whiskey river

[ido1957]

Sounds great - real authentic feel/tone!
2 things that caught my attention - well maybe 3...
The harmonies - If it were me (and it isn't so take it as preference) I would automate the three vocals so they start and end together. I'm OCD that way.
The leads in the "break" are too low for me - I'd prefer them to sing out as loud as the lead vocal. The drums are loudest over that section and there seems to be some kind of split second volume jump here and there during that time.
Can I ask what your vocal chain is? (including plugins maybe I like it...

 

[FoulPhil]

How could you have never heard of Whiskey River until GTA? Damn boy... Sounds like a cool hippie version. Which platform do you GTA guys play on? I'm on PS3. Add me FoulPhil210

My favorite jam on GTAV is by Los Tigres Del Norte - La Granja. East Los FM 106.2

 

[heatmiser]

Sounds great - real authentic feel/tone!
2 things that caught my attention - well maybe 3...
The harmonies - If it were me (and it isn't so take it as preference) I would automate the three vocals so they start and end together. I'm OCD that way.
The leads in the "break" are too low for me - I'd prefer them to sing out as loud as the lead vocal. The drums are loudest over that section and there seems to be some kind of split second volume jump here and there during that time.
Can I ask what your vocal chain is? (including plugins maybe I like it...

Thanks ido - you make some good points. I thought I'd gotten the BGVs reasonably close when tracking, but listening back, they do all end/fade away at slightly different times. This is my first time with new phones and while they worked great with instruments, I struggled a bit monitoring myself singing.

Yeah, the lead guitar is buried somewhat as I wasn't thrilled with it so didn't want it out front. I should probably redo it, but not sure...good catches there. Not sure about the volume jump?

My vocal chain is sad frankly... I use a Studio Projects B1 LDC plugged directly into my Roland VS 2400. I track with both a limiter and compressor (Roland plugs I guess?) plus maybe a little bit of a Large Room verb?

How could you have never heard of Whiskey River until GTA? Damn boy... Sounds like a cool hippie version. Which platform do you GTA guys play on? I'm on PS3. Add me FoulPhil210

My favorite jam on GTAV is by Los Tigres Del Norte - La Granja. East Los FM 106.2

I dunno man...is it a well known tune? I'd honestly never heard it before but I loved it the second it came on. I can totally live with a hippy version. That's sorta what I was going for.

I am on xbox 360 = heatmiser1969

Thanks for listening!

 

[fuzzsniffvoyage]

I love it.

Just WOW!

 

[heatmiser]

I love it.

Just WOW!

Thanks fuzz! Very nice.

 

[kindafishy]

Never heard the original, and I am not a country fan by any means, but I think this is awesome.

I love the bass. Is the original like that? The pop and stop, super articulate, jumpy sounding bass line is really infectious. Ha ha. The song stopped playing and I'm doing the bass in my head. Bup, bup, ba, ba, ba, bup, bup, ba, bup...

Great recording and great mix. Everything sounds like it is just where it is supposed to be in every sense.

 

[ido1957]

Thanks ido - you make some good points. I thought I'd gotten the BGVs reasonably close when tracking, but listening back, they do all end/fade away at slightly different times. This is my first time with new phones and while they worked great with instruments, I struggled a bit monitoring myself singing.

Yeah, the lead guitar is buried somewhat as I wasn't thrilled with it so didn't want it out front. I should probably redo it, but not sure...good catches there. Not sure about the volume jump?

My vocal chain is sad frankly... I use a Studio Projects B1 LDC plugged directly into my Roland VS 2400. I track with both a limiter and compressor (Roland plugs I guess?) plus maybe a little bit of a Large Room verb?

Thanks for listening!

I would just pull out the automation tool and use that - my tune was all over the place until I automated it. Matching is always tough.
I mix a guide track with special level emphasis on vocals if needed to "guide" me then do it all in a separate project then import the finished tracks.
My headphone feed is low on my U42S but tbh if it was any louder it would bleed even worse through my AKG's.

The lead is great - that's why I need more please....

I track into a pre with a compressor now and so does Mike - we try to just even it out a bit before it hits the computer. Never did before but I honestly like the sound of mine after I got the settings to a subtle level with my mic (and trimmed down the highs). I've heard of lots of people using limiter/compressor combo on the way in so it's something I wouldn't mind trying.

 

[Tadpui]

Nice job man. I remember hearing this a lot on GTA V, I powered through that game in a week last January. It's about time for another run-through.

I think that the backing vocals need a little more space apart from the lead vocal. Not sure how to accomplish that...roll off the highs just a bit? A little panning? A smidge of reverb?

Good job all around though, it's a nice take on an awesome song. Way to make it your own thing.

 

[FoulPhil]

I dunno man...is it a well known tune? I'd honestly never heard it before but I loved it the second it came on. I can totally live with a hippy version. That's sorta what I was going for.

I am on xbox 360 = heatmiser1969

Thanks for listening!

I'm on PSN. So... Actually the one on GTA is a little bit of an odd version for me too. This is how I was used to hearing it.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVI4dzbYXMc

I'm not sure which version came first, but the one in the video might be live because I can hear people cheering or something.

 

[DM60]

I'm on PSN. So... Actually the one on GTA is a little bit of an odd version for me too. This is how I was used to hearing it.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVI4dzbYXMc

I'm not sure which version came first, but the one in the video might be live because I can hear people cheering or something.

Studio version came first (pretty sure), but this is the version I am use to hearing.

Kind of funny about ol' Willy. he use to write songs in Nashville, but his song structure was too difficult for most people in Nashville to play (or they didn't like it, take your pick). So he moved back to Austin and started playing them himself. The rest is, as they say, history.

You look at old Willy pictures, he has the Porter Wagoner look going. Early ZZ Top dressed that way as well.

 

[heatmiser]

Never heard the original, and I am not a country fan by any means, but I think this is awesome.

I love the bass. Is the original like that? The pop and stop, super articulate, jumpy sounding bass line is really infectious. Ha ha. The song stopped playing and I'm doing the bass in my head. Bup, bup, ba, ba, ba, bup, bup, ba, bup...

Great recording and great mix. Everything sounds like it is just where it is supposed to be in every sense.

Hey that's great. Thanks kinda!

I didn't mimic any parts of the original too closely, but I did try to get a similar feel on the bass? On the original studio version, I think the bass is a little less busy and almost more like a mellow, '70' funk pattern. I thought it was unusual and cool for a country tune. When I don't know a song that well, I tend to just bounce around the root notes in a syncopated way and I can get by with that! Glad to hear it sounded good for you. Thanks.

I would just pull out the automation tool and use that - my tune was all over the place until I automated it. Matching is always tough.
I mix a guide track with special level emphasis on vocals if needed to "guide" me then do it all in a separate project then import the finished tracks.
My headphone feed is low on my U42S but tbh if it was any louder it would bleed even worse through my AKG's.

The lead is great - that's why I need more please....

I track into a pre with a compressor now and so does Mike - we try to just even it out a bit before it hits the computer. Never did before but I honestly like the sound of mine after I got the settings to a subtle level with my mic (and trimmed down the highs). I've heard of lots of people using limiter/compressor combo on the way in so it's something I wouldn't mind trying.

Good stuff ido - thanks. Wow. You create a mix expressly for tracking the background vocals? That's a great idea, but I'm not sure I'd have the patience for that. I used to mute the bass guitar and keep the backing tracks really low when tracking vocals, and that seemed to help me with pitch at least. Lately I've gotten away from that and tend to crank the full mix and just go for it, which I find more fun, but the results vary. You've got me thinking about all that stuff again though which is cool.

I know most recommend tracking dry with as little alteration of the signal as possible so they can tweak later, but I generally already know where I want to go at the tracking stage, so I tend to skip steps and just imprint with the limiter/comp & even verb. I find that I can still alter it a fair amount after without mutilating it, but I understand this isn't the recommended approach.

 

[heatmiser]

Nice job man. I remember hearing this a lot on GTA V, I powered through that game in a week last January. It's about time for another run-through.

I think that the backing vocals need a little more space apart from the lead vocal. Not sure how to accomplish that...roll off the highs just a bit? A little panning? A smidge of reverb?

Good job all around though, it's a nice take on an awesome song. Way to make it your own thing.

Thanks Tadpui. Wow. A week? On the single player campaign or whatever? That's awesome. I did like 3 missions and got frustratd and just started randomly creating havoc and evading police. I'm playing online now with randoms which is unpredictable and frustrating, but also fun as I enjoy the chaos!

I do now notice the BGVs aren't so distinct...I did use way more verb on them than on the lead. I also panned them pretty hard. I think the tone is too similar? Maybe rolling off some highs as you suggest would help that. Thanks again.

I'm on PSN. So... Actually the one on GTA is a little bit of an odd version for me too. This is how I was used to hearing it.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVI4dzbYXMc

I'm not sure which version came first, but the one in the video might be live because I can hear people cheering or something.

Yeah, I think that's a live version and it's how I heard it covered by a lot of people online. Personally, I love the mellow, laid back funky studio version. Really a unique arrangement where the chorus and verse have different rhythms...the live version just sounds more generic to me.

Studio version came first (pretty sure), but this is the version I am use to hearing.

Kind of funny about ol' Willy. he use to write songs in Nashville, but his song structure was too difficult for most people in Nashville to play (or they didn't like it, take your pick). So he moved back to Austin and started playing them himself. The rest is, as they say, history.

You look at old Willy pictures, he has the Porter Wagoner look going. Early ZZ Top dressed that way as well.

I think that live version being so up tempo and more rockin' is probably more appealing to most? I just think that studio version is amazing myself. Really unique in my limited experience listening to country. It's pretty hard not to like Willie regardless of musical tastes. It seems like everyone likes him and so many people work with him too.

 

[DM60]

I think that live version being so up tempo and more rockin' is probably more appealing to most? I just think that studio version is amazing myself. Really unique in my limited experience listening to country. It's pretty hard not to like Willie regardless of musical tastes. It seems like everyone likes him and so many people work with him too.

I am not a country guy by nature, but have learned to put away my biases and listen better (Good is good, right?) But yea, Willy happens to work in the country genre but he really just plays music in his style.

 

[Chili]

When I lived in Austin in the 90s, the Backyard opened up just a mile or so down the road from my house. Willie did the grand opening, so I went down to see the show, for S&Gs. It wasn't anything like I expected and I came away with a respect for him and his music. Of course, I haven't bought any CDs, but I won't turn the radio off, either.

 

[RAMI]

Willie is Willie and country is country. I wouldn't simplify what he does by calling it "country".

Listen to "Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground". One of the most beautiful tunes ever, and it could have been done by Sinatra. He's in a class of his own.

Personally, I'll never smoke weed with Willie again.

 

[Steenamaroo]

Willie is Willie and country is country. I wouldn't simplify what he does by calling it "country".

Listen to "Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground". One of the most beautiful tunes ever, and it could have been done by Sinatra. He's in a class of his own.

Personally, I'll never smoke weed with Willie again.

I love that about Willie. He's held up as one of the greatest country artists but so many of his songs aren't really 'country'.
Angels flying too close is a favourite of mine! Good call.

He sounds way better on an old hifi and beat up speakers, by the way!

 

[dobro]

Willie is Willie and country is country. I wouldn't simplify what he does by calling it "country".

Listen to "Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground". One of the most beautiful tunes ever, and it could have been done by Sinatra. He's in a class of his own.

Personally, I'll never smoke weed with Willie again.

Yup. Me neither. Willie is country-rooted, but scratch that country boy and you find something musical and beautiful that goes so far past country that Dolly Parton would give her collection of wigs for.

 

[FoulPhil]

Thanks Tadpui. Wow. A week? On the single player campaign or whatever? That's awesome. I did like 3 missions and got frustratd and just started randomly creating havoc and evading police. I'm playing online now with randoms which is unpredictable and frustrating, but also fun as I enjoy the chaos!

It was hard for me at first as well. I had never played console games before GTAV. I was always a PC gamer. Anyway, after a few months I got ok at it. Now I'm not too bad. It's best when you're in a crew so you have team mates to back you up. The most fun thing about it is the random chaos in the game. It wouldn't be as much fun without a crew to play with though. So, find a crew that meets your style

 

[robgreen]

I've never heard the original or played GTA, but I enjoyed this a lot Pete. I really like the stop start nature of the tune.

It's kinda loose in spots, but I think this kind of country should be kinda rough and loose. Polished country is just awful, without exception in my experience.

Everything comes through nice and clear. Bass is nice and full without any boom or masking. The panned wah guitar is cool. Organ is nice and subtle - that high, quiet organ drone note in some of the drops at like 0.51 maybe sounds a bit out of place to me on an old style country sound, but it's a pretty fucking minor thing to pick up on, so probably just ignore me there.

Good stuff as usual Pete

 

[heatmiser]

Of course, I haven't bought any CDs, but I won't turn the radio off, either.

That's where I'm at too. I don't own any of his music, but I have enjoyed it on occasion when I've stumbled across it. I think I only own 2 country CDs...a best of Johny Cash, and a live Merle Haggard disc (just so I could have Oakie from Muskogee - which I want to cover as well).

I've never heard the original or played GTA, but I enjoyed this a lot Pete. I really like the stop start nature of the tune.

It's kinda loose in spots, but I think this kind of country should be kinda rough and loose. Polished country is just awful, without exception in my experience.

Everything comes through nice and clear. Bass is nice and full without any boom or masking. The panned wah guitar is cool. Organ is nice and subtle - that high, quiet organ drone note in some of the drops at like 0.51 maybe sounds a bit out of place to me on an old style country sound, but it's a pretty fucking minor thing to pick up on, so probably just ignore me there.

Good stuff as usual Pete

Yeah, the drums in particular aren't very tight, which is a bit of a shame as it's super simple since I dumbed down the part so much. I think if I play and record more drums, I can get at least a little tighter.

Yeah, I wasn't sure about that high organ part...I just wanted something in there to bridge the gaps besides the slide guitar and was going for a cheesy '70's organ sound, but it kind of doesn't fit. It's so low in the mix though that I don't think it draws too much attention to itself. Thanks for checking in rob, as always!