That was pretty damned cool, Isaac. A touch more vibrato wouldn't have gone amiss, though. -------------------- Murray. The smartist formerly known as Elwood.
In fact - let me restate that, because vibrato might not be an appropriate aesthetic for ska. Rather, I would say any tonal technique that rounded out your sound a bit would have pushed it up a notch. How do those mics of yours respond to cupping and hand position?
-------------------- Murray. The smartist formerly known as Elwood.
Thanks Elwood. Yeah, the mic I'm using is my DIY "bullet mic". It responds well to cupping. I think I understand what you mean, too. With that particular effects patch (a combination of a clean amp model, compression, and reverb) a tight cup makes the sound rounder, and more horn like. I meant to keep it tightly cupped for the "live" parts, but, because this is faster than I usually play, I kept forgetting to keep my grip, and slipped out of it into a looser cup during the faster riffs. The main parts where I would remember to tighten up were when I was holding a note, because that's when I had time to hear the sound well, and think about it! I'll work on it fo sho! Thanks again for your helpful comments! ---------- ------------------ The magnificent YouTube channel of the internet user known as "isaacullah"
And post an instructional video when you're all done. I'm still working off your harpboxing one, impressing the kids with my mad boom-si-ka-si-boom-si-ka-si style -------------------- Murray. The smartist formerly known as Elwood.
Thanks guys! I was listening to Tim Armstrong's (of Rancid fame) solo album "A Poet's Life", and thinking how he really has a sweet and original sound. He takes a mix of Ska and Reggae vibes layers it with his Punk aesthetic and dashes on a little bit of Hiphop, and the results are IMO just superb. "Wake Up" is the main song off that album that I was inspired by. I also went back to all my old Ska records, and had a listen to the drums and the horns. Then I just sort fooled around with my looper until I had something I liked!
Actually, the response I'm getting is pretty amazing. I showed the vid to a couple of friends, and they loved it! They liked my other stuff too, but they clearly like this style better... I'm now more convinced than ever that this harmonica + beatbox + effects + looping thing is the way I want to go... I just need about 5 or 6 more songs and some sort battery power, and I can take it to the streets! Hopefully by the summer.... ---------- ------------------ The magnificent YouTube channel of the internet user known as "isaacullah"
Hey Isaac, Rancid are my all time favorite band (I even have a Rancid Tattoo). I love "A Poet's Life",i think Tim is an amazing writer, i think hes a big fan of the harp aswell, i've often seen him in videos noodling around on a harp(more in the vain of Dylan but still). Theres even some harp on a couple of tunes on "A poet's Life" and the intro to the album "Life won't Wait" has an amazing harp shredding start to it.
I really like the old Operation Ivy stuff aswell.Anyway just thought i'd mention it ,i didn't think i'd ever get to mention a band like Rancid on a forum like this. Keep up the good work and I'll see ya in the pit!!! ----------
Ant. Hell yeah! I grew up on Op Ivy and Rancid. I'm from the SF Bay area, and they were our local bad ass street punk band. I've seen them tons of times. Still one of my favorite bands to this day.
Hey Isaacullah! Nice one for sure. I like it. You got loop going, got the boom-ska thing going, the little harp loop and all that down pretty good. Nice !!! Thanks for posting that.
I knew a few lads went to SF Bay area in the end of the 60's/Early 70s and I kind of think they got into a bit of 'rancid ivy' themsleves, albeit, likely a bit more herbal or medicinal then what you're talking about.
I would have loved to have grown up round the SF area, so many cool bands.
I was in Arizona a few years ago when me and my wife got married in Vegas, we did a short tour of Arizona,Grand Canyon and all the tourist stuff. Next time i'll give you a shout and we can have a jam. ----------
Definitely! That would be sweet. I sometimes have a stop off in the UK on my way to do archaeology in the Middle East, but, alas, not this summer. But next time I do, I'll let ya know! I always travel with harps! ---------- ------------------ The magnificent YouTube channel of the internet user known as "isaacullah"
GamblersHand: Yes! I'm certainly familiar with Reggie Watts. He's prominent on that particular YouTube channel (bd, who is the videographer who films all of them), which also features DubFX, Mr. Woodnote, and other very cool looping artists. I watch and re-watch the vids of all of these guys to see what they do, how they do it, and to just get inspired generally. It's great stuff! Thanks for your compliments and advice, I really appreciate it! ---------- ------------------ The magnificent YouTube channel of the internet user known as "isaacullah"
Isaac - Good to hear that youre hip to Mr Watts. He's a brilliant live show if you haven't caught him before. I've seen him at the Jazz Cafe here in London when he was releasing his solo album, and also was at the Soho theatre where these clips were filmed. Personally I think the guy's a musical genius.
One other thing - have you tried the ska sound with third position? Most reggae seems to be minor I think. I guess you've heard Errol Linton? His second album in particular has plenty of ska/rocksteady-blues playing.
Gambler: Yeah, I've definitely tried ska/reggae in third pos. Ska and Reggae genres are interesting in that they can be mainly major (1st wave and 3rd wave ska, rocksteady, certain types of dub),while others can be mainly minor (2nd wave ska, certain types of roots reggae, etc.). Sometimes, you have to mix a bit of major and minor together to get that sound you are looking for (lot's of roots reggae has this).
I've found that you can approximate the feel of these various types by using position playing and varying the tempo. The song above is sort of 1st wave ska (but with a little modern flair a la Rancid and other new innovators). If I wanted to sound all second wave, I'd slow the pace a tad, and go up to third. You'd be thinking of the Specials or the Selector or Madness, when you heard that. If I wanted to do some dubstep, I'd increase the pace a lot, and I'd play mostly major in 2nd position or even 1st. To get that roots feel, I'd lay down the offbeats in 2nd, and I'd grab another harp and play the solo stuff in 3rd. actually, my first looped song "TheHarpBeatsFasterThanTheHarp" is a pretty good example of doing that. I'll embed it below in case you didn't catch it when I first posted it a month or so ago.
I'm not sure about a specific book/website on 1st/2nd wave ska. I'm SURE that both exist. I mainly know about them from my music collecting hobby (passion), and from a lot of little sources I've read (cd liner notes, websites, etc.) and people I've talk to.
I can recommend some bands though, if you don't mind. These are just one I know (own cd's) and consider to be good stuff, and good examples of their genres. I'm sure that there are a lot of other great bands I'm missing.
1st wave: Desmond Dekker early Wailers (before 1969, turned reggae after that and got super famous) early Toots and the Maytals (turned reggae after 69) The Skatalites
2nd wave (aka Two Tone, aka Blue Beat): The Specials The Coventry Automatic (eventually became the Specials) Madness The Selector The Jam (sort of) The Clash (also sort of)
3rd Wave (aka Skapunk): Might Mighty Bosstones Mustard Plug Rancid (sort of. They can be more punk, and they can be more reggae) Sublime (also can be more punk and more reggae, but also add hiphop) The Coral (they channel 2nd wave a bit, but are a modern band)
Roots Reggae: Bob Marley and the Wailers (duh) Gregory Isaacs Burning Spear (earlier stuff) Jimmy Cliff
Mystic/Black Power Reggae: Black Uhru Lucky Dub Peter Tosh (after he split from Bob)
isaacullah first off, that was awesome, really cool. Where can I get more information and education about the equipment you need for "looping"? ---------- -[][][][][][][][][][]-
The one I use is pretty new, so it's not on there. I use a Digitech RP155, which is a multifx unit with a looper function built in to it (not a dedicated looper like most of the ones on the market). It's also a bit cheaper at ~$90. ---------- ------------------ The magnificent YouTube channel of the internet user known as "isaacullah"
