Let me know about the direction of this song

[BJW]

Hey,

I'm in the process of recording one of my songs, and I'd like to see how you like it so far.

So far it's just acoustic guitar, electric guitar, and vocals. I plan on adding some drums soon (actually, I'm going to experiment with Drums on Demand in the next few days with it) and maybe some bass, but maybe I like it just like it is.

The song is called "So Far Away" - should be the 1st one on the list here: http://www.acidplanet.com/artist.asp?songs=261004&T=157.

 

[BJW]

Everything I've recorded seems to be so bottom heavy. I think it's the electric guitar - maybe I should do more of a low freq. cut.

Here's the recording chain:
Acoustic: Takamine FD-360sc -> x/y mic w/pair of mxl 603s's -> dmp3 -> delta44
Electric: SRV Custom Strat -> PowerValve all tube overdrive pedal -> Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier Blue Angel 4X10 -> sm57 -> dmp3 -> delta44
Vocals: Me -> Studio Projects C1 -> dmp3 -> delta44

When I play this (and anything I record for that matter) in something like winamp or something that shows a frequency meter, nothing ever comes up in the mids, a bit shows up in the highs, and the bottom end is always maxed out. Maybe that's a terrible indicator, but commercial music always fills the whole spectrum. I'm sure my monitors are a culprit. I've got a pair of event ps5's, so I'm probably overcompensating in my mixes for bass, since they have such a weak bass response. Any other ideas?

Let me know what you think of the song!

 

[axeman69]

The electric guitar part is sort of covering up the vocals. I think in this iteration, adding drums and bass would make that worse. Actually I think the song carries itself without drums and bass. It drives along pretty well.

Did you use compression when tracking. Sure sounds like it. Maybe overdid it there.

Song is really good. Nice voice too.

 

[BJW]

The electric guitar part is sort of covering up the vocals. I think in this iteration, adding drums and bass would make that worse. Actually I think the song carries itself without drums and bass. It drives along pretty well.

Did you use compression when tracking. Sure sounds like it. Maybe overdid it there.

Song is really good. Nice voice too.

Hey thanks, Axeman,

I'm planning on playing around with adding more instruments, but the more I listen to the song as it is, the more it grows on me. Something like that might sit pretty well in an album of full-blown band songs. I'm going to try and mix the acoustic and electric guitars a bit better, and maybe put some reverb on the vox.

I did use compression - just a bit on the individual tracks and a more liberal ammount on the final mixdown track. Attempting to get the volume up to commercial CD level (without really knowing what I'm doing). I'm probably doing more harm than good with that - I'll work on taking a bit of compression off the final mixdown after I re-mix the guitars. I'll probably take a little low end off the electric as well.

Thanks again. Keep the comments coming.

 

[BJW]

OK, I just put a new mix up. Not much changed. . .little bits here and there. I took the electric guitar down a bit in the mix and added some reverb to the vocals as well as the instruments. The vocals sit more in the front now, not opposed by the electric guitar anymore. I also re-eq'ed everything, and was way more conservative with it. I think it sounds a bit smoother than it did. I also used less compression both on the tracks and the final mixdown, which I think preserved the dymanic quality a bit better.

Let's see what everybody thinks. Sorry I don't have a version of the 1st recording up, but see what you think of this one. Here's the link again http://www.acidplanet.com/artist.asp?songs=261004&T=3270. The song is the top one on the list "So Far Away"

 

[axeman69]

Doesn't take much of a change to make a real big difference, does it? This sounds much more cohesive. Much more musical. And generally, just better.

Very nice job.

 

[BJW]

Doesn't take much of a change to make a real big difference, does it? This sounds much more cohesive. Much more musical. And generally, just better.

Very nice job.

Thanks, axeman. . .

You're right - little bits can go a long ways. I think toning down my eq'ing of everything and being more conservative with compression really let the musicality come through. A little reverb on the vocals always helps smooth them, in my opinion. That and once I got the levels on the guitars/vocals right, it just suddenly all fit - but they sure didn't change much.

Thanks again.