Just off the presses: Unbelievable

A

Archiegood

New member
Here's one I made up. I'm not absolutely happy with it so far.

Please have a listen and rip into it! I'd like to know your thoughts and ideas.

myspace.com/garyroyer

By the way, the picture shows the $299.00 mike baffle I made for under 10 bucks out of the lid to a cat litter box.
 
heck man, that's one fun song to listen to!

the performance is tight, but the programmed drums make themselves known by a lack of variety in the fills. aside from that, all the programming you did sounds very realistic overall.

the keys seem to stick out and overpower at times. all other tracks have a good presence in the mix, but the keys are less airy and more in your face than the bass, guitar, drums, & vox.

the bass sounds especially nice.

i think the vox are performed perfectly for the personality of the song, although it could stand to improve its forwardness in the mix. perhaps moving the keys back would accomplish this.

i really love the voice--it's like cat stevens meets jimmy buffet...very enjoyable.

good work friend!
 
Drums

Thanks, Drossfile.

Actually, the drums are loops from an M-Audio CD my kids got me for my birthday. I took 1 measure loops and tied them together in Audacity to create the basis of the song. The drums in my other songs consist of what I am limited to on the loop pads on my AW16G.

My 17 y.o.son had the same opinion about the keyboards. I'll fix that.

Also, if anything, after listening to it in my car, I thought the bass was too loud. But, I'm a bass nut.

Wow! Cat and Jimmy!!! At least we're in the same age group!
 
if you only hear it bass-heavy in the car, you're doing great. i adjust the bass in my car literally every time i put a different cd in. and i have to say, i have a special place in my heart for cat stevens (i've done covers of o caritas, house of freezing steel, and 18th avenue)--his sound in your voice was an instant point-scorer for me.
and don't get me wrong on the drums--they work, and are better than most programmed drums; it's just that at first i thought they might be actual drums (the intro is especially convincing), but the loops reveal themselves during fills as loops tend to do.
can't wait for a new post w/ the fixes.
and keep 'em coming! :)
 
Hey G!

The drums do sound canned, but they're okay ... as you've hidden them somewhat under the other elements - softening their impact. Unless you're willing to really invest into an upgrade, they'll be what they are.

The bass is a tad on the heavy side, IMO. I'd bring it down just a hair. Your vocal sounds good, but it's in competition with the bass, which masks it at various times throughout. Bringing the bass down will uncover the vocal a bit more, but you may even want to bring it out even a little more than that. You'll have to play with it to get the right level.

The overall production might benefit from a little heavier compression ... it will tighten the sound up a bit. A little goes a long way, so again, just play with it looking for the right balance ... you want to avoid "too loud, too flat and squashed".

The tones employed on the keys sound great. Bell tones are hard to get right because the highs can ring right through, but you've got them sounding good.

Nice work on the arrangement here, very nice laid back groove. I'm thinking almost Al Stewart-ish ...

Interesting idea on the cat box mic baffle. How'd you get it to stay on the stand? Did you pad the interior?

Best,

Kev-
 
Cat Box

Thanks, Kev:

Our cat, Gracie, lived to the ripe old age of 18, well over 100 for a feline, before we had her put to sleep. When I saw the commercial baffle device at Guitar Center, I couldn't believe it was priced at nearly 3 bills.

After thoroughly disinfecting the box top, I lined it with foam using double sticky tape. I stragetically drilled a hole and attached it to another mike stand which I placed behind the stand holding the mike. Eventually, the plastic hole deteriorated. Now I just use a desk mike stand and drop the box over the mike.

Could I have more specificity from you and Dross about the drums? Are the fills too repetitive? Is the beat off in places? When I looped them together, I expected that I had used too many fills.

I appreciate your comments and will endeavor to make it better.

Also, you must see this! The Rane Corporation has the answer to our recording needs, in one unit. I got the web address from a post in the mastering forum.

http://www.rane.com/pi14.html
 
Archiegood said:
Could I have more specificity from you and Dross about the drums? Are the fills too repetitive? Is the beat off in places? When I looped them together, I expected that I had used too many fills.

I appreciate your comments and will endeavor to make it better.

Also, you must see this! The Rane Corporation has the answer to our recording needs, in one unit. I got the web address from a post in the mastering forum.

http://www.rane.com/pi14.html
Click to expand...

it's just that the fills are always the same, making it obvious that the drums are looped. i would just replace some of the fill loops with different ones to add variety and make it harder for listeners to simply hear the same loop the third time (4th, 5th, etc) in a row and say, "aha, it's NOT a drummer!"
the meter is just fine--i don't hear any quantization problems at all.
and i don't even think you used too many fills--they're just repetitive, that's all.

i already bought one of those rane units, but i don't use it because it would be so unfair to everyone else here...:D
 
Believe it or not, I was once was a Rane rep during my younger days as an independent manufacturer's rep. They're a great company with great products, but they're a little offbeat ... as you can surmise. I've met the original owners.

The drums, G, are wallpaper rhythm ... it's the depth and sound of the samples that gives it away, not so much the performance. Accordingly, my impression of them was that they simply sort of faded into the background ... n'er to be noticed as a primary element.

Which, like I said, is fine ... because you didn't attempt to feature them in the mix ... they're appropriately recessed. If, on the other hand, you put them up an front ... things would really sound off -- for up against commercial professional output, they're just not going to cut it.

I buy live drums, played individually to my tunes, from a studio, from Frank Basile -- the same guy that does Session Drummer in Sonar. His address is: www.livestudiodrums.com

He's a great guy and we've had an ongoing relationship since I sent him all his midi files for "Smartloops" (which are essentially the session drummer stuff) -- but I converted them to a format that worked w/ the new Sonar upgrade -- whereas the old format it was originally issued under didn't. It was a spot of work, and I didn't mind doing it ... for it made things work in Sonar for me ... but also for him.

Ever since, Frank has been kind to me ... and I appreciate him very much. He's a VERY talented drummer, and I've played with some REALLY talented guys who are very well known. Not that any of that counts for naught ...

Yet ...

It's very hard for folks to attempt to duplicate specialized live performance, and even harder for them to obtain via recording the sonic signature of a live performance. That's a dirty little secret that every manufacturer of every sample program doesn't want anyone to know. I've bought the best. They still don't stand up properly against a live recording w/ a human playing.

Worlds of difference, and I defy any manufacturer to challenge that statement with the confidence they won't. They know. Samples can augment live, they cannot replace live.

So, in this long winded reply ... don't worry that your drums aren't state of the state of ... They're fine, and they are what they are, unless you employ a wholly different approach.

Best,

Kev-
 
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Love this tune. The guitars and your voice are outstanding. The drums have already been mentioned. But you did a great mixing job and they're not distracting at all. Love the arrangement., too. Beautiful song and performance, man.
 
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