How do you think this was recorded?

  • Thread starter Thread starter RAMI
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RAMI

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Hey, I hope I'm allowed to do this. I'm posting a clip of a tune from an album I've been listening to for ages. It's strictly for educational purposes.

I wan to know how people think this was recorded. I'm trying to mix one of my songs that only has guitar bass and drums. When I pan stuff, it sounds too un-balanced. When I don't pan, it sounds too centred obviously.

The tune I'm posting is also just a 3-piece band, but it sounds full. You still hear stuff panned, but everything still sounds centred at the same time.

I realize that most of the vibe is the fact that they're playing live in the same room, which I can't capture when I record everything myself. But I'd still like some insight on what they might have done to fill up the stereo spectrum without tilting the mix at all.

Discuss. :D

(I had to render the file at 128kps for it to be small enough to upload)
 

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Now that's rock & roll.

Drums are panned pretty much as the audience sees them putting the snare and hihat to the right and the ride to the left. The guitar is panned a bit left to balance it againnst the snare/hihat and the vocal is down the center with the bass. I dont think there's much more to it than that. That's pretty much my default with similar instrumentation.
 
bouldersoundguy said:
Now that's rock & roll.
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Yeah baby! I wore this album out on vinyl. Twice.:D

Drums are panned pretty much as the audience sees them putting the snare and hihat to the right and the ride to the left. The guitar is panned a bit left to balance it againnst the snare/hihat and the vocal is down the center with the bass. I dont think there's much more to it than that. That's pretty much my default with similar instrumentation.
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Great. That helps. I hear pretty much the same thing on the surface. I didn't notice the snare slightly to the right until you mentioned it, though. But when I turn the pan knob on my receiver to the right, the guitar sounds like it's a different sound, as if they might have used a close mic and a room mic on the guitar. But I might be trying to listen too hard and hear things that aren't there. :eek:
 
So you're a Johnny Winter fan.... :cool:

I got to see JW play live a bunch of times, including his tour with Muddy Waters and James Cotton, and once in a small club where he stood about 5 feet in front of me.

The bass player of a band I was in and I were HUGE JW fans....great stuff.


AFA the tune, I think it's all pretty much up the middle, with the drums just a bit wider in the stereo image, and back a bit. Johnny's guitar is up front nice and solid.

Here it is one You Tube:

 
miroslav said:
So you're a Johnny Winter fan.... :cool:
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Actually, I like Johny, but I'm more a fan of this one album "Still Alive and Well". I don't really like blues, so that eliminates a lot of his stuff. I've had a few other Johny albums, but this is the only one rocks from beginning to end for me.. It's definitely one of my top 5 albums.
 
RAMI said:
I don't really like blues, so that eliminates a lot of his stuff.
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He would rock out 2-3 tunes on stage....then at one point he would say, "You all don't mind if I play some blues?"...and the place would go wild. :D

One thing...no one ever sat at a JW concert, even during the slow blues tunes. About 30 seconds into the first number, and everyone was on their feet for the remainder of the concert.

Yeah..."Still Alive and Well" is one of my favorite JW albums too...

"Every now and then it's kinda' hard to tell, but I'm still alive and well"
 
RAMI said:
....and the guitar is more left than right.
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Yup...after I listened again, I could hear it just off center to the left....it's hard to judge the stereo image with the built-in laptop speakers....too small and too close together.
 
I used headphones because the tiny speakers on this palmtop I'm using are pretty worthless.

If this was recorded live in the studio the sound of the guitar on the right might be bleed in some drum mics. Lately I've been putting up a room mic when recording guitar so I can get some spread but still have the instrument's focus to one side. It helps to time align the far mic to the close one.
 
Just listening on computer speakers, it does sound pretty down-the-middle. Quite easy to see it as mono! Has the teeniest spread on the drums and guitar though!
 
it is panned 5-25% guitar being the widest and bass closer to center... listen to it on a decent of earbuds one at a time and you'll see what I mean..
 
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