Is the bass playing really that bad?

[SubHuman]

Dang…tough crowd. This was the time when just making a recording was special. Today anyone with a computer can install DAW software and release a better recording on the internet. I look at the era and put it in that reference.

Watch a VCR recording and compare it to a 4k iPhone recording. We can all “Monday morning quarterback” a 57 year old song released on a local label and say what should’ve been done but quite a few songs from that era by major artists were released with (gasp!) flaws. Was it perfect? No
Could it be better? Yes
Did they have Pro-Tools and Auto-Tune?
These 2 songs aren’t perfect but were both big hits.
Plus these have probably been digitally remastered too.

 

[5StringBlues]

Louie , Louie is perfect, even in it's imperfection.

 

[retslock]

True; and even more difference with a gem like "Tell Her No." But with this one, not so much difference. Very garage-bandy to my ears.

The song, the energy and the vocal all have a bit of garage band in them but the playing is still pretty tight.

 

[SubHuman]

Louie , Louie is perfect, even in it's imperfection.

I totally agree but if it was recorded today the mistakes would’ve been fixed and the vocals would be perfectly pitched using the 12 tracks of comp’ed vocals along with the drums quantized to a perfect timing grid…losing all of it’s charm.

 

[Michael Stanley 2112]

I totally agree but if it was recorded today the mistakes would’ve been fixed and the vocals would be perfectly pitched using the 12 tracks of comp’ed vocals along with the drums quantized to a perfect timing grid…losing all of it’s charm.

I know I'm not much of a singer. I get that, but I've always been very proud of having never used autotune.

I've also never put a whole lot of compression on my (single unless there are background vocals needed) vocal track.

Since I record electronically, I do use a reverb on just about every project I've ever done. That's just a necessity, but I've even taken great pride in not over-producing my recordings.

The result? Everyone knows my vocals suck. I know my vocals suck. I think it's fair to call out what's true.

I specifically kept my comments to the bass playing, when I commented, earlier.

I'm a fan of old music I still have some 78s (although I lack a way to play them), but I think there are few songs that could not be done better today (just having musicians work with click tracks has improved things, greatly).

All that said, I don't know if any of us can give an objective appraisal of music which predated (certainly our birth, at least) our musical naissance.

 

[SubHuman]

I know I'm not much of a singer. I get that, but I've always been very proud of having never used autotune.

I've also never put a whole lot of compression on my (single unless there are background vocals needed) vocal track.

Since I record electronically, I do use a reverb on just about every project I've ever done. That's just a necessity, but I've even taken great pride in not over-producing my recordings.

The result? Everyone knows my vocals suck. I know my vocals suck. I think it's fair to call out what's true.

I specifically kept my comments to the bass playing, when I commented, earlier.

I'm a fan of old music I still have some 78s (although I lack a way to play them), but I think there are few songs that could not be done better today (just having musicians work with click tracks has improved things, greatly).
All that said, I don't know if any of us can give an objective appraisal of music which predated (certainly our birth, at least) our musical naissance.

I'm a fan of old music I still have some 78s (although I lack a way to play them)

You could carefully play them back at 33 1/3 on a standard turntable and record them into a computer and digitally speed them up to play back the recording at the correct speed for archiving.

Also are you enjoying recording and singing? Then enjoy your hobby and keep recording. Many singers are polarizing with their vocals but have amassed a large fan base and large payouts. Neil Young, Johhny Cash, Louis Armstrong, Bob Dylan, etc. Sometimes unique and real is it’s own reward!

 

[Michael Stanley 2112]

... Neil Young, Johhny Cash, Louis Armstrong, Bob Dylan, etc. Sometimes unique and real is it’s own reward!

I would be honored to be compared to Cash or Armstrong (although, I do a fair job with some Elvis stuff), but Young and Dylan make me shudder.

 

[5StringBlues]

I totally agree but if it was recorded today the mistakes would’ve been fixed and the vocals would be perfectly pitched using the 12 tracks of comp’ed vocals along with the drums quantized to a perfect timing grid…losing all of it’s charm.

Fixing Led Zeppelin with Autotune - YouTube


1:36

 

[GretschWretch]

I totally agree but if it was recorded today the mistakes would’ve been fixed and the vocals would be perfectly pitched using the 12 tracks of comp’ed vocals along with the drums quantized to a perfect timing grid…losing all of it’s charm.

And if "Louie Louie" were recorded today, the words would be completely intelligible and kids at my junior high school back in the day would not have risked expulsion by being caught on campus with a copy of the lyrics.

 

[SubHuman]

And if "Louie Louie" were recorded today, the words would be completely intelligible and kids at my junior high school back in the day would not have risked expulsion by being caught on campus with a copy of the lyrics.

Louie Louie along with Dirty Water by the Standells!

 

[GretschWretch]

Louie Louie along with Dirty Water by the Standells!

Yep; the Red Sox stank so badly back then the water would have had to have been dirty. I'm just glad I was halfway through college by the time "Why Don't We Do It in the Road?" was getting airplay on the am radio.