material something that is already there in another plan, but whether you believe it or not, you need to get your ideas going, and not always this is easy: click here to read 5 ideas to make your music creativity running.

Now that you have some song stub, such as a chorus, a riff, some phrase for a verse, it's time to start putting together the pieces of the puzzle.
Building the structure of a song is an art that involves taste, a bit of knowledge of psychoacoustics, industry standards, hard choices and summarizing capability.
To find out how the songwriting professionists reason when putting together a song, check out this article with the most famous song structures in modern music.

Once we have a more or less stable structure that doesn't have boring parts, it's time to focus on what usually is the focal point of the song: the Chorus.
Usually the first part of the song before the chorus is a buildup, like a petting that grows of intensity until it reaches the climax, and if we want the climax to be memorable, the chorus needs to have something that stands out from the rest and remains in the mind of the listener, which could be lyrics, sound, a change in dynamics (the song is quiet and the chorus is loud or vice versa), or anything else: click here to read 5 songwriter tips to make your chorus more effective.


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Review: Fender Princeton 112 Plus

Hello and welcome to this week's article!
Today we have another legacy review, of one of the most popular practice amps of the years in which I have started playing guitar (early/mid 90s): the Fender Princeton 112 plus!

The Princeton 112 was the Fender entry level solid state amp of the '90s (it has been produced from 1993 to 1997), and it was a 40w solid state guitar combo which featured the classic "Blackface" styling and 2 channels with separate eq, but the version that was most popular around young guitarists was the 65w version, called Princeton 112 Plus, which allowed the players to have enough volume also for small gigs with a live drumset.

The layout is quite simple: 2 channels with separate eq, effects loop, spring reverb and headphone out, while in the back the combo is "open back" and features a Fender 12 inches speaker.

The sound is not very tube-like, a bit because of the lack of technology in the early '90s, a bit because it didn't even try, it was boldly a solid state amp, but the timbre of the tone is actually very "Fenderish": the cleans are very bright, with a strong accent to the top end and very well defined, while the overdrive channel is designed to be able to achieve also heavy metal tones without the need of an external overdrive, it also features a "countour" control to scoop the mids.

The amp actually gives its best with the clean channel, which has a lot of headroom and a pleasant "Fender" vibe which still today is very usable, but the distorted one has unfortunately quite some noise and it's equally high oriented, ending up sounding a bit like a razor.

Does it still deserve today to be played?
Maybe if you find it in good conditions and for less than 100$, otherwise there are today a lot of good cheap alternatives.

Thumbs down!


Specs:


- 65 watt

- 2 channels with separate eq

- 1x12" Fender speaker

- Open back

- FX Loop

- Headphone out

- Size: 48 x 43 x 23 cm

- Weight: 8kg

- Spring reverb


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How to master a song with free plugins part 3/3: finalizing the track!

Now that we have our track nice and pumping we need to check just few little things before exporting in any format we want (for example mp3 with a bitrate of minimum 192khz up, or a wave track at 16bit and 44.1khz to be burned into a cd): we need to make sure the sound it's not too squashed, and to do this we need to monitor the RMS levels.

The RMS level (click here for a dedicated article) is the average loudness of the master, and it's a value that we need to monitor how pleasant or ear fatiguing our master is; keep this in great consideration because it's a make or break rule that can be possibly considered the single most important thing to not screw up everything when mastering.

The discussion about RMS levels bring us to a broader discussion about the Loudness War (click here for a dedicated article): it has been a "war" among mastering engineers between the '90s and the early 2000s, in which noone won and music just sounded worse and worse.
Mastering engineers were pushing the limiter harder and harder to make their songs stand out among the others in the radio, and this led to a point in which many of the top radio songs were distorting.

Luckily this bad period seems to be coming to an end: most of the music today is listened through streaming services such as Spotify, Youtube or Apple Music, and these platforms all features a form of audio compensation of the loudness of the tracks, ending up with lowering the volume of the loudest ones in order to make them coherent, with the results that the tracks that won the loudness wars 20 years ago now sound less loud than the others.

It's important to master knowing the final source in which our song will be played the most or to make different masterings according to the platform, here is an article with the correct mastering levels for the various streaming services, for CDs and for Club play.

Now that we have the right track for the right source it's the time of the trial by fire: listen to your track from as many sources as possible (car stereo, smartphone headphones, expensive speakers, laptop speakers, etc): you fill find out several little corrections to make which are essential to smoothe out the final bumps before releasing the song, and don't forget to compare it to some of your favourite masters: this way you can spot very easily whether there is some unbalance in your track.

I hope this was helpful!


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