A Jim Croce Tune

R

Rick Shepherd

New member
I recorded the song by laying down two separate guitar tracks, then panned them hard left/right for stereo effect. Then I layed down the vocal track on that. I used a pair of Gefell M300's and the Avalon AD2022 on the guitar, then on vocals, I used the UA LA-610 preamp with the Peluso 2247LE mic. The AD/DA conversion was using the UA 2192. It is a Jim Croce song: These Dreams I hope you like it!
 
Not much to say. Sounds great. Only slight nit would be the hard panned acoustics sound unnatural to me, but they don't sound bad. Even slighter nit, is there is just a bit of a "blanket" sound over the whole mix. Very slight, but it just sounds like the "air" is missing. These are VERY slight nits, only to try and offer something to make it better. Sounds great. :)
 
Rick....

Why did you decide to use the Avalon on the guitars, and the LA-610 on the vocals?

Just because you could ?

(I don't own any expensive Pre's yet, so I'm curious....)
 
At the moment, these are my only two preamps that I have ever used. The Avalon has always given me great results with the guitar and vocals, but I decided to spruce things up a bit and get the LA610 for an alternative sound. The avalon, for vocals, is a great choice, but the 610 wins out for my vocals. Honestly, I admit that sometimes I can't tell much difference.
 
Rick Shepherd said:
I reposted the song with one guitar part and no effects. I think it sounds better! These Dreams
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There's definitely something going on in the background, I can hear it just as the song starts. Air conditioner? It creates problem you may not even be aware of, and it's just annoying. lol

I like the performance. I'd trim the bass a little from the vocals. In my own recordings I would probably trim some more bass from the guitars because there would be more instrumentation, I use acoustic guitars for effect and orchestration nowadays and your acoustic would bump heads with a bass guitar. But as a solo instrument it sounds well balanced.

BTW, I think your setup captures vocals very well, but I get aout the same quality acoustic sound with a Shure PG81 ($130) and a $50 mixer with phantom power into the line-in on the sound card. Frankly, the name dropping of gear doesn't impress me - what that gear does should impress me, and rarely do I hear anything that's leaps and bounds over budget setups. The exception is a good preamp with a true vocal mic - still haven't found a good, cheap compromise there. The PG81 does a great job, but it's still not quite studio quality.

If it were me I'd return the overpriced gear and pocket the difference getting something that will just do the job. Would take up less room too.
 
I think he'll probably keep the gear he's using ;)

I listened to the latest track - td6 ...

I'm not familiar with the original so I compare anything there. All I can say is that I believe this is one of your best performances (although multitracked). The guitar playing is intricate and melodic, and the vocals are smooth and full of soul.

Great job...

_________________
My Songs are here
 
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Pinky,

I appreciate your comments. I don't doubt that a person could get better results with a budget setup. I usually like to post a list of my gear as a courtesy to those who are interested in knowing what the signal chain consisted of.

As for the recording, I did tweak a bit of low end EQ into the vocals, but apparently it didn't need it. As for the guitar, people usually say my guitar sounds wonderful, but this time I cranked up the preamp too high, which is probably why the guitar sounds a bit boomy. Also, my mic placement may have been wrong.

I hope you don't think I am just trying to make excuses for my higher end gear being better than it is or anything like that, because I have made a few really nice recordings. I know that I could use a different room with treatments for sound, but I am stuck in my livingroom for now.

In your post, I honestly detect some kind of attitude concerning high end gear, as though you think it is an unnecessary waste of money. If this is what you think, then I strongly disagree. This is a topic that has been discussed over and over on many forums. High end gear isn't there just to make people FEEL better about their recordings, but a tool to allow people to get the best out of their recordings.

I don't claim to be very good at using my gear, but I am trying. Response like yours do help me to achieve my goal and I do appreciate your input. Thanks very much!
 
Rick Shepherd said:
In your post, I honestly detect some kind of attitude concerning high end gear, as though you think it is an unnecessary waste of money. If this is what you think, then I strongly disagree. This is a topic that has been discussed over and over on many forums. High end gear isn't there just to make people FEEL better about their recordings, but a tool to allow people to get the best out of their recordings.
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That's true in some cases, but honestly nowadays the low and mid range mics are so friggin good that it's almost a waste to spend more than $500 to record acoustic instruments.

But you're welcome to buy into and spread the hype. I have years of good recordings with mediocre equipment (relative to the musician's studio standard). Somehow I made it work without having to spend thousands. :confused:

I'm not trying to be rude or short with you in particular, as I've read and participated in my fair share of those lengthy gear discussions as well. I guess the proof's in the pudding.
________________________


The gear we've used:

http://www.the-boogiemen.com/credits.htm

Complete list of MP3s:

http://www.the-boogiemen.com/mp3


Example of acoustics with the PG81:




Example of vocals with the PG81 (acoustic as well, please excuse the pop at the beginning... maybe I'll remove it someday :p ):

 
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Rick:

I was comparing this with the last you posted here, called "eclipse".

As "these dreams" seems more "defined /on face/ closer" ( in a lack of a better word):D and I saw the gear is the same on both songs, my question:

did you change some technique recording to this last one?
(maybe your best performance/sound IMO)


Ciro
www.soundclick.com/openstation
 
Ciro, I think my previous response to Pinky might explain the differences between this song and the last one. I increased the gain on the guitar pre. I also bypassed the compressor on the LA-610, which did make a difference in vocals. Also, no effects on the guitar and vocals this time.

Pinky, nice recordings for sure! I can definitely hear inherent gear noise, but it sounds like you are very good at what you do. One of the other reasons people buy expensive gear is for gear which has been constructed using higher quality parts that have been hand built with a higher degree of concern for less noise and durability. I am sure there are exceptions, not many though. I agree that the small improvement in recording quality is far less than the expense you pay for the higher end gear. I am sure that there is some element of hype involved as well, but I don't really care. In this case, I will pay that much more for less noisy, quality gear. Now I need to get back to the recording basics. Later man!
 
Rick Shepherd said:
Pinky, nice recordings for sure! I can definitely hear inherent gear noise, but it sounds like you are very good at what you do. One of the other reasons people buy expensive gear is for gear which has been constructed using higher quality parts that have been hand built with a higher degree of concern for less noise and durability. I am sure there are exceptions, not many though. I agree that the small improvement in recording quality is far less than the expense you pay for the higher end gear. I am sure that there is some element of hype involved as well, but I don't really care. In this case, I will pay that much more for less noisy, quality gear.
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Exactly- especially the bolded part. Is high end gear necessary? No. It all depends on how good is good enough. I listened to one of Pinky's tracks - phenomanal for what he's using. It still has that lo-fi blanket on it though. But in all honesty, if I use the wife test (can she hear a difference) I bet she would say they were equal. (Drives me crazy sometimes) :D
 
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