Tom Petty - It's good to be king - v1.7

Video & comments: https://youtu.be/eErsH-bi2lY

Recording sheets and details: link

Recorded between Feb, Apr 2018 (1.5); Apr 2020 (1.7)

Backing tracks: link (Audacity project)

A revised version of Tom Petty - It's good to be king - v1.5. That was one of the 3 videos that I used to launch my Youtube channel back in 2018. My knowledge of mixing and mastering improved significantly since then and so did my vocals skills.

These are the major changes:

  • re-recorded vocals track

  • mixing improvements: small correction of piano track using a slice of take 1/2 (comping), used moderate pitch correction on vocals track (Autotune), added effects to all tracks using Neutron 3

  • mastering: I used Ozone 9 for mastering (directly as a VST plugin on the master track)

I toyed with the idea of recording this song since early 2017. I got an audio only version ready by summer 2017 yet I was pretty underwhelmed by it being audio only. I felt that I'd find it more interesting if I could also watch the performance in detail as opposed to listening only. Maybe the visuals could somehow redeem a bit the lacking audio. I previously tried recording video directly to my PC using an HD webcam, but it was always tricky to set it up. I thought that getting a dedicated hardware for the video would simplify the workflow. This turned out to be indeed true because I could frame the picture easily with the help of the camera's rotating display. Also, starting and stopping the recording was the touch of a dedicated button. When recording my screen is busy enough already with the DAW software and the sheets. Having yet another video recording window is not something I wished to deal with.

The rerecorded audio was stereo this time, sounding fuller than the individual mono tracks.

Lead guitar

A fairly convincing solo. The original recording has a fairly short one. One day I'll record the live version from the band's Live from Gatorville 30th anniversary concert. That is the best version of this song that I know of: an extension to the song with a lot of beautifully sounding lead guitar.

Vocals

I practiced it and kept recording takes during several months. I tried getting closer to Petty's soft timber and hitting the high notes from the chorus. This final version 1.5 is the closest I could get to at this time.

Bass

The summer bass line was muddy, hacked together from some root chord notes, uneven, mono and without a video. It's still my second clumsiest instrument (the voice takes the distant lead). That's why I wasn't really looking forward to re-recording it. But one night I managed to practice it enough to finish its recording in about 3 takes It's fairly decent as I got lost only once within the tabs.

Drums

A groovy rhythm, literally. The song is slower paced and I tried focusing on the patterns for the hi-hat and cymbals while keeping the kick pedal busy. It is a truly enjoyable drumline.

Piano

A simple line benefiting from a great piano sound. I used my favorite Maverick sample from Native Instruments and it certainly didn't disappoint. I tried making the piano a bit livelier in the outro section. The triplets from the outro were new to me with the challenge being to keep an even pace during the repetitions.

Backing keyboard

Strings play a significant role in establishing the atmosphere of this song. So I found something that was close enough and called it a day. Note to self: study more these long chords that create the atmosphere and sound wall.