Nice Vocals On This One...

[Buck62]

This is a local band named "Sister Alvarez" that MAC2 and I recorded several months ago.
They came in and did a quickie 3-song demo.... 2 covers and this song, which is a pretty darned good original tune.

Unfortunately, there is one aspect of the recording that could've been better.... the acoustic guitar track. It was a combination of improper mic positioning (on a very sensitive mic) and brand new strings on the guitar..... which I asked the guitar player not to replace before the session!
Anyway, that's what caused the string-noise you'll hear in the recording.
Other than that, the sisters did a real nice job on the vocals and the song is tight and well-written.

Here's the link...

http://www.nowhereradio.com/artists/alternative/bucksjams/#

The song is called "Yield"

Any comments would be appreciated.... thanx!

Buck

 

[incursio]

Reminds me a bit of Ani Difranco, or Alanis Morisette. Very tight vocal arrangements - professional as well.

Great mix! If you don't mind me asking, what was your basic setup for this session - gear wise? Was this a DAW or a bigger console setup?

The fret noise is audible, but it does add a live feel to it. Hell, mix in some crowd noise and make a live cut out of it.

Cheers.
Scott

 

[Buck62]

Hey thanx, incursio

....especially for the comment on the mix!

The song was recorded on a regular old Akai DPS16.

The acoustic track is a combination of an AKG C3000 mic and a Dean Markley pick-up, panned opposite of eachother.

The bass was lined direct-in.

The drums are Yamaha DTXpress (e-drums), also direct-in.

The lead guitarwork (and the rhythm track on the choruses) were done with The POD.

Both vocal tracks were the AKG C3000 through a MindPrint Envoice preamp.

Oh, and all the cables were Monster cables.

Not exactly a high priced list of stuff here. But it sure was nice that you considered that it could've been recorded on some better equipment!

Thanx again...
Buck

 

[sonusman]

The acoustic that you track copied that is on the left "outweights" the part on the right.

I think the bass could have come up a bit more. Maybe a little boost at around 400-500Hz to bring out a little more articulation.

Drum machines suck no matter what, and this one has no hope....sorry...

The vocals sound, I don't know how to say it, "tight". I little too, shit, not sure how to describe it, just like they don't sound like you are in a room with the person at all. Maybe a bit of reverb could help that. Would also help smooth over some of the "jumps" in volume. For this kind of song, I would have compressed it fairly heavily at mix. Oh, maybe a 220ms delay tucked way back to give it a little movement.

I thought the acoustic sounded the best out of everything. It is mostly warm sounding and articulate. The two places where you can really hear the string scrapes is just the player not controlling that, not really a result of new strings. I ENCOURAGE stings to be pretty new for acoustics that will be working against a bass and drums.

Sorry, I don't like PODS at all. While the track could be heard, it sort of sounded like it was from another recording or something.

With real drums, this would be a very fine sounding demo.

Ed

 

[theron]

Hey, just listened.
I thought you handled the dynamics of the mix rather well. The drums were nothing remarkable but, not distracting. You could say that they"kept the beat". I didn't hear any bitchable problem with the new strings but, I like new strings and I play guitar so....,

I heard a solid mix of a solid song. However, I hear a lot of stuff that proves not to be true(ha,ha).

Nice job. I would be inclined to listen back when I think I've mixed a simular tune good. Then I would be inclined to mix my tune again.

Theron

 

[Buck62]

Yep, Ed... I agree that the vocals could've had a bit more reverb and sat a little lower in the mix.
Being that this was a demo, though... they wanted to feature the sisters a bit more up-front.
That's how they play "live", with the girls on top. (pun intended )

Good ear on the acoustic tracks. We were trying to get a full range of tones from a mediocre acoustic guitar.

The bass comment sounds like a good idea. I'll give it a try!

Drum machine?
Heh... John will be happy to hear that he's got "perfect timing".
Actually, it's my full-size, 5-piece eletronic kit that the drummer used, because he didn't want to lug his entire kit over for just 3 songs.
But, you're absolutely right... NOTHING beats the sound of a real set of drums.
We could've spent more time EQ'ing the drums to get them to sound better, but this was only a demo and they got a significant amount of mixing and editing time done for free anyway, since I know the girls.
Hell, I'd have brought in Neil Peart if they paid me for it!

Thanx for the tips, Ed...



Theron,

Thanx for the positive commentary.
There's definitely some room for improvement here, though, as Ed stated.
I've recently purchased some better mics and we've learned a few more things since we recorded and mixed this demo... over 6 months ago.
Eventually, we'll get to the point where we put out consistently good recordings.
It takes a shitload of trial and error, though!

Again... thanx!

Buck

 

[MAC2]

theron:huh?

"I heard a solid mix of a solid song. However, I hear a lot of stuff that proves not to be true(ha,ha). "

"Nice job. I would be inclined to listen back when I think I've mixed a simular tune good. Then I would be inclined to mix my tune again. "

Sonusman: You got good ears!

"The acoustic that you track copied that is on the left "outweights" the part on the right"

As I recall the Markley pick-up wouldn't fit in the soundhole of the Seagull guitar and we double tracked it in real time and then panned and eq'd the tracks differently. Is that the same thing as "track copying"?

"The vocals sound, I don't know how to say it, "tight". "

"... just like they don't sound like you are in a room with the person at all"

Buck's sound booth is pretty much dead...any reverb there was added to the mix after tracking. I think we're still learning about delay, decay and attack...how would the setting you suggest affect the reverb/vox?

"I thought the acoustic sounded the best out of everything"

Yep...I liked the sound of his guitar too...it was even better on the other two cover songs they did.

incursio:

"Very tight vocal arrangements - professional as well"

These girls actually are sisters...they harmonize VERY well together and are VERY good soloing as well.

Thanks to everyone for checkin' it out and the comments

 

[theron]

clarification of quoted comments.

MAC2

the first quote was merely me ripping on myself for a mild tendancy of misjudgement.

The second comment you pointed out was an attempt on my part to say that if I encounter a similar dynamic in a song I record, I would use this song as a guide (A/B) to preserve and exploit the dynamic in my own. In short, I was giving the mix a compliment.

Sorry I was so fuzzy with my words.

Peace,
Theron.

 

[DavidK]

Howdy Buck and Mac, I thought it was great.
I dont have the ears of Sonusman, but they sing in tune, good song, good mix on my nominal system.

P.S. Mac Bros, I finally figured out how to convert Mp3's to Wav. files ( Thanks to the Cakewalk forum here). If you have anything to send, maybe you can send me an Mp3, and I will add violin parts, re-convert to MP3, and send it back. Obviously it will only be "Demo" Quality, but It would be really cool to see how violin fits on your stuff, until I can come out and lay down real tracks.

 

[Buck62]

Thanx, Dave...

Yeah, these sisters are pretty talented vocalists.
Both of them knocked everything out in one or two takes, if I recall. Glad you liked it!

I'll let Bob know about the long distance tracking thing. We'll see what's up with that. Of course, having you in the booth with the NTK is the optimum situation... but, that'll come when you're ready.

Thanx, again...
Buck

 

[MAC2]

theron: lol....thanks for the clarification (and the compliment!)...apparently your not the only one with a "mild tendency" to misjudge things

DavidK:Thanks for checkin' it out! Hope things are ok with you or at least gettin' better! We're still interested in puttin' strings on Candlelight, Coming of the Storm and the new tune. Do you have the ability to record your tracks and then burn them on cd and send them back to us?

 

[CurtG]

Cool tune. I also would like to hear a little more bass in the mix (my personal taste). The high hat track seemed like it could stand to be pushed back a tad or a bit more reverb applied. The constant 16th note pattern is a little fatiging, perhaps some slight variations, but that's personal opinion...

My only real critique is the length. I was figuring the song would start fading around the 3:30 mark. After the vocals end, there doesn't seem to be too much going on that really couldn't be done away with.

The vocalist has a really nice voice!

Curt

 

[Buck62]

Thanx for listening, Curt... glad you liked the song.

As for the ending... we presented it to the band at a shorter length, but they liked the slightly longer ending.

Gotta give 'em what they want... it's their money!

Buck

 

[tubedude]

Finally got to hear this at a decent computer. Vox sound great onthese speaks. G'job.

 

[CyanJaguar]

I like this one. Sounds good on ns10ms as well as Pioneer floor standing speakers.

I actually prefer these vocals to the ntk. Its a testament to those ladies beautiful voices. I am sure that they will be able to sound good through an sm58- that is, providing its going through a mindprint envoice

The guitar of course is your forte. I dont think your guitars have ever sounded less than great.

I have no problem with drum machines and I actually like the kick and programming of this one.

peace

 

[dobro]

He didn't program the drums - he said a real drummer played a real electric drum kit.

 

[Buck62]

Hey guys, thanx!

CJ,
Drum machine?
As I said to Ed, the drummer will be happy to know that he's got perfect timing. As dobro pointed out, though... it's real drummer playing my Yamaha electronic (full size) drum kit.
I think you're right about these girls sounding good on just about any decent mic. We used an AKG C3000 for vocals on this song.
It brought out some of the subtle parts very nicely. Of course, the Envoice helped alot... as you said.
That's quite a compliment on our guitar tracking... thanx!
It's nice to know that we're consistently getting something right!

tubedude,
Muchas gracias! Glad you liked it.