I'm Still Alive and Well

jimistone

jimistone

long standing member
I was in a rock and roll guitar mood today. So, I jamed on this old Rick Derringer song....and had a blast. I used to do this one in a 3 piece rock band I fronted in the late 1970's.
So, I recorded it 3 piece. One guitar track, one bass track, drums, and a vocal. No over dubs on this one. Every performace is a complete take from start to finish. I'm playing all instruments and singing. (not my best vocal for sure). The drums on this one are a bitch. I did the best I could.

All comments are welcome

https://soundcloud.com/jimistone/still-alive-and-well-mix1



Remixed it

https://soundcloud.com/jimistone/still-alive-and-well2

 
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Bass doesn't really work panned, Jimi. Particularly on headphones. I'd suggest adding another guitar on the R and move that bass back C. Sorry, I know you prob didn't want to hear that and it was a conscious decision, but I don't think it helps the song, I think it detracts from it.

Yeah, those drums are a b*t!h. I applaud ya for giving them a decent try though. I like the tune, a lot. Would be nice to hear it with an extra guitar and the bass thing worked differently. :listeningmusic:
 
I agree it sounds a little lopsided. Unless you were specifically going for a old-school live small club sound, like you were watching a band with nothing but two amps and a drum kit, guitar stage-left and bass stage-right. If that's the case, you nailed it.
 
JohnnyAmato said:
Unless you were specifically going for a old-school live small club sound, like you were watching a band with nothing but two amps and a drum kit, guitar stage-left and bass stage-right. If that's the case, you nailed it.
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Yes, I forgot to mention that. That's exactly what it sounded like.
 
thanks guys,
I'm just experimenting a little. I probably need to add another guitar and bring the bass back to the middle.
There isn't a lot of voices for panning when it's only one bass track and one guitar track.
lopsided stereo or mono...that's it.
Bass is kind of flabby too.
This is proof I shouldn't mix after tracking a loud guitar part. Ears were shot
 
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Panning was the first thing that I really noticed too. (Also on headphones)

It's a pretty sparse mix. None of the instruments sound particularly amazing, but nothing sounds bad either.

Good performance tho. Single takes are always tough.
 
I wouldn't say the bass is flabby at all. That's actually a pretty muscular tone, but its boomy and just too loud. It could be a little tighter with the drums.
 
One take wonder! Thats a tough song to pull off, and you did a good job.

Mix wise and performance wise you know where it's off or weak, so i won't go into it too much.

Ill say this, it has a convincing live feel.
It sounds like a house board mix where the guitar players stage volume was too loud, so the mixer didn't put too much of the guitar into the mains. :D

It could be 'balanced out' a bit by running the guitar reverb in the other channel, and running bass verb in the other. Oh, and bring that damn fine geetar playing up a bit!
:D
 
VomitHatSteve said:
Panning was the first thing that I really noticed too. (Also on headphones)

It's a pretty sparse mix. None of the instruments sound particularly amazing, but nothing sounds bad either.

Good performance tho. Single takes are always tough.
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Thanks Steve, I'm going to work on the panning and the EQ a little. I appreciate you taking time to listen and comment!
Robus said:
I wouldn't say the bass is flabby at all. That's actually a pretty muscular tone, but its boomy and just too loud. It could be a little tighter with the drums.
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I tried to put some low mids on the bass, since it was going to be carrying the the rhythm section when the guitar takes a ride. I may have been over thinking it I stead of just using my ears to guide me.
I think I need to work on it a little more. Thanks for checking it out robus!
RFR said:
One take wonder! Thats a tough song to pull off, and you did a good job.

Mix wise and performance wise you know where it's off or weak, so i won't go into it too much.

Ill say this, it has a convincing live feel.
It sounds like a house board mix where the guitar players stage volume was too loud, so the mixer didn't put too much of the guitar into the mains. :D

It could be 'balanced out' a bit by running the guitar reverb in the other channel, and running bass verb in the other. Oh, and bring that damn fine geetar playing up a bit!
:D
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Actually I was going for "the PA is a Shure vocalmaster and nothing is mic'd but the vocal. The guitar player has his guitar cranked but can't keep up with the bass players 200 watt ampeg tube amp with two 4/12 speaker cabs....and the drummer is stoned" sound.

I think I nailed it!
:laughings:

Just kidding.
Seriously though I'm going to work on this some more tonight.

The suggestion about the reverb on the opposite side from the guitar is good though....thanks RFR!
 
Cool song. Guitar on the left sounded cool. Nice licks.

I agree on the stereo balance. It's a little heavy on the left.

Timing got a little clunky in the first few bars.

I thought the bass tone was fairly cool as well. Maybe a notch somewhere around 120hz might help just a smidge.

The vocal was quite a bit dryer than the rest of the tracks. A double tracked vocal would be cool on this I think.
 
jimistone said:
The suggestion about the reverb on the opposite side from the guitar is good though....thanks RFR!
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Old Van Halen trick. I'm sure many others before have done it, but I didnt become aware of it till the first VH record.
 
If you based that song around a drum performance and you want it to be a keeper then I'd re-track the drums and start again as they're way sloppy in places.

I get that you're relatively new to drumming - and fuck knows I can't drum at all - so if this is just an exercise in recording an old favourite and having fun, then no big deal, mission accomplished, but as it is it's not really grooving as well as it could because of the drumming and the way the bass and guitar are falling around the drumming.

If you'd played guitar & bass & sang over a more accomplished and even drum track you'd hear how much smoother and kickass the whole thing would be, but I get what you're doing so no grief from me.

PS, I only listened to the 2nd version.
 
Armistice said:
If you based that song around a drum performance and you want it to be a keeper then I'd re-track the drums and start again as they're way sloppy in places.

I get that you're relatively new to drumming - and fuck knows I can't drum at all - so if this is just an exercise in recording an old favourite and having fun, then no big deal, mission accomplished, but as it is it's not really grooving as well as it could because of the drumming and the way the bass and guitar are falling around the drumming.

If you'd played guitar & bass & sang over a more accomplished and even drum track you'd hear how much smoother and kickass the whole thing would be, but I get what you're doing so no grief from me.

PS, I only listened to the 2nd version.
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I agree 100%.
The drums are very weak. It's a pretty advanced drum part. I'm just not there yet in terms of skill level.
Thanks for listening g and commenting Armistice!
 
jimistone said:
I agree 100%.
The drums are very weak. It's a pretty advanced drum part. I'm just not there yet in terms of skill level.
Thanks for listening g and commenting Armistice!
Click to expand...

The guitars and pan? Yes, much better. Feel free to let me know if you ever want me to write drums for you. If you send me your rough take, I can match it up to your ideas. Just a thought, won't be offended if you turn it down.

But yeah, this sounds better with the bass C.
 
Jimi, you should try a retake of the entire thing to programmed drums just so we can hear the difference when there's a tighter drum. Andru is good at writing natural parts, and you should take him up on his offer. I'd be interested to hear that. I agree with the guys otherwise that groove is letting it down.
 
andrushkiwt said:
The guitars and pan? Yes, much better. Feel free to let me know if you ever want me to write drums for you. If you send me your rough take, I can match it up to your ideas. Just a thought, won't be offended if you turn it down.

But yeah, this sounds better with the bass C.
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sure man, I would welcome some programed drums on this since I don't have the skill to do it natural
 
I listened to the johnny winter album last night. Interesting. Hadn't listened in years.

You've come much closer. The guitar is turned up more and centerstage, vocal is better volume wise, bass sound closer to the record.
Drumming is better, but the mix is weird. Can you say "extreme stereo" drums? :)

On the record, the bass sits stage left. I don't know how close you're going for.

Overall much better but those drums are driving me nuts. (Mix wise)
:D
 
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