First of all thanks for the compliments. I will answer questions in order recieved.
The Djembe is a bit loud, I had a hard time mixing this because it was all done in my Sony 7506 headphones. I now have some M-audio SP-8b's but haven't used them yet. So it wasn't until everything was said and done that I was able to tell a lot of these things. Some systems you can barely even tell there is a drum and others it pounds you so hard you feel like losing your lunch.
The strings are real. I noticed the pitch issues, there are other spots too, not just at the end. The problem is I put the strings into Melodyne to fix the timing and pitch a little. When I did the pitch I changed every note individually to be at 0 cents. Well this sounds good in theory but when mixed with everything "perfect" pitch doesn't necessarily sound totally natural or right all the time. I have thought about going back and putting auto-tune on them and hopsfully that would make them sound more "in tune".
The vocalist is me. Don't get too impressed though, it took me three takes to "nail" it. I am still not completely satisfied with them but I was on a deadline. I also did use auto tune on one note. It wasn't far off but it was enought that I could notice.
As far as the guitars go, it is a simple setup. That is the one thing I am really happy with as far as my recording goes. Here is what I did for this one. I used
my Guild JF-55 (Jumbo). I miced it at the 12th fret and then did a second take doing it the same way. I then hard panned the first track left, and the second track right. The mic was a 603. No effects on the guitar, I don't even think I had to EQ it if I remember correctly. The Pre was my Soundracs 12-4 pre's. I had done them first with
my Edirol UA-5 USB interface with built in pre's (I used it for most of the recording), but redid them when I got my mixer. They sounded almost identical so I think the sound you hear is mainly due to the guitar and the mic.
I agree on the drums, that has been the hardest thing with this band. live the Djembe sounds great but when recording it is just woofy and unfocussed. The top you hear on this one are congas, and the bottom is a Djembe. We tried it with real drums and it did not work at all. I would really like suggestions on how to get the hand drums to sound natural and fit in the mix.
The vocals have a fair bit of reverb on them. Most people I have talked to feel it is almost too much, but I do see the problem with them sitting. I was hoping to have them more upfront and warm, but I have a hard time getting a warm sound with my voice through my C-1 and pre's. I tried
a Blue Kiwi a week or so ago going through a Averill Neve, and it was awsome. Needles to say I am working on getting new pre's, and I have a Dragonfly and a NTK on the way. Any more suggestions on the Vocal track would be appreciated.
And again I used actual strings. We have two violinists and a Cello player, you can see them by going to our Biography page on nowhere radio. They are great live, but in the studio had a couple timing issues so I used Melodyne to help that out. i sacrificed naturalness for timing perfection, but when A/Bing the two this was the better choice. I miced the violins with
my 603 a foot off of the F-hole, in a small carpeted room, and panned them about 60% left for the one and 60% right for the other. The Cello had a 603 in front of it, and my C-1 behind it to catch some bass. I panned one mic 15% to the left and the other 15% to the right (I think).
I am mentioning all the details here so I can be chatised if I am doing things wrong. I really would like suggestions. Thanks
I will be turning down the Djembe for sure, I am planning on putting some of the same reverb that was on the other tracks on the drums to help it sit better in the mix, do you think this will work well? I know what you mean about the kick snare thing, that is actually excactly what we try to do. It is our only source of rythem live and we have tried to simulate a drum kit the best we can. If anybody has ever seen the band "Guster" you will see this done to the highest magnitude you could imagine (check them out). But I do agree, we have tried figuring out new ways to play it to avoid the utter manotany we are currently experiencing. Imagine the same or similar beat on every song 