bats brew

hey tom, yea, i've been busy, this will be album release number 5 for me, my first instrumental album, so i've been working hard, it will be 10 tunes in all. thanks grem! i've always recorded instrumentals, since i first started with a 4 track tape machine, but i've never officially release an album of them, so i'm leaning away from too prog, or too heavy, this will be more melodic, so hopefully more people can enjoy it and buy it.

i was inspired by the story of that battle, it seems so bittersweet, an unnecessary battle vs the end of the war... that's why the tune has that bittersweet feel to it, almost like a wake.

Boca Chica Highway is the location of the last official battle of the American Civil War. this one features two rhythm guitar tracks, that have a cool effect on them, supplied by my new Boss DD-200 delay unit, that has a setting called "Shimmer—Pitch-shifted delay for lush, heavenly textures." sounds like i've a keyboard part, but it's just ambient effect off the delay pedal. it's cool. https://soundcloud.com/bats-brew/boca-chica-highway

definitely had 'the floyd' in mind when i did this... not sure where my slide influence comes from, i like a LOT of slide players...

i'm re-mixing this one right now, so it's good to get some feedback. Tom wants lots of drums, check. ?

does this tune even need a drum track? i kinda like it sparse.. but was thinking of adding some cymbal work....

i think i eq'd this a bit bright

https://soundcloud.com/bats-brew/the-apollo-18-conspiracy-theory the Apollo mission that never was. this features a Taylor 414 acoustic, paired with electric slide on a custom USACG strat.

thanks douglas!\ this is one of 6 instrumental demos i have finished now, that i want to post for comments before i finish them i will have a new album of all instrumentals soon, 10 in all, under the BATS BREW moniker.. i'll post this again, one last time, once i get it finished.

hey david! so glad you dig this stuff, batman?! you mean the fact that he slaps robin when robin doesn't understand why that guitar only had 4 strings?! hehehh

hi wookiee! that's nice to say man, thanks. andy, i have played a lot of genres, from country to metal. but i try to make those styles my own IF i go into that territory, this tune being a prime example. love joe walsh. i have other tunes where i've channeled my inner walsh! thank you for the comments

hey T! glad you are a fan, for sure, bass tone, i worked quite a while to dial that in, but once i had it, it was pretty much a one-take thing. you almost play to the sound of it.

https://soundcloud.com/bats-brew/poppin-tight long time ago, i used to play in a road band, and we covered a lot of funk... r&b, fun stuff, and this kinda what i took from it all. all guitars/bass thru the strymon iridium. the bass also has a 2nd input from a sansamp bass di, that was on bypass, just for the clean lows.

i really appreciate that comment barry! you get my mixing, for sure. i have a 2nd version now, if you are interested: see if you can tell what changed...... https://soundcloud.com/bats-brew/headin-east-west-ver-2-eq

hi barry! thanks so much for checking this one out, even tho it's still in the demo phase, i hear the blend a certain way from the beginning, and i just chase it till i get close. thank you wookiee! i'm working on the new all instrumental album right now, i have 6 tunes almost finished. want to go around the block again with me?

hey andy, so glad you dig this stuff. thanks. hey paul! i like satch, he does great stuff. always pushing forward, i think my favorite of his, was the 'crystal planet' album. but there is stuff off of every album of his that i like, all the way back to 'not of this earth'. satch was never an influence tho, i just dig what he does. i was playing the way i play all the way back to 1980, i just have figured out how to leave more stuff OUT, than i put IN. heheheh

hi starise! glad you dig my stuff man, thanks. you know, i did that band thing, for a long time... it was a tribulation. and trial. LOL

hey douglas! thanks for rocking with me on this 'vacation' we all are presently on.... hope all is well with you and yours. this is a demo, if you hear something to nit on, let me know. i'm still arranging this one.

hey tom~! thanks for taking a break from the covid situation with me... still have the palmer, i think my next round of recordings, i'm going to mix the boogie output into the palmer, with the Iridium output, and mix them together. right now, i've got 5 finished instrumentals, i may get 10 more, and put out an album of just instrumentals.... then write lyrics, strip them down, and do another album under a new name, maybe. i'm using a custom set now, a 'hendrix' set, starts with 10's, but ends in 38's, maybe that's something to look into.

https://soundcloud.com/bats-brew/headin-east-west-eq a new one. a lot of rock guitar in this one. all done direct with the Strymon Iridium, including bass parts.

hi bjorn! thanks for listening, yea, masking, carving, all good techniques. masking, you may can learn by using spectrum freq analyzers, and looking at individual tracks, and making note of where the peak, and you can assume that when more than 2 peak at the same place, once is going to dominate, or build up frequencies together so that they 'mask' frequencies that are either right next to, or an octave up or down, there's lots of play going on amongst the freqs, and you have to experiment to move peaks (and troughs) so that they all play nice. i use a good multiband parametric EQ typically, for basic eq, on most every track. but on sub busses, or more rarely, the master bus, i'll use Linear Phase EQ's so that the frequency shifts (especially hpf and lpf) don't create those nasty phase shifts. I like the Waves Linear Phase Eq for the tricky eq issues.

howdy douglas! thanks for listening man... appreciate it. i don't know what about this would give it the 80's vibe, i don't have big hair, don't wear spandex, don't sing about unskinny bops. heheheh thank you freddy! appreciate the comments

hi wookiee! thanks for listening... yea, it is hard, for everybody involved.. even from the side, you always wish you could do more, but for most folks, they have to find their own way, with a little help.

yea, it's pretty busy! and when you just have to cram fat tracks together (like the guitars), something's always gotta give... i work hard at taking care of masking issues, and carving freqs, but still end up with some compromises in places.