Thanks man! Yeah it was a surprisingly difficult song - lots of little note length changes. IIRC, the verse phrasing is like- dotted quarter note, 2x staccato quarter notes, eighth note- although it switches up to quarter-quarter-eighth-eighth.
The section that you’re referring to around 1:40 - in the backing track I used (lifted from BassCoverPete’s version) - he (BCP) played a fretless to recreate that synth-ish noise. I wasn’t able to remove it entirely and wasn’t feeling industrious enough to add a new track/chain to emulate it, so I left it. The line I’m playing sounds like it’s harmonizing, but I’m sure my timing is off and it comes across a bit discordant.
I’m not really sure I agree with you, @John_E. I try to take something from each of the covers I do. The last one is a lesson in simplicity - basically two notes, yet the rhythm drives the song along. It is the hook and heartbeat - I heard the song on iTunes and thought, “Wow, that’s good!” Yes, it’s pretty easy to master, but that doesn’t take away that core element; a hook doesn’t need to be complicated to really work.
Equally, I’m currently working on one that is a variation of a 12-bar, but a specific phrasing that I haven’t played before, and it’s not actually a 12-bar. While the progression is 1-4-5, it sits on the 1 for 12 / 16 bars, then moves. It messes with your head - you want to move, but can’t. It’s really interesting. So again, seemingly simple, but not so easy.
Of course, I should also put some more complex stuff in there too. I’ve just recorded a McCarthy (Beatles) cover and I have a few more I’m learning for the band. Will I keep the 2 a week up for the next 12 months? Not sure, maybe, probably…one of the fantastic things about doing it is that it means I listen to an incredible range of songs; I hope in my sharing, some others might get turned on to the amazing variety of material that out there, old and new.
What worked for me was using plugins like NAM or Neural DSP, pushing the gain as much as possible within reason, and then putting a limiter on the master to avoid clipping.
Another plugin I really like on the master (and it’s free) is Tessla SE mkii — it helps control peaks and keeps the tone in check with an analog simulation