A softer, gentler Rami......:D

[dobro]

OK, will do. Thanx. I'm probably trying to get it so that nobody tells me the vocals have to come up and I'm trying to find where that is. I'm glad you told me to being them down and not up.

The "room sound" on the birds is actually "no room sound". It's the sound of outdoors, that slight reverb you get in the woods from everything bouncing off the trees.

We spend so much time in the studio, a lot of it close-miking stuff, that foley completely messes with that. I like the birdsong in your tune - I hope you keep it.

I'm trying to change things up a bit in the studio, for the fun of it, and to see if I can stretch what I can do. I've just finished tracking an album's worth of vocal-plus-instrument using figure 8 mics so I can play and sing at the same time. I just about pulled it off, I think. The next album project for the next batch of vocal-plus-instrument recording will be tracking to the studio monitors instead of using a click track in the cans. It's fun to change it up. Let's hear it for birdsong!

 

[Armistice]

Nice tunage. Vocals seem spot on where they are... given your comments in the opening post I was expecting them lower, but when they started I thought they were spot on.

Where did you get the birdies from? At 2.15 that is undoubtedly an Australian whip bird, and on behalf of the Australian government, I'd request you send a portion of royalties, say 10%, directly to me, as the only responsible Australian hereabouts.. I'll be sure to pass them on.

More seriously, I am known to be overly sensitive to such things but I reckon your high E string has either a tuning or intonation problem, I'd guess the former - sounds a touch flat. Noticeable in the intro, and you can't really hear it once the rest of the instruments / voice kick in - but I can sort of hear it in the solo a bit too. But no-one else mentioned it, so maybe it's just me. But I do like the slight break up tone of the guitar/s.

Surprised no-one mentioned "Sympathy for the Devil", but I saw what you did there. Nice touch.

 

[RAMI]

Thanx guys. Dobro, it's definitely staying in. I think it gives it a great "escape" for that middle part.

Nice tunage. Vocals seem spot on where they are... given your comments in the opening post I was expecting them lower, but when they started I thought they were spot on.

Where did you get the birdies from? At 2.15 that is undoubtedly an Australian whip bird, and on behalf of the Australian government, I'd request you send a portion of royalties, say 10%, directly to me, as the only responsible Australian hereabouts.. I'll be sure to pass them on.

More seriously, I am known to be overly sensitive to such things but I reckon your high E string has either a tuning or intonation problem, I'd guess the former - sounds a touch flat. Noticeable in the intro, and you can't really hear it once the rest of the instruments / voice kick in - but I can sort of hear it in the solo a bit too. But no-one else mentioned it, so maybe it's just me. But I do like the slight break up tone of the guitar/s.

Surprised no-one mentioned "Sympathy for the Devil", but I saw what you did there. Nice touch.

Hehe...There are a few references to other songs in this one. The first line "Let me introduce myselves" is a nod to "Sympathy for the Devil", as well as the line "The devil got no sympathy". But I also give a nod to "Welcome to my Nightmare" (Alice Cooper), "Tomorrow Never Knows" (Beatles) and a few others, I think.


I'll look into the out of tune E string. I don't hear it, but I don't have that good an ear, so I might not ever hear it.

The bird sounds come from here: https://youtu.be/27SzCx2MJLU

Off topic, but this blew me away so I have to share. While I was looking for bird sounds, I came across this. I've never heard or seen anything as cool as this: https://youtu.be/7XiQDgNUEMw

Which led me to this. Mind blowingly awesome: https://youtu.be/WA0tP-p7m40

I think that's Australia, if I'm not mistaken. Amazing stuff.

 

[Armistice]

The bird sounds come from here: https://youtu.be/27SzCx2MJLU

Off topic, but this blew me away so I have to share. While I was looking for bird sounds, I came across this. I've never heard or seen anything as cool as this: https://youtu.be/7XiQDgNUEMw

Which led me to this. Mind blowingly awesome: https://youtu.be/WA0tP-p7m40

I think that's Australia, if I'm not mistaken. Amazing stuff.

Yep... lyre birds. I've caught a very very occasional glimpse of them when out in the bush, maybe once or twice in my whole life, and heard them make various noises that just can't be coming from where they appear to be, but couldn't actually see the bird which I assumed was making them... there are a couple of other mimic birds here too.

That last one with it doing a kookaburra and what sounds like a video game is way cool...

 

[RAMI]

Yep... lyre birds. I've caught a very very occasional glimpse of them when out in the bush, maybe once or twice in my whole life, and heard them make various noises that just can't be coming from where they appear to be, but couldn't actually see the bird which I assumed was making them... there are a couple of other mimic birds here too.

That last one with it doing a kookaburra and what sounds like a video game is way cool...

I think it's awesome. Parrot shmarrot. THIS is the real shit.

How is "Lyre bird" pronounced"? Is it like the first syllable in "Lyric", like "Leer"? Or is it like someone who lies, like "Liar"?

 

[gecko zzed]

Lyre = liar

Lyre bird builds a house:

 

[Armistice]

I think it's awesome. Parrot shmarrot. THIS is the real shit.

How is "Lyre bird" pronounced"? Is it like the first syllable in "Lyric", like "Leer"? Or is it like someone who lies, like "Liar"?

Like gecko said... so named because their tail looks like a lyre... although given their mad mimicry skilz, perhaps "liar bird" is more appropriate...

 

[rayc]

Rami,
Cool song - I like the lyrical reference to other songs - your lyrics always reward the reader as well as the listener.
I have NO probmlems with the bird noises though you might like to try this for other ideas...
Everything is in it's place and I dig it the way it is. Cooooool bass lines too.

 

[RAMI]

Lyre = liar

Lyre bird builds a house:

That is so amazing. I'm totally blown away by these guys. I can't stop watching it and showing it to people.

---------- Update ----------

Rami,
Cool song - I like the lyrical reference to other songs - your lyrics always reward the reader as well as the listener.
Everything is in it's place and I dig it the way it is. Cooooool bass lines too.

Thanx a lot, Ray.

 

[FoulPhil]

It sounds really bad ass dude

 

[RAMI]

It sounds really bad ass dude

Thanx a lot Foul!

 

[fireflyva]

Love the song and performance, Rami. You continually impress me with what you're able to do. What does your vocal chain look like if you don't mind me asking? I noticed that on the second verse a change in your vocal sound (reverb/delay kicking in/panning). I, too, hear Badfinger which is meant as a compliment. They are one of my favorite bands.

 

[Atkron205]

I have noticed in some of your other stuff, the guitars sound really wide. Greg L has them too. How do you do that? I have read about doubling the guitar track, do you play the same thing twice and pan them? do you delay one side a bit? I really like that sound but I am not a guitar player so am kinda stupid on how to get it. Thanks

 

[RAMI]

Love the song and performance, Rami. You continually impress me with what you're able to do. What does your vocal chain look like if you don't mind me asking? I noticed that on the second verse a change in your vocal sound (reverb/delay kicking in/panning). I, too, hear Badfinger which is meant as a compliment. They are one of my favorite bands.

Thanx a lot Fire.

The difference you hear in the vocals is because I doubled the vocals once the whole "band" comes in. So, it's not really the second verse that's different. It's that, in the first verse, I only doubled the vocals once all the other instruments came in, besides just the guitars. But the reverb, delay, etc....is the same all the way through.

My vocal chain is this:

I sing into this thing: Amazon.com: SE Electronics sE2200a II C Large Diaphragm Cardioid Condenser Microphone: Musical Instruments

It goes straight into my TASCAM US-1800 interface, and then into REAPER. I then compress the individual vocal track, and also compress the whole vocal bus. So, I compress twice.

Other than that, just an EQ on the vocal bus.

In this tune, I have a Lexicon vocal plate reverb and a Kajurhaus Classic compressor set to 8th notes.

That's the whole story and I'm sticking to it.

Thanx a lot for the comments. I love Badfinger, too.

 

[RAMI]

I have noticed in some of your other stuff, the guitars sound really wide. Greg L has them too. How do you do that? I have read about doubling the guitar track, do you play the same thing twice and pan them? do you delay one side a bit? I really like that sound but I am not a guitar player so am kinda stupid on how to get it. Thanks

Hey Aktron. Yes, I almost always double my rythm guitars and then pan them wide. By doubling, I mean I play the part twice. It's really the only way to do it. Copying, pasting and nudging never sounds good to me.

 

[Atkron205]

Awesome. I will be trying that. Thank you sir!

 

[BroKen_H]

Superlative song, sir!

Never thought about their being an 's' in lisp before. That is kinda cruel. Kinda like having a hard 'h' in harelip. Seems English has a penchant for making it difficult for people with speech impediments to pronounce their hangups...

 

[RAMI]

Superlative song, sir!

Thanx buddy.

Never thought about their being an 's' in lisp before. That is kinda cruel. Kinda like having a hard 'h' in harelip. Seems English has a penchant for making it difficult for people with speech impediments to pronounce their hangups...

HEE!!!

While we're at it, why is "abbreviated" such a long word?

 

[7string]

Good job as usual, Rami! I think the BGV's aren't at your usual level. They sound incredible but they are usually a bit more prominent. Could that be because your lead vocal is louder than you normally have it and it is overshadowing the BGV's? Dunno. But there is something different there... at least to me.

Other than that, what a cool tune! And love the bird sounds and videos!

 

[RAMI]

Good job as usual, Rami! I think the BGV's aren't at your usual level. They sound incredible but they are usually a bit more prominent. Could that be because your lead vocal is louder than you normally have it and it is overshadowing the BGV's? Dunno. But there is something different there... at least to me.

Other than that, what a cool tune! And love the bird sounds and videos!

Thanx duder.

Those videos are awesome, aren't they?

I'll check out the bax volume next time I can get myself to listen to this tune again. I can't stand it right now, so I'll have to wait a while before I can go back and listen to it.

Onward and upward.