Short Cello Solo

[DavidK]

Hi Kids,

This is a lil Cello Solo, it will be a Prelude to the Drover's Hill remake I am doing ( Paul 881's tune).

I compressed the Cello and added way too much reverb. Any technical comments are sorely needed. I dont know much about eq, and I need advice. It is a short download, about 30 seconds long.

Dont worry, the cheesy Synth acoustic will not make the final cut, it is basically a metronome for now.

Cello too Soft?

cello solo

[mixmkr]

Nice music. Personally, I think you could probably just ditch the reverb completely as it seems like it kinda has the effect of putting it on a kick drum...it washes out the dynamics. As far as the EQ, it also sounds a little mid-rangy harsh to me, so maybe dialing out some of the middle freqs would help. If the cello were to be the dominant instrument, you might consider stereo mic'ing too. [If it is allowed] some mild chorus might be nice also.

the bells and ac gtr sound like Roland patches..correct?

I think possibly easing up on the changes you do while recording/mixing might help also...speaking of the compression and reverb you said that was overdone. Some experimentation with mic placement might find you using almost nothing extra than the mic going straight to the recorder without alterations... ala sans EQ, etc.

I'd take the cello up a little too, as asked.

Yeah..nice music, for sure.

[DavidK]

Thanx for the comments

Yup, Roland patches. Not my fav, all I gots...

I only own one mic. The problem I have is I cant get a loud enough signal on the Cello. I use a Spirit F1 mixer as a pre, and the gain is really noisy, so I cant turn it up any more. I compensate by compressing and maximizing. My room is dead and noisy, so I use reverb.
I wanted the cello to be new-agey, but the reverb clearly does not work.

I would love to record the Cello as-is to disk. Dear Santa, where is that !@#$% gear I asked you for? Why have you forsaken me?

[mixmkr]

Originally posted by DavidK
I wanted the cello to be new-agey, but the reverb clearly does not work.

I think especially on legato type lines, the reverb only contributes to smooth(wash) things out even more and it is usually difficult to actually hear the decay of the reverb. The more abrupt the note endings are, the more the reverb will work. I also find mono reverbs to be of limited use also, much of the time. I'd much rather have a variety of reverbs going, but all stereo for a nicer L/R spread and just a general nicer ambience. Another approach that can sometimes work is to pan the instrument and the reverb a bit opposite of each other, so it is easier to hear the different things happening.

I have an example of some new-age(ish) stuff where I do just that at my nowhere site. Nothing too special with the music, but it might sonically better illustrate my ideas. If you can slap on some headphones, the effects really are much more pronounced. In the piece, I've got some synth oboe, clarinet, horns, and faux bird chirps happening just dripping in reverb.

it's Destinations track 01
http://www.nowhereradio.com/artists/.../album43.shtml

[B.SABBATH]

great tune in the making!

it's probably one of the best sounds I've heard from you yet..


mix - I spun 'Destinations' again while I was here.. cool.

[dtb]

DK, sounds good to me. All it needs is a mandolin. he he he he he I needs to hear the whole tune.

[Jagular]

Nice, but I want more

[twist]

I didn't think it was too soft in this context, but that could change as you change your instrumentaton. Sounds like it'll be a beautiful piece, but I agree the there was a little too much verb. I liked it, but I would just back it off a little.


Twist

[wfaraoni]

great flowing feel. wheres the rest of it? I only got a short clip
Ive got a cello That I cant play. obviously you can!

[chrisharris]

Hey Dave: I didn't read the other comments, but I just thought I'd let you know that this is a really strange coincidence. I'm in the middle of retracking December with the cello and violin tracks you sent (cool stuff, btw), and of course, I recently did a LOT of cello work on another tune, and here's my 2 cents. I did absolutely nothing to the cello track you sent. It's a very dynamic instrument, but compression just KILLED the instrument to me, and as long as other instrumentation is involved, I'd kill the reverb too...on the shuttle tune, that cello (although spliced) had ZERO reverb and no compression (you can tell during the dropout), but I love the way it sounds.

Now, if you've already tried that, and it sounds like ass to you, lol...then I'll just say that what I just downloaded really didn't sound bad at all...but maybe the verb on the cello is making it sound just the slightest bit "behind," if that makes sense. I find this to be true when I'm trying to put a bass in, and I think maybe the principal is the same...since it's a lower frequency, it takes longer to get to the ear maybe, I don't know, but I always have to slide the bass track about 10ms to the left to make it sound right to me...I'm finding the same thing with the cello.

I should remind you that I'm a complete and total novice, LOL...BUT I DO HAVE AN INTERVIEW ON NPR ON TUESDAY...lol. I wanna' bring the revamped "December" with me, so lemme' know what your schedule's like tomorrow...I'd like you to hear it before it "airs," lol.

Rock On Maestro,
Chris

[dobro]

I have a taste for sound on the dry side of course, so you should take what I say with a grain of salt, but I think that beautiful (and beautifully played) cello would sound way better with a lot less reverb on it.

[dres]

If you think about it a Cello already has a reverberant wooden chamber as part of the instrument so it's not surprising reverb doesn't do much for it except smear the attack on each note.

Another 2 cents

[dobro]

Yeah, but loads of acoustic instruments are 'reverberent chambers'. A flute's a metal reverberent chamber, and flute sounds great with loads of reverb on it. I think it depends on the instrument and the reverb.