Thunderbird

jimistone

jimistone

long standing member
ZZ Top cover. Ibleedburgandy on the drums. I'm doing guitar, bass, and vocal. Friend of mine Glen is on backup vocal.

Any mix suggestions, or comments of any kind, are welcome. Guitar is a Gibson Les Paul going into a Peavey Bravo 25 watt tube amp miced with a shure sm57. Vocal was recorded with Electra Voice hand held condensor mic RE410. Bass is a vintage late 1970's Electra bass with humbucking pickups...going into a direct box.
I don't know what IBB used to record drums with.

Dropbox - tbird mix 5.wav - Simplify your life
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This is a well-balanced mix. If I'm being super picky I hear a couple small, almost unnoticeable spots where it feels like the drums slowed down or fell out of the pocket ever so slightly. The guitars also sound a little more up front like they don't have the same space around them as the drums. But honestly this sounds like it's ready to get mastered to me. If you wanted it to be more modern you could lay a kick and snare sample on top of what you already have and maybe add some slight distortion to the bass, but it's not really necessary for this style.
 
grn said:
This is a well-balanced mix. If I'm being super picky I hear a couple small, almost unnoticeable spots where it feels like the drums slowed down or fell out of the pocket ever so slightly. The guitars also sound a little more up front like they don't have the same space around them as the drums. But honestly this sounds like it's ready to get mastered to me. If you wanted it to be more modern you could lay a kick and snare sample on top of what you already have and maybe add some slight distortion to the bass, but it's not really necessary for this style.
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Thanks grn. Good ear. I agree that the guitars are a little too dry and also that the bass guitar could use a little tube nastiness. Also, after multiple listens I think the rytm gtr on the left has too much pre gain. I am out of town right now but tomorrow night i will work on it and post the results.
Thank you so much for taking the time to give a listen and critique!
 
Sounds real good to me. Vocals are excellent. For some reason I thought you just played guitar. I'm not familiar with the original but you've all collectively nailed the ZZ Top tone and attitude. I'd be interested in hearing you lads cover Tush. The only thing that stood out was the 2nd chorus from around 1.04, seems like the vocals are slightly ahead of the band. You should be able to just nudge them back. Great collab
 
Well, i replaced the super high gain rythm gtr track on the left with a less crunchy one...
Added some verb to all the guitars to put them in the same space as the drums and vocals.
Used my vst tool "datube" on the bass guitar to give it a mild overdrive.
Played with the eq and volume on the kick drum a tad.
And I backed off the volume on the rthm guitars a little to give the overall mix more definition.

Dropbox - tbird mix 6.wav - Simplify your life

I will leave the other mix up in the OP for a while for comparison.
 
Bulls Hit said:
Sounds real good to me. Vocals are excellent. For some reason I thought you just played guitar. I'm not familiar with the original but you've all collectively nailed the ZZ Top tone and attitude. I'd be interested in hearing you lads cover Tush. The only thing that stood out was the 2nd chorus from around 1.04, seems like the vocals are slightly ahead of the band. You should be able to just nudge them back. Great collab
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Thanks brother. I know exactly where you are talking about on the vocal being rushed. I noticed it too. When i get the mix finished i am going to nudge that vocal where it needs to be.
Thanks for listening and the critique!
 
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Stevie_M said:
No issues w/ this mix. The performances are also pretty solid. Vocals are passionate and believable. Harmonies are right on. How much bass did you eq out of the guitars?
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Thanks man.
I high passed the guitars at around 160hz
 
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Pretty damn good, Jim.
But then again, all the stuff I have heard you do is good. :)
 
Great cover. Not sure I remember the original, but pretty much you own this one. :)

My only nitpick would be for a little more tonal separation between the kick and bass.
Thanks for sharing.
 
I like the mix, it created a party atmosphere. At first i thought the vocals were too loud but they settled in. Seems like the phrasing was rushed on the chorus, second time with the 2 vocals sounded great. Drums sound nice and real-love that ride cymbal. Guitar tone and playing is great-sounds like a 57 on a loud cabinet to me! Nice.
 
Stratomaster said:
I like the mix, it created a party atmosphere. At first i thought the vocals were too loud but they settled in. Seems like the phrasing was rushed on the chorus, second time with the 2 vocals sounded great. Drums sound nice and real-love that ride cymbal. Guitar tone and playing is great-sounds like a 57 on a loud cabinet to me! Nice.
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Thanks Stratomaster
Yeah, it's a vintage 57 on a loud cab
 
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