For Brad Delp (of Boston)

[Mikem]

One of our fellow gearslutz requested an uncompressed wave version of the song. I rar'ed it up for him and uploaded it to my site. The link is available upon request, if anyone else is interested. Just send me a PM.

This is my last unsolicited bump post, I promise!

-Mike

[ToddF]

Usually with an music post like this I won't listen to the whole thing but I listened all the way to the end. Great job. Made me sad for Brad but in a good way. I never heard any part of the vocal that I thought could have been done any better.

Was this song off Don't Look Back? I will have to get it on CD now. Have the self titled only on CD.

Peace, Todd

[Sounds Great]

Originally Posted by ToddF

Usually with an music post like this I won't listen to the whole thing but I listened all the way to the end. Great job. Made me sad for Brad but in a good way. I never heard any part of the vocal that I thought could have been done any better.

Was this song off Don't Look Back? I will have to get it on CD now. Have the self titled only on CD.

Peace, Todd

Yes, 'Don't Look Back', my favorite Boston record. thumbsup Though the first is close.

[Mikem]

Originally Posted by ToddF

Usually with an music post like this I won't listen to the whole thing but I listened all the way to the end. Great job. Made me sad for Brad but in a good way. I never heard any part of the vocal that I thought could have been done any better.

Was this song off Don't Look Back? I will have to get it on CD now. Have the self titled only on CD.

Peace, Todd

Thanks, Todd, and thanks for listening to the whole thing!

"Don't Look Back" had a few good tracks, including this one and the title track. The rest is a bit uneven, but worthwhile. I recently bought the remastered versions of Don't Look Back and Boston--and then promptly compressed them and put them on my iPod. A bit of a wash, I guess!

[Mikem]

Originally Posted by stagefright13

I hope you don't mind but tried my hand at mastering it somewhat. I thought it might be interesting to come out of the box with some LA2A compression on the 2buss. Lemme know what ya think or I went over the top LOL. And thanks for posting me the wave. Sounds awesome.
And I agree with Todd the song made me very sad at first and I wouldn't change the vocal at all. I didn't use any EQ.

See what ya think:

Man I'll Never Be

It sounds big, to be sure. I had already done a little amateur mastering on it, but I'm always interested in what other people come up with. Perhaps a bit much for my tastes, but I'm just flattered that you found it worth the time to play with! thumbsup

I've uploaded a new mix, fixing a few EQ issues, I think. I also brightened the piano a tad, as someone had suggested. The links are the same for the new mp3 and the wave. This new version might take more kindly to additional compression/limiting, as well.

On a different note, if people have the interest and energy to contribute, it would be fun to have a gearslutz Boston tribute album, making this one of many tracks. I could contribute some more vocals, maybe, but I'd like to hear what others come up with. I hope it would be a labor of love for you, like this was for me. Anyway, just a thought!

-Mike

[stagefright13]

Actually I DID mention "Over the top" lol. I had already made another with less compression but didn't have a chance to post it. I had a remote gig to do... But will download the new wave and run that one and see what happens

I would be down with cutting some Boston tracks! That would be fun. But I would need a local drummer that didn't mind tracking for free. I could cover guitars, bass etc. Anyone near Hatboro PA? (North of philly) I have most instruments including drums in my studio. But the drummer might want to bring his favorite snare etc.

[Blast9]

Don't forget You need a Rockman!

Mikem --- Nice job! Would love to overdub the lead gtr

[gm5k]

those harmonies give me chills. absolutely gorgeous!

so i guess stacking the vocals 4 times or so for each harmony gave it that shimmery chorus effect, huh? very nice.

[Mikem]

Stagefright, I haven't had a chance to dl and listen to any of those new mp3's, but I wanted to mention in case anyone else is trying. When I dl'ed that first one, I got a file called "Boston" with no file extension. I had to manually add .mp3 (assuming it was an mp3), and it worked. So unless you've done something different on the subsequent uploads, people should know that they'll need to manually add that extension to listen to them.

I'm curious to hear how the new mix reacted to your compressing.

[Mikem]

Originally Posted by gm5k

those harmonies give me chills. absolutely gorgeous!

so i guess stacking the vocals 4 times or so for each harmony gave it that shimmery chorus effect, huh? very nice.

Thanks!

I think the stacking certainly helped. I would have done more if I had had time, but I think the stacking along with the Dimension D, EQ'ing, and compressing as a group helped.

[Mikem]

Originally Posted by stagefright13

OK and here is the same thing run thru rev D 1176's. And yes I have too much time on my hands lol! But I like the practice. The 1176's actually made the mp3 file smaller. Go figure...

Man I'll Never Be

Actually, that one's at 128kps vs. 192kps on the other.

They both sound nice. Not a fair comparison at different bit rates, though.

[stagefright13]

Oh I'm sorry I fixed the link for the 192 one thru 1176's

If I put .mp3 on the file then my broswer won't download it. (Firefox) Oh well...

[jdjustice]

Mr. Masse, while i realise that you probably in some fashion enjoy making the cash from your day job, you could conceivably actually QUIT IT!

this was flippin' fantastic! and i am glad i was already a Mike Masse fan so i can tell all my friends when that A&R guy finds you... that i knew you (virtually) when!

the vocals soar and the harmonies are spot-on as far as i could hear.
i know you used a bit of Melodyne but who the f cares when the result ends up so sublime?

i was going to write you a while back and ask if you had even tested, let alone kept, that TLM49.
it seems it is getting good use and through the Pacifica sounds great!
you should consider phoning Neumann (er.. Sennheiser) and Peter Montessi and asking them to sponsor your recordings!

ok i will stop kissing your ass now but i do believe this is the best i have heard from you yet.
i am extremely glad that i got around to listening!

KIT!!


~j.d.

[Mikem]

J.D., don't hold back--tell me what you really think.

Needless to say, you're way too kind. But don't stop!

And Peter, if you're listening, I'm REDDI to be sponsored....

[jdjustice]

friendly bump for Mike.... (unsolicited)

[Bdiggy]

Outstanding Brother just simply outstanding.

[Mikem]

Originally Posted by Bdiggy

Outstanding Brother just simply outstanding.

Thanks! And thanks for the bump, J.D.

I've made what I expect to be the last edits/changes to the mix. I cleaned up the tail end a little, and made a few other minor adjustments. The links are the same. If you want to have the final version, it's probably safe to download now.

And again, PM me if you want the link to the wave version. I don't think I'll keep these links active forever, so get 'em now!

[stagefright13]

And here is the final version run thru some LA2A tube goodness:

Man I'll Never Be Final

[stagefright13]

And here is the final run thru 1176's:

Man I'll Never Be 1176

[stagefright13]

And just for comparison here's the same run thru a Telefunken equipped Art Pro VLA:

Man I'll Never Be VLA

[bamm]

I'm practically speechless so I will keep it simple...thank you for this brilliant cover.

[stagefright13]

Yeah I liked it also and didn't know Brad had died until I heard this so I tried to contribute some gear to the tribute. Not that I have the best gear. But he was one of my idols as a kid learning to sing and play guitar. And Tom of course...

And Mikem did a great job bringing the memories back

But you could use it as a compressor comparison!

[bamm]

yeah Scholz...won't even go there...but I don't miss "him" on this tribute at all. And great job on the comps stagefright. The "original" mastered was a little crispy but the LA2A and the 1176 are sweet. Can't say which I like better. Were those plugs or the real thing?

Mike may want to re-look at his career choice as justice said.

Hmmmm....... Attorney ......... or ......... full-time singer songwriter? I'm sure it's like all of us. Got to pay the bills.

[Mikem]

Originally Posted by bamm

Mike may want to re-look at his career choice as justice said.

Hmmmm....... Attorney ......... or ......... full-time singer songwriter? I'm sure it's like all of us. Got to pay the bills.

Thanks for listening, and the encouragement. But all I have to do to remind myself why I'm keeping my day job is to compare my version of this song to Brad's. He's just so much more interesting to listen to!

Something fun: this song (and even this thread) were featured in this week's Project Studio Network podcast. Cool stuff. I'm glad more people will get to hear it--and hopefully remember Brad fondly. thumbsup

[stagefright13]

They are not plugs. Real tubes and fets. They are reproductions tho that I made with the original schematics. With help from the diy forum. But I used all metal film resistors orange drops and Wimas. And NOS tubes from the 60's for the LA. I won't have better converters for a few more jobs. Will have a new ADA in about 1 month if the business keeps up.

[Farout]

Bravo.
I, too, am a big Boston fan (not to mention RTZ). I think you did an excellent job on this tune. Thank you for sharing this with us. You have a wonderful voice, and I think that Brad would be flattered.
FWIW - the quality of the recording it really good, too.

[Mikem]

Originally Posted by Farout

Bravo.
I, too, am a big Boston fan (not to mention RTZ). I think you did an excellent job on this tune. Thank you for sharing this with us. You have a wonderful voice, and I think that Brad would be flattered.
FWIW - the quality of the recording it really good, too.

Thanks, and especially thanks for mentioning the recording quality. I'm trying to reach the potential of my gear, and I've probably got a long ways to go....

I'll probably take the link down soon, so please download this if you haven't heard it yet and would like to. I may try to upload an mp3 to the forum, but I haven't been able to get that feature to work on my last few attempts.

[stagefright13]

I will be leaving the 3 final versions I made up on my site Mike so you can link to the one you like best if ya want. I won't be taking them down. I have plenty of room and no bandwidth problems... However I did delete some of the "practice" versions

[Joseph Ford]

Nice job on the song. It was my favorite also. I still think about Brad and it really bums me out. After telling my wife about Brad she is now hooked on the first Boston album and plays it over and over, just like I did back in the 70's.

[Ranen Beaver]

That is so badass. Great job on those harmonies.