ADVICE NEEDED PLEASE • can the digital distortion be cleaned up on this track???

D

dreamer7

New member
:) Hi to all you fine folk,
I'd really like some advice on the digital distortion on this track, but would also like to know how it sounds to people as an original idea anyway. It has a special place in my heart, so I'd like to save the recording if poss, rather than re-record it.

I've re-mastered it, as there's some bad digital distortion in the original (recorded in 2000) which is due to me not paying attention to levels properly years ago, as before that I used to get away with tape saturation on reel-to-reel. I bought a 4-track digital portastudio back then and didn't realise how different it was to analogue, and along with using "rubbish" headphones, the distortion got locked in :o!!! I've done my best to reduce it by twiddling EQs and it's a bit better, although still noticeable, and I've had to sacrifice brightness. Listening back after all these years, the vocals seem too low in the mix, but they're locked in position via bounce-downs.

If I took it to a real studio engineer, could it be cleaned up completely using computer techniques. I don't really know myself as I don't record on computer yet. Any advice from those in the know, on whether this is possible, would be very helpful – cheers in advance!

It's a more musical offering than my latest stuff and is called The Eternal Light of Will. Thanks for reading and, in advance, for listening and advice. Click this direct link:
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_songInfo.cfm?bandID=662928&songID=6190630

Hope you can hear the passion I put into it, regardless of the less than perfect production.
dreamer7
 
Maybe you could post a downloadable of the original and see if there's anything anyone can do.

Be-Bop-Deluxe
 
I don't have the technical expertise to answer your questions. My guess would be the distortion would be difficult if not impossible to remove, if embedded into the track. I did enjoy the piece though, it is well written and arranged. The vocals were low in the second half as you stated....
Cool bio page info too......:cool:
 
ds21 said:
Maybe you could post a downloadable of the original and see if there's anything anyone can do.

Be-Bop-Deluxe
Click to expand...

:) Thanks for the idea ds21, but I think I'd like it to be taken straight from the original 4-track master on the portastudio, as mp3s reduce the sound quality anyway. I wouldn't mind taking it to a semi-pro studio to get a good engineer to clean it up if he could do a good job of it and I doubt that it would take them long. But I wouldn't want him to spend time on it and then not be able to make it work, but still charge me.

:confused: I just thought that there might be some sort of computer program that makes it possible to take out even something like digital distortion and I know that a lot of people on this site record using computers, so someone may be able to at least tell me if it's poss or not. Then I could look around fairly local to me, to see if I can find a reasonably priced studio engineer.

And yep, you're right, Bill Nelson was the leader of that great band Be-Bop-Deluxe.
dreamer7



ido1957 said:
I don't have the technical expertise to answer your questions. My guess would be the distortion would be difficult if not impossible to remove, if embedded into the track. I did enjoy the piece though, it is well written and arranged. The vocals were low in the second half as you stated....
Cool bio page info too......:cool:
Click to expand...

:) Cheers for your reply ido1957. You may well be right about the distortion being impossible to remove completely, but maybe a good engineer using the right program might be able to make just about a good enough job anyway.

Glad you enjoyed it though and thanks for saying so. A way around the low vocal is to maybe some day simply add extra vocals singing the same lines over the top of what's there already, but this time take the volume up enough for them to be clearer. By the way, can you notice any annoying distortion when you hear it at home on whatever system you're listening on?

:cool: Cheers too for being interested enough to read all the way through my bio page. Makes it worthwhile adding all that stuff knowing that people can make it to the bottom without becoming bored.

Out for now,
dreamer7
------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.soundclick.com/gardenofsurrealdreams
THE ETERNAL LIGHT OF WILL – my very humble tribute to Bill Nelson. For your ears only, on Soundclick now.
 
What I want to know is how you got that big dot in between 2 words in the thread title.:eek:
 
Not, it won't, but since the distortion isn't very major, it might help enough. As it is, the untrained ear probably wouldn't be able to hear it, especially on computer/car speakers.
 
ds21 said:
Yes there are programs that are supposed to help with clipped files, Sony Sound Forge comes to mind:

http://www.studiodaily.com/studiomonthly/tutorials/howtutorials/f/post/8370.html
Click to expand...
Great stuff ds21 and thanks for the link. There may be hope after all.
dreamer7


RAMI said:
What I want to know is how you got that big dot in between 2 words in the thread title.:eek:
Click to expand...
Well RAMI, not sure if I should give away secrets like that ;), but on my Apple keyboard it's 'option' along with 'atserisk' (*).
dreamer7


IronFlippy said:
Not, it won't, but since the distortion isn't very major, it might help enough. As it is, the untrained ear probably wouldn't be able to hear it, especially on computer/car speakers.
Click to expand...
Good to know that the distortion doesn't sound too major to you IronFlippy. Good point about untrained ears not being so bothered by it as well.
Cheers, dreamer7
------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.soundclick.com/gardenofsurrealdreams
THE ETERNAL LIGHT OF WILL – my very humble tribute to Bill Nelson. For your ears only, on Soundclick now.
 
:D Ooops, forgot to ask this in the last post.

Many thanks all for the advice above, but I'd also really like to know how this track sounds to people as an original idea. Y'know, how's it coming across as a piece of music in itself (if you ignore the distortion problem). Also, as we all have to describe our music in some way, what genre does it sound like it fits into best :confused:

Here's the direct link again:
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_songInfo.cfm?bandID=662928&songID=6190630

Any thoughts on this at all?
Thanks in advance.
dreamer7 :)
 
There is no way to "clean up" distortion in the digital signal just as there is no way in the analog. You can clean up minor electronic hiss or the occasionally click or pop but distortion; no. Just as you cannot remove reverb after the fact. I listened to the mix. I would simply shelve this as finished. You bounced tracks so trying to clean up on might seriously affect another track. I don't hear anything that isn't smoothed out by the tons of reverb (a cheap technique for getting rid of hiss). At this point leave it alone. I think you learned your lesson and will do much better in the future.
Rod Norman
Engineer

dreamer7 said:
:) Hi to all you fine folk,
I'd really like some advice on the digital distortion on this track, but would also like to know how it sounds to people as an original idea anyway. It has a special place in my heart, so I'd like to save the recording if poss, rather than re-record it.

I've re-mastered it, as there's some bad digital distortion in the original (recorded in 2000) which is due to me not paying attention to levels properly years ago, as before that I used to get away with tape saturation on reel-to-reel. I bought a 4-track digital portastudio back then and didn't realise how different it was to analogue, and along with using "rubbish" headphones, the distortion got locked in :o!!! I've done my best to reduce it by twiddling EQs and it's a bit better, although still noticeable, and I've had to sacrifice brightness. Listening back after all these years, the vocals seem too low in the mix, but they're locked in position via bounce-downs.

If I took it to a real studio engineer, could it be cleaned up completely using computer techniques. I don't really know myself as I don't record on computer yet. Any advice from those in the know, on whether this is possible, would be very helpful – cheers in advance!

It's a more musical offering than my latest stuff and is called The Eternal Light of Will. Thanks for reading and, in advance, for listening and advice. Click this direct link:
SoundClick artist: Garden of Surreal Dreams - A daring Music and Sound project encompassing a multitude of inspiring eclectic genres, so let's cal

Hope you can hear the passion I put into it, regardless of the less than perfect production.
dreamer7
Click to expand...
 
Um, this is a 6 year old thread. Just sayin...

I know you wont respond Rod, but what the hell man? Why won't you ever respond to any comments on your posts. And why/how have you found this archive to post on. Are you even a real person?
 
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