Metal recorded in a BARN?????

S

superprohero

New member
Need some opinions on these recordings we did. Actually our rehearsal/recording room was built into a barn. It was warm and free so it worked.
Anyway, we used an 8 track Tascam Syncaset(Dinosaur) cassette recorder and I believe we used all SM57's. What you hear is not off the master tape, it is my copy of a cassette dub ran into the computer line in and reworked with Adobe Audition so there is still some hiss I'm well aware of.
I recorded ALL the drum parts first playing along to the guitarist playing the guitar parts live through headphones. What a hard way to get things done but we managed. The drums were basically combined to fit 8 tracks then mixed down to one track. Then everything else was added. Some songs had more mics on the drums and other songs had toms that "shared" mics. We have 16 originals so we recorded half in one two week session then the other half a few months later with a slightly different drum miking technique. We are a 3 piece band and just added a 2nd guitarist so all the two part guitar stuff is now covered live.
We are considering getting an interface and going digital to hard drive and buying more task specific mics.
Just looking to record a good demo good enough to sell at shows.
I think an unbiased critique is needed and could only benefit the next recording.
The tracks are listed on this quickie page I made at my old domain
http://www.superprohero.com/
 
Sounds pretty good for the conditions you described. The guitar tone is lacking in spots, and i'd work on the mix...but i've heard worse from studios that charge $35 an hour. Just curious, where in Indiana are you?
 
1st,
Don't get down on your self for the recording format & conditions.
8 tracks is still nothing to sneeze at - in fact it's twice where I started. Re hiss - does it have DBX or Dolby built in? If not you can use an external unit. Read the analogue section of the forum & specifically about hiss & how to run the tape hot/slightly into the red to max signal & minimize noise.
My only crit would be to mix down the drums to stereo to give some more flexibility in mixing the final 8.
You're missing some middle in the guitar though the sound on tape matches the style of playing. Where you can, try the sound of the guitar overdriven at the preamp stage & amplified as opposed to the sound of effects just to avoid being locked into the limitations of digital distortion.
The 1st song could have more a defined bass....
The songs are good, the playing is good too.
I think you just need more prac. at recording & mixing.
Nice job. Burned to CD it ought to sell at your gigs. I'd augment them with a couple of good tracks recorded live to give the CD a sense of recapturing the gig.
Cheers
rayC
 
I live in Indiana too so I know all about jamming in a barn. You guys have talent but your recordings have serious issues. The drums are buried and from what little I can hear of them they are flat and one dimensional sounding. The guitars have a tone like the mic was inside of a coffee can which is most likely a phase issue. The vocals have too much FX. The bass guitar is nonexistent. Do your band a favor and hire someone with recording experience to help you record. You can recoup the expense when you sell CDs at the shows. You will also make more money with a well produced demo. ;)
 
I have to agree with Ocnor, I think your music is good, and warrants better recording than you are going to get out of a tascam tape recorder.

You are kind of at a crossroads. You can concentrate on the music, and go spend a few $ to get recorded, and keep on trucking. Or you can fall into the labrynthine abyss of recording and music production and spend thousands and thousands of dollars, tons of time and get to the same point It all depends on what your passion or focus is: making music or recording it.

Anyway, nice tune!
 
rayc, When you say mix the drums in stereo I'm assuming the toms and cymbals panned to taste and the kick and snare up the middle?

ocnor, I agree with your views on the drums, especially being distant and flat sounding. It was my main gripe during mixdown, especially the tom mix. The guitar does come across with too much mids now that you mention it.

We have decided to try and rerecord with better mics and getting an interface and going to hard drive. We enjoy the labors of seeking a better recording. We just don't want to starve.
 
superprohero said:
We enjoy the labors of seeking a better recording. We just don't want to starve.
Click to expand...

You have come to the right place then! At least here in the 'labrynthine abyss', we have plenty of company...lol.
 
Yep, a bit of panning but you'll need to have recorded & mixed the drums to at least stereo to do that.
I still reckon you can get a great result without resorting, in the 1st instance, to Hard Disc recording.
8 tracks was Sgt Pepper - though with a fair bit of lateral thinking.
You could run with
7 & 8 (Drums- 7 1;bass 2;snare, 3;L tom 4; R tom 5;ride, 6; crash 7; room etc etc {+ guide track of band} -> down to 2)
6 Bass
5 Gtr lead
4 Gtr rhythm
3 Dbl track main vox or solo or both
2 B vox
1 Main Vox
But go for whatever suits.
It's just that you have the gear to do well already & it just takes some work.
OR
pay someone....but that's not what this forum is about.
Cheers
rayC
rayC
 
rayc, guess I failed to mention my kit size. I have 3 ride toms, 2 floor toms, 1 snare, 2 bass drums, 4 crash cymb, 1 splash, 1 china, 1 standard set of hi-hats and 1 set of fixed hats on the right. This is going to be a little tricky to do 8 track so this is why we decided to maybe get more channels through an interface. Maybe there's other ways but as a band we are all have lots to learn. But that's half the fun.
 
That's one hungry kit super!
Being that you were prepared to mix to mono before perhaps you'd only need to set up as before & mix to stereo to get a markedly different placement in the final mix - with a fair bit of forethought I admit.
Enjoy the learning curve - frustrating but fun - rather like learning a song as a band.
Cheers & good luck
rayC
 
rayc said:
Yep, a bit of panning but you'll need to have recorded & mixed the drums to at least stereo to do that.
I still reckon you can get a great result without resorting, in the 1st instance, to Hard Disc recording.
8 tracks was Sgt Pepper - though with a fair bit of lateral thinking.
You could run with
7 & 8 (Drums- 7 1;bass 2;snare, 3;L tom 4; R tom 5;ride, 6; crash 7; room etc etc {+ guide track of band} -> down to 2)
6 Bass
5 Gtr lead
4 Gtr rhythm
3 Dbl track main vox or solo or both
2 B vox
1 Main Vox
But go for whatever suits.
It's just that you have the gear to do well already & it just takes some work.
OR
pay someone....but that's not what this forum is about.
Cheers
rayC
rayC
Click to expand...

one track for rhythm guitars? blasphemous! I say nix doubling vocals on 3 and do left and right rhythm guitars.
 
Good stuff - I like the vocalist. Sounds crazy but his style reminds me of Dale Bozzio - A male Dale singing metal. It's the way he pronounces "-tion" words. It's awesome. I guess what I'm saying is I like this metal.

-Casey
 
Supercreep, I'm really glad you like the music itself. I feel the music is good and has "some" potential, we are happy with it, the recording to us isn't worth bragging about or presenting to anyone but ourselves and friends. We always have a good crowd turnout and great responses to the music live.
As I stated; we were a 3 piece. The singer is also the guitarist and plays all the leads and seldom(very seldom) misses a note. We just added a 2nd guitarist to cover all the 2 part stuff live. We have two songs to get down with him and we are re-recording everything with newer equipment, better mics. The bass player is the singers brother, we're all in our 30's, ouch!
I'll post some of the other songs for critique or pleasure. Keep checking the site.
 
Good tune.

I gave it a quick listen and the only horrible thing I noticed was the snare drum sound. It didn't sound like you were hitting a snare drum; more like a cardboard box. :)

Can't wait to hear the new recording you guys will be doing.
 
It didn't sound like you were hitting a snare drum; more like a cardboard box.
Click to expand...
Actually we had to remove all the tape on that cardboard box to get it to resonate.LOL Just kidding. To be honest that snare sounds pretty good when played live. Another gross example of poor mic/recording technique.
Still amazing how good or bad a subtle change can make.
 
Dude, there may be some shortcomings to the recording...but your band kicks ass!
Really takes me back, I love it! Good luck with it.
Too bad you're all the way in Kokomo, I'd love to lend a hand in the recording, but I'm just south of Evansville.
 
Bumping this up because I added a couple more songs to the webpage.

Metalhead28, Thanks for the comments on the music itself. Yes it is too bad we're all the way up here. We have a lot of experimenting (i.e. trial and error) to do to get this sounding right, and experienced hand would drastically cut out some of the er,,,, errors.LOL

http://www.superprohero.com/
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top