Jitteringjim says: Thurs. Morning Jazz Fix vol. 1

jitteringjim

jitteringjim

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Here's a tune recorded just for kicks.
The vox are 2nd take, no rehearsal - kept 'em because I liked the wavery unsteadiness about them.
They've also been spanked hard with compression, so you've been warned. :D

Drums are done with 4 mics. 2 603s as overheads, EV868 on kick, EV468 on snare

Marshall V69G tube mic on vox, everything through a Fostex VM88 digital mixer into a Terratec EWS88D.

I did a couple of mixes of this one. The 1st mix the vox were ok through my headphones, but my monitors told me they were way too loud.

2nd mix, the vox seemed too low.

3rd time around I got tired of screwing with it, so I compressed the hell out of 'em and put them somewhere in the middle.

Have at it. This is my first mix in a long while, so I'm out of practice. :D

Gloomy Sunday
 
great job! a little too " modern " on the drumset, but maybe Im just behind :) Great job on the recording and the performing of the vocals...the few little niggles dont hurt anything, they just add to the title!
 
The mixs sounds good. This reminds me of College radio jazz hour....I like doing the ones for fun....
Myx
 
good tune!

the beginning scratch noise didnt add anything imhop.. I like the song and the lyrics.. :)

the mix sounds very good to me too.. maybe the rim shot was a hair too loud, but screw it..
 
Cool stuff man,
I cant comment on mix 'cause im here at the shop on my shitty computer. On these speakers the piano sounds too loud, but Im thinking thats me:rolleyes: Nice tune man, ...ya need a stand-up bass in this:)

g
 
Cool tune JJ!Im a sucker for a jazzy tune.......I like the bouncy piano although it may be just a tad too loud.The drums might sound better with brushes instead of sticks to give it a more authentic old time jazz feel.......the volume of the drums are fine.....The vocals seem to be sitting pretty well in the mix.

Cleverly written 2 minute ride man.Enjoyed it a lot.:)
 
Hey, thanks alot guys! I appreciate the feedback.

Some clarification though: this one is not my tune. It's a cover of an old classic originally written back in the 20's, I think.

Ok, some of the comments...

Pipeline: thanks, and here's a little more info on the drum track.

On drums... yeah, I wanted to record them with 3 mics - overheads and the tube mic out from the kit. However, I don't trust 2 yr old baby Maggie in such close proximity to my "big mic," regardless of how cheap it was. :eek:
I was also going to record with brushes, but apparently one had disappeared by recording time (read: Maggie) so I recorded with one brush & one stick. :)
I was also concerned that the rimshot was a little heavy in places, but decided to let it go to give a little more "dynamic flavor" to the track. (yeah, that and I'm lazy.)

Myx62: thanks. We don't have jazz station in town, so I have to catch the shows on NPR (college station programming) a couple of times a week. ;)

B.SABBATH: I agree about the scratchiness not really adding much. I'm a sucker for plugins though. As the original was probably first released on 78", I thought I'd pay homage.

Guernica: The keyboard line has a fair amount of midrange boost, so on PC speakers it probably dominates. I've got a bit more listening and tweaking to do before I settle on the final mix, so I'll look into that.

Kramer: thanks for listening, man. I had a lot of fun putting this one together. I think I've covered the piano and drum comments you had - but on vox... I'm still not happy with the way they come across. I guess I just need to re learn the sound of my voice.

Thanks for all the comments, guys!

PS: the "noise" you hear starting around 1:40 is Maggie using an SM 58 as a hammer on our hardwood floor. She wanted to be involved, so I gave her a 58 in a mini stand. She was singing for a while, then got bored with it. :D
 
that was only 2 mics on the drumset ?
if it is, then, as a drummer, you are of professional studio grade caliber to control your dynamics that well...ESPECIALLY without a pair of brushes

friggin good job, and if youre ever in AZ you are first call for jazz drummers
 
very nice. real piano or no?

the lo-fi vinyl trick didn't work, but it could work. Although, a tune like this just seems to stand on it's own without such trickery.

the drums sounded great, especially considering your mic set-up. the snare was a bit more forward than I like to hear in jazz and maybe a bit too much stick. the cymbals were great. what kind of kit and cymbals?

vocals were great. very unique. the voice fit the style and lyrical content very well.
 
soooooo...

The SONG may be great... it's not stupid enough for me, so I'll just say it's out of me "genre" and leave it at that.

What I KNOW is great is your vocal on this. Very cool voice; personality WITH pitch. I hate people like you...and Erland...and my daughter... (oops, my "filter" must not be working right now...you're getting all the stuff that's supposed to just a quiet thought in my head).

Seriously, voice = highlight; and you can't BUY that, so you're my new enemy.

Nice nice. (sorry for the lack of mix comments)
-chris
 
Thanks again guys. Appreciate the comments.

Drums: drums are done with 4 mics. 2 603s as overheads, EV868 on kick, EV468 on snare.

Pipeline: I wish I had that kind of dynamic control. I'm a real basher for the most part. :D

JR#97: Nah, not a real piano. Just a midified patch. My kit is an old '70s Slingerland model that has been through the wringer. I like the sound of its steel snare, though. Cymbals are 20" Zildjian ride, 16" Saluda SS series thin crash, 17" Saluda Mist series rock crash, 14" PP Meinl Rakers cracked high hats.

Emeric: Thanks for listening, man - this one's for kicks. Maybe I'll get some real stuff out soon... you think the bass needs to be replaced or just brought out?

chrisharris: don't hate me because I'm beautiful... no, wait... that's a commercial - Aw shucks man, I just croak 'em out... I'm pretty self conscious about it really. Think it goes back to a studio engineer describing me as a cross between Paul Simon and Dylan when I was a teen. That did a lot of damage. I wanted to be a metal god. :D You just worry about investing your girl's royalty checks when they start coming in. :(

David and jcmm: Thanks for the complements. Aside from the wife and kids the guys here on the bbs are just about my complete audience. Jeez, there were about 5 people at my last gig. :D
 
Cool stuff!
I dig your voice.

The piano playing was great,nice tone!

Glad you made it to Monday!:D

Really enjoyed it,thanks.

Pete
 
the word "jazz" scared me off from listening at first.....jazzy in a cool way......very clean......whats your setup these days?....wasnt it a SB Live using an external converter?......

this was really cool, but too short...coulda used some jazz guitar lines......just when i was really getting into it, it was over:mad: :(

so i have to listen again:D
 
Extremely cooooooooooool!!

I like this a lot. The dirt at the beginning was ok but you had it up too much. try to make it sound like a cleaner record and it would be fine. This sounds like one of those old jazz combos for sure.
 
Very cool indeed. It so reminds me of some AM jazz I used to hear in PA. And your voice is so smooth. I love the sound you got on those drums, very unique. Superb mix and great job! :cool: :D
 
I read the reviews first this time around.

I agree with Emeric that the bass is the weakest link. If the tone is good and you can bring it up, that'd do the trick I think. If not, then a recut hopefully wouldn't take all that long.

As for the record-player sound (is that iZotope?), I like the idea. You might try making the crossfade a little slower (maybe starting it a little earlier). It might make the transition feel smoother-- if you think it's worth fiddling with.

Anyway, it's good as is to me.
 
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