I don't know why I covered this.....

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RAMI

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Not the kind of song I'd usually cover or write, but I was screwing around with the drum beat and then decided to record it. After that, I figured I might as well earn all the other parts and record it.

I started recording it at noon today and finished by 5. Not the hardest tune in the world, but I've always liked it.

I need ears on the mix because I mixed it right after tracking all day, so some things may be way off. :eek:

Thanx

USE ME (BILL WITHERS COVER)
 
Sounds good.

A bit more bottom and a lot more variation on the backing.

Vox level could be dropped a bit.
 
Manslick said:
Sounds good.

A bit more bottom and a lot more variation on the backing.

Vox level could be dropped a bit.
Click to expand...
Thanx a lot Manslick.

You confirmed what I thought about the vocals. They seemed loud to me, too. But whenever I post a song for the first mix, I'm always told to bring the vocals up, so I decided to try mixing them at a volume that seemed a little loud to me. Guess I shouldn't have done that.

I also brought up the kik and bass.

Not much I can do about the arrangement. That's pretty much exactly how the original goes. There's actually more variation than it seems...I realized that when I learned the tune. :)
 
One of my all time fav's - you do it so well Rami. Nice bluesy vocals and all the instruments are cookin....

It's super clean = almost TOO clean. The word I'm looking for is pristine. WTH are you recording with now - this sounds different from your previous stuff. Interface/mixer/Reaper? Maybe it's my new headphones.... Maybe cause it's so minimal...

I'd pull the guitars in towrads the center - the vocals are lonely there. I think the vocals are still a wee bit loud. The bass is not loud enough. It's not as snappy/poppy as I'm used to from you.

The drums have reverb on them? They seem a bit distant compared to the rest? Loud enough just a bit away....

I wonder if you sent the echo of the guitar to right side it would fill it in a bit. Just heard about that from VH discussions.

Anyway for 4 hours you make me envious! Just a few tweaks I'd say - minimal instruments takes some careful positioning I think.

I'm going to revisit later this cause I want to see what others think and what you might do with the mix.
 
Thanx Ido.

I'm not really going for a big modern recording on this. The original is pretty sparse, with things panned pretty extreme left and right. I didn't want to do a punchy bass or kik, etc....

I did do a re-mix, and brought in the guitars a little bit and lowered the vocals.

I'm still recording on my TASCAM 2488 and then mixing in REAPER.

Thanx man.
 
Yeah I don't remember the orig very much - mostly the vocals of course....
I'm listening to the last mix now.... yep - better for me. things Sounds a little more "together".....
Sounds like the bass is up a touch too???
 
ido1957 said:
Sounds like the bass is up a touch too???
Click to expand...

Yeah, I did that too. Brought it up. I'm beginning to think the distorted guitar on the left is too loud. I'll have to let my ears rest and listen again tomorrow.

Thanx for all the help. :cool:
 
The distorted guitar is only too loud if you want it to balance the right guitar exactly.
I like the remix: the levels are great.
 
rayc said:
The distorted guitar is only too loud if you want it to balance the right guitar exactly.
I like the remix: the levels are great.
Click to expand...

In that case, it's probably not too loud. It shouldn't be perfectly balanced with the other guitar. But I'm thinking that I should pull it down when there's vocals happening. Right now it's volume is pretty static, which might make it seem too loud at times.
 
RAMI said:
Thanx a lot Manslick.

You confirmed what I thought about the vocals. They seemed loud to me, too. But whenever I post a song for the first mix, I'm always told to bring the vocals up, so I decided to try mixing them at a volume that seemed a little loud to me. Guess I shouldn't have done that.

I also brought up the kik and bass.

Not much I can do about the arrangement. That's pretty much exactly how the original goes. There's actually more variation than it seems...I realized that when I learned the tune. :)
Click to expand...

The new mix has a much better bottom. The guitar on the right is a bit too bright and harsh and wears my ear out pretty quickly.
Check this tune done live.YouTube - Bill Withers - use me
The figure the guitar is playing is a Hohner Clavinet in the original and the clav is so much more mellow. Just saying.
Also, the backing I referred to is the guitar on the left that plays the exact same thing throughout.
Check the dude in the vid with the hat. It's some fine comping. Again just saying.
White guys need to tread carefully in the land of soul and funk. :)
 
Manslick said:
The new mix has a much better bottom. The guitar on the right is a bit too bright and harsh and wears my ear out pretty quickly.
Check this tune done live.YouTube - Bill Withers - use me
The figure the guitar is playing is a Hohner Clavinet in the original and the clav is so much more mellow. Just saying.
Also, the backing I referred to is the guitar on the left that plays the exact same thing throughout.
Check the dude in the vid with the hat. It's some fine comping. Again just saying.
White guys need to tread carefully in the land of soul and funk. :)
Click to expand...

Cool version. Nothing like the studio version, though, which is a lot more repetitive and doesn't have someone playing a guitar solo (comping) all through the song. :D Much slower, too. Cool link.
 
I don't much care for the distorted guitar ........ to my ears it doesn't fit the song very well and would work a lot better if it were a cleaner sound.

Other than that it's fine ....... maybe a bit more lower mids on that voice to fatten it up a bit would be cool too.
 
Manslick said:
The guitar on the right is a bit too bright and harsh and wears my ear out pretty quickly.
:)
Click to expand...

Lt. Bob said:
I don't much care for the distorted guitar
Click to expand...

Thanx Lt. Bob. I quoted the 2 lines above because I'm wondering if Manslick is talking about the same guitar. If so, then it should be the guitar on the LEFT. Manslick, is it possible you have your speakers reversed, or are you guys talking about 2 different guitar parts? The distorted guitar should be on the left.

But anyway, that guitar is starting to bother me a bit too. I thought a really distorted guitar would replace the clav, but it gets annoying by the end of the tune, I agree.

I probably should have taken more time to arrange this a bit differently. Once I started recording at noon, it became more of a personal challenge to see how fast I can finish a song. I might have lost sight of what actually SOUNDS GOOD. :eek:

Thanx for all the help from all of you. It's much appreciated.
 
I think it's just great. Nice mix bro. I hear it being a little wider maybe, especially the guitar on the right. The clean guitar. LOVE the kick drum sound!!
Yeah, maybe a different instrument for the part on the left, then double it with the distorted guitar at times???
 
Enjoyed it! We have very similar tastes in music. My group just recorded a Bill Withers number called Lovely Day. I will work on it and post. I liked your mix.

Clong
 
Very nice RAMI!
I don't know the original but I get the vibe you were going for and for a tune like this, simplicity works best. The one thing that kind of stood out for me was the rimshot: it sounds kind of dry (like it would sound if you'd programmed the drums.....:D) But I like the mix anyway.
 
dunno know the song...who's Bill Withers anyway?? was he in steely dan?


just wanted to say nice mix and performance...all seemed a bit dry but I imagine this is by design so all sounds great to me :)
 
Thanx guys. Yes, the original is pretty sparse and kind of dry.

Bill Withers had a few other hits you might recognize, like "Lean On Me" and "Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone".
 
Great little tune, Rami. Very cool that you got it done so fast. I'd recommend just dropping the vocals a bit... and the verb on the drums seem a bit thick. Besides that, sounds great!
 
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