"The Strip" - an updated version

[gonzo]

"The Strip" - an updated version


http://www.lightningmp3.com/live/42116-6-21-10_THESTRIP.mp3





tried to change the mix to favor the grind on the Boogie, bring that out a bit more than the previous version.

i got great feedback on this tune, from many places, and i appreciate that.
spent the weekend updating this mix, with new tracks and lots of edits.

ok, a few mix tweak notes for us geeks:

vox: dialed back the vox delay (it's just a slapback, but no verb was there.)
i added a NEW 2nd verse with 2-part harmony, and added lyrics to the funky bridge breakdown.... 2 part harmony there as well. i used a ADK Hamburg condenser to capture vocals, ran it into a ART DPS mic pre, out of that into a DBX MC-6 compressor, and into the soundcard VIA the digital out of the ART.

percussion: mixed out the conga at the beginning of the opening of the tune, it was cluttering the beginning.
i left the hand claps, and let the conga come back in when the vox starts, that cleaned up the clutter quite a bit.
total EQ tweaks on the shaker, also added LIMITING.

bass: rolled off the bass guitar starting at 55hz, gentle Q, and thatcleaned up some of the low end issues.

Drums: changed the snare- went to a 14" rogers, from a slingerland.
sounds much more meaty. tweaked the main ride cymbal as well.

i edited the entire drum track, for subtle changes all over.

tweaked ALL the drum eq's, and took out the reverb on the snare, and left on the room mic for drum effects. added a compressor on the top snare head. usually, all the drums are dry, and go to a drum bus, that i put a special channel effect on, that uses 2 compressors in series, along with 2 eq's in series. it's a great channel plugin.

MIX:
remixed the whole thing, made the guitars LOUDER, put a limiter across the drum buss which allowed me to make the entire send to the master buss hotter without changing the peaks (no higher than -6db EVER).

 

[gonzo]

the rig:

RIG AND PEDALS:

guitar goes to the pedalboard, with the requisite overdrive, compressor, noise gate, tuner, wah and vibe....

that goes into a 1981 Mesa Boogie Mark2B 60 watt short shell head....

out of that, directly into the Palmer PDI-09, which is how i capture the sound that goes on the recording. at line level.

out of the palmer thru a parallel out, into a Weber Mass lite attenuator, so i can bring the cabinet volume down for monitoring or micing, at either whisper or screaming volume.

out of the Mass Lite, into a AVATAR vintage closed back cab, with a Celestion Heritage G12.



i can mic that cab using either a sm57, or a AT4033, and blend it with the direct Palmer sound, or just use the Palmer signal, which is what i typically do.

A Yamaha DG stomp effects pedal, is in the effects loop of the boogie, which is great live, but i never use it for recording..

i always record bone dry, and add effects at mix down.


the way i record with it tho, the palmer pdi-09 comes directly off of the amp output, BEFORE the weber sees it, and that's what goes to the mixer.

the weber then attenuates, and i have the option of micing the cab at that point, so the direct sees full output, the cab sees the attenuated output.
i can control the 'monitoring' volume at any volume up to full output (60 watts is pretty freakin' loud)......

or i can crank down on the attenuator, and record the boogie at full output, but at whisper volume.
i'd prefer an isolation room with a wide open cabinet, but alas, the landlord does not like that sound.

LOL

 

[gonzo]

yeah, i've been polishing this turd for a while.
but it's a great learning experience for me.



(2) questions:

i'm really on the fence about the panning scheme of the rock rhythm guitar part.
i like it as is, but it definitely is NOT following the more modern method of balancing tracks.
it's mixed more like a classic rock track, early-mid 70's style.
also, i'm trying to stick to a L-C-R mixing scheme these days, but most of my songs have arrangments with multiple tracks evenly spread left and right, this is a single rock rhythm track, more like an old beatles track, or van halen track.

i used 2 classic rock tracks as a touchstone for the way i mixed this.
some zeppelin, and some VHalen.
(i.e.- rhythm guitar hard panned to the left.)

on the hard panning:
i DO have the acoustic to the right, playing along with the rock rhythm on the left, for some balance with the guitars.
and, i have a short hall reverb send on the rock rhythm, reverb only, hard panned to the right, opposite the rhythm track, to fill the sound out, tho it's pretty low in the mix.

does the hard panning of the rock rhythm bug you?

would it be more effective closer to center?

or leave it the way it is, and bring the reverb up?
or possibly change the reverb to a 8ms delay, and bring it up even in the mix ---to balance out the rhythm track?


my general feeling about it is, i like it hard panned, i like the clarity it brings to the mix, it's really only an issue when listening in headphones, i'd prefer folks listening to it thru big stereo speakers anyway.



on the arrangement:
i used 2 songs as a touchstone for arrangement
(i.e.- acoustic intro length, relevent to when the whole band kicks in, and relevent to the overall length of the song)
zep's "over the hills and far away", and VH's "ice cream man".


some folks have said the acoustic intro is too long, tho i think it's perfect ( i would....! )
LOL



my feelings on THIS issue is, i really like how the longer acoustic intro is almost like a song unto itself. it sets the mood of the song perfectly, just like when i landed in vegas...
it was kinda upbeat, a little fast, but a bit laid back, because it was day light. as soon as it got dark, the whole mood changed, and it got very intense, and the song is a living breathing version of what i actually experienced there.


whew
i need a producer.

heheh

 

[gonzo]

updated mix.