Neil Young cover

  • Thread starter Thread starter powderfinger
  • Start date Start date
powderfinger

powderfinger

New member
we're trying to put together a song for a hard rock neil young tribute......throw your hatred down was our choice........

i need suggestions that will help get this thing on the album.......my mix is ok right now, but any additional ears and suggestions will undoubtedly help
 
The two things that jump out at me are first...there's distorted quality to the sound that I'm hearing. The entire recording just seems to have a veil of distortion overlaying it. I'm not sure what is causing it but I'd look at how hot I was cutting things.
Seconly....there are some tuning issues here, both with the voice and the bass I think. Some of the vocals go way out of tune. I would try to tighten that up some. Fairly decent mix and the playing was fine but those intonation problems gotta go! ;)
 
Sounds pretty good-not familiar with this tune but it sounds like Neil/Crazy Horse-The vocals go a little off pitch a few times-once before the first chorus that really stood out-and the guitars have a kind of canned sound-I dont know how else to explain it-probably a midrange issue-they don't sound bad though-you can tell one guitar from the other-Nice job overall-a little detail work and this might get you on that tribute-hopefully someone else can give you better advice. Good luck-


Strat
 
This is a pretty cool Neil Young song. I haven't heard his version, but I like the song.

On my machine I had a little bit of trouble picking out the bass. You have already got feedback about the vocals...I concur, they are good but need a bit of tuning up so to speak (I am always having this problem myself...so I guess it's okay if I comment on this...)

I think with some fine tuning you'll have something here.

Good luck getting this on the album!
 
I dont know the original, the only thing I swould say is that I thought the guitar and voice were dominating the mix. Good playing though and good drums.
 
........looks like it's time to re-do the vocals..........i'll post something once that gets done.
 
Hey man, that's really good!

It definitely captures the Neil Young sound really well, although I have not heard the Neil Young original on this one.

It sounds very 'live-in-studio', and not 'overproduced' at all, if you know what I mean. I like how the song opens with this mindblowing feedback, and I also like how the feedback throws accent on the lead guitar, in general. That's very authentically Neil Young, and again, you capture that essence really well.

You really capture the Neil Young essence of the vocals really well too, but ditto, the pitch warbles a bit, and could stand to be redone.

I don't know how you produced this cut, but to me, it sounds very 'live-in-studio', and that's very Neil-Youngish indeed. Just curios, but how's this cut produced, and on what equipment?

...Overall, I like this cut, and if you improved only the vocals, it would stand very well on it's own, but it might be improved even more by beefing up the production value of the rythm section. If it's 'live-in-studio', then multitrack it. If it's already multitracked, then work on the mix some more, to give the rythm section more definition and presence,... more bass-end punch and more treble-end crispness, and a little more selective panning to give each instrument it's own space.
 
yes...it does sound Neil Young-ish. Unfortunately, your name is not Neil Young, and you can't get away with the slop he does...like the one note solos, mediocre gtr sound, and his vocal problems. I think you did a great job of capturing the Neil Young vibe, but it makes it rough on you without a lengthy recording history to get away with his stuff. Your gtr tone actually is pretty dead-on to his, complete with feedback and the same type of riffing.

good job....now..go change your name, and rest on your laurels!!!:D
 
I think the tune could improve with a little less dirty and distorted rhythm git section. This struck me as distorted more than taste or texture will allow. The vocals are there but, sound like you're missing notes due to monitoring issues. What mic are you useing? Better yet, do you have another mic to choose from. Maybe try increasing your voice in the headphones when you're recording the vocals. It kinda sounds like your fighting the headphone mix when you're singing.

I might be way off base but that's what came to mind.

Peace,

Theron.
 
I've not heard the original either but here's what I heard.....

I thought that the drums could've been sped up maybe 1 or 2 bpm (max). It just seemed to drag.

It does have the Neil Young flavor to it though. My wife was listnening with me and I asked her to listen and tell me who it was. Without knowing what I was playing and without her ever hearing the song before either, she said "Neil Young?"

The vox seemed to have some harshness to them but overall I think you did a great job on the song.
RF
 
update cut

well guys,

first off, thanks for everything

Lt. Bob, great ears! I think the bass was a little out of tune on the chorus.....it wasn't noticable throught the track because the bass player only played on the third string during the chorus......that bastard should learn to tune up.

Reel Person, we did a combo of mulit-tracking and live in studio, drums & bass recorded first but w/ everyone playing....then other parts.

We used Sonar with an M-audio Delta card.....mixer into the card. Shure mics except for a Marshall v93m for vocals.

We re-recorded bass and vocals, other than that, I re eq'd everything and added a little reverb to kind of get a combo of the 'live-in-studio' and 'produced' sounds......the vocal might need to go down a touch...let me know what you guys think.....

thanks for everything

http://www.nowhereradio.com/artists/album.php?aid=1642&alid=154
 
That one's quite a better mix! Much clearer.

Yep, the vocal's a bit too up-front now, very slightly. Pump up the bass a little too.;)
 
You still need to get the vocal/track ratio down. The vocal is too loud. Coming from me, even! The track rocks pretty darn good! You just need to find that spot where the vocal and the track mesh, without one overpowering the other.

I'm getting streaming problems stil tonight, so I won't comment on anything else. Sounds like you're getting plenty of help anyway, powderfinger.
 
I dug the bass, drums, lead, and vocal (maybe a little too hot, as already pointed out)...but the fuzzy rhythm guitar took away from the vibe imo. Clean, or at least cleaner rhythm can be powerful.
 
You have the Neil sound. As pointed out the vocal is dominating the mix. I know Neil isn't known for perfect on key vocals but you seem to be drifting a bit. Watch your intonation.
 
ditto everything said about the vocals.

but wow, you have the music down!!! nice indeed!!!
i really like the drum's.

thanks man

peace

rick
 
Back
Top