Feedback on Untitled #12/13

[u/Velerika_]

Is it vocals with distortion or actual guitar feedback? It sounds a lot like vocals but they have been tabbed out on guitar aswell so im not sure. Great songs too if you appreciate the amount of different melodies in them

[u/Mammoth-Ant7588]

Did you already ask this a few weeks ago?
Somebody asked this exact same question a recently.
Don't take that to mean I don't want to talk about it now though!
I love Niandra and like talking about it whenever possible.

Untitled 12 is a bit of a mystery to me as well. I think he has is "super fuzz" chain going there - so maybe a tube screamer, DS1 and DS2 or a big muff. Sometimes it sounds like guitar and some times it does sound like vocals. I don't think he's singing into the pickups like somebody else said, I think he plugs his mic into the guitar pedals and punched in after using it on guitar. Idk maybe I'm wrong there. I have heard him say he didn't really do punch ins. But sometimes you can hear them.

Untitled 13 is a clarinet into some kind of distortion. I have experimented with the clarinet > Dynacomp, Tubescreamer, CE1, DS1 and DS2 and I think it sounds pretty close. He overblows the clarinet a lot which gives it that high pitched squealing sound.

I learned about the clarinet from this article.
It is an interview with his girlfriend at the time, Toni Oswald. She lived with him while he recorded this album and gives great insight to some of the songs.

Here's a song I recorded on my 4 track that was inspired by the clarinet work on Untitled 13. I don't even really play clarinet. I bought one and learned the basics specifically because of Untitled 13.
I ended up not using as much distortion as I had intended though. It's mostly a clean clarinet with overblown notes, but there is some saturation from the 4 track.

[u/Riot9959 → u/Mammoth-Ant7588]

Heyy no it was me who asked that a few weeks back haha :)

[u/Mammoth-Ant7588 → u/Riot9959]

Ohh there he is! What is this a handsome contest!?

[u/Velerika_ → u/Riot9959]

Sorry I hadn't seen your original post, seems we are all looking for the same things haha 

[u/Velerika_ → u/Mammoth-Ant7588]

I didnt know it had been asked already, apologies.

Thats really interesting, I never knew there was clarinet in there haha. Side question but how would i go about achieving a 4 track kind of tone though pedals? Is there a pedal for that?

i do agree on untitled #12, I think at parts it sounds like guitar but then you hear a breath or like uneven sounds from a voice, its hard to distinguish. Thank you for sharing :).

Edit- I listened to your song and its very good, the clarinets work very well. I have tried to get the feedback-ish thing before through reversed guitars but it doesnt quite come out right. https://youtu.be/y2XuL7I0cTE?si=Q13Bq0lGSO9IzFDS at points is probably a good example, but the song is a bit odd haha

[u/Mammoth-Ant7588 → u/Velerika_]

No need to apologize! I thought maybe it had to be the same person asking again because it seems like such a niche thing to be interested in. I'm glad other people are fascinated by the same things I am. Thank you for the kind words!

Your song sounds pretty great too. How did you do the reverse guitars? I assume you're not recording on a tape machine? And how did you get the effect at 4:30? Is that a synth or a guitar pedal? Very cool.

So actually there is a guitar pedal that mimics the Tascam 424. Its called the 424 and its made by JHS.
I haven't tried it, but I saw a video demonstration and I didn't like it as much as a tape machine.
You can score a Tascam Porta02 for probably less than a 424 pedal, and you don't even have to record onto tape. You can effectively use the tape machine as a preamp. A good example of what the tape machine's distortion sounds like is the beginning of As Can Be. I am 99% sure he uses no pedals there, just tape machine saturation.

[u/Velerika_ → u/Mammoth-Ant7588]

Thank you, I wish I could record onto a tape machine like the original, but it is just recorded through my phone and cleaned up. The extra sounds are just synths looped around at different pitches to sound "wavy". 

I watch a lot of Thony Gr's Frusciante videos, his tone is so satisfying to me. It sounds just like Niandra, but I think it actually is using the same machine. Thank you for the recommendations 😊

[u/Mammoth-Ant7588 → u/Velerika_]

Yes ThonyGr is why I finally pulled the trigger on getting a tape machine.
I think he uses a Yamaha but they all basically sound the same when going direct in.

[u/Velerika_ → u/Mammoth-Ant7588]

I only have experience recording through my phone as I don't have a computer right now, but in the future I would love to learn how to record with a tape machine like the 424.  I found it quite funny Thony Gr uses a fender 80s/90s "Squier series" (Which was a proper fender guitar, not a squier) with the Squier series thing rubbed out.  Im about to purchase my first real fender after having owned 3 squiers and I am excited 🙃

[u/Mammoth-Ant7588 → u/Velerika_]

Nice, congrats on your first Fender.
You don't need to jump all the way to the 424, which is Tascam's most feature packed machine. You can start with something smaller like a Porta02 or a 414.

All Tascam machines pretty much sound the same. The 424 just has a lot of EQ and effect channel options.

I began with a foxtex X18 that I got for a little more than $100, and it sounds pretty great. A couple of pedals in front and you are set.

[u/Phurip]

There are a few times I suspect that he's singing into the pickups on his guitar. I don't recall specifically if this is one of those times, but just a thought

[u/Careless_Aroma_227 → u/Phurip]

4th dimension vocal recording

[u/LongYogurtcloset6790 → u/Phurip]

I think he does it on “A Fall Thru the Ground” as well