I try not to curse on these forums outside of when I use “ass” to emphasize maybe…but after hearing that second version and what it turned into Dave being slightly short of speachless all I can say is:
HOLY SHIT! Sounds just exactly like the way a 100 other bands would do it 
did you make it through his guitar intro to hear the whole thing? 
HaHa! I forgot about Plugged Polly. I thought it was kind of cool and totally out of left field.
ok, I have to clean the coffee off my monitor now…haha, don’t that just light yur bulb?
— Begin quote from "fiddlewood"
did you make it through his guitar intro to hear the whole thing?
— End quote
Hell no, I mean after hearing about half of that intro I said “No way in hell I am hanging around for a damn banjo part as there is no way it can even compete with this, and it would just ruin the song andI have heard enough!”
Oldhat
he takes a lead later.
I liked it in a strange sort of way myself…
I’ll admit that after hearing your first version I was thinking "Ok that’s a good start, muddy, kind of off beat but I am sure they mastered it, mixed it and I am gonna hear something special on the “final mix”…little to my surprise.
I mean it started and I thought… “That goofy banjo player linked someone else’s song here…well wait it does say Blue Polly up there, yep I’ve checked it twice and I am starting to recognize this melody…well that has got to be the damnedest thing I’ve ever heard”
Well…it was kinda special weren’t it?
Larry and I were working on that song and a guitar player decided he liked it so much he remixed it with his electric guitar mixed in. I must say we were a bit surprised to say the least!
I was thinking, do you guys want to go ahead a cut the final lead break in thirds like we talked about before? That way we can wind down this project and if Ron can’t get his recording setup to work, we’ll already have somethng in the can and won’t have to come back to it.
fine with me.
Doesn’t bother me on the lead or we can cut it in half would be more musically feasible as it would be tough in thirds as we’d have to wait for the first guy to get done, then the second to feed off it, then the 3rd to clean it up after the second was done.
Hey that wasn’t Peter Frampton on “Plugged Poly” was it?..I went back in and listened to it and could almost hear him breathing through that breathalyzer gadget thingy saying “Do you feel like we do”
Plugged Polly reminded me of Neil Young.
I thought the last break would divide nicely into thirds:
I know you rider gonna miss me when I’m gone - 1st instrument
I know you rider gonna miss me when I’m gone -2nd instrument
Gonna miss your baby from rolling in your arms - 3rd instrument
What if the first instrument uploaded two ideas, then the second instrument picked one idea to expand with two of their ideas, then the third instrument could finish up.
I don’t mind waiting for Ron, but if we wait too long and then come back to it, I have to learn how to play mandolin all over again.
How are things coming along, Ron?
I think Jimi is still alive…1/3s would work well.
This kind of has to do with the How Do Pros Record thread, but since it’s specifically about our project, I put it here.
Here is your banjo track, Dave, before I adjusted the faders.
[attachment=0]banjo.jpg[/attachment]
You can see the second half has a pretty good drop off in recording level. When I started mixing I spent most of my time on the front end of the track, and the back end fell into the mix. So, I had to decide if you did it on purpose or not. Back to that “trying to guess what the musican is trying to convey” thing. I thought maybe not knowing what was going in the last lead break slot, you were laying back.
I’ll make some adjustments and see what you think.
Well we can split it up into thirds…I say we try and gank some of Ben’s Licks so it can be used as an example in how to incorporate his his licks into other tunes.
I use something that Ben teaches in everything I play. That’s the beauty of having a “bag-o-licks”, being able to pull them out when you need something to cover a spot.
Sounds much better I think Larry.
My main concern was having the fills in between the lyrics up to the same level of what they are filling in. Still a bit lower right now but fairly close. I’m glad you pushed that ending too!
The vocals are sounding better every time you mix them I think.
Overall it sounds to me you are getting better at this stuff! great learning experience isn’t it? I always loved/hated mixing when I had my studio. Untold hours spent wondering if what I was hearing would be what others heard. It all became worth it when Bobby Osborne heard a Demo I engineered and mixed for a band (Ray Franks and the Can’t Hardly Playboys) and the only comment he made after they played it for him was that the mix was that who ever did the mixing knew how to record Bluegrass! Wow, that made me feel like all the hours I spent on that frustrating album were well worth it.
With the guitar I could throw out a steady stream of Ben licks, but with the mandolin, I don’t really have any licks, I just throw out a bunch of notes. Guess I need to practice mandolin more.
The feedback you guys are giving me on the mix is so helpful. It sure is a nice affirmation when other musicians think the mix sounds good, but my story just isn’t as good as yours, Dave. (“A guy who’s mix was complimented by Bobby Osbourne thinks my mix is pretty good.”, doesn’t have the same gravitas. ) You are right that I am learning on the fly, I’ve had virtually no experience mixing instruments I don’t play. I think your banjo and fiddle tracks have been my only practice with those instruments.
It’s probably weird for you to watch me mix little by little as the tracks are added, too. I know most mixing engineers don’t work that way, but recording long distance like we’re doing requires things to be done differently. Once I get a decent mix in the can, I think I’ll flatten everything out and start from scratch, just to see what I come up with.
It’s sounding more better all the time. I wish I had (and could play) a dobro. On that last open solo I think it would be pretty sweet. Anyone on the project have one?
Edit: This may have already been discussed, but how about fiddle?
Dave mentioned doing a fiddle break and I do have a dobro, but I think it seems a little more “studio” and less “live” to bring a new intrument into the mix in the last minute of the song. Want to do an entire fiddle track, Dave?