Another first in the clinic

  • Thread starter Thread starter WhiteStrat
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WhiteStrat

WhiteStrat

Don't stare at the eye.
This is my first post in the MP3 clinic. I’d love to know what you think of this track.

Here’s the deal. After years of drum loops and samples, I’m finally equipped to track real drums—it’s just something I knew I should learn. I have a kit and the mics, etc, but I’m known as the guitarist who can’t chew gum and count to four at the same time. So I don’t play drums.

But my fiancé in law (he’s marrying my daughter in May) plays drums. So he comes over and plays for a while and lets me record. I play with the tracks and make some adjustments and he comes back a couple days later.

He played a bunch of beats that he wanted to—but then I played just a couple chords on the acoustic and asked him to give me a beat I could use. The following MP3 is a result of that effort. My second time tracking drums and him just winging it to a click track. The next night, I sat down and added the guitars and fleshed it out.

Let me know what you think—of the drums, the mix, or the song (though it’s more just a smattering of riffs to his beat!). Thanks for your time.

Here’s the link:

 
Nice playing on both the drums and the guitars. I think you captured a pretty decent sound on both and the mix seems to have good levels of drums/rhythm/lead. Can you describe the micing tchnique you used for the drums? :D
 
Wow. Sounds really good to me. I was enjoying the tune, it ended way to soon. Nice job.
 
I like it! It's reall great sounding, and "organic" at the same time. Bravo!
The drum sounds were great for this type of song.
There was one small thing that I might change with them, mix-wise. It seems to me that the snare is panned to the right. This could be in the over-heads. Not that this is "wrong," it's certainly a subjective thing, but that's just the way we're used to hearing the snare and bass drum, and it sounds "different."
Overall, great job! Sounds like it's radio-ready to me!

Peace!

~Shawn
 
ido1957 said:
Nice playing on both the drums and the guitars. I think you captured a pretty decent sound on both and the mix seems to have good levels of drums/rhythm/lead. Can you describe the micing tchnique you used for the drums? :D
Click to expand...

Thanks for the kind words! The micing technique was perhaps overkill. Being new to the craft, I wanted a little of everything to play with. That meant a total of 12 mics/tracks.

What I tracked:

Inside the kick: D112
Outside the kick (beater side): SM57
Snare top: Audix i5
Snare bottom: Senn e609
Toms (left, right & floor): GLS ES57 (the SM57 “clones”)
OH’s (far left & right—not XY) Rode NT5’s
HH: MXL 993
Room mics (far left & right, about 8 feet in front of the kit, 5 feet high) CAD M177s

What I used (or didn’t for that matter):

I used more of the snare bottom than I thought I would; glad I used 2 on the snare.
I didn’t use any of the tom mics—the OHs captured the sound and the panning I was looking for.
Really glad I double mic’d the kick—I mixed the D112 and 57 almost even and like what I got.
Didn’t use the room mics. But then I ended up adding a touch of reverb to the whole kit, which I’m not sure I like. I’m gonna play with adding the room mics back in & killing the ‘verb.
Considering the drummers nice touch on the HH, I’m glad I mic’d that with it’s own mic—gave me a lot to work with in the mix.
 
That is some nice playing...from both of you.

Nice jazzy feel with a touch of latino...certain places, Al Stewart and the Doobie Brothers both come to mind for different reasons, as I listen.

Got yourself a cool song in the making. It definitely needs to be longer.;)
 
Who cares about the drums? The guitars are the high point of this recording. Very nice work. Balanced, expressive, lots of character.

OK, the drums sound good, but a little too up front (especially the snare) in relation to the guitars. A little carefully applied ambiance would move them back to a perfect spot just behind the lead guitar.
 
Wow great use of good mics lol... I love it, sounds really really classy! :) Thumbs up!
 
WhiteStrat said:
You're right! I knew that sounded funny. So what shall I call him for the next three months?
Click to expand...

"The boy who better not be getting my daughter pregnant yet"? :D


Nice use of proper gender and accent on fiancé, by the way :)
 
eyema_believer said:
I like it! It's reall great sounding, and "organic" at the same time. Bravo!
The drum sounds were great for this type of song.
There was one small thing that I might change with them, mix-wise. It seems to me that the snare is panned to the right. This could be in the over-heads. Not that this is "wrong," it's certainly a subjective thing, but that's just the way we're used to hearing the snare and bass drum, and it sounds "different."
Overall, great job! Sounds like it's radio-ready to me!

Peace!

~Shawn
Click to expand...

You're right on this one--the snare is shading a bit to the right. The OHs are delivering half the snare sound and since they're spaced wide they're capturing the snare a bit more on the right.

Maybe I'll try a modified recorderman method to put the snare back in the center. Thanks for the comments!
 
true-eurt said:
That is some nice playing...from both of you.

Nice jazzy feel with a touch of latino...certain places, Al Stewart and the Doobie Brothers both come to mind for different reasons, as I listen.

Got yourself a cool song in the making. It definitely needs to be longer.;)
Click to expand...

True--thanks for the compliment. I really appreciate those references. I'll be sure and re-post if it develops into something more.
 
XLR said:
Who cares about the drums? The guitars are the high point of this recording. Very nice work. Balanced, expressive, lots of character.

OK, the drums sound good, but a little too up front (especially the snare) in relation to the guitars. A little carefully applied ambiance would move them back to a perfect spot just behind the lead guitar.
Click to expand...

Well, as the guitar player, I must say thank you. But you have to understand--I've been recording guitars in one way or another for years. Tracking drums is so new to me--I'm having a blast with it. Even more with the notion of a great drummer at my disposal saying "Hey you want to record something?"

In the end I'll calm down, get off the drum "high" and I'll be about the guitars again! :D
 
It all sounds quite good, I love the brazilian vibe that you have going there. Is that an acoustic\electric on the rhythm?
 
Just stumbled across this while searching for some info, so I don't have mix advice for you. However, I'm compelled to say that it sounds fantastic and the playing (on both drums and guitar) is excellent. Best tune I've heard all day.

As far as your daughter's future husband: call him whatever you want, just make sure you call him for another recording session. :D
 
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