New original "Spell Over You"

[RAMI]

me likey.

Great, me happy!

Good recommendations from everyone in this thread.

Absolutely. My stuff wouldn't sound half as good if it weren't for this place.

I'll be quiet from now on....

No man, why? I wouldn't have turned up the overheads if it wasn't for your comment. I like the mix better because of that.

 

[Greg_L]

Re-tracked the guitars, vocals, brought up the overheads. Probably did a few other things that I can't remember too.

The main thing is the guitars. Are those guitars playing the power chords better? Now, I find them a little over-powering, but it could be because I gor used to the other wimpier sound.

Thanx for all the help so far.

SPELL OVER YOU

Lol. Fuck yeah, guitars are way better than I remember.

My only nit now are the vocals seem a little spiky in the upper mids - particularly during the first verse. Kind of hard to listen to loud.

 

[heatmiser]

I think this mix sounds a lot better. The guitars are a little nastier sounding which is nice. Drums sound fantastic on this...they remind me of the sound from Blood Sugar Sex Magic a little bit.

 

[Armistice]

Ditto on taming the lead vocal just a little... I didn't listen to the "Wimpy-Guitar Mix" version, but they're sounding pretty good now. Particularly like the little syncopated bit at 2.43ish...

I'm not normally one to say "This reminds me of...." but I was getting a BOC feel from the verse parts of this, structurally more than the sound... but BOC back when they were good, and with better production values than they had in 1974... This is probably just because I've had their old CDs out lately though... ignore me..

Nice...

 

[Armistice]

I think this mix sounds a lot better. The guitars are a little nastier sounding which is nice. Drums sound fantastic on this...they remind me of the sound from Blood Sugar Sex Magic a little bit.

Yeah, I had a similar thought... nice dry mix such as Chillis are fond of..

 

[RAMI]

Hey cool guys, thanx.

Believe me, I'm just waiting for someone to tell me to tame the vocals. Not just for this tune, but always, so I'll b e happy to do that. Aside from bringing them down a bit, I'm going to ditch the distortion, it's not doing anything good, just giving it harshness which I first interpreted as "bite". But it's not, it's annoying.

I'm a huge BOC and RHCP fan, so those are 2 compliments right there, thanx a lot.

I'm going to work on the vocal mix for this.

I really appreciate all the honest, helpful comments.

 

[RAMI]

OK, last mix for tonight.

I got rid of the distortion on the vocals and tamed them a bit. Man, that distortion was taking up a lot of room in the mix. Just getting rid of it allowed me to bring the threshold on the limiter down 3.2db more.

* I don't want anyone to feel obliged to listen. I feel like I'm putting people on the spot by announcing every re-mix. Some of you have already listened and commented a few times. You can listen tomorrow, next week, or not at all, it's cool. I've received a lot of help as it is.



SPELL OVER YOU

 

[Armistice]

Oh yeah.... that's it, I reckon... I'm not hearing that harshness anymore...

One more thing for tomorrow... at around 11/12 secs, the second run through of the intro, the guitars drop in volume and I always get a "what?" reaction when I hear it. Now it could just be part of the volume build up for the rest of the intro, but if it were me I'd just nudge it a bit at that point... up to you... could be intentional part of the drama of the song..

I'd pay $0.99 for it on iTunes. Nice work...

But of course, the final touch would be to be run it all through a nice LP/record scratch VST plugin...

 

[chuckduffy]

OK, last mix for tonight.

I got rid of the distortion on the vocals and tamed them a bit. Man, that distortion was taking up a lot of room in the mix. Just getting rid of it allowed me to bring the threshold on the limiter down 3.2db more.

* I don't want anyone to feel obliged to listen. I feel like I'm putting people on the spot by announcing every re-mix. Some of you have already listened and commented a few times. You can listen tomorrow, next week, or not at all, it's cool. I've received a lot of help as it is.

For me the process, feedback and results are the best thing about the forum. I'd rather listen to one good song 1000 times as it evolves than 1 bad song that's going nowhere...

 

[RAMI]

Oh yeah.... that's it, I reckon... I'm not hearing that harshness anymore...

Cool!

. at around 11/12 secs, the second run through of the intro, the guitars drop in volume and I always get a "what?" reaction when I hear it.

OK, I'll check that out later today. It's definitely not deliberate and I played the guitar part pretty much all the way through in one run, so I don't know how that would have haapened. I'll fix it later. Thanx Arm.

But of course, the final touch would be to be run it all through a nice LP/record scratch VST plugin...

HEE! I heard a rumor about some plug-in that can do that....but I don't believe it.

 

[RAMI]

For me the process, feedback and results are the best thing about the forum. I'd rather listen to one good song 1000 times as it evolves than 1 bad song that's going nowhere...

Never looked at it like that, but you're absolutely right.

 

[fat_fleet]

I heard a rumor about some plug-in that can do that....but I don't believe it.

I have heard of this also.

Sorry I can't leave a "useful" comment, but I just got in here too late. Reading through the thread though, I kinda wish I could still hear the first version just for a personal compare-and-contrast thing...
The guitars and mix now sound pretty well-balanced to me and shine with that RAMI cleanness. Cool tune. Really tight.

 

[RAMI]

I have heard of this also.

Sorry I can't leave a "useful" comment, but I just got in here too late. Reading through the thread though, I kinda wish I could still hear the first version just for a personal compare-and-contrast thing...
The guitars and mix now sound pretty well-balanced to me and shine with that RAMI cleanness. Cool tune. Really tight.

Thanx a lot Flat Feet.

I think it's almost finished, but I still don't like how I sing the first verse, maybe because it's just bass drums and vocals and feels really naked in there. I also sang the wrong first line. It's supposed to be "Lines drawn", and I sang "Lines form", which is the opening line in Alice Cooper's "18". Funny thing is, I sang it right on the first version. But when I re-did the vocals, I sang it wrong, mixed it, re-mixed it, changed the guitars, mixed it again, and didn't even notice that I sang the wrong line. until earlier today.

 

[ecktronic]

Hey Eck. Every 4 or 5 songs I post, someone will say something like this about a particular tune, and I probably should have asked sooner what they mean. So I have to ask what you mean. I'm sure knowing will help me.

As far the rest, I will re-track the guitars and much of the vocals. I should have sang the shit out of this one, and when I sing along to it now, I know exactly what I need to do with a few lines to really make it shine.

Thanx for the help.

I think it was the bass guitar I was hearing, it actually sounds better in the new version, not sure if you changed anything to do with the low/hi relationship.
Vocals sound great, yeah the Mix sounds great. Guitars seem meatier, and definitely not too meaty just right.
If I had to nit pick I would say the guitars have a little too much grainy sound, but no biggy at all.

Sweet stuff,
G

 

[RAMI]

I think it was the bass guitar I was hearing, it actually sounds better in the new version, not sure if you changed anything to do with the low/hi relationship.
Vocals sound great, yeah the Mix sounds great. Guitars seem meatier, and definitely not too meaty just right.
If I had to nit pick I would say the guitars have a little too much grainy sound, but no biggy at all.

Sweet stuff,
G

I might agree with the guitars. Just a tad too sizzly, but I think I can live with it. I also have to let a song sit for a week or so before things really jump out at me. So, I'll re- EQ them if needed.

I didn't change anything on the bass, but probably getting a better guitar sound helped the bass come through better.

Thanx dude.

 

[ecktronic]

I might agree with the guitars. Just a tad too sizzly, but I think I can live with it. I also have to let a song sit for a week or so before things really jump out at me. So, I'll re- EQ them if needed.

I didn't change anything on the bass, but probably getting a better guitar sound helped the bass come through better.

Thanx dude.

Yes I think the new guitars did change the way the low mids sound.

 

[7string]

Personally I think the 1st version was the best of the bunch but as a whole, the song sucks. Crappy lyrics, crappy recording, crappier performance and that drum machine... sheesh! Get rid of it and get a real drummer to play on your stuff. You should be ashamed that you even call yourself a musician. You should immediately sell all your stuff and get out of this business because right now you are stinking it up BIG TIME!

How are ya, Buddy? I pretty much agree with everything that has been said. It still needs a tad of this and that but you'll get it right when you get back to it. By the last mix though, it was back to "Rami normal" which is that ass-kicking thing that you always seem to do.

Great tune and good job!

 

[RAMI]

Personally I think the 1st version was the best of the bunch but as a whole, the song sucks. Crappy lyrics, crappy recording, crappier performance and that drum machine... sheesh! Get rid of it and get a real drummer to play on your stuff. You should be ashamed that you even call yourself a musician. You should immediately sell all your stuff and get out of this business because right now you are stinking it up BIG TIME!

HA! I get it, it's spoof of another thread.

How are ya, Buddy? I pretty much agree with everything that has been said. It still needs a tad of this and that but you'll get it right when you get back to it. By the last mix though, it was back to "Rami normal" which is that ass-kicking thing that you always seem to do.

Great tune and good job!

Thanx brother. Doing well, and you? Good to see you around here, Jeff.

 

[7string]

Thanx brother. Doing well, and you? Good to see you around here, Jeff.

Ah, you know, I'm hanging in there. Been busting my hump around here and recording some music when I get the time. Don't get back here much anymore but I get the newsletter every week so I read that and come here when it brings me.

You still playing with those bands?

Great to see that you're still going strong. You're still one of my fav's!

 

[illumination]

Bass seems like it could be a little silkier in the low end. I really dig the tone and the balance. The kit sounds fuckin awesome, that snare is bangin and the kick is making my nuts flinch! Rudiments are flippin solid. Perhaps bump the OH up a hair or tenderly compress it for some extra swell n wash. The guitars would definitely smack my face harder if they were doubled. Maybe double and boost/retain more low end on the dubs. There are several parts where the reverb is more noticable on the vocals, but that's more than likely due to the rests. I'm really digging the TONE and level of the vocals, the only thing I would say is compress just a bit more for more of that "rrrRRRRAAAUGHH!!!!" Personally, I would layer some extra vocals in the "chorus" section(s) either in harmony or simply a higher octave with more breath. it almost sounds like there is a dub at the "before I find myself" part.
I dig the accents on the guitars in the second verse section. funky rhythmic scrapage.
Middle solo/melody has gotta come up for sure. I feel like that's gotta scalp me before the next verse. perhaps get a long reverb and tuck it under for some extra butter?
I dig the vocal dubs later in the track. (Funny its almost exactly as I "heard" it the chorus section, just less breath.)
I feel the melodic/solo guitar line should be panned a little further left, and definitely be brought up.
Totally dig the ending.
This is a sick ass track, man. Fire, as one might say. Seriously super swick bruh.

-edit-
didn't realize i was so late in the thread..