This is my band rehearsing (live) last March. I did my best to mix it and polish it up. We’re in a relatively small untreated room. I’ve got an SM57 on the snare, AT2020’s for overheads, and I’m not sure what random mic on the kick, but some cheap dynamic. The guitar amp is mic’d with an SM57. I took a line out of the keyboard amp and another line out from the bass amp. I played the guitar, and wrote the piece. It’s recorded into my laptop using the Steinberg MR816CSX interface.
It’s gratifying to have found some local players who are willing to play some things I wrote, and I think good enough to do the songs justice. Although I might like to do something more studio-like with them, I can’t really get their time to devote to it, and I don’t have the facilities. We all have busy day jobs. We play publicly once or twice a year. Plus I don’t know what the purpose would be – this really just goes to friends and family, or anybody who wants to know what the band sounds like.
If others have experience in this situation, would appreciate their ideas and suggestions.
One of the seminal albums of my youth was Spectrum by Big Bill Cobham. This was out of the same mould. First class construction, playing and recording. Lovely sound and playing on your guitar. Did you also do the keyboards? They sounded great. In fact the breakdown at 2:10 took me straight back to Cobham and Hammer - superb.
Good band - hold on to them and record some more. I loved it.
(I won’t ask about the song title choice and accompanying picture - but I found it strangely exciting…)
Wow! Fantastic. Some nice changes & themes in there. You say you recorded live, it sounds very good to me, good balance etc. This is a great band, you ought yo be playing more than a couple of times a year!
Let’s hear more,
Steve
Hey Steve, In fact our drummer is a big fan of Billy Cobham, as are the rest of us. We have two covers from that album in our set list: Red Baron, and Stratus. (I can only get them to play a couple of my tunes!). Good way to show off our drummer.
I didn’t play the keyboards. It’s a single take - our keyboardist is the one who tolerates us playing in his house!
Cool!!
I like jamming! I really think the world needs more music like this.
But it needs to be played by people who are competent enough, like you guys.
I liked the warm sound you got from it all.
I would turn up the drums, just a notch, though.
You can hear him fine, but I think the overall soundimage would be punchier.
No biggie
Thanks, Steve. I think we’d play out more if we made an effort, maybe a few changes like add a singer, cover more Rolling Stones, drop the odd meters, etc. Couple years ago we did a local benefit and one of the audience suggested to our drummer that we should do fewer originals. Our drummer was bother a lot by that at the time. I guess I was too since I wrote most of 'em. Explains why we don’t appear in public very often. More of a wine tasting club than a band!
Shame. It’s a pity people just want to hear popular ‘chart’ stuff and that there isn’t more of a market for quality sounds like these.
Anyway keep playing, writing & enjoying yourselves,
Steve
excellent, sounds like some steely dan fans to. everyone in the group seems to have a real creative edge. enjoying this second time around. man that drummer is tight. I’d hit the club to see you guys in a heartbeat.
dig this style, props to all involved!
Nice! For a rehearsal that sounds really good!
Yeah. I’d perhaps bring the drums up a notch, but otherwsie it all sounds really nice.
Everyone involved certainly sounds like they know what they’re doing!
Thanks, everyone, for listening. I do appreciate the feedback. Some of you mentioned the drums could be louder-- do you mean the overhead mics? I was thinking the kick was bordering on too loud, and the snare seems loud enough. So the cymbals and hi-hat?
I loved it…I hear Alan Holdsworth in that guitar at times and it has been a LONG time since I had remembered Billy Cobham, it was only weeks ago however I was listening to Mahvishnu Orchestra…saw him at the Capital Theater in New Jersey back in 1974 and have not forgotten how great it was.
