Pixies' "Where is My Mind?" - without singing.

[Bubba po]

My voice has taken a turn for the worse and once again I've recorded something I can't finish. You guys could still listen to my mix, though.

Please?

 

[madmush]

This is such a teeeeewn! Sounds great

 

[Bubba po]

This is such a teeeeewn! Sounds great

Yes it is, and thanks!

However, I fear my future seems to lie in alternative Karaoke backing tracks.

If I keep losing my voice at this rate I'm going to end up with a one-octave range.

 

[madmush]

Karaoke backing tracks may not be such a bad idea!

Punk made it with three chords mind you.... if you end up with a one-octave range, you just have to squeeze everything out of it!

 

[JG96]

great cover. I really like the mixing too, the kick sounds really nice. The drums sound dry compared to the original but thats nitpicky. The guitar and bass tones are on point.

 

[Bubba po]

great cover. I really like the mixing too, the kick sounds really nice. The drums sound dry compared to the original but thats nitpicky. The guitar and bass tones are on point.

Thanks very much, especially the comment about the dryness of the drums - I'm extremely conscious of the need not to overdo it with the reverb/room sound, as the sound of the kit on that record is what gives it its soul, in my opinion. I seem to recall that Steve Albini's main criterion for recording the album was "no 'pussy' sounds" would make it to the final cut.
I may add a little more room to the kit but it still has to be small, tight and in your face to work properly against the ethereal backing vocals.

 

[Bubba po]

Karaoke backing tracks may not be such a bad idea!

Punk made it with three chords mind you.... if you end up with a one-octave range, you just have to squeeze everything out of it!

LOL, True. Like Johnny Cash. His covers at the close of his life are utterly heart-rending and brilliant, but he barely strays out of the octave.

 

[Schwarzenyaeger]

There are a few spots where the drums speed up. 0:50-1:00 has a few early snares.

Your sounds are good!

 

[Bubba po]

There are a few spots where the drums speed up. 0:50-1:00 has a few early snares.

Your sounds are good!

You're right. In these days of strict drum-machine timing, it's really hard to achieve drumming with a metronome-like quality that passes muster, I think. My son has always been a bit flamboyant and not paid enough attention to tightness of timing in his playing. On the other hand, I think his expression and dynamics are fantastic. He's sixteen now, I think he can only grow as a player. Really, thanks very much for your comments on the sounds, I tried very hard to get completely honest sounds on this track. The guitars and bass are recorded from amps rather than SIM'ed or D.I.'d, the drums are recorded to the best of my current ability and I'm very, very pleased with the result compared to my previous efforts. I'm very grateful for the feedback.

 

[JG96]

Thanks very much, especially the comment about the dryness of the drums - I'm extremely conscious of the need not to overdo it with the reverb/room sound, as the sound of the kit on that record is what gives it its soul, in my opinion. I seem to recall that Steve Albini's main criterion for recording the album was "no 'pussy' sounds" would make it to the final cut.
I may add a little more room to the kit but it still has to be small, tight and in your face to work properly against the ethereal backing vocals.

Yeah Albini is a super talented guy. Getting natural roomy drums to sound huge isn't easy and from what I've read this album wasn't even recorded in a dedicated studio space.

 

[Bubba po]

Yeah Albini is a super talented guy. Getting natural roomy drums to sound huge isn't easy and from what I've read this album wasn't even recorded in a dedicated studio space.

You're right. From what I've read, the drums were recorded totally with room mics. I, personally, don't believe it. The kick, snare and hi-hat are too dominant to not have been mic'd individually and mixed into the track. I do think that the overall sound is dominated by artfully-placed ambient mics, though. Anything I do can only be an approximation. Albini's a genius, and more albums need to be recorded by producers taking risks. Not gonna happen, though, when studios are picked by what headline gear they have in their setup.

 

[Bubba po]

Shameless bump before I go out to play a gig. Tonight we're supporting Chinese Rocks, a Ramones trib. Should be good fun!

 

[NotThatBright]

I seem to recall that Steve Albini's main criterion for recording the album was "no 'pussy' sounds" would make it to the final cut.

That made me think of this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_sVSQZvH4c

I apologize in advance.

 

[dobro]

My voice has taken a turn for the worse and once again I've recorded something I can't finish. You guys could still listen to my mix, though.

Please?

Hard to judge this one without the vocal which is obviously lacking, but I'm thinking that if a vocal were present, you'd have to turn the drums down a dB. The problem is that the backing vocal would start not to be heard behind a vocal.

 

[JG96]

more albums need to be recorded by producers taking risks

This. I am actually making a video about this for one of my classes. Everyone constantly tweaks and is afraid to commit to anything.
I challenged myself to take more risks by tracking my friends hardcore band completely live in an unfinished basement. I am also committing to sounds and doing a lot of the processing via outboard gear and limiting the number of plugins I use. So far it is coming out awesome! Sorry for the thread derail I just have a strong opinion about this.

 

[TripleM]

I thought this sounded real good. Very much like the original (or like I imagine the original would sound without vox). Guitars sound real good to my ear. So does the bass.

The "ooo's" were a little harsh sounding.

I'd back off the delay and/or reverb on the snare. The delay/predelay is getting close to double-hits. The decay is a bit long.

Minor complaints. Sounds good.

 

[Bubba po]

I thought this sounded real good. Very much like the original (or like I imagine the original would sound without vox). Guitars sound real good to my ear. So does the bass.

The "ooo's" were a little harsh sounding.

I'd back off the delay and/or reverb on the snare. The delay/predelay is getting close to double-hits. The decay is a bit long.

Minor complaints. Sounds good.

Thanks, Triple M - those actually are double hits! There's a flam on the snare throughout, except on the runout verse! All points noted. I did actually record some vocals further down the page, but I'm not sure I should've bothered.