Standing on the Corner in the Rain

[Robus]

New song. This is a vocals up mix. Too much? All comments welcome. Thanks to those who commented privately. Cheers!

I posted some of the amp tones from this song on Nola's Small Amp Thread.

(New mix.)



Standing on the Corner in the Rain
(Words and Music by Ray Taylor, 2016)

Something called you back to the neighborhood
And the city blocks
Where all doors were closed
But the weed was good
Or they died seeking sympathy from an easy queen
In the back of my econoline van in the park
You said I was the man

There was no mistaking you
For anyone at all
In the street I watched you walk
Watched them spin and fall
Then we rose
Like a weed in the concrete grows

There was something very real, I know
Lighted in the age of reason’s glow

Hey, hey, hey
Just another day
Another souped up summer in the city, bye
Even hearts run dry
I dance alone, you dance alone
And a nod to say goodbye
Standing on the corner in the rain

There was something very sure I know
Lighted in the age of reason’s glow

Standing in the dark
Had a conversation
Just a consultation
All about a lady
You got some time to spare me
Well I’ll not walk away
You got a mind to please me
You know how I wanted you that day
Standing on the corner in the rain

 

[DM60]

Listening on HPs. You could drop the vocals a tad and still be upfront. Everything seemed to be mixed very clean.

Overall nice recording.

 

[TripleM]

By the time I listened, the SC song title said mix #3.

Anyway...

The acoustic guitar sound extremely clear. Very nice clarity.

Drums sound OK.

Like the clean guitar on the right.

How about trying to multitrack your vocals? I know your voice isn't super strong. But maybe if it was double/triple tracked, they would blend well and improve the tone.

 

[Robus]

Thanks TM. There may be another vocal take in the works. I'm coming down with a cold, so it could be a few days before I'm able to sing again. I sacrificed what little was left of my voice to get this take last night, and am pretty much mute today. However, I do have a bunch of outtakes, so one of them might work as a double.

I used a mid-side mic configuration on that acoustic guitar. I like the way it turned out, though it's pushed it down in the mix and so a little hard to hear that ambiance. I wasn't sure the acoustic solo in the intro was quite good enough.

Do you mean that guitar doing the lead fills on the right? Thanks. That's a Fender Tele through a Deluxe Reverb combo. If I only had that one guitar and amp, I'd get along just fine.

 

[TripleM]

Do you mean that guitar doing the lead fills on the right? Thanks. That's a Fender Tele through a Deluxe Reverb combo. If I only had that one guitar and amp, I'd get along just fine.

Yes that's what I was talking about. I liked it. Some twang going on there.

 

[ido1957]

Vocals are nice and clear which I like - I can hear every word clearly and the story within the song is much easier to get caught up in.
But, vocals are too loud, the tele is up there with it but at times I lose the acoustics. Try a bit lower on the vocals on the whole track working on the first verse for a starting level, then see if it fades when the music gets louder, in which case automate it so it still rides at the same relative level on those parts.

Doubling the vocals will work but they have to be pretty perfectly matched otherwise it tends to sound like a phase shifter or out of sync. I would go with the harmonies though - the ones you have are sounding good. For the harmonies I try to avoid unison because, well it doesn't have that harmony effect and sounds like the harmony singer has forgotten his part and is following the singer (throws me off too when singing live).

I would like a wee bit more drums throughout. The rest is great - performance is right up there as always and once you ride the vocals I'm sure the backing instruments will shine even more. This one sounds like some of the great 70's stuff I grew with - Eagles, America, JT that sort of stuff - nice.

 

[Robus]

Thanks Ido. I'll be doing another mix this evening, I hope. I'll bring the lead vocal down and work on sorting out the relationship between lead vocals and harmonies. My experiences double tracking vocals have been similar to yours--effective if you get them just right, but difficult to do that.

I'm been embracing my inner country rocker lately--and it feels good! Like you, I grew up in the 70s loving that stuff. I may stay on this track for the time being.

 

[Crycookie]

I really like this song, really nice tune, the acoustic guitars and lead guitar are delicious the lead vocal seems ok to me in terms of balance, as others said maybe a wee drop on some of the backing vocals (jsut listening on monitors headphones so my ears might be biased) Overall it's a great mix

 

[rayc]

Well recorded.
The vocals could do with the retrack as you suggested - when the cold has blown away.
The b vocs do step on the main occasionally.
I'm not sure the snare matches the rest of the kit - could be my personal taste stepping on my ears.

 

[Robus]

New mix in the OP.

I dropped the vocal levels a little. They may still be too loud. For me the song is an arrangement for vocals, so I want to work the levels down a little at a time.

I also juggled the levels of the lead and doubles, fixed a few places where the double was stepping on the lead, and substituted other takes for a couple of ugly patches in the lead vocal take.

Finally, I did a little work on the drums fills and transitions.

 

[andrushkiwt]

Someone mentioned the snare sound...i have to agree. Drums sound a little back, to me. Can hardly hear the hat when it's soft in the verses...I really have to focus to hear it or even tell it's there.

Smooth, bass sounds great. All the guitar work is phenomenal, as usual. Your mic'ing techniques are great, whatever you're doing is working very well. Nice playing too. That jam at the end is something I like to do for fun in jam sessions... nice work Ray.

 

[BroKen_H]

Wow, that's amazing. Taras just said everything I was going to say, almost to the word...except about the part about jamming. I can't play anywhere near there...
Only one thing left to add. There's a bit of swirliness to the vocal. Really sounds great, Ray!

 

[andrushkiwt]

Weeeeiiirrrrrddd. ha. Yeah Ray, your guitars are sounding amazing. seriously. nice work man, i'll have to pick your brain on how you approach your amp settings and mic placement...though I do it virtually.

 

[BroKen_H]

Still semi-applies. Virtual may be virtual, but it's based on real. If you set the mike in the grille virtually or move it away 6" virtually, it will sound (at least mostly) similar to doing it in reality. I've been playing a bit in SSD4 and realize mike placement is really key in the sounds of the drums and overheads...I'm finally getting my Vox (after a year and a half of waiting), so I'm pretty excited about placing my 57s...still have to wait till it comes (it's back ordered of course..lol). Meh, what's another couple weeks?

OH! the point. The point is, what I've learned about mike placement from Amplitube SHOULD give me some good starting points on actually miking up a Celestion.

 

[andrushkiwt]

Still semi-applies. Virtual may be virtual, but it's based on real. If you set the mike in the grille virtually or move it away 6" virtually, it will sound (at least mostly) similar to doing it in reality. I've been playing a bit in SSD4 and realize mike placement is really key in the sounds of the drums and overheads...I'm finally getting my Vox (after a year and a half of waiting), so I'm pretty excited about placing my 57s...still have to wait till it comes (it's back ordered of course..lol). Meh, what's another couple weeks?

OH! the point. The point is, what I've learned about mike placement from Amplitube SHOULD give me some good starting points on actually miking up a Celestion.

yeah, i'm just limited to the options they give me. "close, mid, far" and "on axis, off axis". still good combinations, but there's no 3" or 4" or whatever. But the one good thing is that I get access to many more mics (again, virtual). and the fact that the 2 best sounding in combination was confirmed by Greg to be a great real-life combo helps my case, I guess. For my sound anyway. That's the i5 and 121 close mic'd through Mesa Boogie. i guess that's the standard alternative sound, and he was right. It's the best combo for me in Recab and Lepou. though I do sneak in the 1960 cab and marshall amp for leads sometimes. i've found that diff mics on each side helps with the true doubling of guitar rhythms. and leads.

 

[Robus]

Weeeeiiirrrrrddd. ha. Yeah Ray, your guitars are sounding amazing. seriously. nice work man, i'll have to pick your brain on how you approach your amp settings and mic placement...though I do it virtually.

Thanks guys. Guitars tend to be where I feel the most on solid ground--bass is getting there. Vocals...let's just say, work in progress.

BH, you're going to have a blast with that Vox. I've used sims before but never had much luck and gave up. Taras has a scientific approach and gets good results from sims. And that's what matters--results, end of story. But...for me, miking amps is just more fun. It really is fun! What can I say? I grew up in the 70s. I love amps. My friends would watch Clapton and drool over his guitar. I'd be thinking--okay, it's a Strat...but man would I love to have his amp!

Taras, I posted some of the raw tones from this song over on Nola's Small Amp Thread, together with details about amp settings, mic placement, etc. BH, post some tones in that thread once you get your Vox. I'm going to be posting tones regularly on that thread. Any and all are welcome to join in!

The electric guitars on this song were all two amps, my 15 watt Trace Elliot Velocette, and my 22 watt Fender Deluxe Reverb '65 Reissue. All close-miked with an SM57. The guitar solo at the end is a Fender Tele through the Velocette. That guitar that plays lead fills on the right is the same Tele through the Deluxe. Most of the chiming guitars that are layered and blended lower in the mix are a Fender Strat through the Deluxe.

There's something else I do, which hardly anybody else on the forum seems to agree with, but which works for me. And that is, I get the amp out of the room where I am playing, so that I can monitor on my studio speakers rather than headphones. I described my system in This Thread. It makes a world of difference for me, both in dialing in a tone and in my own endurance and enjoyment. I don't use any EQ on my guitars except for a high pass filter at 100Hz. The tone has to be right at the source. Listening to the guitar in the mix, through the monitors, and hearing exactly what is going to be recorded helps me get it right. And I can do it at levels that don't damage my hearing or cause ear fatigue. I am very careful with my hearing now, having spent so many years playing stupid loud when I was younger.

 

[Bubba po]

Instrumentally this sounds beautiful. Nice tones, great playing. Really nice sparkle to the top end and warmth to the bottom end.

One of the cymbals is a bit harsh and splashy - it's not sitting well with the sensitive nature of the rest of the sounds.

If there's a weak link, it's the vocals. They're in tune, but the delivery is a bit hesitant, quavery and lacking in conviction. The harmonies and backing vocals need to be more precise in their timing, they're not matching up with each other or with the lead vocal. If I were you I would concentrate on trying to sing with a clear tone, not trying to vibrato or add any affectation to it. Simple notes, simply sung would lift this track considerably.

There's a lot to like about this track, so please don't be put off by these criticisms - the backing music is pretty stellar - the voice parts need work.

 

[Robus]

Thanks Bubba. There's a lot of fixing and editing to do on the match-up between the lead, double, and harmony vocals. I hear you about the lead vocal. My limitations as a singer are plain. I'm trying to make incremental progress with each new song, but it's slow improvement. The high notes are out of my range, too. "You got the time to SPARE me," and "you got a mind to PLEASE me" are at least a full step above anything I can hit, so it comes off as a righteous squeal...

I will do one more take on the lead vocal, maybe after giving the song a rest. The real fix would be to find a singer.

I know exactly what you mean about the cymbals. The drums are due to get a thorough once-over. I'm hearing that soundcloud swishiness as well.

 

[Bubba po]

I'm hearing that soundcloud swishiness as well.

I've given up on Soundcloud in recent days. The last two things I've uploaded have been absolutely atrocious in the high frequencies. Completely unlistenable compared to the MP3.

 

[Robus]

I've given up on Soundcloud in recent days. The last two things I've uploaded have been absolutely atrocious in the high frequencies. Completely unlistenable compared to the MP3.

I may be close that point too. I like the convenience of Soundcloud and streaming generally, but it can make a mess of things. Maybe I'll start including a direct download link for those who are interested.