critiques?alright!!i didn't know this forum existed!

M

mojovoodoo

New member
ok,it might seem a bit inexperienced of me,but ,how do you link up your song so that it shows up on your thread?i have tried several things ,and when i do "paste" it prints up the site address,but,it doesn't show up blue with a hand when you touch your mouse to it.anywayi will write the address of the songs until i know how.anyway i have been dying to hear CONSTRUCTIVE criticsm on the production,engineering/mixing quality of these two songs.i don't need to hear much criticism on songwriting or playing and all that,(i mean you're welcome,but it's not me singing or writing the songs)i can quicklyu(yeah right!nuthin' i do is quick)explain this situation:
i have always wanted to have my own recording studio in my bedroom.since i started playing the guitar ,i was fascinated by overdubbing,i(you know 2 tape recorders w/each other)anyway ,i use "studio" loosely now with so much available equipment,everybody's got a studio.
i have only owned my own digital recording equipment for about 6-8 months now.it is a br-8 boss 8 track digital.i have a boss dr-5 drum machine, acheap audio tech dynamic mic.all effects are pretty much on the 8-track,except for the guitar tones,strat through a solid state chorus amp ,tele through a vox cambridge 30 w/ tremelo. i took the br-8 to denver,co. recorded a bunch of my sister's songs.her acoustic guitar ,her voice sync'ed up to midi time code.came back to philly and added the rest of the stuff.oh yeah ,i rented a roland vk-7 organ for the song "last night".she wrote the songs but i certainly had a lot of the ideas for it.they are amatuer recordings,i know.that's why i am here.please i have brought most of my questions in my other threads,i.e.;a better mic/mixing& so on.so,thanks for any constructive and productive discussion.
(sorry for being so so so so so long winded)http://www.allcet.com/rr/mp3/Mary%20Beth%20Abella-Last%20Night.mp3
 
This song kicks

A BR-8 wow. I think this song kicks ass. I love all the dissedent sounds, the organ the bass. Wow. I don't know.
My ears are better at hearing songs than at picking apart aspects of the recording.

There is a ton of song in this song. I like the slightly off-tune performance. The acoustic guitar was just a tad thin. The volume of the vox could go up just a tad But I tell you man, the strength of the song keeps pulling me back.

I didn't know you could get such decent sounds out of a drum machine like a Dr. 505. Maybe I'll snag one used.

Your sister has a wonderful voice too, even through a cheeseball mike. A decent condenser could pull out more subtlety. A cheap tube pre (presonus blue tube?)would give the whole thing a somewhat more robust warm feel.

Don't waste your time worrying about better equipment. Build your arsenal up slowly, and keep recording great songs like these. You'll get there.

This is one my favorite songs that I've heard here. (Although I'm relatively new). Maybe also because it's similar to the sort of songs I've been doing on my 424. Check my stuff out.

I should still have a post farther down this page.
keep it up.

-Jett Rocker
 
Emeric,how did you do that?there is no explanation?
jett-rocker,what's the address of the songs?are you talking about a 424 cassette deck porta studio?anyway,the drum machine is a dr-5 ,the one with the other sequencing tracks w/bass/piano/guitar sounds(roland sounds not too bad)anyway it's a great tool esp. for songwriting and you have nothing around to play,it's battery powered and a cool sketchbook.anyway i wanna hear yer music,my curiosity is up.but thanks so much for the critiques ,exactly what i need to hear.if i can for a moment discuss a few things.the vocals could be louder,would you do that by turning that vocal track up ,or by finding the range that competes w/ it and lower a few things?now the recommendation of the presonus,if i turn of all the fx and have a dry input on the br-8,how is this pre amp gonna work,i can only think of that way ,yet the br-8 has a pre for the mic,but,i already have the xlr adapted to a 1/4" jack.but the alogorithms boss calls "cosm"(their version of amp modeling,speaker simulation)the inputs are automatically pre amp and configured already so that ,for ease of use,you just have to plug in mics or guit's.yeah the problem w/ it also there is no fx loop ,and i always have to do this serious bouncing w/ fx on the tracks just so i can change the effect throughout the song.because as you can see,most of the work i enjoy deals with production(lots of it)and the br-8 is not a real high production work horse.as i have mentioned a million times,i plan on getting a computer for all my recordings.i have done some research,but i am still in the grey on what i really need.any suggestions now that you heard what i am trying for?plus,i now have a drummer,but i still will do some songs with drum machines,and both,and what not.what are you using presently?also,you mentioned the guitar(acoustic),could this be saved w/a better mic?as the vocals?the outta tune she was goin' fer ,thanx fer noticin'.w/the computer i need a pre and a few mics ,so it wouldn't hurt to purchase all the stuff(pre's and mics and mixers,and all)thank you for any input enthusiasm and all advice.
 
haha Right now I am using a fostex fd-8, which has been in the shop for a month :(

I finally got a good mic though. AT4033. Yeah I've been using the Tascam, and with enough coaxing, it's done me right. My old mike, which served me well, was a $70 AT Midnight blues, handheld condenser.

For the vox, you could just turn them up, but be careful. Even the slightest moves could wack out the rest of the mix. So keep that in mind. Some times I pan vox slightly left instead of dead on center, don't know why exactly. It wasn't a huge move up they needed. But they felt a tad buried. They are just fine in the begining, just a little farther away when everything else kicks in.

An external pre is still probably better than what the boss gives you, but with your mike it might not matter that much anyway.

I should have a thread farther down in this forum, probably about 10-20 threads down.

p.s. Use some paragraph breaks. :)

-Jett Rocker
 
mojo-
I liked the tune. Your sister has a cool sound. Kinda fleetwoodmackish. Good programming on the drum machine. I really hate those things so I suffer by trying to record my drummer.
I have been looking at one of those little Vox amps. That thing has a really great sound. I think you persuaded me to go and buy one. Ahhh...more things to buy. It IS an addiction.
 
Great work for someone so new to digital recording. Great song too. Great work with the drum machine. I didn't even realize they were programed drums at first.

I thought the vocals were a little too out front. The music could be hotter and it would help the overall sound of the song but I suppose you were trying to showcase your sister's obvious talent.

Keep it up!
Rusty K
 
rusty k,you know what?that's exactly my biggest problem.the "hotter" thing,i don't know if it is just the br-8,or maybe the mixdown to the cd,but the final product is half the volume of all recordings i have compared it to.it's pretty frustrating listening to it up against any other recording.i even tried pushing it up in the red more than i would have liked to ,and still it is sooooooooooo quiet!!!!!anybody got any suggestions?i was thinking,because i am upgrading in a bit,a sonic maximizer,or aural exciter?anyone?

hard2hear,hahahahah is this the "g.a.s."thing hitting you again?are you a guitar player?my friend pulled out the one tube the vox has to look at it,and it's a sovtek 12ax7,just the pre amp though,it's a hybrid solid state and "one tube".but the clean channel on that amp is smooth,the potentiometers on vox's are nice they change the tonality so drastic,maan!

anyway,the biggest comment seems to be the vocals,upon listening,without knowing about it,would y'all assume poor micing technique,a poor mic,or bad e.q.'ing,or all of the above? i was having the most trouble w/ the vocals as it was,could be i am just now acquiring new"ears",never realized how much midrange e.q.,or all bandwidth e.q.'s make such a dramatic difference.the effects on the vocals?too subtle?or not enough?i am working with another female singer,and i have tracked dry,and still it distorts and jumps around so much.any one have a mic in mind?

oh yeah,hard2hear,which mic did you get?did you purchase one or two cheap ones?and are you happy with it?
 
Mojo,
Very good sounding tune. I liked the panning of the electric guitar at :50, fits like a glove. The vocals, well, she does have a damn good voice.

I think you made that BR-8 sound very textured.
Good production!

Garger
 
mojo-
The vocal is a good job for the mic you were using, a really good job actually. I think that is where your limitation is. As far as the music on the track, it seems like you might of not tracked hot enough if everything is quiet when you pump it up.
I have a BBE Sonic Maximizer and I don't use it at all for recording anymore. They are like way over the edge.
As far as the mic, it is the AT 4033. I haven't got around to re-recording anything yet, just playing around. But if sonusman likes it, I know I wont be disappointed!
cya
 
aaaargggghhh

so,it can't be saved?it's a "shoulda woulda coulda" situation?i mean,because it's such a low recording,will i be able to mix it in the red?and perhaps it will be hot enough but no digi distortion?or how about i mix it to dat and then pull up all the tracks super hot?i just spoke with my sister this morning,we discussed redoing it all anyway,plus new songs,but ohhhhmaaaaa-aan!!the hours i have spent on all these songs,there are 4 more songs ,some drastically different,i wasnt to put them all up so you can hear what other things i been workin with.how much for the at-4033?and when you do some tracking please post something so i can hear the mic.would you use it for vocals?what do you mean about"way over the edge"?(sonic max) are they too over effected?add hiss?
 
I just bought two AT4033s for $350, and that seems to be about the going price. I did some test tracking over the weekend using them as stereo drum overheads and I'm going to try to get the singer from my band to come lay some vocals with one. The test recording is half of one of my band's songs and I'll probably post it here late tonight to get some feedback, then you can hear that mic.

If nobody's filled you in about how to make a link yet, scroll up to the top of the page. Just below the Home Recording.com BBS graphic there's a Forum Rules section. FInd the line that says: "Posts: HTML code is OFF. Smilies are ON. vB code is ON.
 
I guess I worded that poorly - that's $350 *each* for the AT4033 :). Yeah, I only wish I got them both for that.
 
Hey don't sweat the recording being too quiet. I used to kick myself in the head about that, over and over. I ruined alot of decent mixes trying to squeeze that last little bit of juice out of them.

From what I can gather after reading a zillion posts here, the volume problem is something to leave to a mastering house. Ain't too much that you or I can do about the problem, unless we want to spend a billion dollars on mastering equipment. I don't :)

I've seen Sonusman offering to master. When you get enough songs together, maybe email him to see if the price is right.

-Jett Rocker
 
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