Well, its almost 4 am and I am back from a blistering night of blues and rock and roll in a smoky club! I see there have been more replies since I left abruptly.
I'll start where I left off.
Kjam22--To answer your question--yes and no. Here is the strange situation that has thrown me for a bit of a loop. Yes, I did feel the snare was behind the beat, but check this out. When I looked at the snare placement, it was falling right on the 2 and 4 in my DAW. It was not behind or ahead. So, my logical mind thinks"OK. thats where it should be". And I proceeded on that false assurance. When I put it up against a click, it seemed ok too. But it isn't right. So now I am asking myself why. The only thing i can think of is that I did notice once that using a compressor on a snare caused a phase and latency problem with a thing i was doing. My guess is that this is what happened.
This mix is so complicated that I may never know. I have changed so many things, bounced so many tracks, added and removed so many plug ins, that I may never track it down. Now its just gonna be my ears that finish it off right. Good lesson for me there.
Thanks, Kjam, for the second reply. I made my first comments because, as a group here, everybody is trying to learn and to get better. This group runs the gamut from people who have been doing this a lot to people who are just starting out. The whole "lose the drummer" thing was over the top. Saying there are timing problems is different. It would be like me calling a player lame and incompetent rather than addressing specific issues such as maybe tuning or timing. I certainly wouldn't object to someone saying my singing was off key--if it was. I probably wouldn't like a general comment like "this singer is fucking terrible--get him off this!" That serves no purpose--it doesn't offer a solution for improvement. And thats what the MP3 clinic is for--to "heal" our flaws and mistakes. OK. Enuff said--probably too much.
Next, like Paul Shaeffer said in Spinal Tap:
"Kick this ass. Kick it for a man. I'm not asking--I'm telling with this!"
Erichenryus hasn't posted so I assume he hasn't seen the replies yet. So let me stand up for my friend and say "it ain't his fault". Eric did a fine job, but I missed something and presented his talent in a less than perfect light. I am gonna fix this, dammit! I feel really bad. My mistake is making him look less than stellar and what you are hearing is a mistake on my part, as I outlined above.
You see, here is what I had to deal with. My original track. Add four sax tracks and six drum tracks. Lock them all up to a click and hope they are all in sync. Well, I learned one thing. From now on, I'll make the first click or sound on my tracks I send be the very beginning of where all my tracks start. I'm still exploring this collab thing and how to do it right. This should eliminate any phasing and timing problems.
OK, on to comments.
Kramer--God Bless You Kramer! You stick with me, even when I'm a fool or when I run my mouth too much. I thank you for your comments. I want to answer your question about the vocal chain. On this song, I tried all my LD condensers (V93, 4033 and V67) but I wasn't getting what I wanted. This sent me digging in the mic case for the SM57, which I like for "rock and roll" vocals. I put a wind screen on it and plugged it into my Behringer
VX200 pre. I used the opto compressor on the B pretty much maxed out. Hand held the mic and sang close, laying the track down. Afterwards, I used a touch of EQ, rolling off everything under about 40htz. I used some echo and some room reverb on the vocal. It sounded really "wrong" to me dry. I wanted to create a sense of room or sonic space and when it was dry, it sounded like the singer was not a part of the performance. Thus the effects. I tend to do it differently very time though. I'd love to get a great dry sound and add nothing, but i am still trying to figure that thing out.
jcmm--thanks for listening! For me, the kick is hearing back from people and learning from my mistakes.
Lt. Bob--check your e-mail and thank you a thousand times for your fine talent. i consider you a true friend in addition to a true talent.
Sluice--I don't want the fame but I'd love the fortune! I think your comments are great and I am going to address the snare issue, as mentioned above. Thank you so much for listening, posting and sharing your views. Ain't that Lt. Bob great? I'd love to do a whole album with him. he's like the professor of musicology!
barometer--Do you think the mix has too much low end? I really tried to get it full but not overbearing. On my monitors and in my van, the low end was pretty tamed. I wonder if I am missing something?
B. Sabbath--I hear you buddy. And I'm not gonna make the mistake of not answering your reply! Lesser posters have died! (I'm just kidding, Sam--please take me with a huge grain of salt.) See above for the timing issues. And thank you for listening --as always.
Guernica--I am officially drunk now- Three bourbons and three beers. I will post the whole procedure when I am sober and lucid. By the way, thatnk you for all your enthusiasm for the music. It means a lot to me.
WATYF--Don't know. Could you tell me what you are listening to the mix with? I don't hear it here. Doesn't mean it isn't real though. Maybe I could blame Lt. Bob or even B.Sabbath--whos always using those BBE's. This recording was made without the BBTTE, however!
M. Brane--If we could all get together in the same space and time, we wouldn't need the click. Got to say, I have always hated recording to a click track. Its cool for some things, but sometimes the song needs to expand and contract with the verses and choruses. Click tracks make everything lock in to a predetermined feel and tempo. Unfortunately, there is not much choice when doing internet collabs. Something has to set the meter! Could you start a record company soon? Before I Die! (LOL)
Guernica- I think we are cool on the issue (me and Kjam22), but thank you for your support. You humble me.
jamal--thank you for your ears and your time. I am weaving now. Got to go to bed...can you pojnt me to my bedroom now? Thank you for your comments and for listening.
I will get this damn song mixed perfect! Hang in there eric. With enough ears, anything is possible. Speaking of, has anybody seen my head? I think I saw it rolling down the street about ten minutes ago....love you guys!
And besides, playing live drums to tracks that come from the net HAS to be challenging...just general coordinatiion alone. A fine job nonetheless Erichenyrus.
I think their mix had a bit to do with it too, maybe more than I know, maybe too full and airy or too much low end if that makes sense. I'd also like to hear more toms or something and agree with guenica about the phase in the cymbals. 
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