I wanna thank you

NotThatBright

New member
I tried doing a little more rockin' version of ZZ Top's "I Thank You" (I understand it's actually an old blues song from the '50s or something, but I never heard the original). Any criticism is welcome, constructive or insulting. I was hoping to get some opinions on the mix, particularly these things which I can't make up my mind about:

- bass guitar too loud?
- Is there too much sibilance? (I never noticed any in my other songs, but I do here. Just wondering if it falls within the commenter's acceptable range for it or if it's distracting)
- Does the snare seem loud?

Anything you notice to criticize is welcome, these are just the things I either noticed, or think I noticed. Performance will be below average compared to most of the stuff on here, but for me, it's pretty good. You can still mock it, though. Thanks.

https://soundcloud.com/user92696274096/i-thank-you2/s-rXp2t
 
NTB,
Use the little soundcloud thingo when you drop in the link & it will put the steamer in your post.
I don't know the original.
Guitars are a little fizzy.
Bass level is fine.
Didn't notice sibs.
Snare seems OK - to my ears bass, kick & snare need to be =.
 
NTB, the vocals are a bit quiet, and a bit dry. They don't need loads on, just something to give it a bit of body and separation in the mix. The guitars are still a little harsh as Ray says. At the moment, the raspy part of your vocal, the snare and the guitars are all fighting for the same frequency range. Everything else is sounding pretty good. :thumbs up:
 
I bet this was fun to record! I second or third on the guitar...maybe too much over drive..not so much in the song itself but mainly at the beginning intro....or maybe try to play it a little cleaner. Personally I think the vocals are about the right level, but there were a couple parts where it seemed to get lost in the verses. Good job!
 
After the initial guitar intro, when the drums in the volume gets squashed - I suspect that might be the soundcloud compression kicking in. The lead guitar part at 1:07 sounds a little anemic, maybe because of too much fuzz on the other guitars at that point. Maybe just a touch of reverb more on the vocal.
 
NTB,
Use the little soundcloud thingo when you drop in the link & it will put the steamer in your post.
I don't know the original.
Guitars are a little fizzy.
Bass level is fine.
Didn't notice sibs.
Snare seems OK - to my ears bass, kick & snare need to be =.

How could you not know this song? This is one of the baddest MFing songs ever. I couldn't capture the "cool", so I went for "loud".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0d4Kz02Pz0

I tried those soundcloud tags twice, and the "steamer" didn't work either time. Maybe those things don't work if your songs are set to private? Or maybe it was a coincidence, I don't know. I'll try them again next time.

Thanks for giving opinions on the questions I had. I tend to like heavier guitar tones for most things. To-MAY-to, To-MAH-to? I can't remember the unusual way in which you say it.

Bubba said:
NTB, the vocals are a bit quiet, and a bit dry. They don't need loads on, just something to give it a bit of body and separation in the mix. The guitars are still a little harsh as Ray says. At the moment, the raspy part of your vocal, the snare and the guitars are all fighting for the same frequency range. Everything else is sounding pretty good.

Thanks. I was about to start cutting some frequencies based on what you told me on the first one you looked at, but before I did that I decided to mute the toms except at the points where they were being used. That actually freed up a lot of the sounds that were being muffled before, like the snare. Of course, with the extra room, I promptly turned up all the guitars to the point where things started getting choked again. I'll see if I can find a frequency to slightly cut to make the vocal stand out slightly more. I generally like vocals to be at the minimum volume where you can understand the lyrics.

Brutish said:
I bet this was fun to record! I second or third on the guitar...maybe too much over drive..not so much in the song itself but mainly at the beginning intro....or maybe try to play it a little cleaner. Personally I think the vocals are about the right level, but there were a couple parts where it seemed to get lost in the verses. Good job!

Thanks. Everything but lead guitars is fun. If I get lucky I hit something that sounds half-decent before I get too sick of trying, which doesn't really take that long.

mjbphotos said:
After the initial guitar intro, when the drums in the volume gets squashed - I suspect that might be the soundcloud compression kicking in. The lead guitar part at 1:07 sounds a little anemic, maybe because of too much fuzz on the other guitars at that point. Maybe just a touch of reverb more on the vocal.

Thanks. I am noticing a pattern here. Weak vocals are loud guitars don't mix.

Thanks for the comments, guys.
 
I remember listening to this song on a 33 1/3 LP that I inherited from my brother.

I think it sounds better as the song picks up steam. The snare sounded kinda dead at first, but either I got used to it or maybe you were whacking it harder later in the song...it seemed to pop a little more. I could do with less preamp gain on the guitars, maybe that's just me.
 
NTB,
I do remember this version as the ORIGINAL but not the ZZ Top ( Zed Zed Top - funny name when pronounced in UK/Australian English) version'
 
tadpui

I agree with your comment about the first snare hit or hits... sounds like I was limp-wristed. I got motivated once the main beat began. My own fault.

And it's not just you, regarding the "less gain on the guitars" comment.

Thanks for the comments!

rayc

Yup, that's it! This is one of the few instances where the white guys that ripped off the song sound cooler than the black guys who wrote and did the song originally (I'm referring to ZZ Top, not me). In fact, the only other such instance I can think of is ZZ Top ripping off some obscure rap song to make "I Gots To Get Paid" within the last year or two.

I like blues as long as it has enough rock mixed in (ZZ Top, generally). I LOVE rock with a little blues mixed in (Motorhead and Zeke, and of course AC/DC).
 
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