Ah what the hell. Might as well post this.

[RAMI]

Haven't been around for a while.

Wasn't going to post this, but I figured what the hell. I know this place has sunk pretty low and become the hub of "No children left behind" back slapping and mediocrity lately. So, I figured I'd post my mediocre tune. Maybe it's so bad that some fool will praise it for being "lo-fi".

I just finished this today, so the levels might be out of wack....or maybe not. I can't tell right now.

Thanx for listening.

CHINNY CHIN CHIN

Chinny Chin Chin (Words and music by RAMI)

I still remember things that haven't even happened yet
They'll haunt me until the day I die if I should live that long
I know I've seen that face but I have never faced that scene
I can't believe my ears until I taste it with my own eyes

Chorus:
I might be lost but I'm making good time
Fair thee well take thee a hike
I hear you knocking but you can't come in
Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin

I know I used to be a has been now I am an is
I suffered from dementia but now I quite enjoy it

Chorus:
I might be slow buy I gather no moss
Fair thee well and get thee lost
Knock knocking but you can't come in
Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin

Chorus:
I might be slow buy I gather no moss
Fair thee well and get thee lost
I hear you knocking but you can't come in
Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin
I might be lost but I'm making good time
Fair thee well take thee a hike
Knock knock knocking but you can't come in
Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin

 

[Greg_L]

I know this place has sunk pretty low and become the hub of "No children left behind" back slapping and mediocrity lately.

Truth.

How ya been dude? Perfect timing, I was just getting ready to drop you an email. I'll give a listen later. It'll be awesome to hear something from someone that knows what they're doing.

 

[RAMI]

It'll be awesome to hear something from someone that knows what they're doing.

Good to see you Greg.

Don't be too sure. You know my tunes are always hit and miss. Sometimes they REALLY miss. On top of that, I mixed right after tracking and sort of did it quick. So honestly, this might need a lot of work. My ears will tell me more tomorrow.

 

[Greg_L]

Good to see you Greg.

Don't be too sure. You know my tunes are always hit and miss. Sometimes they REALLY miss. On top of that, I mixed right after tracking and sort of did it quick. So honestly, this might need a lot of work. My ears will tell me more tomorrow.

Yeah but your "misses" are still usable and infinitely better than most other people's best effort.


And you actually play and record real instruments. That's a win all by itself.

 

[RAMI]

Yeah but your "misses" are still usable and infinitely better than most other people's best effort.

Thanx man. I typed out a pretty long post, but I cut it down to this.

Playing the real instruments is 90% of the fun.

 

[Greg_L]

Thanx man. I typed out a pretty long post, but I cut it down to this.

Playing the real instruments is 90% of the fun.

I saw your post, and it was 100% right.

I'll give a listen in a little while.

 

[Greg_L]

Ok Ramalamadindong, here's how I'm hearing it....

First off, bad ass drumming on this one. Well done. Tight as shit.

Knowing your stuff and style pretty well, my only mix critique is with the guitars. My personal preference would want them a little dirtier, but besides that, I'm hearing them a little boxy and I think they could use more spread. I think mic position is the culprit for the boxiness, or maybe you have a weird guitar reverb on the guitars? They sound out in space or more distant compared to the punchy presence of the drums, bass, and vocals. The leads are okay, it's mostly the rhythms I'm talking about. The rhythms could be louder too. The rest is killer. The interplay between the kick and bass is spectacular. Awesome job there.

 

[RAMI]

Thanx man.

I did something different for this tune. I didn't double my rythm and pan it. I just have one track on the left and one on the right, both at about 50% panned. The funny thing is, I originally did record 2 rythm tracks, one with the P-90's and the other with the Gibson. I ended up ditching the dirtier one. I can re-amp that track. For now, I did a re-mix, brought up the rythm and brightened it up a bit....I hope.

 

[Mr Clean]

On my phone at the minute but will have a nosey at it tomorrow.

 

[RAMI]

On my phone at the minute but will have a nosey at it tomorrow.

Cool. Don't text and drive.

 

[dobro]

I've changed up my monitors and treatment, so I'm not sure if this one sounds good because it's good or because my new studio arrangement knocks socks off.

When I shift from the Avantone to the KRK's, the best part is how the kick hits in the chest.

At places like the 1 min mark, the vocal can come up. When the vocal rocks out later in the chinny chin chin parts, it's perfect.

This one's really good, Rami.

 

[Armistice]

Haven't read the other comments, so sorry if anything I raise has been said before

I'm never bored with your subject matter Rami, always something interesting going on - unlike a lot of the tunes I see here - and loved the seen/face face/scene work in the verse. Clever.

I'm never going to pick up serious mix nits listening through headphones and there probably aren't any anyway but I'd maybe nudge the lead vocals up a bit early on - by the end of the song I was hearing them OK, and the chorus is all good, but in the verses I thought they needed a slight push.

I think there's a pop at 2:37 just before the massed Rami "band" comes back in, and at 3:37 I reckon there's a note in the left guitar that's just 3/5ths of a virgin's pubic hair late, but nothing that most will hear.

Gratuitous arrangement advice (ignore at will, no offence taken): Consider sticking an extra harmony on the chorus - it doesn't need it really I guess, but you do harmonies so well it'd make it into a real "singer" of a tune, and I love sudden endings, but I wanted to hear the ending played a second time and then a third and end on the third - but totally still kick-arse as it is.

Nice work as always. (Now I'll go read what everyone else has said to see if I'm off base).

 

[Bruthish]

You set the bar high my brother. I bleed with envy and jealousy. Once again, top notch.

 

[kindafishy]

Rami, I've not been around much lateley either, to the extent that I am not aware of the state of the mix clinic. What a shame if it has moved from giving honest and helpful feedback to trite mutual congratulatory praise. That helps nobody.

Why have you been away? I am busy working on non-music projects and I haven't had much time at all to do any recording or mixing. I have a half finished mix that has been sitting for over 6 weeks.

Anyway, the song is just absolutely killer. You'll get no disingenuous praise from me (nor will anyone). The playing across the board is just fantastic. Super tight, super stylish and just sitting in that perfect Rami spot of a melding of interestingly complex expression and melodic delivery. This, as with all your tunes, is right up my alley.

I'm not in my studio right now, but I can tell you that the only single niggle I have thus far is that the vocals can come up here and there. Not everywhere mind you. Some choice fader riding will sort that out in short order.

I picked a good day to happen past the HR forums.

 

[RAMI]

I've changed up my monitors and treatment,

Congrats. Nothing like the feeling of new gear.

I'm not sure if this one sounds good because it's good or because my new studio arrangement knocks socks off.

Trust me, it's not the room. This is awesome. (joking)

At places like the 1 min mark, the vocal can come up. When the vocal rocks out later in the chinny chin chin parts, it's perfect.

This one's really good, Rami.

Thanx a lot, Dobro. Listening again this morning, the vocals definitely need to come up. Not a lot, but they need to come up a bit.

Thanx a lot, Dobrother.

 

[RAMI]

I'm never bored with your subject matter Rami, always something interesting going on - unlike a lot of the tunes I see here - and loved the seen/face face/scene work in the verse. Clever.

Thanx a lot, Arm. I'm not obsessed with lyrics, but I do like coming up with some twisted lines once in a while.

nudge the lead vocals up a bit early on - by the end of the song I was hearing them OK, and the chorus is all good, but in the verses I thought they needed a slight push.

I agree. I'll bring them up.

I think there's a pop at 2:37 just before the massed Rami "band" comes back in, and at 3:37 I reckon there's a note in the left guitar that's just 3/5ths of a virgin's pubic hair late, but nothing that most will hear.

Thanx, I'll check those out. I probably won't hear the pops unless I put on headphones, but it very well might be there.

Gratuitous arrangement advice (ignore at will, no offence taken): Consider sticking an extra harmony on the chorus - it doesn't need it really I guess, but you do harmonies so well it'd make it into a real "singer" of a tune,

I though about that. I just figured that all my songs have harmonies, so it was nice to have one that didn't really need it. I'll consider it, though.

and I love sudden endings, but I wanted to hear the ending played a second time and then a third and end on the third - but totally still kick-arse as it is.

I'm very limited when it comes to soloing without sounding like someone trying to copy every cliche lick in the world, so I usually keep my solos short. One thing I did do is use all 24 frets at the end of the last solo.

Nice work as always. (Now I'll go read what everyone else has said to see if I'm off base).

Thanx a lot, Armi. Much appreciated.

 

[RAMI]

Rami, I've not been around much lateley either, to the extent that I am not aware of the state of the mix clinic. What a shame if it has moved from giving honest and helpful feedback to trite mutual congratulatory praise. That helps nobody.

Yeah, I probably didn't pick the best way to open a Clinic thread. I haven't really been around for a couple of weeks, so I was just speaking about a few posts I saw when I started reading posts again yesterday. It's probably not as bad as I think. I hope not, anyway.

Why have you been away?

It's never a conscious decision, it just happens. I have other things going on and before I know it, it's been a couple of weeks since I hit "HR" in my bookmarks.

Anyway, the song is just absolutely killer. You'll get no disingenuous praise from me (nor will anyone). The playing across the board is just fantastic. Super tight, super stylish and just sitting in that perfect Rami spot of a melding of interestingly complex expression and melodic delivery. This, as with all your tunes, is right up my alley.

Thanx so much, man. I still think I might re-re-amp the guitar on the left. I think it might need more bite.

I can tell you that the only single niggle I have thus far is that the vocals can come up here and there. Not everywhere mind you. Some choice fader riding will sort that out in short order.

I agree. They will come up for sure.

So far, the two things I will change are bringing up the vocals and doing something with that guitar on the left.

Thanx for the help so far, you all.

 

[TripleM]

Hey RAMI - good to see you. I'll respond to your PM later.

On the tune. Super tight performances as always. Almost a funk tune in spots.

Drums are great. Great cymbal sounds. Incredibly tight kick - you get the best kick tone around. Snare is a bit heavy. Maybe a little boost somewhere around 3K-5K? Might be worth trying.

Vox are nice and clear and sound nice. Caught a couple of spots where the double tracking was evident. But I always over-listen to that kind of stuff - nobody else is going to hear it.

Guitars have great tone. Personal preference for me, I'd like them a little heavier. A little "woolier."

Bass - no complaints at all. Sounded great - good low end, but still lots of definition to the part.

 

[RAMI]

Vox are nice and clear and sound nice. Caught a couple of spots where the double tracking was evident. But I always over-listen to that kind of stuff - nobody else is going to hear it

I made the double tracking imperfect and discernible on purpose, just so you wouldn't suggest double tracking them.

Thanx a lot. This song has a couple of issues to address still, including the ones you mentioned.

 

[TripleM]

I made the double tracking imperfect and discernible on purpose, just so you wouldn't suggest double tracking them.

That's exactly what I figured.

On your next tune, you'll probably put in a couple of pops for me to find.