"Ham And Eggs" First Demo

JohnnyAmato

JohnnyAmato

New member
So this is what I've been up to the last three nights. A simple little jam we used to do live in between songs, wrote it probably 15 years ago. Always wanted to record it, never did until now. Tried some crazy mixing/recording techniques I've never done before.

The mix might be all over the place, I don't fully trust my monitors (M-Audio BX8s) and I simply despise my car stereo.

How does it sound? What stands out?

Ham And Eggs (Demo) | Johnny Amato
 
Nothing really, it sounds great as is. Don't hear any issues. Proper title, given the vibe and quirkiness of the rhythm guitars. The ONLY thing I'd consider is from a writing perspective - I wonder if the snare should be hit consecutively more often instead of the kick coming right after. I don't know how to write it out in technical music terms, but if the kick is on 1, and the snare is on 2, instead of going to the kick right after the snare, I'd tap that snare again real lightly for two quick hits. I know you put that in there once in awhile, but I think it fits a little better to do it more often. Just a thought, really it doesn't matter much at all.

If you ever get around to it, I'd like to see the MIDI file for your drum work. Mind sending it to me? I'll be able to match it up since I have Superior, no worries there. No biggie if not. Nice work man
 
Nothing really sticks out to me here. It's a bluesy jam. Everything's balanced. Nothing is harsh or too muddy.
Not super-exciting either, but that's what happens with the blues.
 
Cool, thanks andru. Was definitely a fun one to do. I layered those guitars more than I normally do, but I like how it came out.

The double-hit on the snare thing I did try in a few other places, but ultimately just decided on where it is now. I wanted to add more leads, but it took away from the main theme which is the chords, so I just left it as is.

I still have just a little bit of tweaking left on the drums, but when I'm done I can send you the MIDI file if you want. Did you just want to see it to see what I did, or did you want to play with it a little?

Thanks for the input.
 
Thanks for the listen, Steve. Yea it's not too exiting, more of a background music sort-of-thing. It does have more energy when we would play it live, with all the breaks and stuff, nice change of pace between all the Boston, Rush, and other stuff we do.

One thing that concerned me was the bass, I didn't do anything to the track except a tiny bit of EQ (high pass at around 60 or 80hz, and boosted around 1k a db or so) I used a little bit of compression from a pedal going in, but that was it. Thanks.
 
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Johnny, I don't listen to or play anything near what you do style wise, but I can recognize your work is well done. Again, though, like that last mix, maybe change those splash cymbals. They're really annoying with so many hits. Cut some out and only hit them on the breaks, imo. Let the ride or high hat carry the main sections. The mix is pretty dry, but it works for the song. I'd be curious to hear it with just a little room/delay to open it up...more a curiosity than anything b/c it's fine as is.
 
Thanks for the listen, guys.

Robus - I still use a Digitech GNX3000 pedalboard direct-in for all my guitar tones. Used a few different Twin and Vox sims through a 2x12 setting on this one, with just a hair of dirt from a Tube Screamer with the gain almost all the way down. Used my '97 Jeff Beck strat on this one, all tracks. Tracked the guitar three times, panned one 90% L, one about 40% R off center, and one hard R. Played with all three track's panning and EQs, I liked it best here. The one off center is turned down quite a bit, I used a vintage 4x12 cabinet here to add some warmth to the right guitar tone which was much thinner than the left. The runs during the breaks are also all three guitars blended together, slightly differently though. The small solo in the middle was separate, a '65 Deluxe sim through a blackface 1x12, same strat.

I do have a killer '97 Twin I want to mic and do some tracks with on something, but it's hard when most of my recording is done at night.

Nola- Again, I also felt this one was a tad cymbal heavy, but I figured a bluesy jazz drummer would probably be hitting the crashes quite a bit, so I just went with it. I'm going over a few things, I might just take a few out.

I was also afraid of over-reverbing it, so I kind of held back some. I'll experiment, thanks for the suggestions.
 
I'm with the others - things sound pretty good.

The only thing I'd point out is something I've pointed out with you before. I wish your rhythm guitars had more gain dialed in. You have a great clean lead sound. I'd just like to hear a bit more grit somewhere in the mix. Just a personal taste.
 
Sounds great I think. Good playing and recording/mixing. I love the jam too....but I'm a blues guitar guy so this is right up my alley
 
Haven't gone back and messed with this mix yet at all, been working on a few new ones. But I've been listening to it on and off, and if you listen closely with phones, it seems like the left guitar is a little weaker than the right. No one has mentioned it, so I'm kind of hesitant to raise it. Any thoughts?
 
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