the ultimate uau

[Dezolis liek'd dis]

Also great entry, moot
_{as always <3}

The moment we've all been waiting for

Hey there mooty, dopeness ensued! I guess it's not exactly a traditional 'chiptune' but probably even more impressive. All of your playing is on point (is that you or the drum machine using the gretsch and rogers samples? sounds awesome). And this is definitely the only tune so far that is fully funk. That minilogue really steals the show though, and the harmonized leads that come in on the sides is a great touch. I could listen to this all day and I don't even like funk! I could also see this being awesome accompaniment for modern games that don't utilize chips anymore. God I think the soundtrack alone could sell the game. XD But most importantly, it sounds like you had fun making this track and that's what really matters!

is it just me or do the drums feel just a bit smothered? not sure if that's a side effect of being recorded to cassette or what. but it feels like they could use some more brightness so they stick out more maybe.

I guess it's a deliberate mixing choice. If i was to be really picky, i wouldn't mind giving more energy to the kick, which is the least audible element, but i haven't even noticed it until now.

even if it's deliberate, that doesn't mean i have to agree with it. :^) i don't think i've ever heard a funk song where the drums weren't very nice and present sounding. i think this song sounds spot on in pretty much every other way, the drums are nice and punchy and dry sounding, it just seems like they would be helped by some EQ boost in the high range. but i am by no means a master of mixing nor a father of funk, so i may be wrong about this.

Thank you guys for the great comments!
I keep on experimenting with different variations on my personal Funk Formula, if you can call it that.
The drums absolutely were an aesthetic choice, Max, although I do usually agree with your suggestion. If you listen to most of my drum recordings, I've got individual mics on everything, all nicely gated and compressed and EQ'd. But in going for this very vintage early 70s kind of sound, I tend to use the Gabriel Roth "shitty is pretty" principle (look him up if you're interested...his articles in Tape Op changed my life).
The drums in this case were miced with an SM57 right next to my head, through a tube preamp cranked to the max, into the tape machine, at just the right level to get the tape compression just right.
I could have brightened it up once I put it in the computer, but I just kinda like the murkiness of it!
Check out Shawn Lee's "Synthesizers in Space" album for the ultimate saturated, dry, murky drum tone!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ys5eMY64xLI interesting. i feel like this works despite the murkiness of the drums because the instrumentation is sparse enough that the drums come through anyway. your track is a bit busier which is why i feel like the drums are sounding a bit buried. also i think these drums still sound like they've got more high frequency presence than yours. just my two cents. but yeah, if you're going for a lo-fi type sound then maybe it's fine.

I kept seeing comments on the funk it up compo that mootbooxle is going to win this one and sure enough he has nailed it. Great job dude, this is really really impressive and now I need to check out more of your music :).

True funk right here

Really good. Funny all the comments about the drums; I thought they were fine!

Get Jiggy wid it Mooty!

Thank you guys!!! Hey Jredd, that's awesome! You can hear a lot more stuff like this at http://www.mootbooxle.com ! My albums Dirt, and Bare Hands I and II are all just like this!

lol at the "hifi" tag! If cassette 4-track is your idea of hi-fi, what would you consider lo-fi? Morse code? Smoke signals? Banging two coconuts together? :P

those minilogue oscillators sure do lend themselves to clavi sounds amirite?

They sure do Chimp Chap! They cut like a knife through butta!

This is authentic as funk

The Smiths: Moot is Murder

CLASSIC funk. Makes me feel good inside. You nailed this shit on the head.

Thank you Joe!!

The drums are fine. It's one of those principles that you should only let a few things make it all the way to 11k+ on the spectrum analyzer or you end up with an earache mess. If you let the drums be what goes all the way up then you don't get to have standout synths, or whatever.

Having said that, it is my opinion that recording to tape for the sake of noise/saturation/mojo/whatever is a naked emperor. You would sound the same or better without it.

i disagree, i think it definitely has an impact on his sound, but i think you can get that sound from virtual plugins these days

that's a good point about the high frequencies though i was definitely struggling with that on my track for this major. not sure if i managed to tame the high frequencies satisfactorily, but hopefully i did

I can't disagree, Charlotte! It's certainly not the most "outstanding" piece I've done, although I could have (and would have) made it much more bland if it had been a truly pedagogical work. It just felt like the right thing to do in this context.

Oh flip, all 1st's
Conratuglations, it's legit funk :o

6.666 funkability score wow did you sell your soul to the devil

I guess you could say this was devilishly funky

pilotwings 64?? :P

Fuuuunky, great track, good all the way!