Albatross

P

Philby_Walsh

New member
http://www.nowhereradio.com/artists/7/1360/singles.shtml

This is a song I recorded last night on my Tascam 4-track & just dumped it into Goldwave, added a bit of echo, brought the volume up a bit & here it is.

Its a cover of a Fleetwood Mac Tune "Albatross", most of you should know it. Its been on a load of ads & compilations & things so if you dont recognise it i'll take it as an insult cos I did a dodgy version! :)

The guitar was a Strat thro' a Crate GX80 and miced with a shure58. I panned each of the "rhythm" tracks Left & right and put the lead down the centre. Im having problems with my speakers and my line-in so if the panning sounds wrong could you guys tell me pls.

Anyway, any criticism is welcome guys. Enjoy.

Please add a review on the NWR site if you have time!
 
Philby,
I'm not familiar with the original, so I'll just take this on its own merit.

Nice guitar work. There's a big problem with the mix tho...

In nautical terms, you're listing to port....

In english, there's too much on the left side, too little on the right.

Also the levels get a little hot and distorted, sounds like you're clipping. (Cool, I'm actually learning. I loaded your MP3 into Vegas and looked. You're definitely clipping.)

Work out those panning and level issues, and you've got a nice little recording. Sounded pretty clean for something that came from a 4 track...

Queue
 
nice gtr...i agree with the above, as far as the clipping and balance favoring the left side. Nice harmonics on the gtrs.. The fret noise maybe a tad high...but certainly acceptable, I guess. This shows some half decent playing, but there is some space still left to improve in most areas...recording, production, mixing...etc..
Nice start...keep em coming
 
Put your left foot in ...

Queue said:
Philby,
I'm not familiar with the original, so I'll just take this on its own merit.

Nice guitar work. There's a big problem with the mix tho...

In nautical terms, you're listing to port....

In english, there's too much on the left side, too little on the right.

Also the levels get a little hot and distorted, sounds like you're clipping. (Cool, I'm actually learning. I loaded your MP3 into Vegas and looked. You're definitely clipping.)

Work out those panning and level issues, and you've got a nice little recording. Sounded pretty clean for something that came from a 4 track...

Queue
Click to expand...

OK, thanks a lot for the feedback guys.


(1) The clipping problem: The level was originally much lower so, while in goldwave, I used the "Set Volume To Maximum" effect which is supposed to bump up the volume as high as possible without distorting. Do you think that is the problem?

(2) About the panning thing, I think this is down to my PC. I had some hassle originally just trying to get ANY sound onto my pc cos I have a soundblaster 56 (I think) soundcard which, as i understand it, has no dedicated Line-In.
I was told that some of the speaker jacks double as line-ins.

AT the back of my PC I have 2 inputs for my Speakers to plug in(they have a symbol next to them similar to a wave eminating from a source), one input next to those with a picture of a mic next to it.
Then lower down I have one which has "speaker" written on it and one with "mic" written on it.

THAT IS ALL I HAVE!

So I plugged the output from the 4-track into each and found that it only worked on the top one(must b the left channel), sound quality was abysmal when I plugged it into the mic input and nothing happened when I plugged it into the other speaker input.
Im guessing this is the source of my problem.

Does anyone know if I'm doing this right or wrong? Is this just down to the limitations of my PC and is there nothing I can do about it? I dont forsee buying a new PC in the near future so I hope its not that.

(3) mixmkr - By "fret noise" do you mean just noise from my left hand as it moves from position to position or, during the lead parts when i tend to add a bit of vibratto?
im pretty sure you mean the 1st, if so what can I do to reduce that?
Did the echo I added only make that worse in your opinion?
Do you not think it adds to the overall sound/feel of the track? I think it sounds cool on some songs but can be OTT on others. Im all new to this really.Just playing live you wouldn't even begin to consider any of these things.

(4) Any chance of some more specifics in recording, production, mixing...etc.. that i can improve on?

Thanks loads for givin it a listen & giving ur opinions.
I just hope I get that panning thing sorted.

Just how bad is it cos I dont have proper working speakers so its hard 4 me to tell. Does it make the track annoying 2 listen to? Is it instantly noticeable?
 
yeah...the fret noise...just being the "squeaks"...but those are usually ok....all part of the performance. They can be reduced by many ways, but I wouldnt really worry about it, at this point.

I like reverb, so it sounded ok to me.

by production, mixing recording...etc... I meant that there is room for more instrumentation which would help you build a better arrangement. If you just want the instruments that you used ONLY, then I would suggest a little more dynamic playing, so it isn't just such a "straight line" from beginning to end. My feeling with minimal approaches are that there should be at least one element that is superior...such as the voice, or maybe just the high level of guitar execution. The recording quality, means just that...what you have got is a good start, but to compare to the best of the best (which we should, eh??...keep the standards high), there is a lot of room from yours to theres....kapeesh??
 
Philby,

On connections-
Look at the symbols on your PC.

-((->)) = Line in
((-))-> = Line out

The line in jack is generally an 1/8th in. trs (tip, ring, sleeve) aka 1/8in stereo, or mini stereo. You need to have some sort of adapter to correctly connect your 4 track's two main outputs to the line-in jack.

On panning and levels and balance-
Be sure to double check the panning/balance controls on your 4-track to make sure that's not where your problem is...

On the clipping, see if you can tell the maximizer to boost to -0.3 or something...

Queue
 
Queue said:
Philby,

On connections-
Look at the symbols on your PC.

-((->)) = Line in
((-))-> = Line out

The line in jack is generally an 1/8th in. trs (tip, ring, sleeve) aka 1/8in stereo, or mini stereo. You need to have some sort of adapter to correctly connect your 4 track's two main outputs to the line-in jack.

On panning and levels and balance-
Be sure to double check the panning/balance controls on your 4-track to make sure that's not where your problem is...

Queue
Click to expand...

Ya man I have a lead which has to connections that plug into the line-out of the 4-track and into the PC (Into a connection the same size as a walkman headphones connection)

As I said I only have 2 possible places on the pc to plug it in, the two slots where I plug in my speakers.
Basically, One works and one doesnt. The one that works in teh one ive been using, the one which results in the left-heavy mix.

Its not the 4 track, ive tried tracks which are panned dead centre, each side and the result is the same.
 
mixmkr said:
yeah...the fret noise...just being the "squeaks"...but those are usually ok....all part of the performance. They can be reduced by many ways, but I wouldnt really worry about it, at this point.

I like reverb, so it sounded ok to me.

by production, mixing recording...etc... I meant that there is room for more instrumentation which would help you build a better arrangement. If you just want the instruments that you used ONLY, then I would suggest a little more dynamic playing, so it isn't just such a "straight line" from beginning to end. My feeling with minimal approaches are that there should be at least one element that is superior...such as the voice, or maybe just the high level of guitar execution. The recording quality, means just that...what you have got is a good start, but to compare to the best of the best (which we should, eh??...keep the standards high), there is a lot of room from yours to theres....kapeesh??
Click to expand...

thanks for the help mixmkr.

Ur probably right, I havent been recording too long so Im prob trying too hard just to get everything right rather than going for it and playing with more dynamic.

I was also thinking of setting up a simple drum track in fruityloops to go along with it but there is a problem:
What i would do would be create teh drum track, record it to the 4 track, record the other instruments on the 4-track and then mix down to the PC
BUT
if I do that the drum track will always be on the left-side even if I get my PC problem sorted(Or mix down on a diff PC)....am i right?

I'll just keep workin at it and im sure itll fall into place....

U have a URL of ur stuff that I can have a listen to?
 
I've used a SB card for a while, in conjunction with Cubase, and I always plugged right in to the mic input, maybe that was a horrible idea, maybe it's different for every PC/card, not really sure. What I am sure of though man is that it is WELL worth spending some cash on a different sound card. About five months ago I bought an Audiophile 2496 for about $170(US) and it's the most cost efficeint purchase I've ever made, ever. Get a new card my man, and you'll not only be rid of such problems as these, but your sound will sound twice as nice, for sure.

In regards to the song, yeah I think it is immediately noticeable, the whole panning issue that is. It definitely takes away from the listening experience. The tune sounds smooth, good guit work, nice shiny sound, again just kinda gets killed by the whole panning BS. Definitely get that taken care of man and you gots a rock solid tune.




Laj
 
Oh and hey philby if you get a chance check out my tunes also in the clinic, thanks and here's to double posts, yeah!


Laj
 
hey laj35,

I just had a listen to some of your tunes.
Not strictly my kinda stuff but I liked it. German wind nearly sounds scary at times & the beat to streams is kickin.

I can see u have much more of a grasp of panning than me.
I definately need to think about doing something about my soundcard. If i don't have the right stuff then i'm off on the wrong foot straight away.

If you wanna get on one of those labels then go for it man, your tunes are top class. Good to see that everyone isn't into the tired - guitar,drums,bass format.

later,
philby
 
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