gecko zzed
Grumpy Mod
Highly competent in every respect. Exceedingly well done!
Surrender - Greg's cheap cover of a Cheap Trick song
- Thread starter Greg_L
- Start date
Pinky
and The Brain...
Ditto.
Solid job Greg! The drums sound a little plastic/lifeless to my ears and the verse vocals (because of lack of accompaniment) a bit dry. For funsies though this is good.
Thanks a lot miro.Sounds real good....and even though it's not a pure nockoff, your take on the songs works very well.
Yeah....I agree....loud guitars/amps do something that sims and small wattage amps don't....they MOVE the speaker, and move the air, and that moves the sound more around the room and then it all moves into mic with a different energy than a 5W amp going fizzzzzzz or whatever.
I messed around with attenuators and very low wattage amps for awhile, and yeah, you can get nice tones with them....but they never sound quite like an amp played LOUD!
These days I tend to record most guitar tracks at louder levels. I like it that way much better, and I can get away with it at my place, and I've got headphones on so it's not killing my ears....I mean, just 'cuz you track loud doesn't mean you have to listen to it at that level.
Anyway....nice job on the tune. I always liked that Cheap Trick song.
Yeah it's sometimes difficult to track real loud because feedback can be a problem if you don't want it and it is ear damagingly loud, but like you I wear my drumming iso cans to protect the ears and I don't mind feedback. 
My room is at the front of my house and on occasion I'll roll the cab out to my front entryway, close my doors, and just run long speaker and mic cables out to it.
Thanks Ray. Got any recordings of that?
I think there is probably some truth to the idea. Especially with a band like The Who. Pete's big ol guitar sound was a big part of their sound. When he switched to acoustics to help his ears it sure didn't sound right. I don't know all the technical electrical reasons why a tube amp just tends to sound better loud, but they usually do.
Thanks Johnny. What do you mean by spread the rhythms more evenly? They're 100% L and R. The left one does cut a little more though. Is that what you're talking about?
Thank you sir.
Thanks for checking it out. The drums and vocals are both quite dry. Everything is. There's a tiny bit of reverb on both, but not enough to really notice it in the mix once everything is rolling. I like that kind of sound. I don't like my snare sound too much though. It's okay, but it's kind of splatty. I used a small muffle ring on it for this tune just to try it out, and I won't be doing that again.
jonny deep
Disappointing Member
Listening on my headphones it sounds like the right rhythm is not quite hard-panned. I listened again just now to check and it sounds the same, but the vocal sounds dead centre. My ears are a bit funny after a cold last week, but it's my left that is problematic. Maybe it's just the different frequencies compared to the left that's fooling me. It's not an issue, really, I just noticed it.
miroslav
Cosmic Cowboy
I used a small muffle ring on it for this tune just to try it out, and I won't be doing that again.
You mean the plastic rings?
Yeah, they can help the sound sometimes....or muck it up.
I keep a bunch on hand in just about every size for all the different drums....but most times they end up not getting used.
I'm sure you've tried the small moon gell pads....what do you think of them?
They're handy when you're in a pinch... when there's the odd ring or whatever, and tuning doesn't quite work or it's in the middle of a tracking session, and you can place them in just the one spot as opposed to using the rings.
The rhythm guitars are all the way panned and the vocals are dead center. The little back up vocals are spread about 50%. The right rhythm is a little "dirtier" though. They sound close enough to me, but I'm pretty used to it.
Yeah the plastic rings. They suck, and I know it, I've always known it, but I decided to give it a go anyway. I've had this set under my couch for like 7 years and just fished them out. Lol. I used a small one on the snare. The toms were left alone.You mean the plastic rings?
Yeah, they can help the sound sometimes....or muck it up.
I keep a bunch on hand in just about every size for all the different drums....but most times they end up not getting used.
I'm sure you've tried the small moon gell pads....what do you think of them?
They're handy when you're in a pinch... when there's the odd ring or whatever, and tuning doesn't quite work or it's in the middle of a tracking session, and you can place them in just the one spot as opposed to using the rings.
I am a fan of moongels. I've used them for years and years when necessary. When you need fine tuning or subtle dampening, moongels are the shit. I've got about 100 of them. Some cut into strips, chunks, half pieces, and whole pieces. They're easily the best, and they're not as heavy handed as those stupid rings.
Great choice of song to cover. Great version. (I expect nothing less) Everything sounds great to me here. The guitars are especially sweet. All good!
Top Banana!
Thanks a lot dude.
rpm61
Person of interest
Tight!Love your take on this. Sweet dripping molten tone. You really do a great job finding a place for everything. I'm missing the kick a little, how do you EQ it? I enjoyed the description of your lead guitar process too. You're a drummer first, right? I'm a guitar player and know notes, scales, etc., but I rarely use it. I still prefer finding what sounds good by hunting for it.
Great job, but I think I need new computer speakers now.
Great job, but I think I need new computer speakers now.
WhiteStrat
Don't stare at the eye.
Dude...you own this shit!
Imagine the quandary I faced earlier today as I made the mistake of talking music with my wife: "So there's this guy, Greg, you know, we listened to his CD when we drove to Springfield. Anyway, he's a killer drummer, and I wanna go to his house in Katy, TX and see how he tracks guitars."
It didn't make sense to her, and it almost doesn't to me, but like I said: you own this shit. That's a killer sound.
The funny thing is that I just bought this CD about a week ago. And this is by far my favorite track. If only they did it as well you did...
Imagine the quandary I faced earlier today as I made the mistake of talking music with my wife: "So there's this guy, Greg, you know, we listened to his CD when we drove to Springfield. Anyway, he's a killer drummer, and I wanna go to his house in Katy, TX and see how he tracks guitars."
It didn't make sense to her, and it almost doesn't to me, but like I said: you own this shit. That's a killer sound.
The funny thing is that I just bought this CD about a week ago. And this is by far my favorite track. If only they did it as well you did...
jimistone
long standing member
I agree with everything that's already been said. I like the vocal...way more attitude than the original which was a bit too sweet sounding for my taste. Great energy level and tempo. As far the vocal needing to come up....nah, it sounds perfectly mixed in the context of the tune to me. It's a high energy rock tune not a ballad.
I really want to give you props in the guitar tone. The guitars just flat out rock in every way and the wah sound is killer ...as good as I've ever heard on any recording
Good job brother!
I really want to give you props in the guitar tone. The guitars just flat out rock in every way and the wah sound is killer ...as good as I've ever heard on any recording
Good job brother!
Thanks a lot for checking it out. Missing the kick, huh? That's probably a first for one of my mixes. I'm not having that issue on my setups. How do I EQ the kick.....I usually do a tiny narrow sliver of a mild boost wherever I like the thump. Like usually around 45-60hz. Somewhere way down there is some real thump. But I just barely put any in, like maybe 1-2db of boost. Then I'll usually carve out a little scoop somewhere between 100-500. Sometimes two more focused cuts in that range to tighten it up. There's a lot of boxy muck in that range with my kick drum. Maybe that frequency range works for others, not mine. I hate what's in a kick drum from around 100-200hz. That's just me. Then I'll do a super wide but not too aggressive boost in the high end to bring out the attack without it sounding too focused and clicky. I usually use plastic beaters, but I've switched back to felt and I'm having to EQ my kick a little differently than usual.
Wow, thanks Trip. That's high praise. You usually find every little crackle and pop in any mix, so I'm extremely humbled that you found nothing to point out.
Haha, a sax! I can't imagine this song with a sax in it.
Wow, that's awesome. Thanks WS. Your wife must be pretty special if you made her listen to one of my albums and she didn't immediately file for divorce.
You can't learn anything from me as I think your guitar tracks always sound great. Hell maybe you can teach me how to play better. But you're welcome to come by any time if you're passing through the Houston area. We'll make some ears bleed.
Thanks a lot jimi. I'm glad I'm getting good feedback (no pun intended) on the guitars. I appreciate it. Especially since I just refreshed a bunch of shit inside this amp. I replaced all kinds of filter caps, and electrolytic caps, and rewired a ton of shit back to factory stock spec. Someone had been in this amp and jacked it all up. Two techs missed all the stuff that was wrong with this amp. Fuckers. I spent about a week asking questions online, halfway learning how to read a schematic, I compared my amp's guts to pics of other similar amps, and I bought a few cheap parts and new tubes. I fixed it myself in one day and it sounds fucking killer to me now. If you want something done right, do it yourself. Anyway, I wish I had some magic home-recording secret to share about it, but it's really just big, loud, good sounding amps and cabs. Seriously, I plugged a Les Paul into a Marshall stack, turned it up, and stuck a mic in front of the speaker of my choosing. How can anyone fuck that up? I try my hardest to use equipment that provides the sound I'm looking for. I've tried sims, I've tried processors through small amps, I've tried low watt amps, I've tried other brands of amps. I'm a one-trick pony Marshall sound kind of guy. I like the big loud Marshall sound, so I bought big loud Marshalls. It's a very expensive habit and they take up a lot of room, but I don't know any other way. The best guitar tracks I've ever gotten have been done with jet engine volume Marshalls. That's just my kind of sound. I'm fortunate to be in a situation that allows me to be as ridiculously loud as I need to be. I know not everyone can do that, and that's too bad, because there's nothing like it. When you can feel your clothes flapping around from volume, you're in a good spot.
I will say this though, and I can prove it with sound clips: DO NOT underestimate or overlook your speakers. They are the last stop in the chain for tone, and they make a huge difference in what you hear. They all have a unique voice and have a big impact on the sound. I'm a big big fan of speaker options. I ask guys at gigs all the time "what speakers are you using". They usually answer with "whatever came in the cab". Facepalm. To me, that's like a drummer keeping the stock cheapo heads on his kit. I'm not suggesting everyone go out and replace your cab's speakers, but damn, at least know what you're dealing with. Get to know the characteristics of a few popular speaker models. If you think you're missing a little something in your sound, a speaker swap can make a gigantic difference. It's cheaper than buying new guitars and/or amps.
Thanks dude. Yup, all me.
I usually start with a bass or guitar scratch track to a simple beep-boop click track or a drum loop. For a song like this, I already know how to play it, so it's no big deal. With originals, I usually cut and edit and move parts around to be what I want. Lately I've been "writing" my drum parts with EZ drummer, then playing it for real when I get the drum track figured out. EZ Drummer sucks ass, but I like writing my parts with it. Then it's just a matter of doing it for real. It becomes like playing a cover song. Once I got the arrangement nailed down I drum it for keeps to the click track and scratch guitar. Once the drums are done to my satisfaction, it's whatever I decide to do next. Usually bass, then rhythm guitars, then leads, then vocals, and then any other little tidbits I wanna throw in there like tambourines or kazoos or handclaps or whatever.
Ha, thanks dude.
