Work in progress

PhilGood

PhilGood

Juice box hero
Alright, I've been afraid to do this, but its time to throw my hat in and see what people think. A friend and I have started working on a bunch of songs and recording them in the studio we built in his garage. Its been slow going, but now things are rolling. Each song will be in a different genre.

This is the first one:



It is stilll a work in progress. Trying to get a Steely Dan/Santana sound for this one. We are definately going to redo the vocal and try to get some horns in there. I just wanted opinions on the mix, what you think needs correcting or sounds odd. I welcome all opinions.

Phil
 
No one?... :(

I'll admit its not the catchiest tune, I just need ears to point out what could be better.
 
Hi Phil,

My comments after a quick listen through my pc speakers (perhaps not the best ones to make decisions on), here's my first impressions:

- I find my attention got carried away by the percussion part (tam tam, conga's or whatever you're using). I'd mute this part during verses, or have it play a less "busy" part, as already drums and rhythm guitar have a rather quick and busy part. I hope my explanation makes sense to you.

- the bass solo needs to be brought out more. My subconscience was actually expecting a Santana-like guitar solo, but I like the bass thing. Only: it needs to be upfront during the solo, perhaps also a bit more EQ'ing here, or perhaps run it through a guitar amp for a special tone (if you're into experimenting - to make it sound a bit more like a baritone guitar solo), or perhaps add one very short delay to it (like 70 ms, no feedback) and see what that does.

- the song asks for a few fills here and there, especially during the "whoo's" and "ye-eah's". I'd use another guitar (bluesy or Santana-sounding) to do this. Or horns could also do the trick. Or perhaps a combination of both.

- the lead vox could be reinforced with backing vocals during the ooh's and yeah's (2nd & third, even fourth voice in harmony).

- ending: on the very last chord the instruments don't hit the note/chord/drums at the same time, there's a slight "un-sync". Here it depends on your set-up: with digital you could fix this, I wouldn't redo a track just for this. With analog, you could delay a signal a few ms, and record it to a different track until it has the right feel.

Voila. That's what I'd do when placed in the producer's seat. Overall, I like the sound of the drums, I think the song's nicely done so far soundwise.
Good luck with the rest of the project!

Greetz,
The Niz
 
The Niz said:
Hi Phil,

My comments after a quick listen through my pc speakers (perhaps not the best ones to make decisions on), here's my first impressions:

- I find my attention got carried away by the percussion part (tam tam, conga's or whatever you're using). I'd mute this part during verses, or have it play a less "busy" part, as already drums and rhythm guitar have a rather quick and busy part. I hope my explanation makes sense to you.

- the bass solo needs to be brought out more. My subconscience was actually expecting a Santana-like guitar solo, but I like the bass thing. Only: it needs to be upfront during the solo, perhaps also a bit more EQ'ing here, or perhaps run it through a guitar amp for a special tone (if you're into experimenting - to make it sound a bit more like a baritone guitar solo), or perhaps add one very short delay to it (like 70 ms, no feedback) and see what that does.

- the song asks for a few fills here and there, especially during the "whoo's" and "ye-eah's". I'd use another guitar (bluesy or Santana-sounding) to do this. Or horns could also do the trick. Or perhaps a combination of both.

- the lead vox could be reinforced with backing vocals during the ooh's and yeah's (2nd & third, even fourth voice in harmony).

- ending: on the very last chord the instruments don't hit the note/chord/drums at the same time, there's a slight "un-sync". Here it depends on your set-up: with digital you could fix this, I wouldn't redo a track just for this. With analog, you could delay a signal a few ms, and record it to a different track until it has the right feel.

Voila. That's what I'd do when placed in the producer's seat. Overall, I like the sound of the drums, I think the song's nicely done so far soundwise.
Good luck with the rest of the project!

Greetz,
The Niz
Click to expand...

Thanks! Good ideas!

There is supposed to be a guitar solo. We just haven't added it in yet. I had the same idea about the bongos, but guitarist wanted it in there. Now I have another opinion. Good!

It still needs cleanup.

Thanks again!

Phil
 
the only thing that really sticks out to me is the bass.
sounds..... maybe cut some of those mids? just kinda synthey.
maybe cut some of the reverb back a little, the individual instruments are fairly in your face, but just behind that is a kind of cluttered reverb thing.
maybe same amount, and shorter tales? not sure.

i know i say this about like every vocal ever, but a little sibilant.

there seems to be a lot going in in the 2-5K area. maby to much, but that's just me.

sounds good.
 
Awesome. It's been a long while since I've been in the post forum, but quick honest thoughts from me. It has an up-to-date '70s feel. Lava lamp makes this one truly felt. Nice work, excellent mood, didn't concentrate as much on mixing/production because there are several more qualified than myself to do so, but I am qualified on the final feel of the song and it is great. :)
 
emergencyexit said:
How'd you record this, those drums sound really good!

Ben
Click to expand...


Drums are Tama Rockstar. Cymbals are Paiste. I run all the mics through a Ramsa mixer. I compress the kick and snare about 2:1. No muffling except for a small shop towel taped to the bass drum shell and the head.

The overhead mics were MXL V63s. The toms and snare mics are GLS audio ES-57s. The kick mic is a Superlux FK-2 and I added a subkick speaker mic in at about 1/6 the level. I used a Nady CM90 on the hi-hat. There is no EQ on any drum mics except the kick, which is boosted at 4k for the attack. I probably will start micing the bottom head of the snare. I need more 'snap'.

The room is fairly dead. Carpet on the walls for that 70s sound.

The vocal mic is my homebuilt Ela M 250. It has a 3 micron diaphragm from 797, which may explain why it is so sibilant. I should probably put in a 6 micron, which would be closer to the 9 micron of a CK12 capsule. Ah, hell, I should probably shell out for a Peluso capsule.

The bass is run through a Korg bass amp modeler. I don't remember the model offhand. That may explain the midrangy bass.

A friend said he'd like to hear the clean guitar be a bit more 'papery'. Anyone agree with that?
 
Seeker of Rock said:
Plug-ins or outboard gear?
Click to expand...

The compressors are outboard. I mix the drums to a stereo track as I only have 2 inputs to the computer. I do add a touch more compression once its in the computer. I also add a bit of reverb there.
 
PhilGood said:
The overhead mics were MXL V63s. The toms and snare mics are GLS audio ES-57s. The kick mic is a Superlux FK-2 and I added a subkick speaker mic in at about 1/6 the level. I used a Nady CM90 on the hi-hat. There is no EQ on any drum mics except the kick, which is boosted at 4k for the attack. I probably will start micing the bottom head of the snare. I need more 'snap'.
Click to expand...

wow, no eq on that snare? and little compression?
impressive.

and the sibilance isn't like terrible or anything, i just happen to notice it.
 
I really dig the song.Your band is really tight performance wise in my opinion. As for the recording , to my new to recording ears , it sounded fantastic. Keep doing what youre doing.
 
PhilGood said:
The room is fairly dead. Carpet on the walls for that 70s sound.
Click to expand...

Out of curiosity: what are the dimensions of the room in which you've tracked the drums?

PhilGood said:
A friend said he'd like to hear the clean guitar be a bit more 'papery'. Anyone agree with that?
Click to expand...

I'm not sure I understand the definition of "papery" correctly. Elaborate please.


Greetings,
The Niz
 
The Niz said:
Out of curiosity: what are the dimensions of the room in which you've tracked the drums?
Click to expand...

It is a converted single car garage, about 10' x 16'. We added a false floor on foam, pad, carpet and then built up the walls with soundboard, foam, drywall, and carpet. The drums are on a 3" isolation riser. We also added an insulated ceiling.


The Niz said:
I'm not sure I understand the definition of "papery" correctly. Elaborate please.
Click to expand...

Kind of the high end string noise, which I actually tried to supress.
 
From a song point of view, I like it.

I like the vocals.
After "you're such an angel", around 0:50 the "ring" sound on the cymbal (I'm not a drummer, someone help here) could be a little louder. I would like to hear it louder from the point of view of just listening to a good song.

I like the guitar going into the "ooooh's" after "hypnotizes me".

Around 0:57, the hats (or whatever on the drums) might be better a tad louder. maybe about a db or so.

That's how I would enjoy the song in my car. I love big crashing guitars but I also love to clearly the drummer driving the beat loud and clear. (Unless I'm playing, in which case you only need to hear big guitars and that's all you need. :))

I like the voice on the vocals and the touch of reverb on it. :)

Pretty cool bass. A solo would definitely be welcome.

I would definitely listen to this song again. You have lyrics posted somewhere?
 
Loving it, that's all i have to say. I don't actually think you need to change anything. Sounds very professionaly to me. Very good for recording in a garage. What equipment do you have?
 
bigbubba said:
I would definitely listen to this song again. You have lyrics posted somewhere?
Click to expand...

I might post the lyrics once we're finished. I'm probably going to build a website where the files will live once the project is done.
 
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