In My Chair (Status Quo Cover)

[Mr Clean]

Yesterday I read a rant that inspired me. *Thanks Greg I can't exactly explain how because it would take too long, but it did.

Anyhow, last night I set myself a 2hr challenge to record a song, mic'ing up amps rather than the usual amp sims that I've almost always used in the past. I asked my Dad to pick the song, I requested something simple/easy and bluesy, so he picked Status Quo's In My Chair.

Part of the challenge to myself was I could only listen to the original twice and take notes, which I stuck to. Each take had to be played in full. No Comping! Which I also stuck to. And lastly, no excessive production. Get the sound, press record and do it.

The guitars used are a £79 (Made in China) Telecaster Copy and a Hofner Violin Bass. For the guitar, a Fender Champion 30 box thing and the bass was through my Ampeg BA210. I used the only dynamic mic I own which is a cheap AKG D680S.

I started at 10:30am and was finished by 12:22. I allowed myself 30 extra minutes for mixing although I can barely hear anything now, (that little Fender Amp is loud!) so the mix is probably crappy. It's pretty much a faders up mix anyway. A little EQ on the Kick and vocals and a reverb bus. Everything else is what went into the mic. The final wav was imported back into my DAW and I added some flavour with Vintage Warmer.

So have a laugh and see what you think. Maybe set yourself a challenge. It's great fun.



*EDIT* RE: The drums. In the haste of the recording, I completely forgot to change the velocity of the hits so every hit is maximum and the same for each drum. I'll correct this when I revisit the mix.

 

[Btyre2013]

ha this proves to me what I've been saying to people for years, that real amps are better than amp simulators. Great job considering it only took 2 hours, I might take up the challenge myself.

 

[DM60]

A little thumpy (not bad, just made the sub work a little, not even sure I would address it) and the vocals are tad too low. But I couldn't hear anything that jumped out. Sounds to me you are getting recording/tracking down rather well.

I think it was a great job considering the constraints you put on yourself.

 

[seeking]

Yesterday I read a rant that inspired me. *Thanks Greg I can't exactly explain how because it would take too long, but it did.

Anyhow, last night I set myself a 2hr challenge to record a song, mic'ing up amps rather than the usual amp sims that I've almost always used in the past. I asked my Dad to pick the song, I requested something simple/easy and bluesy, so he picked Status Quo's In My Chair.

Part of the challenge to myself was I could only listen to the original twice and take notes, which I stuck to. Each take had to be played in full. No Comping! Which I also stuck to. And lastly, no excessive production. Get the sound, press record and do it.

The guitars used are a £79 (Made in China) Telecaster Copy and a Hofner Violin Bass. For the guitar, a Fender Champion 30 box thing and the bass was through my Ampeg BA210. I used the only dynamic mic I own which is a cheap AKG D680S.

I started at 10:30am and was finished by 12:22. I allowed myself 30 extra minutes for mixing although I can barely hear anything now, (that little Fender Amp is loud!) so the mix is probably crappy. It's pretty much a faders up mix anyway. A little EQ on the Kick and vocals and a reverb bus. Everything else is what went into the mic. The final wav was imported back into my DAW and I added some flavour with Vintage Warmer.

So have a laugh and see what you think. Maybe set yourself a challenge. It's great fun.

Hi.

I think it was just fine exept, mabye the voice is a bit buried. For a 2 hours job, exelent !
(played back on my 2.1 logitech in office)

-einar hoiland-

 

[Mr Clean]

ha this proves to me what I've been saying to people for years, that real amps are better than amp simulators. Great job considering it only took 2 hours, I might take up the challenge myself.

Cheers mate. Amp vs Sim is something I have never argued but have seen argued lots. Never really gave it much thought but just hearing that little Fender amp through a cheap mic has opened my eyes and impressed me.

Do the challenge! It's real good fun.

A little thumpy (not bad, just made the sub work a little, not even sure I would address it) and the vocals are tad too low. But I couldn't hear anything that jumped out. Sounds to me you are getting recording/tracking down rather well.

I think it was a great job considering the constraints you put on yourself.

Thanks Dave. I'll look at the mix again another time with fresh ears. More on vocals below.

I think it was just fine exept, mabye the voice is a bit buried. For a 2 hours job, exelent !
(played back on my 2.1 logitech in office)

Thanks mate. Appreciate the feedback.

RE: the vocals. I deliberately put them low in the mix as that's how it sounded to me on the Quo version. I made a note of it on my scrap of paper. I will look at the vocal level when I go back to the mix.



Cheers Guys!

 

[Greg_L]

Lol. Please tell me how I "inspired" you. Maybe I'll turn it into a book and make millions.

I think this is pretty cool for two hours. I often find that for me much of my best stuff, songwriting or mixes, comes from pure bolt-of-lightning inspiration and/or not fucking with it too much. Just knock it out and put it to bed. We can often times be our own worst enemies.

For the mix, I think I could nitpick it pretty hard, but I'm keeping in mind that this was all done in two hours. In that regard, it's pretty fucking good. If you were to go in and remix, I'd say bring in more kick and bring up the vocals. Guitars sound cool, bass sounds cool, drums are okay, just needs more kick and vocals.

 

[Mr Clean]

Lol. Please tell me how I "inspired" you. Maybe I'll turn it into a book and make millions.

Haha. I don't think I can articulate it well enough but a lot of what you said in your reply to dainbramage yesterday made me think. Some wise words in that speech.

From that, I went off on my own little tangent in my brain and this recording is the result. Also envy of your guitar sound made me want to do something I've not done before. I know nothing about Amps, Electric guitars or mic'ing them up. I play acoustic. I just wanted to do something that sounded RAW - Electric - Different. (for me) So I set myself the challenge and did it.

For the mix, I think I could nitpick it pretty hard, but I'm keeping in mind that this was all done in two hours. In that regard, it's pretty fucking good. If you were to go in and remix, I'd say bring in more kick and bring up the vocals. Guitars sound cool, bass sounds cool, drums are okay, just needs more kick and vocals.

Thanks man. Appreciate that. I was fighting with the Kick. It was up and down more times than a prostitutes arse.
Guitars sound cool is what I wanted to hear most.

I will go back to it to remix sometime with fresh ears.

 

[rayc]

Being an old Quo fan I'm impressed to hear a cover of one of their tracks.
They are a much maligned band but the gigs I saw in Sydney through the 70's were always great fun and they rocked/boogie like there was no settling day.
Mix wise I wished the guitars sounded a little different & that can be achieved by EQ at this stage.
The kick drum could use some volume but the vocals are pretty much as Quo did 'em.
Mic'd amp is the best option but not always an option.
I enjoyed the track.
Thanks!

 

[Mr Clean]

Being an old Quo fan I'm impressed to hear a cover of one of their tracks.
They are a much maligned band but the gigs I saw in Sydney through the 70's were always great fun and they rocked/boogie like there was no settling day.
Mix wise I wished the guitars sounded a little different & that can be achieved by EQ at this stage.
The kick drum could use some volume but the vocals are pretty much as Quo did 'em.
Mic'd amp is the best option but not always an option.
I enjoyed the track.
Thanks!

Thanks Ray. I grew up listening to Quo as my Dad is a massive fan. I thought he chose a good song for me to do. I actually said at the time that it's rare to hear a Quo cover. I'm quite pleased with the outcome for the time limit I set but I am going to do some more work to it.

RE: The guitars. Re-listening to the original I can hear that I got the guitars quite bright in comparison and the original is very bass heavy. Not that I was trying to do an exact copy. I didn't have time to learn the solo so I just did what I thought I heard. I can hear now where it is wrong.

Thanks again. I'm glad an old Quo fan enjoyed it.

 

[Greg_L]

I like the guitars for this, not knowing the original, but I didn't want to mention that this might not be a guitar sound that you'd wanna use often because I wanted to focus on the positives of a quick recording like this. The guitar tone is a little toppy, a little fizzy, a little bit harsh, but not too bad. But since someone else brought it up, hey Teddy, this might not be a guitar sound you'd wanna use often.

 

[Mr Clean]

Thanks Greg. I'll keep it in mind for future.

When it comes to electric guitar I'm a complete know-nothing, but I'll learn.

 

[dainbramage]

I don't think I can articulate it well enough but a lot of what you said in your reply to dainbramage yesterday made me think. Some wise words in that speech.

+1

 

[dainbramage]

Great sounding cover! Status Quo were playing the first "real concert" I ever went to, so it sure brings back memories.

 

[Greg_L]

Thanks Greg. I'll keep it in mind for future.

When it comes to electric guitar I'm a complete know-nothing, but I'll learn.

I think that the numero uno most fundamental thing that you have to keep in mind with recording an amp is that unless you put your head right down next to the speaker, you're not really hearing what's coming out. Consider a combo on the floor. Sitting or standing, your ears are several feet from the speaker and you're hearing the room sound. Room sound is always a little darker than what's really happening at the speaker, so you may be tempted to bring up the treble or presence. That's fine for your room sound, but that mic right on the speaker is now getting a brighter sound than you might want, and an overly bright close mic'd tone is usually pretty rough in the mix. Fizz and harshness are usually what happens. If you're close miking a speaker, then you probably want that up close sound, and that's the track that gets priority. That's the track that has to sound right. That might mean running your highs or presence less than you'd normally want to for your room sound.

 

[Mr Clean]

I think that the numero uno most fundamental thing that you have to keep in mind with recording an amp is that unless you put your head right down next to the speaker, you're not really hearing what's coming out. Consider a combo on the floor. Sitting or standing, your ears are several feet from the speaker and you're hearing the room sound. Room sound is always a little darker than what's really happening at the speaker, so you may be tempted to bring up the treble or presence. That's fine for your room sound, but that mic right on the speaker is now getting a brighter sound than you might want, and an overly bright close mic'd tone is usually pretty rough in the mix. Fizz and harshness are usually what happens. If you're close miking a speaker, then you probably want that up close sound, and that's the track that gets priority. That's the track that has to sound right. That might mean running your highs or presence less than you'd normally want to for your room sound.

That all makes perfect sense. I did have the combo on a stand pointing up at my head rather than on the floor pointing away but I never gave a thought for the close proximity of the mic to the speaker compared to my ear. I just got a sound I thought sounded good in the room. Some good food for thought there and something I shall practice with.

Thanks again mate

 

[Bulls Hit]

Wow I can't believe you only listened to the tune twice. Your dad's got good taste. Chair is one of the classic Quo songs. I love the ballsy tone you got on the rythym guitar. This is an amazing result for 2 hours. Not so much for the technical/mechanical results of the recording and mix, which are top notch, but you've captured the original vibe and given it a modern twist without losing any of the original feel. F me I can't believe you didn't even know the song. I've been hearing this off and on for 40 years and I couldn't pull it off like that. Great job. What was the old man's review?

 

[Mr Clean]

Cheers man, glad you liked it. I did know the song before recording but I didn't know how to play it. I've heard it over the years but not a song I'd heard in a long long while. I just gave myself 2 listens to learn it and make my notes. I learned the riff and chords on piano first. I find it easier that way to find parts.

RE: My Dad. He heard it for the first time today and loved it. He was impressed and he's not easily impressed.

I'm going to keep this version for prosperity but I'm going to redo the guitars this week and see if I can get them a bit sweeter and less fizzy.

 

[robgreen]

Vocals sound really good and I like the trashy guitar sound that's sitting right on the edge of fizz.

I don't know the original and can't bear Status Quo usually, but your song here sounds pretty damn good - especially with the self imposed limitations you've mentioned

 

[Mr Clean]

Vocals sound really good and I like the trashy guitar sound that's sitting right on the edge of fizz.

I don't know and can't bear Quo usually, but your song here sounds pretty damn good - especially with the self imposed limitations you've mentioned

Thanks a lot Rob. Appreciated