Dead Flowers - Rolling Stones cover

[paulman]

This is my first recording on my new PC, and my first in Reaper. The core of it is another live acoustic/vocal performance, with harmony vocals and lead guitar added. It's also my first recording with the Tele I built, with Muttley's Ripper on the lead. It's not the best example of the tones I can get from that pickup, as I was going for a pseudo-country type tone, and I'm not a country guitarist in the slightest. I'm also still figuring out how to mic and mix my guitar cabinet. And I was playing with blistered fingers because I hardly ever play lead guitar anymore.

I don't know how many of ya'll are familiar with this song, but it's from the Stones' Sticky Fingers album. Mick Jagger said that he loved country music, but he couldn't take it seriously. By which he meant that when he sings country, he sounds like he's making fun of country. He doesn't sing it with his usual inauthentic-yet-super-cool Southern drawl. He sounds sarcastic and cold as fuck, and pronounces his L's in the back of his throat in a really exaggerated, silly way. Yet the lyrics he wrote and sang are brilliant.

Being an American and a Southerner myself, I take a different approach to this song. I'm dead serious about it.

[rayc]

From a listening perspective the intro lead was a little too loud and distorted.
The acoustic was/is too far back and there's no warmth to it...just the top end.
There's something a little aggressive in the high end of the vocal as well.
All of that aside, I love the song and your version is fine - no embarrassment at all.

[Greg_L]

I didn't know this is supposed to be a brit attempt at a "country song". I always liked this song and never thought of it that way. You definitely made it sound country if that was the goal.

The electric guitar is a little stark out front by itself. I know there's not much of a mix for it to sit into, but back it off just a little bit. I like it though overall.

[vomitHatSteve]

There's a frequency on the backup vocalist that's coming through really harsh.

I'm familiar with the original but haven't listened in a long time. I don't recall it sounding much like country at all. Certainly not to this level!

[JD01]

I agree with Greg and Ray about the electric. First thing I thought is that the electric is a bit too overdriven and is a bit to loud and dry.
Sit it back in the mix in the bit.

I like the vocal performances on this. But the backing needs a little work to possibly try and notch out a frequency thats cutting through in a slightly unpleasant way.

There's a bit of noise on the acoustic track and its quite rattley too - were you a long way off the mic for this?

[Bubba]

The singing is good, you have a rich, tuneful voice. I have to echo what Ray said, in that the guitar seems to have had all the warmth mixed out of it, leaving it quite hard and thin-sounding. The electric guitar on the intro seems a little loud when it comes in, but I think that's because the acoustic is too low and thin. The voice is very loud in comparison when you start giving it the full beans. In fact, the voice gets too loud and harsh, which tells me it needs a good bit of compression on it to rein it in.

I have a feeling that much of the problem with this mix stems from the acoustic guitar. Warm that up a lot and turn it up some, and you will be a lot closer.

Oh, and the tone of the electric suits a drier reverb setting, (in my opinion) They are all good performances that you have to work with.

[Bubba]

First thing I thought is that the electric is a bit too overdriven and is a bit to loud and dry.

I don't think it's dry enough. This is really going to confuse him.

[JD01]

First thing I thought is that the electric is a bit too overdriven and is a bit to loud and dry.

I don't think it's dry enough. This is really going to confuse him.

Haha, well [mention]paulman[/mention] try both!

[WhiskeyJack]

Hmmm.

The dynamic between the acoustic and the electric sort of rubs me the wrong way. I can't say i love it. On their own the sound great. They might be fine but together here they aren't working together. I am unfamiliar with the original so if there are any homage type tributes to that recording it is lost on me. I just hear a really up front electric and way back acoustic.

Tele on it's own sounds really good though. Good job [mention]muttley[/mention] and [mention]paulman[/mention]

Your vocals all sound really good well performed and recorded and i don't have any nits there. though on a second listen now i think the main vocal has boomyness to it in places that almost translate to my ears like a plosive. And i will echo VHS in regard to the harshness on the back up vocal in some places. Comes through sizzly hot when you it really belts those hard hitting driving parts.

I think the deathstars core was overheated on this one and started frying some of the finer points on this one dude

[paulman]

Thanks guys, a lot of great points there. I finished mixing this last night, and I'm pretty sure I shouldn't have because I was three bourbons deep. I specifically wanted to make my lead vocal a little bassier, and I wanted to make the acoustic a little brighter. Sounds like my execution didn't match my goals. I'll have to take a listen with fresh ears. I completely agree that there's too much overdrive on the guitar intro and solo. I knew that already, it's just that my damn fingers still hurt so I tried to make it just be okay in the mix. I need to track it again, or maybe go back to some earlier takes when I had the volume lower on the guitar. I was thinking about that today at work before I read all your comments.

[paulman]

Hmmm.

The dynamic between the acoustic and the electric sort of rubs me the wrong way. I can't say i love it. On their own the sound great. They might be fine but together here they aren't working together. I am unfamiliar with the original so if there are any homage type tributes to that recording it is lost on me. I just hear a really up front electric and way back acoustic.

Tele on it's own sounds really good though. Good job @muttley and @paulman

Your vocals all sound really good well performed and recorded and i don't have any nits there. though on a second listen now i think the main vocal has boomyness to it in places that almost translate to my ears like a plosive. And i will echo VHS in regard to the harshness on the back up vocal in some places. Comes through sizzly hot when you it really belts those hard hitting driving parts.

I think the deathstars core was overheated on this one and started frying some of the finer points on this one dude

No, I wasn't really doing anything like the original with the guitar work, for the most part. The original lead is just simple major pentatonic country-style licks with a lot of twangy bends. I did that, but a little less simple and with my own melodies. And while the original is peppy and upbeat, mine is slower and... well, not sad exactly, but heavier I guess.

The Death Star has been great in the mixing of that song. No issues there, but of course it's a pretty bare bones mix. Can't wait to see how it does with a big production. However, the Thunderbolt connections aren't working consistently. I have to restart the PC several times before it will recognize my audio interface, and it has yet to mount my external drives so I had to record on the main internal drive. Windows knows everything is connected, but it won't make use of them. Other than that, everything has been glorious. I can't hear the fans at all even when I take the covers off.

[paulman]

The singing is good, you have a rich, tuneful voice. I have to echo what Ray said, in that the guitar seems to have had all the warmth mixed out of it, leaving it quite hard and thin-sounding. The electric guitar on the intro seems a little loud when it comes in, but I think that's because the acoustic is too low and thin. The voice is very loud in comparison when you start giving it the full beans. In fact, the voice gets too loud and harsh, which tells me it needs a good bit of compression on it to rein it in.

I have a feeling that much of the problem with this mix stems from the acoustic guitar. Warm that up a lot and turn it up some, and you will be a lot closer.

Oh, and the tone of the electric suits a drier reverb setting, (in my opinion) They are all good performances that you have to work with.

Thanks Bob! I think I may have forgotten to turn off my reverb pedal when I was tracking. It was on an echo setting. If I did forget to turn it off, then I have echo plus the reverb I added in the mix. I can handle my bourbon when playing, but it's a really horrible idea when mixing.

[paulman]

There's a bit of noise on the acoustic track and its quite rattley too - were you a long way off the mic for this?

Not really. Six inches maybe? I was kind of proud of how well I did keeping the guitar on the mic when I watched the video, considering I was more focused on singing. I'll have to listen for the rattle. By noise do you mean like a hiss? Or some kind of background noise? It's a nightmare here trying to keep outside noises out of my recordings.

Well, I guess if you consider that the vocal mic is picking up the acoustic, then yes it was far off that mic. Just thought about that.

[paulman]

I'm familiar with the original but haven't listened in a long time. I don't recall it sounding much like country at all. Certainly not to this level!

I didn't know this is supposed to be a brit attempt at a "country song". I always liked this song and never thought of it that way. You definitely made it sound country if that was the goal.

Yeah, it was supposed to be country. Mick talked about how the band did a good job of playing "legit country" as he put it, but that he cannot sing it legit. I've been super into the Stones lately, and I like to read about the background of songs. I've got at least two more Stones songs I'll be doing, one of which is meant to be a demo of Muttley's pickups. It's been delayed a few months because of Covid, as I have a female singer who's going to be on it and she and I are two of the few Floridians who actually give a shit about trying not to get sick. Not that things are any better now, but at least we know more about how to be careful. I have vacation week after next, so we're going to track it then.

Anyway, yes, making it more country was my goal, so thank you! That's not hard for me to do vocally because I've always been able to put on a good Southern accent. I don't speak with one naturally, but all my family does except for my sister. Playing country guitar is what is challenging to me, because it's just not really my bag.

[JD01]

There's a bit of noise on the acoustic track and its quite rattley too - were you a long way off the mic for this?

Not really. Six inches maybe? I was kind of proud of how well I did keeping the guitar on the mic when I watched the video, considering I was more focused on singing. I'll have to listen for the rattle. By noise do you mean like a hiss? Or some kind of background noise? It's a nightmare here trying to keep outside noises out of my recordings.

Well, I guess if you consider that the vocal mic is picking up the acoustic, then yes it was far off that mic. Just thought about that.

Yeah, little bit of hiss when I was talking about noise.
Rattle I was talking more string rattle.

[WhiskeyJack]

I was kind of proud of how well I did keeping the guitar on the mic when I watched the video, considering I was more focused on singing.

Ahhh. So you tracked your vocals and guitar and the same time? that might explain why i hear what i am hearing a bit.