Entourage Paul Tucci
EntourageForum Replies Created
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Jeremy,
Viva la Revolucion! History suggests the next revolution will not be televised, but rather streamed. Your clarion call should be! It’s catchy AF.
Let me address your questions first, then add my observations.
Yes, the whi$tle should be a smidge louder. It’s the defining melodic hook, give it the deserved spotlight.
Once again, I agree with -@PT about the brevity of an intro. Don’t overthink it.
No, the song doesn’t come across 2K heavy, at least in my monitoring scenario. The zippity 8Kish on your vocal does pop out a bit in comparison to the high freqs of the rest of the track. The double track lead vocal in the center might be the cause of that by the sibilance buildup. Some surgical EQ is called for.
Now for my “What ifs”
What if you lose the self-described, weird intro FX and start the song not with the kick drum which we will hear a lot of and is NOT a focal point, but just the handclaps? Very organic and gluten-free. People instinctively know what to do when they hear handclaps…they clap along. Congrats General J, you just recruited compatriots to your cause. Two bars of handclaps / two bars more of handclaps and a taste of the ambient keys sound and right into the drums. HOOK CITY! Play through the whistle part just one time rather than twice because it’s that good and I want to hear it again but let’s get to the message with your first verse. Second time that whi$tle motif happens, I’m wishing it were twice as long. We enjoy an extended stay in that section’s flavor and then get back to your words.
As always, my comments and suggestions are my viewpoint only and not necessarily those of the management here, especially the next one.
First there was the “Hey Mickey,” then the “Hey Ricky” satire of the original. Yours could be the new soundtrack to an I Love Lucy episode with a guest appearance by Lee Harvey Oswald. Or John Wilkes Booth, whichever way your pleasure tends.
PT
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Patrick, I think the performance outperforms the capture. The first thing we hear is the low frequency thumping of the foot pedals and the low frequency of the ( I’m guessing ) HVAC system or traffic noise leaking into your recording environment. The focus should be on the piano, not the external and a high pass filter would help the cause by filtering out the lowest frequencies and allowing (passing) the higher sounds. Having a speaker system or headphones that are closer to full range would allow you to hear these unnecessary and invading low freqs. Listening on the laptop will not work for critical listening. There’s a pretty big buildup of low mids also, almost approaching a honky-tonk upright but without tonk, and by that I mean the percussive tack sound of strings being hit. Sounds like you have a pair of mics on there. That certainly gives the piano more space and a wider sound-field than a single mic capture would. Experimenting with different mic placement may result in a more natural sounding recording. Give it another go and let’s see what you can improve upon. PT
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Jesse, The intro as presented, is oblique rather than gentle and inviting to my ear today. I wonder what an arrangement that has just the KB line and shaker perc setting the stage followed by vocal and then allowing the the drums and bass to enter later and fill in the arrangement as compared with giving it all away too early. …. I also wonder if I should wait to give an opinion after having just gotten home from watching CIVIL WAR at the theater. Just as I was still “processing” seeing the fictional President get shot in the head, the credits were rolling and I was struck by the written words stating that “No Animals Were Harmed IN The Making Of This Movie.” That’s entertainment. Yea, I should probably wait.
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Jeremy, I think you are correct for asking is there room for your vocal at the end because the three most important words of the song are “to be me” A strong declarative statement at the end is a perfect way to wrap up the story. Plant the flag at the end and walk away victorious. PT
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Big C, I live in the box, on AT M70x headphones with Sonarworks software correction, rely on Ozone’s collection of genre specific reference curves and my time in live audio for guidance in tonality. I can’t offer up anything regarding your specific question, but damn, you do ask good questions. PT
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Agreed. I swear I can sometimes hear the cracks in the sounding board. PT
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Jeremy, I’m thankful my words landed and helped you confidently clarify your musical vision. That’s a win to me, not because one of my suggestions made the cut, but rather that our conversation focused you to a more deliberate musical choice. To make a sport-ball analogy, the assist can be as valued as the actual scoring. PT
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Thank you for the infectious enthusiasm. I’m getting better at the recording thing. I do wish I had a couple ambient mics to capture the crowd with for these Sugadaisy band songs I do like using the crowd as a character in a song like I did on that singer/songwriter live multi-track mix-down you heard earlier this year. The simplicity of just popping in a USB stick into the console and hitting record has its price. It would take a small recording rig to capture the audience mics separately. PT
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Appreciate the good word. I was feelin’ it that night knew it was a good one to work with. PT
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Jeremy, This song has evolved considerably lately, and by that I mean it has moved from an engineering production laid atop a man’s song to a man’s words being served by the production. I think you’re in the right space now. Your singing and Nate’s primo BGV arrangement get to shine through, rather than compete for attention. There’s a hierarchy that is now far more appropriate for what I perceive to be you intent. The piece is softer, more inviting, and more likely to move people at this point, but Jeremy, that fucking kick drum man! My instinct says to use a kick sound mimicking the one used on the Raising Sand record by Robert Plant/Allison Krause. Specifically, the song “Please Read the Letter.” It’s big, deep, and it’s organic like a heartbeat. Oh!! My instinct also leads me to think about the intro and outro and how to minimize what’s there to keep the focus where it should be. The good writer uses fewer words, but more powerful ones. The synth opening riff is seemingly more “production” than necessary. The guitar riff is all the invite needed into the song. The density of the outro. chorus almost gets in the way of your words Then again there’s an entire subplot about struggle going on in this song. I think there’s a dramatic moment, as of yet unrealized. I said it after the first version and will again. The three most important words are your last ones, “To be me.” How more effective might they be if heard against the background of silence? Bless your guitar players heart and all, 🤨, but his work was a bar or so already. The message can stand on its own and shine in the single spotlight by that point. Fade to black. Silence, then applause.
It’s your sand box, thank you for letting me verbally rearrange the castle. PT
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👂👂👂
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Patrick, Now your piano sounds more like this pictured piano except black and white. Definitely go the right vibe tonally and with the wear and tear of the piano.
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Patrick, So what is your recording a piano set up? Directly into the computer mic input or a 4 channel mixer?? Have you got tone control before the recording software? Your “I turned the mics down because the piano was so loud” has me wondering. PT
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Yea, that’s more inviting and lets me hop onboard the moving train without falling over 🙂
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As lead scientist on this experiment I tried a different path. Using RIP-X I separated out the bass line and tried dropping it an octave via the RIP-X MIDI -like notation. However there appears to be no B flat -1 on the piano scale. The part is written to be plenty deep, but doesn’t translate as well as I was desiring probably because of a mix level. A quick mix with +4-5dB made a big difference. Now I’m starting to wonder if my combination headphones and modest listening level is pushing the extreme low end into Fletcher-Munson territory. I learned a thing or two . PT