Drunk Driver

N

NotThatBright

New member
Lyrics on the soundcloud page.

This is one of the first songs I ever wrote, which was probably a year and a half ago. A friend of mine had just gotten a DUI and I was trying to make him feel better. I'm not sure it helped. I recorded this version a couple months ago in a couple hours and mixed it a couple weeks ago, just a quick mix on my DP-24. I wish I had done a better job tuning my snare, but what's done is done. I know the timing of my drumming is off at a few points. The bass and guitar playing is decent for me.

Any comments are appreciated to make it sound better. I need something to do. It's either this or start using phone app dating services, which I am very close to doing. I was talking to a guy at the bar before who was raving about one of them.

https://soundcloud.com/user92696274096/drunk-driver/s-gaATr
 
NotThatBright said:
Lyrics on the soundcloud page.

This is one of the first songs I ever wrote, which was probably a year and a half ago. A friend of mine had just gotten a DUI and I was trying to make him feel better. I'm not sure it helped. I recorded this version a couple months ago in a couple hours and mixed it a couple weeks ago, just a quick mix on my DP-24. I wish I had done a better job tuning my snare, but what's done is done. I know the timing of my drumming is off at a few points. The bass and guitar playing is decent for me.

Any comments are appreciated to make it sound better. I need something to do. It's either this or start using phone app dating services, which I am very close to doing. I was talking to a guy at the bar before who was raving about one of them.

https://soundcloud.com/user92696274096/drunk-driver/s-gaATr
Click to expand...
I remember when you posted the other recording of the song. Wasn't it your very first song post in the clinic? Anyway, if I remember correctly the other recording wasnt real tight and not egineered very well. This recording sounds really good. Aside from slight timing issues I dont see anything wrong with this recording. The guitars sound real good as does the bass. I thought the bass playing was very good. The vocal sounded good. Good mix to my ears. Your recording chops have really improved snice your first swing at this song.
Great job man! I enjoyed the listen.
 
hhinterwebz said:
Its not streaming for me.
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it wouldn't stream for me when I tried playing it on my phone. with the laptop I got it to play. I noticed the track is marked "private" instead of "public" in soundcloud. That's probably why it won't stream in some instances.
 
I really enjoyed this. :D I liked the recurring intro part, which had a sub Faith No More "Epic" feel, and I loved the lyrics. I think the drums could take more of the centre stage, it's dominated too much by the guitar. A really heavy drum treatment would transform this.
 
It's weird how SoundCloud totally clobbers some songs with its MP3 compression, and leaves others unscathed. This one got clobbered a bit.

Guitars sound great, although they could come down in the mix. With the guitars out of the way, the drums will shine through more. The drums sound great, other than being a little dark. I love the tone of that snare though, even though it's pretty dark as well. It's just a great ratio of snare wires and initial impact.

Fun song, it's good to hear something (kinda) new from you. Keep 'em coming.
 
jimistone said:
I remember when you posted the other recording of the song. Wasn't it your very first song post in the clinic? Anyway, if I remember correctly the other recording wasnt real tight and not egineered very well. This recording sounds really good. Aside from slight timing issues I dont see anything wrong with this recording. The guitars sound real good as does the bass. I thought the bass playing was very good. The vocal sounded good. Good mix to my ears. Your recording chops have really improved snice your first swing at this song.
Great job man! I enjoyed the listen.
Click to expand...

I think it was, actually. Back then I had one overhead mic (SM57), shit mics for all the drums, the levels set to clipping beyond belief, and I was using a Vypyr amp for guitar, which sounded fake. I still use it for bass, but for recording, I think it provides a decent bass tone. I upgraded to a 40-watt Marshall for guitar which I love. Now I just need a better guitar.

Thanks for the listen. What I'm wondering is if the muted, boxy tone is something that can be fixed with EQing and compression, or if I just have a fundamental flaw with recording drums that goes beyond being in a shitty room. There is very little compression on the song now... pretty much just on the bass guitar (I put some compression on it as I record it.. I found this makes it stand out more and sound "stronger"), just a little on the kick, and then a little "glue" at the end... All done with my DP-24, but I am going to see what I can do with Reaper.

Bubba said:
I really enjoyed this. I liked the recurring intro part, which had a sub Faith No More "Epic" feel, and I loved the lyrics. I think the drums could take more of the centre stage, it's dominated too much by the guitar. A really heavy drum treatment would transform this.
Click to expand...

I was ripping off the intro from this song when I came up with that part. I changed it a little so I wasn't totally ripping it off.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cm6pwbsR26k&list=PLeth7IQkxp_IVeU9xxsjlz46MUpI_YOJn&index=16

If I can make the drums sound a little better and brighter in the remix, I will turn down the guitars. Thanks for the listen, Big B.

Bubba said:
centre
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Please don't get me started.

Tadpui said:
It's weird how SoundCloud totally clobbers some songs with its MP3 compression, and leaves others unscathed. This one got clobbered a bit.

Guitars sound great, although they could come down in the mix. With the guitars out of the way, the drums will shine through more. The drums sound great, other than being a little dark. I love the tone of that snare though, even though it's pretty dark as well. It's just a great ratio of snare wires and initial impact.

Fun song, it's good to hear something (kinda) new from you. Keep 'em coming.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I always encode my songs at 192kbps when I convert them from wav. Is that a low enough bit rate to make a significant difference to the human ear? What bit rate do you guys encode at?

About the snare tone... In my opinion, too loose... it's like it doesn't make a noise until a split second after I hit it, and then it lasts too long. I recorded this a couple months ago... a couple weeks ago when I yanked my stuff out of storage and assembled it again I think I got a good tone. Even then, though, something is off in either my recording or EQing/compressing/mastering that it sounds muffled. The journey continues.

hhinterwebz
I appreciate you giving it a shot.

Thanks for the comments, gentlemen.
 
NotThatBright said:
Thanks. I always encode my songs at 192kbps when I convert them from wav. Is that a low enough bit rate to make a significant difference to the human ear? What bit rate do you guys encode at?

About the snare tone... In my opinion, too loose... it's like it doesn't make a noise until a split second after I hit it, and then it lasts too long. I recorded this a couple months ago... a couple weeks ago when I yanked my stuff out of storage and assembled it again I think I got a good tone. Even then, though, something is off in either my recording or EQing/compressing/mastering that it sounds muffled. The journey continues.
Click to expand...

192 kbps should be fine, I think it's SoundCloud's weirdness that's at fault. It's not totally mangled or anything, there's just that little telltale swishiness in the cymbals. I wish I knew the magic formula for pleasing the SoundCloud compression algorithm. I usually use a variable bit rate with a target quality of 100...they usually come out around 200-250 kbps, depending on how loud the overall mix is. I haven't caught SoundCloud clobbering the highs in my MP3s yet.

I don't know the first thing about actual snare drums since I'm condemned to a life of sampled drums, but I like that "loose" sound that you describe. So is a loose snare wire tension how, say, The National gets that snare sound on their Boxer album? I've been kinda chasing that sound for a few songs of mine...
 
All sounds fine to me! maybe i'd check the snare if possible use some sample if nothing possible and you're into it. Otherwise nice mix!
 
This was supposed to make your friend feel better?! :D

My only critique on the mix would be the boxy drums, yeah.
 
Love the song. Love the vocal. I love the guitars. Good bass part.

I think the guitars might just a little bit loud. Not real bad - just a smidge.

The kick has a hint of that "bouncy rubber ball" sound. Not real bad, but it could use a little more woof.

That's about it. Great job.
 
Not bad. I do hear some low mid/upper lows building up between bass and snare that cause the bass to have less definition. The vocs could come up a notch or two. Would like a little more high end (sizzle on snare, cymbals)... no more than a db or two though.
 
The net is REALLY bad in my area at the moment: whilst I can get to SCloud & the song shows up it then just cycles around looking for a bus to run into.
 
I like this a lot. The drums sound a bit squishy and the snare disappears a lot depending on the part of the song.
Adjust that and I would say "golden" :D:D:D:D
 
Tadpui said:
192 kbps should be fine, I think it's SoundCloud's weirdness that's at fault. It's not totally mangled or anything, there's just that little telltale swishiness in the cymbals. I wish I knew the magic formula for pleasing the SoundCloud compression algorithm. I usually use a variable bit rate with a target quality of 100...they usually come out around 200-250 kbps, depending on how loud the overall mix is. I haven't caught SoundCloud clobbering the highs in my MP3s yet.

I don't know the first thing about actual snare drums since I'm condemned to a life of sampled drums, but I like that "loose" sound that you describe. So is a loose snare wire tension how, say, The National gets that snare sound on their Boxer album? I've been kinda chasing that sound for a few songs of mine...
Click to expand...

The only time I am on soundcloud is when I'm clicking on a link in this clinic, and my ears suck anyway, so I'll take your word for it. And I don't know shit about snare drums, either, so we're probably on even ground there. Anyway, I appreciate that you liked the sound, even if I was going for something different. I know nothing of the band or song in your penultimate sentence, but it made me think of baseball and Paul Simon.

Vigo said:
All sounds fine to me! maybe i'd check the snare if possible use some sample if nothing possible and you're into it. Otherwise nice mix!
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Thanks.

VHS said:
This was supposed to make your friend feel better?!

My only critique on the mix would be the boxy drums, yeah.
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I see what you are saying... the story is that I got pinched about 15 years ago a week or two after I graduated college (which was particularly depressing), and he nicknamed me "Drunk Driver". Then two weeks later HE got nailed. I dubbed him "Drunk Driver Jr.", which worked well because he's 3 or 4 years older than I am. Then about a year and a half ago he got nailed again, and once he was over the depression (which took a week or so) and his head was back in the right place, I wrote and recorded this. He liked it. And what's more, as far as the DUI... he ended up getting a lawyer and beating it. Hooray for drunk driver (jr)! His BAC is quoted in the song.

TripleM said:
Rep Power:17108649




Love the song. Love the vocal. I love the guitars. Good bass part.

I think the guitars might just a little bit loud. Not real bad - just a smidge.

The kick has a hint of that "bouncy rubber ball" sound. Not real bad, but it could use a little more woof.

That's about it. Great job.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I know my kick isn't perfect, but it's a lot closer to where I want it to be than where my snare is, so I may have been ignoring the kick. I appreciate the post.

gregoryg said:
I really liked this. The lyrics, the melody, all of it. Can't imagine your DUI friend liked it though.
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Even while his case was still pending, he liked it (or at least appreciated the sentiment of the song). Since he beat it, though, he LOVES it, inasmuch as someone can like a song that isn't very good to begin with. He knew my heart was in the right place.

participant said:
Not bad. I do hear some low mid/upper lows building up between bass and snare that cause the bass to have less definition. The vocs could come up a notch or two. Would like a little more high end (sizzle on snare, cymbals)... no more than a db or two though.
Click to expand...

Thanks. Agree with the high end.

ido1957 said:
I like this a lot. The drums sound a bit squishy and the snare disappears a lot depending on the part of the song.
Adjust that and I would say "golden"
Click to expand...

Thanks. Not sure if it can be adjusted (based on the recording), but we'll see.

Thanks for the comments, guys.
 
I just stepped in to say I have always liked your voice. Its unique and fun and I think any song like this you make, would sound good because of it. This is a really cool song, good job.
 
Successsssss.
Did you consider loud gang vocals on the intro?
Sounds like the main Sydney punk band from around 78 - The Thought Criminals.
It's their style/arrangement that matches.
Bass sounds pretty good though may need a little shaved from the bottom.
Nifty little ditty quite well executed.
 
LOL cool song. It makes me want to drink and drive. It's sounds really cool. Mix wise I think it's lacking some clarity. There is this free plugin I started using recently that is amazing in my opinion. I use it now on every track. It's made an extremely noticeable difference to my stuff.

Brainworx | bx_cleansweep V2
 
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