a good day by jemima's kite

[Oldrottenhead]

this is the seventh song for the third album kinda hazy, and it's a bit of a rocker. the usual story tim sent us the tune i came up with the words and flash did his flash of genuis bass as per.

this is a back to basic one for me lyrically, is a very simple lyric inspired by mark's (launched) father. his dad's catchphrase is "every day that you are above ground is a good day". although its back to basics for me, it's not for greeny or flash, i feel so privileged to be able to collaborate with two awesome musicians but also two fecking brill guys. i am not worthy.
anyroad up here it is.

[Greeny]

I tried to find the riff that Keith Richards would have played if he'd ever collaborated with ACDC....

lol

[Flash Harry]

Ah, so now we know the truth, you stole all your stuff from Keith Richards?

[Ferryman_1957]

It's a real rocker and it's great. Simple, driving riff that just pulls you right in. I really liked ORH's vox, great performance but that panned echo effect in the background works really well with the riffy guitars, very clever indeed. And the drums are particularly good, some really clever use of different patterns (love the intro pattern with the hi-hat and bass drum). Great sound overall as well, this is really well produced. My one niggle is the usual one, the bass is too low in the mix for me. Just can't really hear what it's doing, and I know it's doing some great stuff in there. But it doesn't detract from the overall song, this is a killer.

Still loving those drums btw, very good programming. The overall quality of this is track really impressive.

Cheers,

Nigel

[Flash Harry]

My one niggle is the usual one, the bass is too low in the mix for me. Just can't really hear what it's doing,

It's these two prima donnas, they crank it all the way up to 11 and there's no room for the bass .

I struggle to get it in under the clipper. This is one of the difficulties of not being in the same place. I have to fatten it right up to get it into the spaces left and it usually means that the top end (that's the top end of the bass) which has the highest transients and the detail gets squashed right out of the mix.


That said I love working with these two.

[Ferryman_1957]

Have you tried bouncing the bass to another track after you have recorded it and using effects to change the EQ and compression? I often do that because I find it hard to get exactly the sound I want from the bass on recording, even with an effects pedal. I do find clipping can be an issue and this allows me to get exactly the sound I am looking for. Also, stereo recording might help when the others are at 11. Use a stereo effect or even double the bass tracks and mix them L20/R20, that way you can find a spot in the mix that avoids competing directly with the vox but fills out the centre with a bigger bass sound. Tim usually has the guitars fairly widely panned. so this might work. Mark (Launched) has become the master of this approach btw. I was just listening to Shoegazing and you have a great stereo effect (I think) on there that allows the bass to be more prominent without crowding the mix.

Goodness, I've come over all AndyR. Better have a lie down.....

Cheers,

Nigel

[hooper]

Oh yes, it is a rocker!  I can believe the Keith Richards refferance and Tim's M-BR must be misshaped by now... the way he keeps squeezing those great drum tracks out of it.  A fine performance by the whole band. 

I really didn't have any complaints about the level of the bass as I was listening. It seems to sit comfortably near the floor in the room.  However, I've also been experimenting mixing with the EQ technique that Nigel describes... with an additional twist: Use the LOCate function to LOCate the effects on the bass track and then you can make adjustments to only that track while listening to the track in context with the rest of the mix. Then bounce that track by itself after you get it sounding right.  I find DanceComp a good place to start with bass. This is a good technique for making EQ/Comp adjustments for lead vocals, or other tracks too.

[lg]

Top Notch stuff guys!
Great Rocker.
This is one of my favorites now!
Gotta go listen again....

LG

[Oldrottenhead]

just had a listen on my zen x-fi and the bass sounds great mike. bloody love it. cant wait to play it in the car at full blast

[launched]

This is one of my favorites now!
Gotta go listen again....

I keep saying the same thing, but then another great song pops up from nowhere! I'm loving this new album. A powerful kick ass tune, fellas. A real rocker, that is fun to listen to.

Jim, you have the knack for making lyrics out of life experiences. Excellent vocal delivery - the intonation and phrasing is impressive to say the least. I'll stare at the wall for hours to just get one measley verse, and not one note has been sung yet!

Greeny, effin' awesome riffs, and those nasty licks and lead parts bring tons of life in to the mix. Just great!!

Mike, what can I say, "Fucking Ace!"   That bass line is to die for - walkin' and talkin'. When played in my truck it loosens fillings and makes it impossible to see out the rearview mirror!! You got the skills, man.

Nigel has better headphones than me, so I don't know what's happening in that department. If you are trying to preserve your crispy crunchy top end, stereo/doubletracking with slight pan might help. Or try AndyR's vocal tips - it works great for vox, but will also make a bass line stand right out: Tough to find, so I looked it up. A lot of the time it really works!


This song is the balls, man!!

Mark


PS - I just saw Jim's post - It sounds awesome in a vehicle, which is the most important thing!