Rum + Recording studio = weird mix?

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The Ghost of FM

Banned
Ahh!

Another Lazy Sunday afternoon and nothing to do but drink some 18 year old rum and jump into the studio to have some fun!

This little ditty was kind of ad-libed as I went along so, it might tend to ramble on a little bit.

I went in wanting to do an ac-capella performance but quickly realized it wasn't going to happen today.

This is what I came up with instead.

Murder on the March

I hope you enjoy and look forward to any feedback you have to offer on this happy little effort.

Cheers! :)
 
considering the circumstances it was cool.. good thing you put up a disclaimer.. the mix sounded decent but could have used a change.. almost 4 minutes of the same thing started to drive me nuts..snare could come down.. bass sounds very 'right into the boardish', but clean.. sounds like an earlier synth..
 
B.SABBATH

Well, the last thing I like to do is make excuses for a questionable track and posting of it but, under the circumstances, it seemed appropriate to add a disclaimer to the post.:cool:

Now approached a semi-sober state of mind, I think you are right. The tune could have used an alternate part and some further variation on the bass guitar part.

The lyrics as well could have used a few more lines too. I wrote them with in a span of about 3 minutes and just decided to go with them and see how it turned out.

Thanks for taking the time to listen and to offer your feelings on the song and the mix.

As always, it is very appreciated!:)
 
Murder on the March... Hey somebody's prolific, eh? :D You'll be up
to song 100 before I get to #4 btw ;)

Nice song... COOL @SS bassline!! Great groove... a taste of funk. I'm
thinkin too much 2.5k on the snare... as well as some tubbiness. Is that a sample? Are you EQ'in the snare at all?

Cymbals sound thin/harsh-ish.

Great vocs and gtr leads. Wow... murder, eh? :D Don't get any ideas :) :p :eek: :D


Chad
 
I liked the snare. I thought it sounded big. Real fat sound. Nice groove...... but it does need a bridge or something now and then. Also could lay some killer screamer lead instrumental in there somewhere.

Really good sound though.

Also thought your vocals were a bit dry. Need some verb :) Just kiddin
 
I like the presentation. The bass is a bit thin but with the drumkit sound it would be real interesting, and work out ok if you added instrumentation and laying a steady counterrythym with the drums after that chorus at 2:30. It could open up into some real serious butt kickin. Sorta like a KW Sheppard vibe. I likes it...
 
"You don't scare me..No you don't":cool: :) hey ghost, I thought this kicked ass man. I liked the vox just like they are my self. I liked that bass tone ya had also..what is it? Kick ass for a sunday afternoon effort my man..great stuff!
 
Okay, I'm barely awake at this point, but I'm giving a listen.

Like the groove. Another song tonight that reminds me of songs I've recorded in the past. Weird.

Snare's a bit loud and bright. Guitars are also a bit bright for me. Vox are nice, if repetitive.

Odd... you've gotten kudos for the bass tone. I don't care for it. Sounds too synthesized. Too "picked." Something with a little more fat in it would sound better to me.

Okay, as has been said already, under the circumstances and nice little ditty. It's better than some of the stuff that made Ween famous (and I love Ween). :-)

Enjoyable, but maybe best kept as a "fun" song rather than a major-label-demo-tape song. Believe me, I have a million of those. Okay, well, all of them are those.

Thanks!
Piltdown Man
 
Well, I thought this tune would quickly fade into obscurity and be buried five minutes after I posted it. As usual, I have been pleasantly surprised by the fine folks here at the clinic! :D

participant I didn't feel particularly prolific when I wrote the tune. Just a little shit-faced is all! I did do some pre and post eq on the snare and true enough, it does sound pretty out there on the mp3 of it.

kjam22 I am thankful you checked out the track and that you liked it a little. The tune was repetitive and I have no excuse beyond the original disclaimer in the thread. Thanks, man!

Toki987 Thanks for checking out the track! More layering would definitely be a good way to fix it up and take away from the monotony of the piece. Good advice and thanks for it!

freshears Glad you enjoyed! the keyboard part that was helping out the real bass guitar was a Grand Harpsichord patch from my Yamaha keyboard. It seemed like a good idea at the time.;)

PiltdownMan I am touched and honoured that you finally gave comment on one of my pieces. I was beginning to think that I had permanently pissed you off a few threads back and that I would never hear from you on my stuff. Thank you!

The bass tone was a real bass guitar. A Toki actually that has a natural twang to it, especially if you play it close to bridge as I do. Many guys here on the forum seem to have a lot of trouble getting any definition from their bass, I seem to get too much! Oh well.

As for fun, the track was not a serious one. Just something I very quickly threw together. I have no plans to go up to a big record company executive with a tape in hand of this one!:D

OT; About you blowing a grand on your new Mic as a poor return on investment, I wouldn't sweat that if I was you. You've said repeatedly that you do the music because you have fun with it just like I do and I have blown over 40 grand in my studio so far and haven't regretted one penny of it!

Cheers and thanks again to everybody!:)
 
Another excellent number out of Font Farms!


LIKES:
1.The groove!

2.The tempo is dialed in dead on.

3.Vocals are awesome!
(Kind of made me think of Lindsey Buckingham about to snap or a very restrained Dave Mustain... It's user friendly for sure.)

4.Mr. Clean on the over all mix!!


COULD BE BETTER: (IMHO)
1.(Obviously) Needs a change.

2.The Bass line works, but an alternating turn around lick locked into the groove would really give it some inside movement.

3.Hi Hats are a bit harsh for my taste.


DISLIKES:
1.One thing that sort of bothered me was the guitar tone and placement...
I know (Sort of) that you can't crank it where you live, but a nice warm ambient tube tone with the leads tracked seperate and poping in in a few "Call and Response" pan positions on the "Outro" would rule!
(The playing is no doubt there, but the guitar locked into just that single spot in the mix against the repetition of the bass line was too "One Dimensional" after awhile to me.)


IF I WERE PRODUCER: (I'd add..)
1.A nearly subliminal Hammond or Wurlitzer bed throughout the song.

2.A bad ass harmonica fighting with the guitar leads on the "Outro". (Ala Billy Branch on "Smokestack Lightening" )

3.Stereo Dan Electro or weird Tele tone for the rhythm guitar. (Something fat and tight, yet somehow still with jangle...A Rick maybe??)


BOTTOM LINE:

When I can write a tune as cool and record it as clean while buzzed on a Sunday, then I'll have room to talk.
Till then... Good Job Dude :)
 
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What kind of rum do you drink? :D

I like the idea but agree with the "need a bridge" comments. Perhaps some percussion in he groove every now and then would make it more interesting. I like your vocal delivery, very in your face.
 
BillyFurnett - Thanks for checking out the tune, Billy! It's appreciated. You had some good ideas there to spice up the track and the next time you're in Toronto, You are invited to come over and sit in on the next session but, you will have to bring your own supply of rum!!:D

lynx - Thanks to you as well for checking out the little mess I made there. Appleton's 18 year old was on duty that day!

Cheers! :D
 
I wanna check out the other one too.

When I get up and running I'll mail you a 456 to track vocals and leads or something! (I'll send you some rum if you send me a few Havana's.. and trust me, if you heard one of my tunes you'd need a drink...FAST! :) )

:)
 
Pretty cool! The shortcomings have been well documented, so I'll just add that it sounded tight and the mix works pretty well. Good jam.
 
Drums are massive sounding in the beginning. That's a meaty snare.

Of course your mix is very radio hot, you tape guys ... it's a different world.

I can understand all the words on the first listening.

But I think the vocal is too hot, there's some un-needed sibilance flying off the vocal. And that's partially EQ and that seemingly extra boost in the voice's upper mids is mixing with the reverb to make extra sibilance.

I can hear the vocal plate ringing in between the phrases a touch and this does go well with your 'AAAaahhhh'

Because the mix is so 'comparitively' hot to most of the digital mixes coming off this bbs, I'm thinking it might be very effective to let a 'less hot' vocal sit down in this mix, and maintain the understandability of the vocal by reducing the reverb.

As if you are surrounded by the big bullies ... maybe ...

You and groovjunkie should collaborate !
 
HAVE I BEEN DISSING YOU?!

Dude, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to diss you. It wasn't intentional. I just go down the list of new posts, and either I missed yours or lived in a fugue state for a couple of days. (Could've been the affinity for alcohol consumption.) ;-)

Give me a link, I'll go straight to your site and listen to at least three of your songs. Seriously.

I actually have gotten a great deal from your posts on my music, and appreciate your listens. You are a gentleman and a scholar. No offense intended.

Piltdown Man
 
The hangover that won't go away!

I am touched by all the kind words and at this point, I actually feel ashamed for posting such a mess of repetitive licks on you all!:p

SLuiCe - Thank you for checking out the track. I pale in talent to what I have heard from you and am honoured that you indulged me on this. You are a true boulder in a world of rocks!

studioviols - If there ever was a more talented ear on this board for thoughtfully, dissecting a vocal and all its intricacies, I have surely never seen that. Please don't ever leave this place!

PiltdownMan - I guess it was just a mis-communication between us. I am sorry if I seemed miffed with you at all. Nothing could be further from the truth. I throughly enjoy your music and your honest and straight forward opinions and advice. If there were more people here with your attitude, this would surely be an even better place to get real feedback on mix, musicianship and arrangement.

My sound-Click link remains at the bottom of each of my posts. So, clicking on the www box just below this, take you straight there.

Again, thanks to everyone here and I do pledge an oath on my stack of Zappa records that I will endeavour to post better quality stuff as time goes by, thanks to all your help here at the clinic.

Cheers! :)
 
Re: The hangover that won't go away!

The Ghost of FM said:
... I do pledge an oath on my stack of Zappa records ...
Click to expand...

Isn't that ZaPkRaLiDgE ? you can get warts from that too ...
 
I promised, and I will deliver...

I'm listening to Set Myself Free...

I thought I was listening to the Police when it started. :-)

I like this song. I have no bass though, on my system. It's very bright. That's not true. I have a bass guitar and a bass drum, which sound awesome. But there's no bass in the guitars or vocals. You have a great voice though.

Well arranged. Well written. Good lyrics. It just seems a little bright, overall.

Put a cheeseburger in it.

That's the second time I've used a cheeseburger as a reference tonight. Am I becoming predictable?

Nice song.

Next....
 
I'm on Song for Dave...

Still having the too bright situation.

Your bass guitar and drum are still good, but the rest is still too bright.

Nice swells. Nice guitar execution. It's just a bit "metallic" on my system, and I have Klipsch's with a kick-ass sub.

You write really catchy toons with nice lyrics.

I just wish it would punch me in the gut and make me beg for mercy. Has anyone else commented on your treble, or is it just me?

Next...
 
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