New Song

Chili

Chili

Site Moderator
I haven't been very productive in the last year or so. But here's another one I've been working on. This song started out as lyrics for a challenge Rami put up many years ago. He posted an instrumental and asked the forum to come up with a vocal track. I did, but didn't like the way it worked with his song and I took it down. The lyrics have kind of been sitting around for years and I've worked them into many different songs, but never liked any of them. They finally found a home with this arrangement. It starts out as an acoustic bluesy thing, then morphs into a jazz number and finishes up as a broadway show-stopper with dancing girls and fireworks!!! :D Performance may not be stellar, but I'm more concerned about the mix.

I'm mostly concerned about the low end. I recently bought a measuring microphone and found out my room has a big bump around 50hz, which is kick drum territory. :( So that makes me second guess all my mixes in the past. :facepalm:

Thanks for listening. (Oh yeah, it's over 6 minutes long. Another Chili-jam!!! :D )

Stares
(160kbps to get it to fit)
View attachment Stares160.mp3

It's not her smile that thrills me
It's not the clothes that she wears
It's not the kisses she gives that kills me
It's just the way that she stares
It's just the way that... it's just the way that she stares

Those bright blue eyes and long black hair
Brings me to my knees
She'll stare for hours when I am there
Got me beggin please.
It's just the way that... it's just the way that she stares

I can't deny I'm under her spell
I kind of like it that way
Don't know exactly when I fell
Or how long she'll let me stay
It's just the way that... it's just the way that she stares

And every morning it's something different
Brings me back for more
She'll say "I love you" and in a moment
Kicks me out the door
It's just the way that... it's just the way that she stares

I can't deny I'm under her spell
I kind of like it that way
Don't know exactly when I fell
Or how long she'll let me stay
It's just the way that... it's just the way that she stares

Stupid guitar solo
Long-ass piano solo

Chorus again!!


Thanks for listening.
 
Really nice Chili. Great tune, great groove.

The only things for me is it needs that plonk of a stand up bass and a good swing beat for the jazzy part in the middle. I like the beat that comes in @ 2.48 & 2.55 but by 3.09 it's gone and what is there doesn't work for me. I think it's just a bit too busy for the rest of the music. I half expected the drums to drop out when the piano started going off on it's own little tangent.

Just my honest opinion of course. I really enjoyed the track though. Groovy as hell! :thumbs up:
 
Sounded very good. Especially the acoustic guitars. They sound really good. Drums sound real good too.

I think you could nudge up the vocal just a wee bit. It's not that it's covered, but for this type of song I'd put it way up front.

There is some frequency in the bass that's slightly bugging me. I'm thinking a notch somewhere in the 120hz area might clean it up.

What was going on with the rhythm at the 3:10 mark? I assume it's intentional. But it was weird to me.
 
I'm listening on earbuds so FWIW the bass is loud/masking a bit of the mix. Drums are really crisp - maybe the snare too much so. The rest sounds pretty good. Good to hear your writing again it's hard to get going sometimes.
 
Thanks for the comments, guys.

Mr Clean said:
Really nice Chili. Great tune, great groove.

The only things for me is it needs that plonk of a stand up bass and a good swing beat for the jazzy part in the middle. I like the beat that comes in @ 2.48 & 2.55 but by 3.09 it's gone and what is there doesn't work for me. I think it's just a bit too busy for the rest of the music. I half expected the drums to drop out when the piano started going off on it's own little tangent.

Just my honest opinion of course. I really enjoyed the track though. Groovy as hell! :thumbs up:
Click to expand...

I don't have a stand-up bass, nor would I know how to play it. :o I could throw in a simulated double bass track from my keyboard and layer it with the electric bass. But, honestly, that's a lot of work and I'm pretty lazy. The transition at 3:09 is where the rhythm guitar stops and it becomes just a jazz trio thingy. I've been wanting to do something like that for a long time. I can mess around with the drum track a little, but I'll probably leave it as is. Your opinion counts and I appreciate your thoughts.

TripleM said:
Sounded very good. Especially the acoustic guitars. They sound really good. Drums sound real good too.

I think you could nudge up the vocal just a wee bit. It's not that it's covered, but for this type of song I'd put it way up front.

There is some frequency in the bass that's slightly bugging me. I'm thinking a notch somewhere in the 120hz area might clean it up.

What was going on with the rhythm at the 3:10 mark? I assume it's intentional. But it was weird to me.
Click to expand...

Thanks 3M. Glad you liked the acoustic guitars. I raised and lowered the vox all over the place. I wouldn't mind bumping them up some more but I might lower the snare per IDO's suggestion first and see how that works. when you mention the rhythm at the 3:10 mark (same spot Mr. Clean mentioned) are you talking about the rhythm guitar or the rhythm section, as in bass and drums? It's pretty much how I wanted to do it. Let most everything drop out, get relaxed a bit, build up slowly to the point of frenetic then pull back together to the original style and finish out the song.

ido1957 said:
I'm listening on earbuds so FWIW the bass is loud/masking a bit of the mix. Drums are really crisp - maybe the snare too much so. The rest sounds pretty good. Good to hear your writing again it's hard to get going sometimes.
Click to expand...

Thanks man. Earbuds is another sound system worthy of translation. I feel I lost all touch with the bottom end since I found out about the huge peak at 50hz. I'm going to re-evaluate my room and maybe redo my bass traps. I agree about the snare. Believe it or not, it was much louder before. I lowered it a lot. lol.
 
I really don't hear anything of issue in the low end. I do hear a bit to be desired with the snare though. EZD huh? There is just something a bit much with the sizzle there. It seems to take away from the wonderful other stuff in the mix, as opposed to supporting it. By half way through the tune, I found myself severely fatigued by the snare.

Otherwise, the song is awesome! :)
 
Well that's what I was afraid of with the low end. I remember listening to some of my tunes in your studio and thinking how weak the bass was. With this tune, I've got the bass really thumping here in my studio and it sounds normal to you. :( But I've got a plan for the room. So, maybe I can tame that wild 50hz roller coaster.

I'll work on the snare. I might switch it over to Superior Drummer where I have better control over the bleed (and better snare samples).

Thanks Jimmy!!
 
Great tune, I'm hearing that the snare and a few other things are a touch louder than the vocal in that 5k-10k range. In my world vocal has to come first. There is some compression pumping in there somewhere too. Other wise cool tune.
 
PDP said:
Great tune, I'm hearing that the snare and a few other things are a touch louder than the vocal in that 5k-10k range. In my world vocal has to come first. There is some compression pumping in there somewhere too. Other wise cool tune.
Click to expand...

Thanks PDP!!! I'll be looking at the snare after a few days away from the song. :)
 
A 'cube' with monitors is still better than headphones. What are your plans for bass trap additions? Ceiling to wall? I would throw in a trap in any possible place.

I remember how horrible my mixes translated before treatment. I'm not sure how I would deal with a 'cube' room other than making it look like a padded room for crazy people. That would actually be a bit fitting for me sometimes. :)
 
Ha... loving the mad pianoing skilz in the mid section and the way it sort of falls apart and comes back together again, rhythmically...

As mentioned above, the snare is off the wall bright (for my taste)... Jimmy's got this really good snare replacement service operating with Slate Trigger... slip me $50 and I'll see if I can organise it for you... (half to you Jimmy, honest!) :laughings: I kill me...:D

I'm on small headphones and I'm OK with the bass through that, but can see it might be a bit much on real speakers. Bit more voice might be good too. Basically I'm just saying what everyone else is saying here, aren't I? ... I need to find a point of difference... Got it! I think you need to low pass the bass at about 25K... there... makes is sound like I know what I'm talking about...:facepalm: I'm always impressed with people who do the frequency thing on mixes...

Nice.:thumbs up:
 
Too much snare in the intro & it's pretty IYface throughout.
It's the sort of snare super crack loud attack that I'd expect from the Stray Cats live.
Now, if you thinned the arrangement that'd make perfect sense.
I like the trem gtr on the side.
the break down section seems to get confused rhythmically - now I see the sense it that regarding some of the false build parts but it was a little offputting.
Cool song but I reckon you ought to mix it for real by editing some of the jamming out & think in terms of the SONG.
 
Mix is good......there are parts where the VOX needs to cut through better...whether by nudge or EQ......The Guitars are competing with the Lead VOX, but I wouldn't lower them....

I really like the breakdown on this puppy........ButI did feel there were issues there in the timing with Drums and keyboard throughout the break until everyone comes back in.....It doesn't take away from the overall project that you undertook...wow.....

Big tune to tackle and you are well on your way...good job
 
jimmys69 said:
What are your plans for bass trap additions?
Click to expand...

I've got a lot already. My first plan is to reduce the crossover level on my sub-woofer. So funny, because I forgot all about that control until you asked what my plans were. :duh: Then I'll look at filling the voids of the corner traps. Right now, I have OC703 straddling the back corners. They sit on top of bookcases which I understand to be a good bass trap. But I might revisit that also. I'll work on the snare sound later this weekend.

Armistice said:
Ha... loving the mad pianoing skilz in the mid section and the way it sort of falls apart and comes back together again, rhythmically...

As mentioned above, the snare is off the wall bright (for my taste)... Jimmy's got this really good snare replacement service operating with Slate Trigger... slip me $50 and I'll see if I can organise it for you... (half to you Jimmy, honest!) :laughings: I kill me...:D

I'm on small headphones and I'm OK with the bass through that, but can see it might be a bit much on real speakers. Bit more voice might be good too. Basically I'm just saying what everyone else is saying here, aren't I? ... I need to find a point of difference... Got it! I think you need to low pass the bass at about 25K... there... makes is sound like I know what I'm talking about...:facepalm: I'm always impressed with people who do the frequency thing on mixes...

Nice.:thumbs up:
Click to expand...

Low pass the bass from 25k. Got it. :) Thanks for the good words on the piano playing. I practiced all night to get the feel then did it in one take. Quite a few flubs in there but it adds to the 'Jazz' mentality. :laughings: I kill me, too. :D Thanks for listening Dave!!!

rayc said:
Too much snare in the intro & it's pretty IYface throughout.
It's the sort of snare super crack loud attack that I'd expect from the Stray Cats live.
Now, if you thinned the arrangement that'd make perfect sense.
I like the trem gtr on the side.
the break down section seems to get confused rhythmically - now I see the sense it that regarding some of the false build parts but it was a little offputting.
Cool song but I reckon you ought to mix it for real by editing some of the jamming out & think in terms of the SONG.
Click to expand...

The solo section is suppose to get confusing and maybe a little off-putting, so I achieved my goal. <yeah> When it all pulls back together again, you get this kinda sense of relief. And, lol, I had already cut about 2 minutes from the solo section.

Thanks for confirming the poor snare sound. I'll be working on that. :( Thanks for listening Ray!! :)

SteveAlton said:
Mix is good......there are parts where the VOX needs to cut through better...whether by nudge or EQ......The Guitars are competing with the Lead VOX, but I wouldn't lower them....

I really like the breakdown on this puppy........ButI did feel there were issues there in the timing with Drums and keyboard throughout the break until everyone comes back in.....It doesn't take away from the overall project that you undertook...wow.....

Big tune to tackle and you are well on your way...good job
Click to expand...

Thanks for the listen and the good words. I'll check out the vox again. I might retrack them. This one is the scratch track and there are some wrong notes.
 
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