Jagular and Crawdad Co-write a Tune

crawdad said:
Kramer--I LOVE Diamond Rio! I'm really glad you dug the song, cause we put a ton of work into it!
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Yeah....me too...hmmm....Diamond Rio...hmmm....that gives me some ideas on how I might arrange this come the time :D.

Oh...now first listen through...I see where the Diamond Rio references are coming from. I little bit of mando in there...nice...

Damn dude...you need to move down my me so you can play all the instruments for me :D:D.

Nice job recording Al. Sounds good to me on the puter speakers. I'll have to listen to it a bunch more times to find any cracks.

Man...I can't wait to sing my teeth into this. Maybe raise it 2 or 3 steps and see if I can find that blistering high Diamond Rio high harmony somewhere.

My wife is crying at it again...that's a good sign :D.

Nice work man. It will be fun to cop this performance :D:D
 
Strange because the only place I ever listen to country is on this BBS, and you guys are so great I really find myself enjoying it.

This is a great tune and, especially not being written in the same room, sounds like it couldv'e been. Very nice recording, and the vocals are just so damn great! :)

Can't think of any mixing advice. I just really enjoy this tune!

Keep up the collaborating!

:)
 
Just wonderfull!!

You guys should be making money with music this good. REALLY!!

Great work!!

GT
 
SluiCe, Lt. Bob, ChrisHarris--I think I'm gonna have to break down and buy a Neumann U87 or something. There was a time I would have been plenty happy with this vocal sound, but I'm not anymore. I've been listening to tons of "pro" vocals, and they are getting something I want but can't seem to achieve. Full bottom but not boomy, solid middle but not boxy, clean upper midrange and air with no sizzle or sibilance. I think it could partially be my voice, which is getting shot from months of singing 6 nights a week, drinking and smoking, age, etc. (Just to name a few excuses, LOL!) I've tried the MXL V67, V93, the AT 4033 and even my old SM57. I'm not getting what I want and its driving me nuts! I gotta rethink all this. If i can't get it with all the things I've tried, I don't know what else to do.

Anyway, thanks for listening and for the encouragement and nice comments. Thanks also to A1A2, rpe, djc, GT, boydrj, for checking this out. I always grin, boydrj, when somebody who doesn't listen to country likes something like that on the BBS. Hey, its all good. This place has broadened my horizons too!

And Jagular, I'm expecting good things from your demo! Next song, we gotta make the wife laugh instead of cry, though!:D
 
Crawdad...you might think about a better preamp VS a different micm and don't waste your money on a U87. But, I know what you are saying... It is hard to get a good sound on yourself, because how do you tweak the sound as you are singing..eh? But once you find 'the setup'....! The song, performance was all pretty nice. The vocal sound was kinda iffy in comparision to the other departments we all rag on about around here. Seemed to have the freq. response of a cassette without the hiss. I get some great vocals (I think??!!) with a EV RE20. Not an expensive mic. There are also a slew of Sennheiser stuff (like a 441 maybe?)around the 3-400 range (used, eh?). You tried a 57...maybe the 58 might work a tad better (being supposedly the same mic...ha!)
I'd think something like a Grace preamp with a nuetral sound would be what you might want (or my first choice on your voice). Maybe record a couple of tracks at the same time (set up a couple different mics), and that might help to pinpoint what one mic is REALLY doing in comparision to the other mics since all the different mics would record the same performance. Rather than guessing ..."is this mic making me sound mid rangy??" you could come up with saying..."this mic makes me sound better because...." get the drift? Then you might end up saying...I need a mic that "crispier" than a 4033... or something that gives me more warmth with the proximity effect... I think a comparision test at this stage might be more useful than just trying things at random. Also, don't forget the "magic" that some of the little black boxes like the Urie 1176 and the LA2A do to vocal tracks. Not cheap anymore these days, but probably on more "pro" vocal tracks than realized. They're pretty musical sounding little compressors. However, I think you're hitting "that wall' where you "know" the pro sound, but want to get it at home too. If it was that easy, things might be a lot different for the studios...eh?
 
I just listened to River 3. I think the vocal is better, but not better..if you know what I mean...just different. It has a more full freq. sound to it..but is "back" farther in the mix...and not because of the increased reverb. More roomy sounding. If this vocal could be brought forward in the mix, you would be getting closer to what "I think" you are looking for. How about "eating" your mic with a dbl pop filter? Might make it more intimate and give more detail to your vocals...the lip smacking, breathing..etc and all (of course without being a negative).

I like the fuzz gtr in this version too;) :p
 
mixmkr--thats great advice. I think I will try the multiple array of mics and see which one works the best. I also know that both the preamp and the great limiter are a big part of getting "that" sound. I've gotten it before in studios--always with a U87, but I didn't know what other gear was being employed.

Yeah, its totally impossible for me to tell what sounds right working solo. I have to listen with headphones rather than monitors while tracking, so intelligent EQ and limiting is out. Its all just a crapshoot really. The LA2A is on my wish list and I have thought about the Grace as well. If I were doing more commercially in my studio, I could justify the expenditures. When you're scraping by, its hard to tell the wife, "look, honey, I'm spending about three grand so my home demos sound better, OK?"

Beyond all that, I wish I could just borrow some of this stuff for a week and run it through its paces to see what I'm missing.

Or, if anybody has some extra vintage gear they want to send me out of love and kindness, the number to call is....:D
 
mixmkr said:
I just listened to River 3. I think the vocal is better, but not better..if you know what I mean...just different. It has a more full freq. sound to it..but is "back" farther in the mix...and not because of the increased reverb. More roomy sounding. If this vocal could be brought forward in the mix, you would be getting closer to what "I think" you are looking for. How about "eating" your mic with a dbl pop filter? Might make it more intimate and give more detail to your vocals...the lip smacking, breathing..etc and all (of course without being a negative).

I like the fuzz gtr in this version too;) :p
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Yeah, fuzz guitar is pretty important in country story songs!

You know, you have a good ear. I usually do eat the mic, and on this one, I said, fuck it--I'm getting 18" away and trying that route. Trying anything really at this point. Maybe I'll give it another go as you suggest. If I find that magic combination of settings, I'm welding the knobs in place, I'll tell you that!
 
I think when you are getting 18" away...that "magic room" needs to happen too. You know..the one you walk into and go..."wow..drums would sound great in here...vocals too." then...you clap your hands trying to look like you know what you are doing..trying to "test" the room...!! ha!.. Personally, I think up close is best for your kind of music. Bsabbath could be on another planet (which I think he is anywazzz!) and it wouldn't matter with his stuff....as an exception to the rule!:eek:
 
What a great song!

That's coming from somebody who doesn't care for most country music.;)

It's your voice that does it for me, Al. You come across very sincere and natural. None of that pretentious southern draw that you hear in a lot of country stuff.

Very well written tune. Certainly nothing here that a non-songwriting hack like myself could nit-pick.:eek:

Cool collab gentlemen!:cool:
 
I remember this tune from the first time Jagular posted it. I liked it then. You guys have really done this tune some real justice. I like it even more now. Crawdad, I love the vocals on this too. Great job guys.

bd
 
I listened to both ....
The only difference being the vox....yes??

I actually prefer the first recording without the added verb on the vox....the harmonies stick out more....in a good way... :D

This is excellent songwriting guys...
Performance and recording is stellar...
This one belongs on the radio...........for real.

Good luck with it...I hope you pitch it and get a cut....
It is indeed that good.

Take it easy,
Joe
 
SLuiCe said:
Maybe it's just me but the vocal doesn't seem to be in the same sonic place as the rest.
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I would agree w/ this....to me it seems from the vocal effects though......I guess the reverb might sound just a touch deep.......i don't know.........this is a small problem, it sounds great......and the vocal performance is great

sounds awesome......usually i'd vote for more of a stereo field use, but there's something about this one.......everything seems to mesh really tight and nice............sounds good
 
Hey Dad,
......very sweet tune fellas...... Very sweet. The first thing in this tune that jumped out at me was the piano in the chorus. ........A really nice addition. It seemed like one of those parts that said "Ahhhhh!" when you first played it. I love that.....perfect.... no indecision.... just "BAM"...."that works perfectly".
I hear what you mean about the vocs. Im in a personal search for the "right" pre right now myself. There seems to be a compressy midrange sound in the gain that im assuming is your pre because it sounds like you covered the mic selection. I suffer badly in this dept. so I cant offer anything constructive, but i can say the performance was excellent.
A beautiful collab fellas..... Great tune, and great recording!!!!
gw/5

btw: ChrisH- Dial-up DIAL-UP DIAL-UP......:D .....streaming is not an option:(
 
Very nice remake of the original song. melody like Jags and the same Hook but a completely different feel to the story because of the DOCTORS verse. Where did that come from? whole new twist because of that.

Id really like to hear a version with Crawdads fantastic background and jagular singing it, Now that would be an even more awesome collaboration!!:D :D

If that is possible...



Crawdad, I listened to both of your vocal versions, and I agree that this is a great job. Who gets the movie rights for the lifetime movie network version, You or Jag? Hmmm...
The arrangement is flawless with talented playing as always, very PRO. Yes there are some spots which have a strained feel in the vox, but isn't that what makes it You and adds feeling to this version. I wouldn't expect more from any recording done out of the studio. When you do your album you can doctor it to death but I like what I hear as is.

Thanks for the opportunity to hear what youve done, and to comment as well.
Peace
Bill
 
Guernica said:
btw: ChrisH- Dial-up DIAL-UP DIAL-UP......:D .....streaming is not an option:(
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Hehehee...no, I know that. My comment didn't have anything to do with you, actually...this tune had somehow fallen onto page 2 a little faster than I thought it should, lol...so my post was no more than a thinly veiled bump...
 
I downloaded this a couple of days ago, and finally got around to listening. However, it looks like I might be out of sync. The version I listened to said River2.

Regardless, it is pristine. I heard Jag's original version, and this has come a long way. Not sure I care for the "Love Story" angle the lyrics took, but melody-wise, arrangement-wise, and everything else-wise, this is just great. Very, very professional sounding. Love the harmonies, too.

A big thumbs up.
 
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