4-Track Songs Need some Advice

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the_landlord

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I've been helping some friends record and "master" some songs on a Tascam 424MKIII 4-Track, using SM57 and 58s. These are basically the rough mixes, and there is some digital clipping that was produced when dumping to CD. I would appreciate any advice you can give (other than the clipping) to improve the songs. Thanks for your time.

http://students.engineering.villanova.edu/dsulli03/Junkees/
 
landlord,

Listened to Ophelia,really great sound for 4-track.

I used to have an MK3-awsome recorder.

The only advice I can give is,mabey lighten up on the phase shifter sound,and are you using a pop filter,thought I heard some popping on the vocals.

You guys sound great for a rough mix,nice songwriting and production.

Junkees,is that like the Monkees for the new millinium?

Good Luck,
Pete
 
thanks

muzeman,
Thanks, glad you liked the song. For vocals we used SM58s with a windscreen, but no pop filter. The popping may have been some of the clipping I was talking about, or perhaps actually pops. Thanks for the advice and your time.

Buffalo Bob,
Thanks, the Stones are definately well liked by all of the musicians playing on these recordings, and I am sure it shows.
 
Sounds very beullah-ish, i've you've ever heard of them. Drums (mostly snare) are a little loud at points in Orphan of your heart. Other than that< sounds pretty good. Lead guitar could come up a bit maybe. I dig the vocals, and the backing vox are very cool as well, definatly Stones-y
 
kick

JFogarty,
Thanks for the help. Would some compression on the snare help with the loudness at points? We don't have one, but I believe I could borrow one if need be. Thanks for the comments.

Shackrock,
We used a SM58 on the kick
 
I suppose that compression would solve that, but it sounded like the drums were turned up or something. What is it recorded on, if you have snare on a serperate track, you could just turn it down. If not, I don't know.
 
Wait, I'm dumb. Its a four track, oddly enough. I guess you're only options would be to a.)retrack the drums b.)compress them a bit c.) turn the drums down at points, back up at others while mixing down or d.)live with it, and don't worry about comments from a silly man like me. ;)
 
I'm listening to So Long.

my thoughts:
vocals could use a little compression
The rhythm guitar sounds really thin. Did you record it direct or something?

Sounds good Landlord - keep it up!
 
I listened to this and i really, really like it. Would it be possible to do the same sort of thing as this with the cheaper model, the Tascam 414. I am thinking about getting that one. If not, what in this recording could not be done with the 414. Thanks so much.
 
vurt,
Thanks for the comments. I think I agree with the need for compression. The guitar was recorded with an SM57 on a Johnson Millennium Combo. Basically the guitar is the sound we were going for, I'll see what I can do about the thinness. Thanks

Abbott,
Thanks for your comments. As far as I can tell you will be able to do everything that we did with the 424 with the 414. There are some major differences in the models, but nothing that you couldn't accomplish with a little extra work. I'm not really sure about any difference in the quality of sound of the inputs or anything. The 424 has XLR inputs and and better EQ. Also, I think it has more sends. Also it has an 8 channel mixer, and 6 xlr inputs. I would think the 100 dollars more would be worth it. Thanks
 
maybe bring out the vocals a tad bit...try and make them a bit more up front...they seem to distant...also there might be too much concentration on the left channel....try doubling the guitars with a different part for the right...make it a bit more live sounding...liven up the phasing a bit...nice tune, though
 
sorry...one more thing

if you could tell me exactly how you recorded this, i would really appreciate it. tell me what equipment you used, how you tracked, what you overdubbed, setup of the room, how you guys heard each other, everything! I just got a four track and i am curious as to how people record so i can get an idea of how i am going to do it. if you want to email me, abseg@yahoo.com ,
thanks a lot
 
I have a 414. It's a good little machine. I've used it to record live with good reuslts. Use short, quality tapes. Don't go too wild with the EQ. Mix down to a good VCR and you can gain more tracks with decent quality. Keep it clean and de-gaussed and it will serve you well. :)
 
abbott,
I'll email you some info. Thanks for your interest.
 
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