Theme from Midnight Cowboy movie

[EL34]

I broke out my custom AB763 amp and my ReVibe to do this movie soundtrack from Midnight Cowboy
Link to that amp project
http://www.el34world.com/Hoffman/ampphoto.htm



I used a couple SM57's in Stereo on the amp
The ReVibe was used on the lead track for that cool Vibrato and Reverb sound
Most of the tracks are just the AB763 amp with Reverb and a touch of tremolo

I wanted that old hollywood guitar instrumental tone you heard in many westerns
The lead guitar may be a bit thin sounding on some systems.
It sounds great on my 5.2 surround system and my 100 watt stereo system with 18" woofers.
Sounds a bit thin on one of my computer speaker systems

You can play it here on this page - click the play button
The player will stop if you leave this page.
http://www.el34world.com/Misc/Music/xspf_player_slim.swf?song_url=http://www.el34world.com/Misc/Music/files/MidnightCowboy.mp3&autoplay=1&timedisplay=1&song_title=Midnight Cowboy - Original version

You can play it in a stand alone player on this page
http://www.el34world.com/Misc/Music/music1.htm

There are many more clips of this amp on the page above

[tubenit]

I thought that sounded very very cool. I have always liked that tune. Even though I saw the movie when it first came out, I had forgotten where the song came from.

Very nicely done. It sure captured that easy going melancholy feel of the original song, IMO. That tune has a really emotional sound to it.

The AB763 has a nice clean tone to it. Sounded good.

Jeff

[EL34]

Thanks Jeff,
I like that amp a bunch, and the ReVibe is too cool also.
Have to do more of this kind of stuff.

[shortfuse]

That sounds great Doug again very full.  Do you have other clips of the amp alone w/o the reVibe?

[EL34]

Thanks

Do you have other clips of the amp alone w/o the reVibe

Yes, lots of them on my music page, see the link in my first post
Look way down the page to the AB763 project section

Also, only the lead guitar had the revibe in this tune
All the picked chords in the background are just the amp

[stingray_65]

Darn it Doug!

I've got to dig out my VHS machine so I can watch midnight  cowboy.
Brenda Viccaro was so dang good looking in that movie.

[jojokeo]

Great clean tone the superb playing as always.

Please advise on your recording. Are you putting the drum track together w/ a rhythm track first, and then adding the bass and the lead last? Then is there a final mix down?

[Madison]

Wow! this is really nice.

I first heard it on a notebook earlier and I wanted to hear more of the keyboard but now on a decent system......the mix sounds great.

Drums maybe feel like they are hesitating on the loop?

The end guitars, when they harmonize.
The lower one sounds killer!
Tell me what you were using there.
A Strat in what position?

[EL34]

Thanks Guys,

Back to the basics, an amp and some mics!
Well a midi hammond B3 and fretless bass also.
The B3 sounds great and gives it that ole time sound that I love.

Please advise on your recording. Are you putting the drum track together w/ a rhythm track first, and then adding the bass and the lead last? Then is there a final mix down?

I always add some sort of primitive drum track as the first track. Even if it is just a kick, a snare and one cymbal.
All I need when recording is a time keeper that I can hear loud and clear.
later on, I go back and replace the primitiver drum track with something fancier.
In this recording, the drums are very simple and I didn't feel like doing an eloborate drum track.

Sometimes I will do a bass track right after the drums, but sometimes not.
I don't really need the bass to get the song framework in place.
In fact, I do the bass last sometimes because I fill the gaps that are left.
I have had to re-do the bass before because it is in the way of the guitar.

As for the mixing, it just happens as I go along. I just listen to the levels of everything.
I put the tune on and do some work, or stand in another room.
You can hear things out of balance from another room sometimes way better.

The end guitars, when they harmonize.
The lower one sounds killer!
Tell me what you were using there.
A Strat in what position?

The guitar is not my Strat, it's the Ibanez with brand new fresh strings.
I used the rear pickup switched to a single coil for many of the tracks.
For that low harmony guitar, I picked very close to the bridge to get that ole time sound.
For the picked chords I used the neck pickup switched to a single coil or the center position/both pickups in single coil mode.

People are always suprised that I used the Ibanez, but the JS1200 does not have high output humbuckers like many shred guitars
Satch has his own PAF Joe in the neck and the pickups sound very vintage to me.
Both pickups can be switched to single coil and they both sound great as single coils.
I have the Strat set up with that Deymour Duncan Jeff Beck in the bridge and that pickup is way hotter then the pickups in my Ibanez.

[Bassmanster]

Beautiful.  Very nice sound.  The clean sound has that delicious Fender bloom.  I think the two mics really worked out.

[Bassmanster]

Yeah, gotta comment some more.  Really reminds me of the sounds Los Straitjackets get which are some of the best cleanish tones ever.

Was the amp in your shop?  How were the mics positioned?

[EL34]

Yeah, this is the first time I tried using two mics at once

Two SM57's go into my Fast track ultra
Then each mic got recorded to it's own track in Mixcraft5

here's the pics of the setup

[Bassmanster]

Nice; you gave it a little air.  I'm gonna have to try that one.

If you felt like it, you could easily polish that track to the pro level of sound and performance IMO (which is no joke to attain).

[EL34]

Both mics sounded differentl, even though they were both Sm57's
One was really old and had seen a lot of action
The old one did not sound as good as the new one.

[Ritchie200]

Doug,
Very nice job as usual!  The first pic of your amp - did it fall out of the back of your truck onto the driveway?

You are breaking the Hoffman prime directive by dragging out all those mics and making some real noise in your house!  The digital police have been informed.

I take it we can expect some surf tunes shortly with this setup?
Terrific.....

Jim

[EL34]

The first pic of your amp - did it fall out of the back of your truck onto the driveway

Which pic?

Yes, the digital police were pissed.
The clean unstrumental stuff is way easier to record than a cranked amp.
I can get a clean AB763 sound pretty easy, but cannot get the cranked sound with the effcets I like to use

[Ritchie200]

The first pic of your amp - did it fall out of the back of your truck onto the driveway

Which pic?

The first pic of your amp looks like it is laying outside on some gravel?  Just funnen you!
Jim

[mresistor]

Wow, that's a really great song done very nicely....  Cool. 

[EL34]

Thanks Mon