My second paid producing/engineering gig

[37point5]

Hey all,

This is the second song I've done with one of my clients, Marcel Tirado. He's a pretty good singer/songwriter who plays all of the instruments himself. The song is called "Valor", and it can be found at http://mp3.com/37point5

I'm not as keen on this song as I was on his first, "How the Story Goes", but I do think this one has it's audience. And, although I don't have an initial concept demo to play you all, I'd like to think that producer-wise, I made the song a little better than it was when it first came my way.

Now, of course, I lay down my engineering skills for all here to critique. A bit of equipment info: everything was run into a Delta 66 at 24 bits and then into Cakewalk. Plug-ins used were the Waves NPP2 package (for compression and EQ), and the Hyperprism package (for 'verb and random stuff).

The vocals were recorded with a Rode NT1 through an ART Tube MP-1. The drums were recorded with the Rode, an Oktava MC012, a Shure SM57, and an EV257 on the bass drum. The guitars were all recorded direct and re-amped with my Digitech RP2000. Bass was recorded direct through the ART.

Just so you all know, I am actually getting paid for this! I'm as shocked as you are! Seriously, though, I did Marcel's first song, and I got a few more clients after his musician friends heard what I'd done for him. I've also gotten a few more gigs from some free ads I placed on local musician websites. Of course, all of the money is going straight back into gear, since I figure that the more gear I have, the more I can charge. Anyway, just keep in mind that if you have decent equipment and fairly good engineering skills, it's not that hard to pick up a few extra bucks on the weekend recording demos for local bands and singer/songwriters!

Thanks in advance for your input on the mix.

Ryan

[drstawl]

I'll bypass any comments on the tune since you didn't want to know about that...
The mix rode between 0 db and -3 dB the whole time with a few bold forays into the -4 dB region. Maybe this is a philosophical difference, but I think that any song needs more dynamic range than that to work. That includes really heavy music as well as light acoustic stuff.
I did like that funky ending with one channel silent and the other making strange noises, but that'll only work once.
Glad you're getting paid. That's my goal as well.
Only thing I've been paid for is to create an .mp3 site for someone with nicely recorded tunes and no computer.

[37point5]

Drstawl,

Actually, I'd love to hear any comments you have about the tune; I just don't particularly think that this type of music is going to reach a very large audience. "How the Story Goes", on the other hand, has a much better chance at being "popular".

I agree with you totally about the dynamic range. Believe me, I fiddled with the mix for hours, riding faders, changing compression settings, taking out guitars, adding them back in, etc., but in the end I realized that the arrangement just doesn't lend itself to a wide range of dynamics. I mean, it's just a LOUD song. In the middle it kinda creeps down again like in the beginning, but that's about it. I liken this song to "Go" on Pearl Jam's "VS." album. Just a kick in the groin, a song to drive fast to. But like I said, I agree with you completely, and if you listen to my own compositions, you'll find they're extremely dynamic.

Thanks for your input, though. Good luck on getting some clients. Believe me, it's easier than you'd think it would be.

Ryan

[drstawl]

I guess I'm the guy who'd know about music that won't ever reach a large audience.....
Yes- the arrangement is at the heart of this problem. Not very much you can do about that after the fact.
Two loud songs I've reviewed here come to mind as a benchmark for a great arrangement that makes a "loud" song work. Those are Ed's "Superhero" and asi9's "Stupid Ifs".