Bad-ass funk tune with full horn section!

jndietz

The Way It Moves
I have been recording my band the past few weeks and this is one of the tracks.

Drums recorded with two MXL 991s on the toms, MXL 990s as overheads. CAD kick microphone. SM57 on the snare.

Guitar on the left side was miked with a sennheiser e906. The guitar on the right side was miked with an SM57. Kustom hot rod and peavey valveking respectively.

Bass is an Ibanez bass run through an ampeg svt-4.

Trumpet and Trombone were miked with a Neumann TLM 49. Tenor sax was miked with an AKG microphone (can't remember), and the alto was miked with an MXL991.

Hope you enjoy the tune.

Mix #1:
http://www.lightningmp3.com/live/file.php?id=25908

Mix #2:
http://www.lightningmp3.com/live/file.php?id=25952
 
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I think the toms should come up. The kick drum could use a bit more body. Maybe replace that with a sample and mix the signals. There is too much low in the snare. Take some of that out. It's also very dull.
The bass is kind of dull too. It could use more highs.
Horn section sounds really good. Leave that there.
Guitar sounds good.
Cool tune
 
Sounds great, the horns are especially good, very polished. I thought the mix was good too, but I agree with the observations Squibble made, on second listen.

Really enjoyed it, love the song and performance. Great work.

Pete

Thanks for listing the gear you used.
 
Great tune! Can't say much on the mix, cause I'm listening on puter speakers, but the performance is excellent! :) Love the brass section, and the groove is also very cool :cool: Big up!

- Ulli -
 
Sounds real cool, but the mix needs some polish and shine.
Snare sounds a bit loud compared to the rest, but I totally dig your drummer.;) That tempo change is killer. Mix is almost there IMHO, just needs some brilliance. Top performance!
 
Not too bad. Kudos on all the real instruments. You don't hear too many home-recorded songs with horns that use actual horns.

I think the mix sounds pretty good. I get what the other guys said about the drums, but don't necessarily agree. They sound good for this type of song. They have that dry, funky 70's sound that suits the song very well. I personally wouldn't do anything to really change their overall sound. Maybe just a hair more reverb on the kit. Just a touch.

Bass could come up. It sounds great, but I think more would be good. Guitars and horns sound exceptional. Overall a very nice job.
 
Oh my god. you really got horney! (Ba doomp, Chhhh)
I'll be here all week!

No, seriously though I love horn sections. This one is very well recorded. I'm not sure if I agree about the kick. It sounds fine to my ears. The snare does seem to be a bit too bassy, but it's not annoying. I actually find it kind of soothing. Also, I love the spring reverb on the guitar. I haven't heard that in a recording since...I don't even remember.
 
Love the tune. Started off sounding like early Chicago, but then got funkier. What jumped out at me were the hi-hats...they were just a little too noticeable. The kick and snare were perfectly to my liking, and I agree with Gerg that the bass needs to come up just a tad, to suit the style of music. Nice job!

-Mike
 
Thank you all for the mixing tips and praise...we'll be working a lot on this over the next few days as we have a deadline approaching. So you will likely hear some more revisions soon :)

We have to fix that shaker during the beginning, because it sort of just cuts out almost randomly.
 
NICE!


Don't hear sections too much anymore and never in homerecordings.

No real nits from me ..... I pretty much like everything about it except this kind of song needs a burning sax ride or keyboard ride of some kind at some point but man ..... very cool band dude ......... I'm sure you're having fun.
 
Very very well done.

Like mentioned above, I'd work on the snare tone a little bit -- more meat in the beat -- but it's a minor thing in an overall terrific work.

Most of what's left could be fixed by an M.E.

I thoroughly enjoyed ... thanks for the share.

Kev-
 
"except this kind of song needs a burning sax ride or keyboard ride of some kind at some point" {Bob}

Yep

It's a great recording. Like the bassguy's sound a lot.

Only other thing it's missing is 'verve' ... the horns sound a little lazy....like it's the end of a 12 hour session...beyond the peak performance. Are they reading the parts, still? Maybe need more time to shed them and get the punch in.

The bass guy's playing just beyond the edge of his sure chops sometimes...and the time sync subdivision between the fellas is a little loose n' ragged several spots....not in a better sense.

I'm comparing the performances with the best of the genre..like The Crusaders, etc.

The composition is steady...without some deft twists and tension/resolution interest that could kick it up. A breakout would be nice...longer ideas...less serpentine fire for a section....fatigue. Another road to 'over the top'....along with the fever of an eighty-five-yard kick return sax solo. Or a Larry Carlton special. Give the guitar guy some!

MHO Not much to improve on the recording. Some things to pursue in composition, arrangement and chops. This shit ain't easy. But I think the drummer has the right plan: lay it down, within the limits of his sure playing.

Bass guy has to shed some to be where he wants to be. A little less 'dig me'...and some longer note durations...punching with the drummer...would be nice. And the horn section needs caffine and attitude.

But this was a labor to produce. Real close to fantastic shit! I appreciate the work and talent. Keep going! Not knocking...just tossing up ideas for improvement.
 
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