Bored in San Antone

Robus

Well-known member
Hey all. This is a demo of one of the new songs I'm writing for the next project. Drums are programmed and the vocal is mine. The plan is to add real drums and a first rate vocalist.

All comments welcome. This is a total starter mix, with the added complication of MIL in the house for Thanksgiving meaning I'm monitoring on headphones.

Thanks!

Latest mix:
Bored in San Antone_Ray Taylor_mix 15.mp3 - Google Drive

Bored in San Antone
Words and music by Ray Taylor, 2017

We’re bored in San Antone
That’s the most we need to know
We’ll see it all I’m sure
When we’re together
And I think I really dig you
And what if it were true?
We’d work it out somehow
Or break it all in two

The Alamo looks smaller
Than the tall tales and the hollers
Got a tale or two
Mine’s got eyes for you

Well it’s high ho
Old Silver and away we go
Excuse us if we don’t stand on formalities
It’s lie low
Storm coming and a wicked blow
And all the wicked know
Is they ain’t bored tonight in San Antone

Off a whirlwind tour of a cloverleaf
On the south side of downtown
Past the buff shops and the taco stands
Where the highway spit us out
Think I really love you
Though who am I to say?
There’s the right way
And the wanton way
And the way we’re wanting now

And the Alamo looks smaller
Than the tall tales getting taller
I got no plans that don’t involve
Your number

Well it’s high ho
Old Silver and away we go
Excuse us if we don’t stand on formality
Well it’s lie low
Storm coming and a wicked blow
And all the wicked know
Is they ain’t bored tonight in San Antone
 
Last edited:
I like the song, the vocal is a little shaky at times, but i see your just laying it down as reference. With a little more ironing out i don't see why your voice couldn't carry the song. I think the mix sounds great, vocal is sitting in a good spot all the way through. I like that harmony guitar riff right before the singing starts, very cool, you could probably do more of that between parts of the song as far as arrangement ideas. Everything is distinct and clear but not harsh or too bassy. My housemate (drummer) walked in while i was listening and said "programmed drums?" so take that for what it's worth, they didn't jump out at me either way as the mix has a nice balance. Nice work!
 
Thanks guys. Yeah, the guitars are not sorted out 100% yet, lead guitars in particular. I think some lead guitar fills are needed during the second verse, and the guitar solo at the end needs to be developed further. So far that solo mainly outlines the chord changes while echoing parts of the vocal melody. It needs a few more riffs to give excitement. It also needs work on getting the main lead and the harmonzed lead tighter, both rhythmically and harmonically. We have house guests through Thanksgiving, so no loud amps until the weekend.
 
Last edited:
Hey Robus. I thought the vocal was a bit too low. I was having a hard time making out the words at parts. Is this the same mix you sent on PM? Vocal sounds lower, or the instruments are louder.
 
The bass sounds like a track to keep. Nice definition, strong low end, but still under control.

I like the rhythm guitar on the left.

Keyboard part on the right that's balancing it out is OK. I like the part. The tone is a bit clean - too close to video game tone.

Real drums and a solid vocal should really shape it up.

It's a good start.
 
Pretty good. Very chill.
The one thing that really stands out to me is that the hard-panned guitars feel very close. They don't really have a space, they're just right up on my ears (in headphones). I might 'verb 'em up a bit and turn 'em down.
 
Lordy I love the mix you put together.

Bass guitar, best sounding bass mix I've heard in awhile.
Left guitar, check. Keys, check, fit nicely in there with the other guitar on the right side. Lead sitting wonderfully. Every instrument has its own sound in the register, something we can all aim for.

Perfect volume on the backing vox. And I wouldn't be so quick to get rid of your voice on this, it lends a certain appeal.

And the playing, well I'm jealous.

If you asked me to be picky, I'd say the kick doesn't fit properly - I'm not feeling it and can't always make it out. And the ending was rather abrupt, I don't know what happened there.

Sweet sweet tune and production.
Timbo
 
Last edited:
Pretty good. Very chill.
The one thing that really stands out to me is that the hard-panned guitars feel very close. They don't really have a space, they're just right up on my ears (in headphones). I might 'verb 'em up a bit and turn 'em down.

I know what you mean. It was hard to get those guitars sitting right, due to the bass. This was a P bass instead of the J you heard on 90% of my songs. I like the lower midrange girth of the P but it doesn't have that natural scoop of the J that makes such a nice pocket in the soundscape, for things like guitars and keys.
 
New mix in the OP. Raised the lead vocal and lowered the wide-panned guitars. Remixed the lead guitars.
 
New mix in the OP. I worked on improving the drum programming and tightening things up generally.

I did make a slight change in the groove. The previous version had a deeper swing on the eight note. I kept the swing but tightened it just a little bit. I'm not sure yet which version I like better. If anyone would care to listen to a few seconds of the previous version and compare it to the latest, I'd be grateful for opinions on which groove sounds better.
 
One last mix in the OP. I went back to the deeper swing. Turns out it's a 69% swing on the eighth note, versus 56% for the previous one. The difference is hard to tell with the ear, but I feel it in the swagger. On some bars the kick drum leads into the next bar on 4&. That thu-thump feels more jaunty with the deeper swing. Anyway, I decided to go with it. Both versions are up in the OP.

Thanks for the help!
 
I agree the bass is great sounding here. First thing that came to mind, for me. And yeah, if you could shore up the shaky parts, your vocal would be fine.
 
Cool tune... bass sounds over compressed... fast attack, super long release. It's pumping. I have to disagree on the bass with most posters here.

Vox sound very dry despite delays... guess it's a preference thing.

I like the tune overall... reminds me a little more of Talking Heads than San Antonio.
 
New mix in the OP. Improved the take on the lead vocal, I hope. Doubled the vocal in the chorus.

This one is about as close as it's going to get at this stage. Hope it will turn into more down the road.

Thanks Clinic!
 
I think it sounds great. The bass was one of the first things I noticed as well, sounds great. I can totally hear that distinct P-Bass sound, and I love it. I might hear a little pumping, but I think it sounds pretty smooth and works well.

Like someone else had said, your voice can carry this tune pretty well. I've only heard the latest version, but I think it fits pretty good. The song almost has a B-Side Tom Petty feel to me, if that makes sense...

Guitars sound great as always.

FYI- I always record direct from my Digitech GNX3000, but I recently just picked up a 57 to start mic'ing my Twin for some future recordings. Your consistent clean mic'd strat tones had a lot to do with my decision to start trying it. So thanks for that :thumbs up:
 
You have a good singing voice! Way better than mine. Why not use your own vocal?

Sorta reminds me of Karl Blau, have you heard him? Go more understated in parts IMO...
 
rorohello. Never heard of Karl Blau until you mentioned him. I'm listing to "Falling Rain" as I type. Yeah man, that's got a groove. Thanks!

I think my voice is fine for song demos. I can lay out a vocal idea well enough to write the songs and communicate them to a singer. But in my opinion, it's always going to be ranging between "just barely" and "not quite." I want to hear these songs sung by a real singer.

JohnnyAmato: Actually, no Strats on this one. This was the first song I wrote on my new Epiphone ES335 that I bought a few weeks ago. I tracked every part on that guitar. Then, I went back and retracked a few parts on--I think it was the Tele--because the blend always sounds smoother when you combine different guitar sounds rather than using the same guitar for everything. But it's still more 335 than anything else. On the Guitar and Bass forum of this site, there is a guitar tone thread where I demoed a bunch of different mic and amp combinations on this guitar.

You can also hear my new Vox AC15 head on this track. I think pretty much all the ES 335 parts were tracked through that amp, while I used the Mesa Mark V:25 for the Tele parts.

I'm looking forward to hearing your Strat through that Twin. Amp sims are fine, but a miked amp to my ears always sounds just a little bit purer, a little sweeter (though whether the difference can be heard in a given mix is another question). And, bottom line--it's just more fun to mic an amp!
 
Back
Top