Imaginary Lover

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Kramer

Kramer

Well-known member
Been screwing around with this for a couple of months now and it's not getting any better.:eek:

It's a cover of an Atlanta Rhythm Section tune.

Just thought I would post it since I havent posted anything in awhile.I tried vocals for the FIRST time using a condenser mic.......they are hot at times.

There are clams here and there on the drums but I have no way of fixing them.

Feel free to one star this.It's not a serious effort.

Thanks if you bother.

Kramer(your resident hack)

Imaginary Lover
 
That was very good.

Sounds just like the original to me.;)
 
Pretty cool, Krames. Excellent harmonies. Amazing how this song sounds like it might have been co-written by Fleetwood Mac (to me anyway :rolleyes: -- guess it's the bassline). Very nice reverb... actually this is a really good mix. You axe-slinger, you... cool. The call & answer soloing was beautyous.

Some compressor pump... (kick drum is doing it to the whole thing)

Southern fried... and tasty.
 
Cool mix man. The drums do the monotonous machine thing I can't stand but you did the best with the sounds you had there.

I'd like to drum along to a no-drum mix.


You've got a great voice for this tune, good choice.
 
That was very good Kramer. You copped the feel really well in that one my man. Smooth......
Gave me really good feelings. :)

Jr Cobb was the real guitar meat of the Rythym section, outstanding rythym ideas.
Here`s a little background legend on that song. If you ever go to Smyrna Ga, get on South Cobb Drive, take a left on Windy Hill E., go past what used to be American Discount Music (one of the Guitar Centers now), at the bottom of the hill on the right is a place called Old South BBQ (super place to eat). Right beside it is a Hair Salon. The dude that owns it kept an acoustic guitar there in the corner. That was the place everybody got their hair done. When he didnt have any hair to do, he`d pick up that acoustic and jam. That song was sorta about beatin off.. Well, to make a long story short..... Buddy Buie was in there to get his cut and Causey turned him onto the tune. Buddy bought it for his band to record. The rest is open history.
 
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Hey Kramer! I think you did a great job on this tune. Even though I am listening in mono on my computer speaker, this mix just jumps out of the speaker. The vocals sound great, as do the guitars. Heck, the whole mix is really "right" for this song. Its got nice presence, really full mids and an understated rhythm section with the B&D but thats how this one ought to be because its cookin' just as it was mixed. Really liked both your guitar playing and your vocal. You need to be posting more stuff because I really enjoy your talents. Five big ones!
 
Well it's about time. LOL. I caught an incarnation of this a few weeks ago on NWR, and it was really good then. Replacing the piano parts with guitar will always put somebody on my "A" list...

You did a pretty faithful cover, but honestly, you've got a better voice than the ARS singer. This whole thing is just very smooth... And where did you get that reverb? It's excellent.

And just what's wrong with the drums anyway? You've heard the original, right? LOL. Anyway, I can't think of anything I'd change, and it's been looping for awhile; that's a good thing.
 
This sounds great. Outstanding job on everything, you got chops man...
 
Kramer, very very nice. Great cover. You be tooooo good man.

dtb
 
excellent vocals! I never heard the original, but this is really good.. It's not what I expected at all..


a few times when you say 'imaginary', it seems to jump out and be a little loud.. I think I hear some compression artifacts, and there is some minor crackling on the leads. Almost a bit too crispy at times.. This whole mix sounds a bit mid range/crispy to me, but then again I love mud! :D

I had to complain about something.. This is really good man! My favorite thing about this is those vocals..




maybe you can post another song this year! :eek:
 
Damn Kramer.......

......that is really good man. Your vocals in this just plain kick ass!!!! ....did i say kick ass? ..........I meant KICK ASS!!!
......and wussup w/ those guits........ .........nothin, ....theyre just KICKIN MY ASS!!!!:D Exceptional man! I know how it is to spend to much time on projects. I do it too. .....Over listen it to death and it will start to sound sub par every time...... This is great stuff man, so dont go there.:mad: :D
.......Im fishin hard for nits here..... the only thing i can hear that could make this any better is just a little more work w/ the compression in the low end (B.drum, and possibly Bass(?) ). It sounds heavily pumpy down there... I might also add a little to a few of the guit parts....... .......but as i read this back to myself and listen again....... Im not sure.



Man, ..........GREAT Stuff here....... Definitely doing the original justice!!!


G........ w/ a seeeeeriously impressed 5
 
By The Way

I wanted to comment that this is one of the most "listenable" tunes I've heard posted in awhile. Sounds like tape, in a very good, non-harsh way. It's good on the overall level too (commercially loud, that is). Anyway, just wanted to let you know that I've listened quite a few times.
 
Nice one -this was always my fave ARS song(maybe I can talk the guys in my "other" group to do this instead of ARS doing spooky). Good guitar work-nice tones. That first guitar break between the first and 2nd verse threw me a bit...So are you playing all the guitars? singing?

p.s.-you had another song at a personal page, I think?? Why don't you post that one up?
 
Wow.........very good Kramer. I'm seriously impressed.
The vocals sound wonderful. I do think that there is a wee bit of distortion somewhere. It doesn't jump out at me but I just kinda 'feel' some distortion if that makes any sense.
And the guitar work is excellent! I really like the lead riffs you're doing on the outro and especially that tone you have there. Please give me the chain on the guitar.

Extremely good bro, so go edit your description of the song and delete that negative crap. Put up something like " My cyberbuddies told me I'm great!" or something equally modest. ;)
 
Thanks for checking this out everybody!Today has been a busy day and it still is.I'll reply to all of you as soon as I get a break.Thanks again for taking the time to listen!:)
 
Very nice, Kramer. Vocals and guitar are great. I love the harmonies.

The mix overall sounds a bit on the bright side to me. Not offensively so, but still a bit bright. I might try cutting it 3 or 4 db in the 2 - 2.5K range.

Nice stuff.
 
nice mix......loud mix..........the vocals sound good, and the harmonies are tight...........good guitar tones...............no suggestions.......pretty solid stuff
 
Toki987 said:
That was very good Kramer. You copped the feel really well in that one my man. Smooth......
Gave me really good feelings. :)

Jr Cobb was the real guitar meat of the Rythym section, outstanding rythym ideas.
Here`s a little background legend on that song. If you ever go to Smyrna Ga, get on South Cobb Drive, take a left on Windy Hill E., go past what used to be American Discount Music (one of the Guitar Centers now), at the bottom of the hill on the right is a place called Old South BBQ (super place to eat). Right beside it is a Hair Salon. The dude that owns it kept an acoustic guitar there in the corner. That was the place everybody got their hair done. When he didnt have any hair to do, he`d pick up that acoustic and jam. That song was sorta about beatin off.. Well, to make a long story short..... Buddy Buie was in there to get his cut and Causey turned him onto the tune. Buddy bought it for his band to record. The rest is open history.
Click to expand...


cool history lesson there, toki!! i know the area very well!!

this is the first thing i have heard from you kramer!!!! i have seen other threads where you said you had some music posted, but i never knew where? and flame me for this........but i have never heard this song!!:( the only thing i know from ARS is
"CHAMPAGNE JAM" sad aint it. man, you can down right play!! and sing!!!!! NICE!! is there anywhere i can hear more??:D

edit............my brother is here( big ARS FAN ) HE SAID IT'S RIGHT ON!! but damn, i hate to hear him sing!!!:D


thank's kramer!!

peace

rick
 
Wow!:o

Wow.You guys are just too nice.I really appreciate you all taking the time to check the song out and comment.All the criticism is right on target.Most of the problems mentioned I already knew about and I KNEW the great ears here would confirm those problems for me.Thanks again everyone for checking it out and now I'll try and respond to you all the best I can.

A Reel Person I am flattered that you would think it sounds even close to the original.:o I've always liked this tune and I've listened to and played it live a million times.We(me and my drummer friend)set out from the beginning to try and reproduce it as faithfully as we could to the original.Thanks for taking the time to listen to it.

participant Thanks for the compliments man.I know those golden ears of yours could have picked this apart more than you did.;)The FLeetwood mac reference is right on traget.Ive always thought this had the same kind of Groove on the bass and drums that "Dreams" did.There is a major pumping effect from the stereo compression that I applied to this.I guess I shoud have left well enough alone and stayed away from the compression.I dont know enough about compression in a stereo mix application to even be playing around with it.Thanks for the compliments on the guitar man.I played all the solos with my fingers.I tried playing hybrid with a pick but it wasnt happening.Thanks again for checking it out!

jake-owa You hawaiian mobster you!:DThe drums are monotonous but we wee trying to stick as close to the orginal as possible and it's monotonous.LOL.It is a "real" drummer.He's playing one of those Roland Td 8's with live cymbals and high hats.I dont have a digital sound card yet so I really cant import wav files of the rhythm tracks for you to play along with.I could maybe do a stereo mix of everything except the drums.Thanks for the compliments on the Vocals.The feedback is much appreciated!

Toki987 My fellow friend from the south!Thanks for the compliments man.I was trying to get as smooth and warm a feel to this tune as I could and I think I achieved a litle bit of that.I just mixed the whole thing too darn hot.I can fix that though.
Cool background info on the song.Buddy Buie is a legend in these parts as you know.J.R. Cobb was the first member to quit the band I believe for health reasons back in the early 80's.I saw the one time and that was when we opened up for them in 1994.Every song sounded just like the freakin record.The lead singer Ronnie Hammond played his retirement gig with "part" of the band last friday night.Guitarist Barry Bailey wouldnt play it.The song is about solo sex like you said.:DThanks for the feedback and for checking it out!

crawdad Thanks for checking out my friend!You hit the nail on the head with the understated ryhthm section.Thats what we were shooting for...the original version has a really subdued bass and drum section that just drives the song without ever making itself really known.It's just "there".Thanks for the compliments on the vocals and guitars.I really appreciate you taking the time to listen to it.Maybe I'll post another one Before the years out.:eek:

chrisharrisDoes it sound any better than the first incarnation you heard a few weeks ago?LOL...Did the guitar parts cover the piano parts ok?let me have it man!:DI really dont/didnt think this was that good of a mix or performance.I guess I just got fed up with it after about a month.I need to hire someone to mix for me.LOL.I can usually get a good first mix and then I think Im gonna start "mastering it":rolleyes: and screw everything up. ...I should just leave well enough alone.
The reverb is just one of the pre-sets on my VF-16.I'll have to boot the thing up to this mix and see exactly which one it is.It's a plate reverb Im pretty sure.I set the reverb input to "pre-delay".Ive never really played with it that much.I heard crawdad mention it and decided to try it.It seems to give the reverb a smoother effect on the vocals.
Anyhow,Thanks for checking it out man and I'll be e-mailing you with some questions I have about Cool Edit later on!

David Thanks for the compliments and taking the time out to listen David!Much Appreciated!;)

dtb Thanks for listening DTB!You're too kind man!:o

B.SABBATH Thanks for weighing in sam!Your ears are TOO good.:DThe vocals are jumpy here and there.I ran the mic through a compressor to even them out when I tracked ,but I FORGOT to set the Compressor on "peak" and it didnt do a damn thing for them.:o The whole mix is a little hot and crispy on the highs.The compression didnt help things out either.(read a little further up).You're right about the mid range thing going on.The original sounds a little mid range heavy and for "artistic reasons" I leaned that way when mixing.LMAO!Yeah right.:D
Thanks for the compliments on the vocals and I will try my best to post another tune before the year is out.Im not as prolific as you are man.;)

Guernica Wow man.I appreciate the compliments on the vocals and guits.It means alot coming from someone of your caliber.Your skills are way out of my league.(as is MOST everybody on this board).Thanks for the encouragement of my skills.I get to the point sometimes where I wonder if I have forgetten every damn thing I know(which is very little) about recording and doubt my self.
The compression as Ive stated above a few times is a problem and it's showing up big time in the low end as a pumping effect.I tried a lot of different angles with the guitar parts and I always ended up back at square one with the basic parts from the orginal.Im sure a good guitar player could be a little more creative.LOL..My little bro is moving back to town soon so I wont have a shortage of killer guitar tracks.;)Thanks for checking it out man!:)

chrisharris
chrisharris said:
I wanted to comment that this is one of the most "listenable" tunes I've heard posted in awhile. Sounds like tape, in a very good, non-harsh way. It's good on the overall level too (commercially loud, that is). Anyway, just wanted to let you know that I've listened quite a few times.
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Thanks again Chris.Thats a high compliment and I accept it.;)Listenable is a good thing.In a way this does sound very tape like to me.Very analog sounding.It was achieved accidentally.LOL.Do you think it might be just a couple of Db's too loud overall?Dont hold back man,let me know..Thanks for digging the tune so much to sit through it multiple listens.;)

Stratomaster Thanks for the compliments and checking it out man.Yeah,the old band I was in did Spooky,Homesick and this tune.All are pretty fun to play.This one requires a few more back up vocals in the band to make it sound decent live.Im playing all of the guitars and covering all of the vocals.A friend of mine played drums,loaded his drums up and left for a paying gig.LOL.I have a couple more songs on a personal page.If you click my WWW link at the bottom of this post you'll find them.I may put them up at Nowhere.Thanks again man!

Lt. Bob Lt. you killer horn playing dude you!You are definetly hearing bordeline distortion throughout the whole tune.(You're another one with golden ears:D )I mixed it just a tad too hot.I can fix that though.Thanks for the compliments on the guitars and vocals.:o
The guitar chain is pretty pathetic.LOL.It's a Les Paul Special through a Zoom GM-200 amp sim into the VF-16.I just scrolled around until I found an amp sim that sounded lke it would work for this tune and hit record.I played with my fingers and that had a little effect on the tone of the solos.
Thanks for the encouragement man.I just feel so inadequate when I post here among all this talent.I'll try not to be so negative next time.;)

dachay2tnr Thanks for checking the tune out man!I humbly accept the compliments on the vocals.Coming from you it's a high compliment.You guys REALLY know how to sing and harmonize.The mix is a little hot as I mentioned previously.I will give it a cut in the area you suggested.Thanks for the feedback!:)

powderfinger Thanks for checking it out powder!The feedback and compliments are much appreciated!:)

fenderlikingood Rick!never even heard it?!You're from Atlanta man!:DBorrow an ARS CD from your Brother.They have some pretty good tunes.Thanks for the compliments man.:o You guys are too nice.If you click on my www link at the bottom of my post you can find a few of my other tunes.Here's the direct link: http://www.angelfire.com/indie/kramer/
Thanks again!


Man,That was a lot of typing but it's worth it.You guys are the best group of guys on the net.Thanks for letting me be a part of what goes on here.This place is just too cool.Now if I can just keep my head above ground out of that damned dragon cave.:eek:

Thanks again to everyone who took the time to listen.You guys are just too cool!

Happy Holidays!

Kramer

p.s. please overlook the typos this post is bound to be littered with.A typist I am NOT.:D
 
is this the same Kramer that hangs out on these boards?

This sounds really great!

sounds like the same time as foreigner era? late '70's

I've never heard this song before, but can tell it has a strong melody line and drive.

I noticed right off the bat the compressor was doing its thing over the mix.

Cant wait to hear your next!
 
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