"Desperado" cover.....

[RAMI]

....by Alice Cooper, not the frickin' Eagles.

This is my first shot at reamping my guitar tracks, just got the reamp box today.

I had trouble making myself happy with the levels on this. The original is a 70's mix with drums not very prominent. I tried keeping the drums back a bit, but just couldn't get myself to move them as far back in the mix as the original. I hope they're at a good level.

How's this all sounding? Thanx

DESPERADO (Alice Cooper cover)

The original:

http://youtu.be/97YE-LvXxKc

 

[DM60]

Damn boy! All I can say.

 

[Greg_L]

Wow, interesting song. I've never heard it before.

I think, for me, the lower register parts of your vocal seem kind of uncomfortable. Like it might be just at the bottom of your range? The louder rockin parts are great though.

Hold on tight because I'm about to drop a bomb....the drums are too up front. Lol. Snare mainly. Two things about the snare - it's too thin for some reason. Your snare is always tight, I get it, I'm used to it, I like it, but it's usually got some body to it. This one sounds like pure attack and not much else. Kind of small sounding. I've heard better snare tracks from you many times. Maybe you're over-focused on guitars. I get that too. The second thing, you've got that wandering snare phenomenon happening again. I've noticed it a few times before on your tunes. Not often, but it sticks out when I hear it. Those rat-a-tat parts that start around :50 kind of wander left and right just off center. It's almost like you've automated the pan on the snare. It starts a little left and goes right. Then when you go to the steady beat part it's normal. Weird.

Now, the guitars. They sound good. I wouldn't know that they were reamped if you hadn't said so. They sound about like your usual tracks. Maybe a little thicker in the mids than usual. It's hard to gauge their level with the snare being so loud. But I think their tone is very good. Well done. And good performances all around. Good job.

 

[RAMI]

Damn boy! All I can say.

That's a good thing, right? Thanx.

Wow, interesting song. I've never heard it before.

I think, for me, the lower register parts of your vocal seem kind of uncomfortable. Like it might be just at the bottom of your range? The louder rockin parts are great though.

Hold on tight because I'm about to drop a bomb....the drums are too up front. Lol. Snare mainly. Two things about the snare - it's too thin for some reason. Your snare is always tight, I get it, I'm used to it, I like it, but it's usually got some body to it. This one sounds like pure attack and not much else. Kind of small sounding. I've heard better snare tracks from you many times. Maybe you're over-focused on guitars. I get that too. The second thing, you've got that wandering snare phenomenon happening again. I've noticed it a few times before on your tunes. Not often, but it sticks out when I hear it. Those rat-a-tat parts that start around :50 kind of wander left and right just off center. It's almost like you've automated the pan on the snare. It starts a little left and goes right. Then when you go to the steady beat part it's normal. Weird.

Now, the guitars. They sound good. I wouldn't know that they were reamped if you hadn't said so. They sound about like your usual tracks. Maybe a little thicker in the mids than usual. It's hard to gauge their level with the snare being so loud. But I think their tone is very good. Well done. And good performances all around. Good job.

OK, I thought the snare might be loud, too. But I wasn't sure if I just thought that because I was used to the original where you can hardly hear the drums. I can bring it down.

I don't know what causes that wandering snare thing to happen. I'm beginning to wonder if it's one of 2 things. Either the way my overheads are placed, my left arm (which would be everyone else's right arm since I'm a lefty) is blocking the path from the mic to the snare sometimes, if you know what I mean. Or, I'm fucking it up when I line my snare up to my overheads. I'm going to try and not line up my snare next time, and just flip the phase and see if this wandering shit stops happening. I hear it too. I might just re-track the drums tomorrow.

The lower vocal part is a little low for me. I might re-do that too. I think I have to be just as warmed up to do something that low as I would to do a high part.

Thanx man. I'm going to make a few changes to this by the weekend.

 

[jimistone]

I like it. I've heard the song before. I really like Alice cooper. The guitars sound really good. Your recordings never have any mud. It's all very clean, spacious, and detailed in the mix. Flawless performances non those guitars too by the way. I wish I could get my rhythm guitars sounding as good as you do. I see what greg is talking about with the snare being tight and poppy sounding, and kind of dry... but I didn't notice the shifting of the left right pan on it though. I'll give it another listen. Great job as usual rami !

 

[Greg_L]

OK, I thought the snare might be loud, too. But I wasn't sure if I just thought that because I was used to the original where you can hardly hear the drums. I can bring it down.

I don't know what causes that wandering snare thing to happen. I'm beginning to wonder if it's one of 2 things. Either the way my overheads are placed, my left arm (which would be everyone else's right arm since I'm a lefty) is blocking the path from the mic to the snare sometimes, if you know what I mean. Or, I'm fucking it up when I line my snare up to my overheads. I'm going to try and not line up my snare next time, and just flip the phase and see if this wandering shit stops happening. I hear it too. I might just re-track the drums tomorrow.

The lower vocal part is a little low for me. I might re-do that too. I think I have to be just as warmed up to do something that low as I would to do a high part.

Thanx man. I'm going to make a few changes to this by the weekend.

Yeah if you're lining up the snare to the overheads then that could be introducing some kind of weird phase thing especially if you already have some comb filtering going on with your room.

 

[RAMI]

oops.... I screwed up. I meant to edit another post, I ended up quoting it. never mind.

 

[Armistice]

I can't listen right now but I saw the thread title and your name and thought immediately "NO WAY!!!"

Glad to see it's the AC tune!

 

[dobro]

....by Alice Cooper, not the frickin' Eagles.

This is my first shot at reamping my guitar tracks, just got the reamp box today.

I had trouble making myself happy with the levels on this. The original is a 70's mix with drums not very prominent. I tried keeping the drums back a bit, but just couldn't get myself to move them as far back in the mix as the original. I hope they're at a good level.

How's this all sounding? Thanx

DESPERADO (Alice Cooper cover)

Bad link. I'm gutted. I want to hear RAMI do the Eagles.

 

[rayc]

Link error

 

[jonny deep]

Was looking forward to this, now link no worky. Please fix it!

 

[RAMI]

Sorry guys, I'll put it back up soon.

I just realized something. You want people to comment on your thread? Take the link down.

 

[Greg_L]

Sorry guys, I'll put it back up soon.

I just realized something. You want people to comment on your thread? Take the link down.

 

[RAMI]

OK, I re-tracked the drums and put it back up.

I'm mostly concerned with whether or not the snare is still wandering. I got rid of the bottom snare mic, which was a new thing for me, but might have been causing my problems. If it's still doing it, then the next thing I'll do is not align my snare to my overheads. I didn't want to change 2 things because I want to find out what's causing the wandering. So, if it's still doing it, we can rule out the bottom snare mic and then we'll see if it's the aligning.

I quickly tuned my snare down, but did it quickly, so it might not sound great right now. I'm more concerned with solving the other problem and then I'll really tune my drums and do a good track this weekend once we figure this out.

DESPERADO (Alice Cooper cover)

 

[NotThatBright]

...I saw the thread title and your name and thought immediately "NO WAY!!!"

My first thought was close to that, but mine was more like "Now I get to bust HIS balls for a change..."

Like everyone else I was disappointed to see it wasn't the Eagles Desperado, but your AC song was just as emotionally-moving as the Eagles one, so there's that.

I thought it sounded great, though I ain't the hardest guy to impress with this sort of thing.

Question about the snare- Is that a standard 14"x5.5" snare? How do you get that tone? I've tried to go for that exact tone before, and even when I tighten and dampen the hell out of the thing, it doesn't sound like that.

 

[jonny deep]

Hey Rami. Generally sounds great, as usual. I don't particularly like the song, but that's by the by. I agree with Greg on the lower register vocals. I can also hear the wandering snare he's talking about. In that section (from about 0:50), you hit the snare with 3 single hits, then a little roll (of sorts - I don't know any terminology to help here!). The three single hits at the start of each phrase sound over to the left, then it jumps right a bit for the roll bit. I think the single hits are higher pitched and maybe that's what's causing the issue - something about the way the left channel is processed different from the right (stereo reverb, maybe?).

Otherwise, usual Rami quality here!

 

[RAMI]

Like everyone else I was disappointed to see it wasn't the Eagles Desperado

I can guarantee you that's not the case. I'm sure some people prefer the sappy Eagles, but certainly not everyone.

Question about the snare- Is that a standard 14"x5.5" snare? How do you get that tone? I've tried to go for that exact tone before, and even when I tighten and dampen the hell out of the thing, it doesn't sound like that.

It's a 14"x6.5", just a little thicker than a standard snare. But it's also fibreglass, so I guess it doesn't sound quite like a wood, or quite like a chrome. Not sure what tone you're referring to, though. I'm not particularly crazy about the sound of the snare in this tune. Like I said, I just tuned it quickly and will probably re-track it this weekend after spending some time tuning it.

Thanx a lot for the listen and comments.

 

[RAMI]

I don't particularly like the song

Blame me for that. It's not Alice Cooper's fault. This is a great song!.

I agree with Greg on the lower register vocals.

Yeah, I might re-track a few lines in the verses.

I can also hear the wandering snare he's talking about. In that section (from about 0:50), you hit the snare with 3 single hits, then a little roll (of sorts - I don't know any terminology to help here!). The three single hits at the start of each phrase sound over to the left, then it jumps right a bit for the roll bit. I think the single hits are higher pitched and maybe that's what's causing the issue - something about the way the left channel is processed different from the right (stereo reverb, maybe?).

Hmmmm....No difference in the processing on the left and right channels. While the snare might still be wandering, the part you're talking about isn't an example of that, I don't think. What you're hearing is the floor tom being hit at the same time as the snare for those 3 hits, so it's normal that you'll hear something on the left that isn't on the right. Not saying the snare ain't wandering, but that's not an example of that.

Otherwise, usual Rami quality here!

Thanx buddy.

 

[jonny deep]

Hmmmm....No difference in the processing on the left and right channels. While the snare might still be wandering, the part you're talking about isn't an example of that, I don't think. What you're hearing is the floor tom being hit at the same time as the snare for those 3 hits, so it's normal that you'll hear something on the left that isn't on the right. Not saying the snare ain't wandering, but that's not an example of that.

Maybe that's fooling me to thinking the snare's over to the left, then. I've been re-listening to that bit a few times and I noticed how good the kik sounds - good work!

 

[RAMI]

Maybe that's fooling me to thinking the snare's over to the left, then. I've been re-listening to that bit a few times and I noticed how good the kik sounds - good work!

Thanx Jonny. Greg's got the best ears for that kind of thing. Not that I don't trust anyone else's opinion on it. But when he hears something, especially drum-related, I know for sure he's hearing it right.

As far as the kik, that's also a perfect example of how things can just decide to change suddenly. This time, it happens to be for the better. I usually have to either flip the phase on my kik, or play with the file and move it around to get it in phase and sounding good. This time, I might have moved my kik mic by a millimetre before tracking, and when it came time to mix, I didn't have to do a thing to my kik for the first time ever. It sounded in phase and good right away. I don't get how these things happen. They usually happen for the worst, like with my snare. This time, for once, it happened for the better. Weird stuff.