First ever "client" recording

WhiteStrat

WhiteStrat

Don't stare at the eye.
I've posted here before, but all just of myself trying out new gear or some new technique. I started down this homerecording road to record myself, but the more knowledge and the more gear you get, the more people find out.

I guess that's how lots of folks here started recording others. Anyway, last night I tracked my first ever "client"--as in total strangers coming over to my place and me just recording--not playing.

They were kids (younger than my kids! I feel old) and they took advice well so I really ended up "producing" as well. This is preliminary mix of the first track. They're coming back for vocals this weekend, so there'll be changes to make the vox sit in the mix, but this is it so far.



Your thoughts are more than welcome...
 
I like it - A good performance, good recording and a good mix. It's hard to say too much before vocals go in but maybe I'd have the arpeggiated electric guitar a trifle louder, it is tight sounding and catchy

This deserves a strong tuneful vocal which hopefully is what it gets.
 
Very good !!!

My only critic is the 60Hz arear and the snare :-)
I would lower it down a bit and maybe also cut away just a little bit at the 2-3.5kHz area.
Snare needs a bit more snap.
Great mix and great recording !
Everything sits fine.

Dirk
 
Rohan said:
I like it - A good performance, good recording and a good mix. It's hard to say too much before vocals go in but maybe I'd have the arpeggiated electric guitar a trifle louder, it is tight sounding and catchy

This deserves a strong tuneful vocal which hopefully is what it gets.
Click to expand...

I agree on both counts. The arpeggiated guitar should come up a bit, but the heavy guitar behind it will likely come down a bit to make room. I've saved the volume automation stuff for after the vocals.

And you're right about the vocals--I hope they're tight. They could mean the difference between whether or not I end up with a "portfolio" piece to show off...

Thanks for the listen and the input!
 
Vaquero Verbal said:
Very good !!!

My only critic is the 60Hz arear and the snare :-)
I would lower it down a bit and maybe also cut away just a little bit at the 2-3.5kHz area.
Snare needs a bit more snap.
Great mix and great recording !
Everything sits fine.

Dirk
Click to expand...

Y'know, I thought the same about the snare. I already replaced all the kicks with better samples, and was thinking of doing the same w/the snare, but the drummer loves his snare sound (though he does like his "new" kick sound).

Don't know that I want to replace the snare hits, but I'll work on getting it to snap a bit more.

patlang12: Thanks for the listen and comments. I appreciate it!
 
These kids are quite good.

I really don't care for the snare sound at all. It is dull and needs some serious punching up and a touch of reverb. I think the overheads on the cymbals are the tiniest bit too hot.


Overall, this is an excellent recording that is quite nice. I kept waiting for Bono to start singing! ;)

Please let us know signal paths involved here. thanks!
Steve
 
Are you using a click track with these guys? The track seems to slow down a bit as it moves along, maybe it's just me..... I agree that a snappier snare might be in order. Other than that I think the recording is coming along really well. Bass sounds great! Congrats on your first client. These guys can play so that makes your job all that more enjoyable I'm sure. Please pass my compliments to the band when you see them next. Was this all done in one evening?
 
The band is pretty good, as is the recording.

Its hard to judge without the vocals, because they will take most of the listeners attention. Right now, it sounds like a concerto for toms.:D The whole low end of the drums is dominating the mix. I cant hear much of the bass, they are overwhelming it. As mentioned earlier, the snare is muffled and if it was brighter it would sound less like a tom.

HOwever, all of this may mean nothing.:D When the vox come in, this could be perfection. You are off to a good start, look forward to hearing the finished product.
 
Good stuff!

But, the snare is just burried on the mix! I can´t even tell if the snares were engaged... And maybe the acoustic guitar was a little loud on some passages...

Besides that, I like it! :)

(and a little more kick from the bassdrum wouldn´t hurt neither!)
 
Solid sound, uneven tempo

I think the sound is great. Snare is not my cup of tea, but if he likes it, he likes it.

Only thing that jumped out at me was the tempo. It's really all over the place.
 
SteveE9C6 said:
Please let us know signal paths involved here. thanks!
Steve
Click to expand...

Sure, here goes.

Bass: his gear was some Dean guitar with a GK backline 112. I took his line out into a MPA Gold Pre, and also tracked the same take with a Shure SM7b about 6 inches in front of the speaker. EQ'd and fairly agressively compressed the line in, left the mic'd track alone. Mixed 'em together down the middle.

Drums: Kick--doesn't matter, I replaced 'em w/samples. Snare: i5 on top, Senn e609 on bottom. Rode NT5 wide spaced OHs. Audix fusions on his two toms. ACM-310 tube SDC on HH. OHs into Symetrix pres, snare (both mics) into MPA gold. The rest into an M-Audio octane.

Acoustic: My trusty cedar Seagull (I love the way it plays & records; so did they!) into a Rode NT5 into Symetrix 528e--eq & comp bypassed; nothing but pre. Double tracked for left & right.

Electric: Gibson SG into Marshall halfstack. NOT a tube amp. This was the most educational part for the young band. To get the big, full sound we had to cut the gain in half and completely "un-scoop" his contour control. He didn't believe me, so we recorded a few measures both ways--they all loved the recording w/the "new" sound.

I tracked the electric w/3 mics up on the grill: audix i5, an old Unidyne III SM57, and an ACM 3 (ribbon mic). I had them record everything twice--one for left and one for right. I use the 57 track on left, and the i5 track on right. Each of the double tracks gets some ribbon mixed in for a sweet little smoothness. (Sounds a bit anal I know, but I like to nail the guitar sounds--there's no compression or eq added to any of these tracks.)

(Note: even though all guits were double tracked, there's still good stereo separation; Heavy guitars are more in the left, but the "smaller" amount that's on the right is still it's own take--I think it really gives it depth & texture. The same applies to all the guitar parts.)

Vocals? I've never heard the guy sing, so we're gonna have some experimenting to do this weekend...
 
ido1957 said:
Are you using a click track with these guys? The track seems to slow down a bit as it moves along, maybe it's just me..... I agree that a snappier snare might be in order. Other than that I think the recording is coming along really well. Bass sounds great! Congrats on your first client. These guys can play so that makes your job all that more enjoyable I'm sure. Please pass my compliments to the band when you see them next. Was this all done in one evening?
Click to expand...

There was a click track--two in fact, because the song has two tempos--but that doesn't account for slowing down and speeding in the midst of a section. I noticed the drummer the playing behind then ahead of the click though.

The drums (for four songs) were all recorded Monday night while the guitar players cooled their heels. Tuesday night we tracked the guitars for this song (their most complex number); Last night was a night off. Tonight & tomorrow, the rest of the guitars.

They're in school and this is their spring break. So even though I'm a working stiff, I'm a night owl. So they come over and track from 7 to 10 or so, and I clean up & edit each nights sessions.
 
DavidK said:
The band is pretty good, as is the recording.

Its hard to judge without the vocals, because they will take most of the listeners attention. Right now, it sounds like a concerto for toms.:D The whole low end of the drums is dominating the mix. I cant hear much of the bass, they are overwhelming it. As mentioned earlier, the snare is muffled and if it was brighter it would sound less like a tom.

HOwever, all of this may mean nothing.:D When the vox come in, this could be perfection. You are off to a good start, look forward to hearing the finished product.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the heads up on the low end of the drum kit. There's really enough bass guitar there that I don't need the extra mud. I'll work on cleaning it up and bet it'll be that much tighter.

Thanks for listening and offering your thoughts.
 
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