Tennessee Whiskey

[paulman]

Cool man, I'm learning on an e-kit myself...I thought the drums sounded pretty good, so I thought I'd ask...I have all the Abbey Road drum packs, plus a whole lot more...I think all different drum vst's do one thing better than others, so I mix/match to make "my" kit, which consists of BFD3, Superior Drummer & Steven Slate 4...I'm actually pretty stoked about Superior 3, it's been a long time coming & I hope it's an improvement...We'll see in a couple of weeks...

I've never used Logic or Reason, but I feel your pain about importing things...I used Cubase for a while & would have to record a synth there, then export/import into Reaper...I finally gave up on Cubase & use only Reaper now...

I'm a Yamaha e-kit guy, what do you use???

Sorry to hi-jack your thread dude...

Not at all, man. Good convo. I got just about the cheapest kit I could find, Behringer HDS240. It kind of sucks to be honest, but I get the job done. The hit hat misses triggers all the time, and God forbid I try to use the hi hat pedal. I always have to go in and pencil in the missed triggers on the hi hat after I record a part, and I've given up on even trying to mix in open hi hat hits when I play because the trigger almost always misses when I do. So I have to pencil that in too. And the sensitivity and bounce on all the pads is kind of wacky, which makes dynamics and rolls difficult. But I do manage with those, I just have to adjust how I play vs. playing a real snare. It's kind of like playing on a shitty practice pad. Eventually I'll get a real set (I don't require much, I'm a minimalist when it comes to drum pieces), but I'd also like a quality ekit.

I would be really happy if I could just use that Bonham kit outside of Reason. It's much more versatile than I originally thought it would be. I also like the Clyde Stubblefield kit in Reason, as he was my favorite James Brown drummer and the biggest influence on my limited drum skills. But that Bonham kit would be my desert island kit. If I had any money to spare right now, I'd be looking for something just like it in a VST. Is there anything in the Abbey Road packs that resembles a Bonham sound?

[paulman]

Thank you! See above for explanation of the "high" part. I didn't think I needed to specify on this song, but it is a cover. That's how the chorus goes. In my opinion, the "warm as a glass of brandy" line is the best thing in the song. I do sing it a little differently than Chris Stapleton, and his voice is beefier than mine, so maybe it's the way I sing it that bugs you. It is the hardest part of the song, so maybe I need more work on it before closing the case on this recording. I've got my mic warming up now so I can do some more takes.

More drums? Hmm. I'll check that out. The set I used was pretty beefy, so maybe I turned it down a little too much.

Ohhhh.. I didn't know it was a cover. Lemme check out the original now.

He's really not doing that word better. That's a Mariah Carey arrangement right there, which doesn't sound good for country/soul male voices.

I think it sounds amazing, but to each his own. I like the fact that he bent genres with this song. It's actually a combination of lyrics to an old country song and music from an Etta James song. It is comforting that you don't like his any better than mine, though. :-)

I retracked the vocal and made that line (and the rest of it) beefier, and more on point. Still got more work to do before I post a new mix, though.

[Minerman]

Not at all, man. Good convo. I got just about the cheapest kit I could find, Behringer HDS240. It kind of sucks to be honest, but I get the job done. The hit hat misses triggers all the time, and God forbid I try to use the hi hat pedal. I always have to go in and pencil in the missed triggers on the hi hat after I record a part, and I've given up on even trying to mix in open hi hat hits when I play because the trigger almost always misses when I do. So I have to pencil that in too. And the sensitivity and bounce on all the pads is kind of wacky, which makes dynamics and rolls difficult. But I do manage with those, I just have to adjust how I play vs. playing a real snare. It's kind of like playing on a shitty practice pad. Eventually I'll get a real set (I don't require much, I'm a minimalist when it comes to drum pieces), but I'd also like a quality ekit.

Your kit is basically a re-branded Alesis...Nothing wrong with it dude, it's a starter e-kit...I started with a Yamaha DTX400, then started adding cymbals/pads, & ended up buying a DTX532K a few months ago...I use both the DTX400 & DTX502 modules at the same time...Basically a 6 piece (kick, snare, 4 toms), with 5 cymbals & the hi-hat...The DTX532K came with a real hi-hat stand, so it's about as close as I can get to the real thing in an e-kit, but it's still miles away from a real hi-hat...It triggers 2 closed, 2 open, foot chick & foot splash, but there are so many "in between" variants on the hi-hat, it's still not like a real one...

I modded my DTX400 hh controller (which is probably similar to your foot controller) with a FSR (force sensing resistor), & it can trigger a bunch more of the "in between" hits, but it's really, really sensitive, & very hard to control while playing...

Here's a thread on my e-kit journey, the hh mod should pop up, but if it doesn't it's post #6 I think:
viewtopic.php?f=28&t=41&p=637#p637

After I got the DTX532K, I haven't even used the sensor, I'm gonna have to try it out with the real hh stand...

I would be really happy if I could just use that Bonham kit outside of Reason. It's much more versatile than I originally thought it would be. I also like the Clyde Stubblefield kit in Reason, as he was my favorite James Brown drummer and the biggest influence on my limited drum skills. But that Bonham kit would be my desert island kit. If I had any money to spare right now, I'd be looking for something just like it in a VST. Is there anything in the Abbey Road packs that resembles a Bonham sound?

IMO the only way to find a Bohnam sound in any of the drum vst's is to go through 'em until you find something close, then start tweaking...

I think it sounds amazing, but to each his own. I like the fact that he bent genres with this song. It's actually a combination of lyrics to an old country song and music from an Etta James song. It is comforting that you don't like his any better than mine, though. :-)

I retracked the vocal and made that line (and the rest of it) beefier, and more on point. Still got more work to do before I post a new mix, though.

While I didn't know Etta James had anything to do with this song, I know David Allen Coe did a version I thought was the original...

IMO, Chris Stapelton is a really good singer/musician...I like a lot of the songs he's done...

[paulman]

While I didn't know Etta James had anything to do with this song, I know David Allen Coe did a version I thought was the original...

Here's what I can remember without googling: It was written by a couple of songwriters whose names I can't remember. They may or may not have been performers, I also can't remember. I believe David Allan Coe popularized it first, then George Jones. That was in 1980 or so. Now this was a completely different song as far as the music goes. Same lyrics as Stapleton's, but otherwise completely different and to my ears kind of corny. Stapleton took those lyrics and set them to the tune of an Etta James song (I've heard it, but I forgot the name). It may not be exactly the Etta James tune, but it's really damn close.

I will check out your drum thread after I go clear my head. I just spent forever taming the "high" on the new vocal take, and my brain and ears are done. I'm pretty happy with the take, though. Way better than the one currently posted.

And yeah, Chris Stapleton is the only current country artist I know of that's worth a damn.

[paulman]

Okay guys, I retracked the vocal and did some remixing. I kept the guitar solos, but I think I made them sound better.

[JD01]

Back listening on my usual work headphones.
Mate, this sounds ace now. Everything seems to work together well. The lead guitar sounds better than it did before.

I still don't think "High...." quite works - you're a really good singer, mate. But sounds like you're struggling a bit on that one.

[paulman]

Back listening on my usual work headphones.
Mate, this sounds ace now. Everything seems to work together well. The lead guitar sounds better than it did before.

I still don't think "High...." quite works - you're a really good singer, mate. But sounds like you're struggling a bit on that one.

Thanks JD! Yeah, that note is a bitch. I'm always so focused on the "warm" part that I forget about the "high" part until I get to it. When I tried dubbing one in, it sounded too strong, but when I sing it normally the lines that come before it leave me a bit gassed. So I did a double of just that note and mixed it low for support, which helped. But you can still hear the shake in my voice on the main one. I really want to be done with this, but I think I'm going to go back in and explore my options.

[paulman]

Back listening on my usual work headphones.
Mate, this sounds ace now. Everything seems to work together well. The lead guitar sounds better than it did before.

I still don't think "High...." quite works - you're a really good singer, mate. But sounds like you're struggling a bit on that one.

Okay, it's better now. I used automation to bring down the main vocal a tad at that point so that the double comes out stronger (I also recorded a better double) and it masks that glitch in my voice better. You can tell it's more than one voice, but I'm fine with that as I think I should have had Kelly join in on that part anyway.

(edited in OP)

[Minerman]

Sounds pretty good dude, it's got the Texas blues/SRV sound on the guitar, very cool, especially if you're using Amplitube...

The "high" part sounds a little strange to me now, not sure if it's 2 parts clashing or if it's got some kind of modulation effect (flanger/chorus/etc) on it...

The "honey" part sounds kinda out of place because it's got way more low end than the rest of the vocals, you might use a little eq to even it out...


Other than those picky little things, everything sounds good dude, especially the guitar...

[paulman]

The "high" part sounds a little strange to me now, not sure if it's 2 parts clashing or if it's got some kind of modulation effect (flanger/chorus/etc) on it...

Upon further listening, I agree. I think I need to play with that a little more. It's just that it's one really strong note mixed with the weaker one that is part of the whole performance. More specifically, I think the modulation effect you're talking about is just the tremor in my voice on the weaker note, which is what I'm trying to smooth out with the double. My only issue with it now is that it clearly sounds like two singers. I thought I was okay with that at first, but now not so much. I was in a hurry when I did that, so I think I can just mix it a little better. Not going to be doing anything for a while, though. I packed up my studio last night so I can squeeze it in my car and get the fuck out of Florida before Irma gets here.

[Greg_L]

If this is a cover, I don't know it. So I'm listening to with no preconceived notions. I also don't know the difference between bourbon or whiskey or scotch or whatever. Fucking drunks.

To me, that does not sound like a Hendrix tone....if that's what you're going for. The lead tone you got is controlled and pretty tame compared to Hendrix's amp-about-to-melt tone. But that doesn't matter. What you ended up with work just fine.

I think the mix works pretty good. I'd like a little more air and shimmer in the male vocals. The S's and hard consonants kind of vanish. I like the girl voice in there. The rest seems pretty good. Nice work.

[paulman]

Thank you, Greg. No, I didn't think this sounded like Hendrix. I gave up on those models. That's what I initially wanted, but it just sounded horribly fake. What I got is probably more appropriate anyway.

[TripleM]

I thought your singing voice was nice.

I think the acoustic guitar is a little buried. It's a little dark too.

I think the bass is a bit loud.

Caught a pitchy note or two.

I thought the snare was a little reverb-y.

The lead guitar at the beginning was a little reverb-y too. I didn't mind it as much in the middle - it was less noticeable. But you could still dry it up.