First post - acoustic stuff

[incursio]

Hello everyone - new to this site (and forum) - looks great, and will definitely be here a lot!

This is my first post here, so I'm going to be brave - lol.

Let me preface this by saying that I have really crappy studio - not necessarily equipment wise, but "room" wise. See my post in the studio design forum here about my "unfinished basement" studio for a pic. At any rate, room noise galore.

The levels seem a bit low when I compare them to other acoustic tunes posted here. Not sure what I'm doing wrong - my levels looked pretty good to me when recording and mixing down...hmm. THen again, I am just learning how to use my new Yamaha AW4416 - so it is probably operator error.

Here you go - quick demo of "A Fragile Shell":

Ignore the whistling at the beginning - rofl - that was me goofing around. Recorded in one 30 minute session - plug and go. Recorded the guitar and main vocal at the same time - guitar going straight into the board, as well as mic'd with a small mic to give it some more body (just using my high Z input on my AW4416 sounds like crap by itself).

Cheers.
Scott

 

[Queue]

Scott,
Pretty good for a 30 minute session! I really liked your guitar work. There was a couple of spots where the vocal melody and the guitar seemed to clash, but if you were to track separately, you could probably correct that.

the whistling... hehe was that a little axl tribute there?

Queue

 

[silverhammer]

man what a great song !

Okay, this hopefully isn't the final mix because I think your song is great. What do you think about another voice doing harmonies with the main vocal ? I kept waiting for a harmony line to come in, but that is just something I thought would really add to the song. Great work man, give this song all you can give, it's a keeper.
Silver

 

[incursio]

Thanks for the encouragement, gang.

Heavens no, this is nowhere near a final mix - it was a rough cut to lay it down, and see where I am with it.

Silver - you are right about the harmony line. I've already been experimenting with a few things...

I am still in the phase of trying to find the "optimal" arrangement, given how crappy my workspace is.

Here are a few more to give you a feel for some of the stuff I'm doing:

The Soldier (another rough cut acoustic track). This was written by my old band back in the 1980s in Germany (Shadow). We put out a vinyl LP over there - lol. It was a heavy metal tune - now it is an acoustic piece. Slightly different arrangement than the original:

I Love You the Most (an anniversary song for my wife) - a little too heavy on the vocal reverb on this one for sure. I also did some background vocals on this one. Something different - hehe.

Collectively, I am curious to what people think of the "guitar" sound I am getting, and possibly, what I might be able to do to improve upon it. It sounds flat to me - then again, I was a tank gunner in the Army - it could sound fine and I'd never know it!

Cheers.
Scott

 

[MAC2]

Scott,

I was only able to listen to "A Fragile Shell"..... I would echo some of the other's comments about the good guitar work and good songwriting. I thought you got some great guitar tone on this recording....with the exception of some low end hum and the overall level being low compared to other mp3's (which you already mentioned in your original post). Since you said this is not the final product, count me in on another vote for some vocal harmonies in the background (as opposed to the whispers..)

 

[theron]

Just checked out "fragile Shell".
The whistleing is a bust. I'd get rid of the backup whispers as well up until about 2:35. Unless you were going for the stoner effect. In this case, I'd pan hard right or left and pull the whispers down in the mix and add some reverb and quietly long delay.
Pleasant picking. Very clean!! How did you record the git? Nice and silky.

Solid song. You should decide what all you want to do with it.
I can tell that you've the tools and skill to make it a complete and worthy vision come true.

Thanks for letting me listen and comment
Peace, Theron.

 

[incursio]

The whistleing is a bust.

lol - I know. Ah, the results of a 30 minute session. It sounded (figuratively, not literally!) like a good idea at the time.

I'd get rid of the backup whispers as well up until about 2:35. Unless you were going for the stoner effect. In this case, I'd pan hard right or left and pull the whispers down in the mix and add some reverb and quietly long delay.

I think I agree with you (and others here). Perhaps the whispers can add something later in the song - a harmony line is the best thing at this point.

Pleasant picking. Very clean!! How did you record the git? Nice and silky.

lol - everyone has said this, but I'm really no guitar player! Never had lessons or anything, just sort of picked it up - learning chords here and there over the years. And whatever you do, don't ask me to play lead!

Seriously though, I used a Takamine G Series acoustic electric - picking with my fingertips. I ran it dry into the board on one track, then mic'd it with an Audio-Technica condenser mic on another track. Then I just panned each about 45 degrees either way. I'm still learning. Not sure I fully love the sound out of the Tak, but ....

Solid song. You should decide what all you want to do with it.
I can tell that you've the tools and skill to make it a complete and worthy vision come true.

Thanks for letting me listen and comment

No, thank you!

Cheers.
Scott