"Dont Worry Baby" Beach Boys pop/rock cover

[Kbrinson85]

would like some initial thoughts on a cover I'm doing for fun. Its not finished so this is just the first minute or so.

Drums - Steven Slate
Bass - SansAmp BDDI
Guitars - Poulin Legion/TSE X30 pre-amp VSTs w/ cab IR's
Vocals - SM7B -> GR ME-1NV -> Mbox 3 (untreated bedroom)

using PT 9 w/ Mbox 3 and waves plugins


be gentle

 

[Negoba]

The performance of the harmonies is pretty darn nice. But where they sit in the mix is distracting right now.

You doubled the lead but the balance made it seem at about 10 in stereo field with the baritony voice about 2. The secondary lines also are equal or even a little higher in the mix when they come in. I think this would be a good one to do your levels in mono and then slowly split off the parts left and right a bit. Something to try is to have your to leads at 11 and 1, then put the harmony parts further out.

The drums are reverb-y but I assume that's the samples or drum synth you're using.

 

[rayc]

Yeah, the harmonies aren't balanced in the stereo field.
The high ones are too loud.
There's not much space in there for the bass - sometimes it sounds good other times buried a bit - may need some EQ carving.
The guitars are pretty much a mash pile of sizzle. You need to make each gtr sound different & distinct unless you're after the ultimate DeathMetal Beach Boy cover.
Good work so far, just some more to get on with.
Do a search for BBoys in this forum - Greg L has an excellent one man cover that you'll a) get a kick out of & b) learn a heap from.

 

[Manslick]

Agree with the above about the mix.

But the lead vox is pitchy. Noticeably at 00:38 on the word “She”, then again on the word “Makes”. Sounds like those notes are just out of reach. It’s not real bad but I did notice it.

But the whole mix sounds compressed too much to me although the sounds themselves sound okay.

I can’t finger it exactly.

It’s a good cover that is worth the effort to kick it up a notch.

And are the drums real? If so, where were they recorded?

 

[ido1957]

Agree with the above about the mix.

But the lead vox is pitchy. Noticeably at 00:38 on the word “She”, then again on the word “Makes”. Sounds like those notes are just out of reach. It’s not real bad but I did notice it.

But the whole mix sounds compressed too much to me although the sounds themselves sound okay.

I can’t finger it exactly.

It’s a good cover that is worth the effort to kick it up a notch.

And are the drums real? If so, where were they recorded?

+1 for this. Ambitious though and good vocally overall ...

 

[Kbrinson85]

very useful info, guys. Ive decided to redo the song in the key D which seems to suit my vocal range much better. will post another version soon

also, i programmed the drums in PT's midi editor and am using Steven slate drum samplse which are great imo

 

[stevieb]

Love the way you get away from the Beach Boys sound a little, and more more into harder rock. Overall, a good recording that deserves more time to develop.

But I gotta say, the harmonies are not that tight- if you are gonna cover a BB tune, you just gotta have harmonies that would make a barber-shop quartet jealous.

Something about the drums didn't sit well with me, either. Mostly the snare sounds a little too much like a tin can.

The drums, I can live with, but the the vocal harmonies grate on my nerves- not a lot, but certainly enough that if it was the whole song, I'd probably turn it off before it was finished. IMO, your time would be best spent working on the harmonies, even if it leaves you no time for anything else on the song.