This is the day Dr.Q(Qader) and me(Syai) came in to finally lay down the rhythm section(drums and bass) for "Today".
After the setback of last week's session, where we discovered the crash springing a surprise on us AFTER recording the entire drumtrack, we were more determined that ever to get this over and done with. In stepped The Spongerina's rhythm section, on that sleepy Sunday, to get the groove down.
Song - Today
Instruments - the d'N'b
when we came in, we found Mr.Muon Magick staring concentratedly on his twin screens...
Ok kidding. I actually can't remember when this pic was taken. But it's good shiet. Courtesy of our brilliant Dr.Q.Recording Process
Laying down the drumtrack for Today was tedious not because of it's technicality, but because the song consists of two different alternating tempos. Most of our songs are quite direct (in terms of the tempo), but we had to go through a stop-start process where Today is concerned.
The intro riff (that starting guitar part), all the way into the verse up till the first chorus, that's the pacey, chugging rock bit. It also comes in after the first chorus is done, and works its way up to the second chorus. These two chunks of supersonic-electrofying-turbocharged material, we recorded them at 144b.p.m(beats per minute). It's not really super-fast, of course, but it will be as compared to the choruses. The rest: the two choruses and the point from the interlude all the way till the climactic orgasm-inducing end, we recorded them at 140b.p.m.
I shall break away for a moment to reflect on something important regarding Today's tempo. For the Noise CD compilation, which we submitted both Dreams and Today(recorded with Nick, of course), we recorded Today using a single tempo, which was around 148b.p.m, methinks. No slowing down at the choruses. No retardation during the interludes. And oh, how unnatural that felt. During practice and during our 'live' shows, we always naturally slow down during the choruses and the interlude, because..well..they are meant to be slow in the first place! That's how the song was written, that's how it's been performed, and that's what YOU are going to hear. So we decided to split the song into the relevant tempos to get it down nice and right.
So Qader went in, smashed the kit dry, and came out in a jiff. Having ran through the take a week before, he knew exactly what to do and wasted no time in doing it. Split timings or not, he nailed it like a pecker. A woodpecker.
And then it was my turn. I believe I've not elaborated on how my rig is actually set up.I run my bass into Nick's massivvv preamp, which is connected to the Hartke's VX410 Cabinet(speaker). He explained to me that he only uses the Hartke's cab, and not the HA3500
head, because he believes the boom he gets when he utilizes his preamp is much more solid, full and beef-ier. And i kinda agree with him. I mean, i've used the Hartke stack during our jam sessions at The Void, and somehow it doesn't sound as powerful as that UFO-looking thing on the left. Nick, you da man, maannnn.
I also have a piece of trivia that you guys can tell your friends once s.p.o.n.g.e has been around for 10 years and have toured the world 300 times(kidding....... ok maybe not...hey at least you know we ARE that determined.) Instead of using my skinny-looking Ibanez SGR-200, i've taken quite a liking to the studio's resident bass, the Squire J-Bass. The first time I picked it up to record the first song "News", Flint(the Bismuth vocalist/guitarist and Wilma's husband) went "what?? you're using that thing? the studio bass? for what???", and i just went "hey, i like the sound". And i'm NOT kidding! I do like it. Even Nick said that it's the lowest end of Squire models that you can find. How flattering. But that didn't stop me from using it, and it's been of service to me for 4 songs now.
I love it's tone, and I think it's important that I use Dr.Q's MXR Bass D.I. together with it. The D.I. has 3 basic equalizer knobs, and i use them to tweak and improve the tone output. Having this D.I. adds a totally different dimension to the input that Nick's Cubase 4 system receives. There is very very little noise given out, and the tone gained is a lovely rumble with a lip-twiching high end. Another trivia is that I didnt use any of my staple effects pedals at all. I only use 3 (i believe a bassist should keep his effects-toying to a minimal. .....well FINE i just don't have the money to buy more pedals): all 3 being from BOSS, i use the Equalizer, Limiter/Enhancer and Chorus. Save for the Chorus(very prominent on "For Fathers"), i won't be using the others, and it'll probably remain that way throughout the album. The combi of the Squire J-Bass and the MXR Bass D.I. keeps my bass sound 'pure', without any fancy stuff(my playing not counted *laughs*) happening. Keep a lookout for my bass sound throughout the album, and you'll note that aside from the difference in mixing, the rumble of my low end remains largely the same, creating a solid foundation for the characteristic and unique s.p.o.n.g.e sound.
this is me, with the studio's Squire J-Bass, laying down Today's groove.Fin
Well, there're not many lessons to be learnt from today's session, since everything's been pretty much straightforward.
Now it's up to our duo of guitarists and our frontman to fly on top of the groundwork we've laid out for 'em.
Drop pants, not bombs, people.
-syai-
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