Dr KeyBaG

Of course, HoboSage, it all depends on how loud you're playing

Hi Ken! Yes, I'm getting closer now, it's a bit tricky in that small space I've got for my studio but you have to do the best of your situation I studied to become a sound designer a couple of years ago and then we learned a lot about these things. After that, I've been educating musicians in college and one of the classes were acoustic treatments... I've found the best way to learn something is to teach others!

This year I've promised to release my 2nd album and since I do all the mixing/mastering down the basement I have to do something about the acoustic environment. I just wanted to share the work progress with you. Feel free to share your thoughts about it!! I've started in the front by building 2 decent bass traps that work really well to absorb a wide range of frequencies according to the LE/DE principals. I know, the fabric could be nicer but that's what I had Noted: Never fill the traps with too much mineral wool when you do these types of bass traps.

Thx! Nice to hear, means a lot to me

Haha!! It's just me trying to get in contact with people thru my website. Just think that's a cool way to communicate with one and other I've got songs up on youtube and Spotify as well https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChb23KrUeer2titbNZvXrlQ Cheers!!

Thanks, Ken, for your kind words, means a lot!!

Hi again! It’s been a while, that’s for sure. So… my wife left me a couple of months ago. I’ve been kind of busy getting used to this new life of mine. It didn't come as a shock but still, you never know what to expect. The hardest part has been seeing my children sad and confused… both me and my ex wife are determined to make this as less painful for them as possible is but even if you try the hardest you can they will get really sad. My youngest, a boy of 6, is at pre school and it’s real painful to hear from the teachers that he can sit in school all by himself doing nothing, not playing with anyone, just sitting there looking out the window… Anyway... this blogpost is not gonna be about me complaining over the hard parts of being a single dad. Instead I will focus on what good has actually come out of the divorce. You see, the thing is that we have decided that we shall have the children every other week and when they are at their mum’s that means that I get a lot of ”free time” to finally (!!!) be able to get my new album ready. My last (and first) album ’Made by Who?’ was released in 2014 so it’s about time to get another one released. I’ve been writing some new material and I’ve set up my new studio down the basement. I just need to get some good acoustic treatment done. The room doesn’t sound to good:) Hopefully I will manage to get 12-14 new songs written, produced, mixed and mastered before summer. Since I do everything by myself it will be difficult but I think it’s good to have a deadline to work against. So… let’s say before may 31 the album will be ready, is that ok for you!!? Talk soon, /Martin

As everyone is writing here, I agree that it has to do a lot with the rest of your equipment, and even more the acoustic environment! That is really something you have to focus on at first if you want to do decent recordings. I think Studio Projects B3 is a nice microphone and not to expensive:) It's a large-diaphragm condenser microphone with multiple polar patterns which I think can be really useful in some situations! Good luck:)

Oh, really not my field to answer that... But I do know that Sibelius has a feature that allows you to get full orchestra arrangements just by adding the chords you use. Maybe that could be something for you?

I agree completely! To me music is a lot about curiosity. Not be afraid to meet new challenges, sit down with an instrument you've never tried and see what happens. I just started experimenting with the clarinet a couple of weeks ago and a whole new musical world opened up for me. I'm even changing my phrasing on the guitar 'cause of that:)

I think it looks quite intuitive! How is the velocity? Those controllers have a tendancy to feel a little "dead"...

I actually think it sounds interesting! I've been working in a lot of different DAWs but never heard of that possibility. Often when you do the mastering when you find problems in the mix you have to go back to that mixproject, correct the mix, bounce it and go back to the masterproject. So, the advantage of what you're suggesting could be a time saver. Of course you could do the mastering in the mixproject as well but I tend to like to bounce a stereo file and then start the mastering from scratch, somehow the bounce puts it all together... Have you thought more of this? Maybe heard of any DAWs with that feature?

Hey y’all! Just wanted to share some thoughts… When I first started my career as a musician I was totally in to the electric bass. I did nothing but practice scales, playing techniques, walking lines, slap bass, motown lines, disco grooves – just about everything there was to learn. I studied for about 6 years to be as good as I could get and I remember me and my class mates being up all night jamming around on all kinds of music styles – jazz, fusion, experimental. It was absolutely wonderful:) Of course, all along this journey I always came back to my roots: alternative rock, hard rock, post grunge, indie rock/pop – the Foo Fighters, Pearl Jam, Queens of the Stone Age, the Smashing Pumpkins, the Killers and so on… music that just makes me feel alive!! But… what I would like to say here is that I had absolutely no interest in lyrics! I was always much more listening for the energy in songs, what the band together as a whole (lead singer included) could communicate as a soundscape, and that said I didn’t have the need to focus on the lyrics but much more on the melody that was sung. I don’t know if any of you have had that same experience? Over the years I’ve been focusing more on my voice, taking lessons, getting interested in different techniques, and above all I’ve found out how fantastic it is for me to express myself with words!! It’s just the best, I love it when I’m in front of an audience (doesn’t matter if it’s 60 people or a thousand people, the feeling is the same. And since I’ve discovered this to be the most important thing for me I’ve also grown a huge interest in lyrics. I write all my lyrics by myself and have found it to be really satisfying to tell stories about this and that. Sometimes it’s about things that I’ve experienced and sometimes it’s just a thought that comes to my mind or something someone tells me that I can elaborate on. Since I’ve grown this interest in lyrics I just wanted to share some lines from songs that I think is just amazing and has inspired me a lot. It would be awesome if you’d like to share your thoughts on what the lyrics in songs means to you and maybe if you got any particular song writers that you find to stand out… or anything else you want to share:) Lake of Fire This one I actually thought for a long time to be an original song by Nirvana. I even heard stories about how Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic had written the lyrics together… how wrong was I!! It’s written by Meat Puppets as early as in 1984 as a promo single but ended up at Too High to Die released in 1994. What about these lines: Now the people cry and the people moan And they look for a dry place to call their home And try to find some place to rest their bones While the angels and the devils try to make them their own I appear missing Simply the best entrance to a song that I’ve ever heard. Queens of the Stoneage at it’s best!! The words, I’m pretty sure, are written by Dean Fertita but please correct me if I’m wrong;) Calling all comas, Prisoner on the loose. Description: A spitting image of me Except for the heart-shaped hole where the hope runs out Read my mind I see the Killers as one of the most intricate indie pop/rock (whatever genre you choose) bands there is when it comes to arranging their tunes and taking unexpected turns. Listen to ‘When you were young’ and you’ll see what I mean! Brandon Flowers has called ‘Read my mind’ ”the best song he has ever written”. Since it’s been a decade ago (Sam’s Town, 2007) maybe he thinks he has written something even better now:) These are a few lines from Read my mind: The good old days, the honest man The restless heart, the Promised Land A subtle kiss that no one sees A broken wrist and a big trapeze Any particular lyrics you like? Any song writers that stands out? Anything else you wanna share? …oh, by the way, if you’re interested in some free music you can visit my website drkeybag.com Take care everybody!!

I agree with all of the good advices here!! Just a thought: Maybe buy a cheaper condenser microphone instead of the SM57, or go for the Blue Snowball that Chumpy is suggesting!

Musical World of Dr KeyBaG The past two decades I’ve been living, breathing, sleeping, eating, laughing, crying music, it’s always there with me and that is what I’ve found out to be the most important for me as a singer/songwriter/musician: To communicate with my listeners! Get them to understand how important this is to me. And even better, maybe get them to feel the same way! For me, there is no greater feeling then when you talk to someone and finds out you got the same favorite bands, listen to the same music genres, maybe been to the same concerts. That makes you feel connected. Or even better when someone in the audience comes backstage after a gig letting you know that he/she loved your performance. That is the feeling I live for and also what I’ve been trying to give to my fans over the last 20 years. I’ve been playing in a couple of great swedish bands over the years as a bass player and I’ve loved it. It’s been awesome and the feeling when you’re up on stage sweating, shouting, jumping with your bandmates, it’s just the best. However when I decided to give my solo project Dr KeyBaG and the Lead Singer a go I found myself to be able to form the music to my own. I didn’t have to focus on a particular genre, I could just combine them as I wanted. And that said, I'm eager to start using songstuff, c u in the forum topics! /Martin, Dr KeyBaG and the Leadsinger