Steenamaroo - Graceland.

JDOD said:
And it could also be down to the Senns I listen on in the office - they're not my AKG reference cans I use for mixing!
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Well yes . . . that's another compounding factor . . . where, when and how we listen to stuff can influence our perception of relative levels.

Interestingly, when I am getting to the final stages of mixing, I often play the track and in one room and listen to it from another room to try and separate what I'm actually hearing from what I think I'm hearing.
 
gecko zzed said:
Interestingly, when I am getting to the final stages of mixing, I often play the track and in one room and listen to it from another room to try and separate what I'm actually hearing from what I think I'm hearing.
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At the risk of spamming Steen's thread I did this yesterday on my SP2 mix.
I listened to it on my Focusrite tracking headhphones, mixed it a bit (these things are like ear defenders great for tracking loud amps). Listened to it on my AKGs and mixed it a bit more. Then listened to it on my normal Sony hi-fi type stereo. Then stuck it on the stereo quite loud a couple of times while I did the washing up in the other room (obviously I don't record in the kitchen!)
 
gecko zzed said:
I'd be ecstatically happy to have been able to recreate something as credible as this. Well done.
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High praise, indeed. Thank you, Gecko!

JDOD said:
I noticed that immediately too.
Your singing is great though, one thing I have noticed that some of you might not agree with, I think the vocal is too up front - I think it could be made to sit back just a little bit.
Love the giant kick at the end and given PS's production I think you've done an amazing job here.
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I do half agree about the vocal. I've been tweaking the balance of low end in the vocal on and off, thinking it's too thick/too thin, etc.
I still feel it's got a bit too much going on in the lower end which could be forcing me to turn it up, to get clarity.
Thanks man, I'll have another listen for sure.

JDOD said:
Would be great if you could post up what miking techniques and effects you used to achieve this.
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Hmm. Not sure how useful it would be. lol. I didn't use a single mic stand or leave my chair.

The bass is DI, as is the guitar although it went through an old analog tape delay first. I love the sound of that thing.
I was just plugged in DI to check out the delay and rehearse the part but, to be honest, I thought it sounded fine so I ran with it.
Strat cluck and real tape delay seemed to get me the tone I wanted to hear.

Vocals are sm7b in hand.
"Drums" are canned but, in fairness, it's literally kick/snare/kick/snare the whole way with no deviation at all.

The infrequent bongo parts are me tapping a bucket at a distance - sm7b sitting on the table.
The same is true of the shakers and tambourines, although I layered up hitting two short metal poles together, and expertly shaking a bucket of nuts and bolts for the two accents throughout the song.

What else....I think that might be it?


Bubba po said:
Hi, Steen. I didn't hear the first mix of this, but if there were any nits I think you've fixed them. Are these canned drums? Everything sounds nice and bouncy and tight. I like the tambourine/blocks/claps whatever they are - they sit pefectly to my ear. Singing, as mentioned, is great.

Tidy mix. :)
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Canned drums yes - see above.

Thanks man. Really glad this one's going down well.
Yeah, I got a good few things worked out on page one - Thank you guys. :)
 
This is one of the best covers ever put up in the MP3 clinic. And there have been quite a few awesome covers done here, so it's in good standings. With all the complexities in a Paul Simon song, I'm sure it wasn't easy. I gave it a few listens last night just for the sake of listening.

Thanks for sharing,
 
I agree that it's a good cover. I can't comment on if it is one of the 'best', as I haven't listened to a bunch of stuff in the clinic. I will say it's damn good.
Anyone can do an 'original' and do it any way they want, but replicating accurately a known song is tough. A previous 'standard' has been established.

Steen did good, real good.
:thumbs up:
 
Chili said:
This is one of the best covers ever put up in the MP3 clinic. And there have been quite a few awesome covers done here, so it's in good standings. With all the complexities in a Paul Simon song, I'm sure it wasn't easy. I gave it a few listens last night just for the sake of listening.

Thanks for sharing,
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RFR said:
I agree that it's a good cover. I can't comment on if it is one of the 'best', as I haven't listened to a bunch of stuff in the clinic. I will say it's damn good.
Anyone can do an 'original' and do it any way they want, but replicating accurately a known song is tough. A previous 'standard' has been established.

Steen did good, real good.
:thumbs up:
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Honestly, I didn't expect a reaction like that! Thank you guys!
I can think of a few covers in here (and originals) that I know I'll never get near but still...Thanks guys!
I can't find an embarrassed smiley so have this one.....:eek:
 
I thought the vocal was better than Paul Simon's. It has more power in it than Paul's (but a little less expression...in this case I like the power).
You're lucky to have the freedom of expression to sing like that.
The music sounds great.
 
Hey man.
That's really cool! Thank you!

Not the first time I've been accused of lack of expression or emotion. It's a trend, actually.

I'm from Northern Ireland. Deviating from mono-tone is something we struggle greatly with. :p
Think Liam Neeson....Not leprechauns. :facepalm:
 
Steenamaroo said:
Hey man.
That's really cool! Thank you!

Not the first time I've been accused of lack of expression or emotion. It's a trend, actually.
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No problem!

Paul Simon's voice is pretty meek and meager on this tune, and in general. He's kind of wispy. So it's cool to hear it with more delivery and power. I think it fits better.
Yeah, lack of expression is a weird thing. I don't know enough about singing to know what causes that, but I hear a lot of good singers who lack it and visa versa. Really to sing with expression you probably need a bad childhood and emotional baggage haha, so you're better off without it.

(i'm kidding i really don't know what goes into any of it).
 
Nola said:
No problem!

Paul Simon's voice is pretty meek and meager on this tune, and in general. He's kind of wispy. So it's cool to hear it with more delivery and power. I think it fits better.
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Thanks dude. Someone else mentioned that, mix wise, I'd gone for a more in-your-face approach.
I didn't realise I'd done that but I guess I have in every respect. When I flick back to the original it's like...oh shit! I've gone off road a bit here! :eek:

Nola said:
Yeah, lack of expression is a weird thing. I don't know enough about singing to know what causes that, but I hear a lot of good singers who lack it and visa versa. Really to sing with expression you probably need a bad childhood and emotional baggage haha, so you're better off without it.

(i'm kidding i really don't know what goes into any of it).
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Haha, I don't know either.
My buddy (from the same town as me) went to a speech therapist or vocal coach (Can't remember) in London, for some basic health/stamina advice.
This person couldn't get over how he spoke, claiming that it was 'unnatural' and 'potentially damaging'.

Seriously...it was all "we have to deal with this before anything" and my buddy is like...man..I'm from Northern Ireland. We literally all talk like this.
 
good cover steen. You sound like Paul Simon....nice job on vocals. Everything sounds great to me. No nits.
Good job!
 
I usually don't listen to covers here, but thought I'd check out this one. At the beginning the instruments do sound heavily compressed. Not so noticeable once the vocals and various percussions things come in. I think the lead vocal could use just a touch less low end, or a touch more high end, then just reduced a 1/2 dB overall.
 
Hey MJB.
This vocal has nagged me too much so I'm taking a look now.

Gotta tweak that bit Andrush mentioned too...Will update soon.
Cheers. :)
 
I remember your African Skies cover - love this album and your cover sounds great. I'm playing in a band for a friend's wedding next year and currently trying to get this song onto the setlist.

Nothing sounds nitty to me - the doubling of the vocals caught me out at first, but I don't know if it's just because it's a deviation from a song that I know so well. The vocals do sound awesome though - I was going to ask what mic you'd used for them, but just seen the answer above. Good stuff Steen, enjoyed it :thumbs up:
 
robgreen said:
I remember your African Skies cover - love this album and your cover sounds great. I'm playing in a band for a friend's wedding next year and currently trying to get this song onto the setlist.

Nothing sounds nitty to me - the doubling of the vocals caught me out at first, but I don't know if it's just because it's a deviation from a song that I know so well. The vocals do sound awesome though - I was going to ask what mic you'd used for them, but just seen the answer above. Good stuff Steen, enjoyed it :thumbs up:
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Hey man,
Thanks for the comments.
I didn't double the main vocal but I did double the backing vocals. I pretty much always do.
SM7B for everything. :)
 
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