Bowie cover

  • Thread starter Thread starter Bulls Hit
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Bulls Hit

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I recorded this version of Fame last year on an old version of Cakewalk Guitar Studio, then mixed in in GT Pro.
I've just re-mixed it again and 'mastered' (heh) it with the help of the CoolEdit spectrum analyser.

I know it's not up to the standard of other stuff I've heard in here but I'd appreciate any comments, criticisims, or tips on the mix.

DL from
 
I think I'd have to almost be sitting next to you at the session to figure out what I'd think you'd need to do next. I'm at a lost. Some timing things, but the mix...kinda weird. I'll pass on what it is doing.. The vocals...I actually like. If this was recorded in perfect tempo and with great sonic clarity, I think it would kick butt over the Bowie version, for some reason.

I think a weird lack of midrange is a large part of it.
 
Cymbals are waaay too crisp, turn the treble down! Actually hurts my ears!!

Guitars sound pretty good.

Vocals are well recorded.

Definitely some playing issues that only re-recording it will fix.

You have some good ideas on how to approach the cover, good luck!
 
mixmkr said:
I think I'd have to almost be sitting next to you at the session to figure out what I'd think you'd need to do next. I'm at a lost. Some timing things, but the mix...kinda weird. I'll pass on what it is doing.. The vocals...I actually like. If this was recorded in perfect tempo and with great sonic clarity, I think it would kick butt over the Bowie version, for some reason.

I think a weird lack of midrange is a large part of it.
Click to expand...

Haha yes quite right. The timing is off in a lot of places, particularly at the start, and the parts I was mucking around with the double pedals.

Not sure about whats happening in the mid range...??..thanks for the feedback
Pinky said:

Cymbals are waaay too crisp, turn the treble down! Actually hurts my ears!!

Guitars sound pretty good.

Vocals are well recorded.

Definitely some playing issues that only re-recording it will fix.

You have some good ideas on how to approach the cover, good luck!
Click to expand...

I boosted the treble (above 14KHz) during 'mastering' coz it looked like it was dropping away. Damn CoolEdit!

Point taken about the playing issues, and you're right it would have to be redone for a 'proper' version. Thanks for your comments
 
Hey, no fair blaming Cool Edit... it just does what you tell it to.:)

The performance here sounds reasonable to me. But there's lots of mix work to do. Mainly you gotta ease up on the high end and go for a more even tonal balance. It is pretty hard on the ears. I had to turn it down after a few bars because those cymbols were hurting me.

Chris
 
Hey Man,
....cool cover, I like the direction of this better than that bunk assed version that Tommy Lee did. I like your true to the origin arrangement, ....very cool.
The vocs were a little much for me. ...IMO, they could use a little de-greasing, and the timing issues in the playing were covered. The cymbals are too up front here too....(already mentioned as well). I like the cheap sounding lead guit tone in this.....

cool stuff man!!
g
 
Wow.... can't get more hear-splitting sizzle than that! You said it "looked" like the high-end was dropping off, so you boosted??????? It ain't about the numbers dude..... listen with your ears, not your eyes!

Guitars - a little buzzy for my tastes...

Vocals sound reasonable...

Drums are completely squashed to hell (overcompression) and are unbalanced-sounding (as a kit).

Bass jumps in and out kinda strangely - could use a tad compression to even it out, but it may also be due to uneven levels on the bass pickups (string height off the PUps)...

And the mix itself is really thin and "sucked-out" sounding.... monitoring issues? Poor use of EQ?? Bad room???

I would like to hear this with the technical issues cleared-up -- cool cover!
 
Some timing things,......

A person would have to look a long ways to find people that are more gracious than most on this site.
 
Gosh, I liked it pretty well,... & thought it was pretty darn good!

Really great for home recording!

I thought the vocals were a little too far back in the mix, and vox efx too wet. [IMO], Bowie's a singers'-singer, and his vocals naturally stand out from sheer vocal prowess, and not a lot of processing/efx, except the gratuitous, stunning, endless echo, used once in a while.

Also, IMO, the drums were too far out-front.

Otherwise, very cool. Nicely put together. Very close to the original, & I'm a big Bowie fan.

Great job!;)
 
groucho, Guernica - Thanks for your feedback. I got a bit carried away with eq and fried the highs. I double tracked the vocal and, yeh there's a ton of (different) delay on both of them.

Blue Bear Sound - Yeh I'll be more careful next time not to overdo the eq. For the bass I used an old Casio keyboard, and it kind of got lost along the way. You're right about the drums, I put a hard limiter on them to get a ripped kind of sound.

kjam22 - Yeh the timing is crap - and you've all been so nice about it

A Reel Person - Thanks for the kind comments. You're right about the drums. For some reason I find it tricky to get the drum levels right.

Thanks again to everyone for taking the time to listen and respond
 
Starting out... plenty of hiss in the tracks...

Some timing problems w/drums... they race ahead of the rest... then fall behind.

A LOT of high end, but the crispy high between 8k-10k without anything under it.

Vocal sounds pretty close to the original.

Sorry to have to say it, but this sounds like a mess :(

--Overcrispy 2-mix
--Timing problems
--Excessive hiss
--Vocal level inconsistent...

The first thing you may want to do... bring down the cymbal track, or REMOVE the high EQ boost you've put on ... in fact... take out ALL EQ if you've done any. It may sound better without any.

From there, you'll need to do some retracking ... the hiss likely comes from a guitar amp.

Also, don't just trust your monitors/computer speakers to help you mix. Burn a copy to CD and check it in your car. Coming to the mp3 Clinic here was a good choice... plenty of folks in here have good ears/monitoring set-ups.


Musically, this isn't too bad. I've wanted to do a cover of "Golden Years" at some point... you were pretty faithful to the original. Good job there :)


Chad
 
cool cover.. nice job on the vocal performance.. the others have pointed out everything that needs work (and then some.) It wasn't as bad as I was expecting, but the comments were on.. the drum set sounds like it has a good sound to it but got hammered at mix time.. I like that snare.. levels are off the chain though.. that end shaker was too loud too.. It sounds like a great version of the tune with the exception of what was mentioned..
 
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