Please Slam Me

  • Thread starter Thread starter Fret
  • Start date Start date
F

Fret

New member
I just recorded our first song and I was wondering if I could get a few people to check it out and critique it. I know there are some major playing problems. It was the first time I have played several of the parts and the first time we tried to play with a click track so please overlook what you have to. I am currently using Cakewalk Guitar Studio and will be redoing it as soon as I can upgrade to a 24 bit application so I spent more time on recording then on performing. I just wanted to get some practice recording and advice on how to get it right before I upgraded and spent more time on learning some parts.

Equipment:
Keyboard and Strings recorded stereo straight into a Delta 66.

Guitar amp miced with an sm57

Bass plugged straight in with compression.

Vocals sm58 2:1 compression

Drums d112 on the bass sm57 on the snare and 2 sm58s overhead into a sub mixer panned out to two channels, compression and into the Delta 66 (Guitar Studio only allows two inputs).

One question off the bat is how do you get a good level when mixing down? When I burn a CD it's a little lower then pro recordings. I made sure the main levels were high without clipping before mixing down to two tracks and then normalized the two mixdown tracks before exporting to a wav.


www.mp3.com/fret


Thanks
 
Hey there, Congrats on your first song. Ok here's my opinions.

First of all its MUCH too long- At the end of the song , the singer repeats "I'm lost with out you " so many times you kinda wish she'd get lost .

I would add reverb to her voice because her tone is not that great. Kinda like the "Toy soldiers" (Matrika) effect. The tune is very beautiful, I liked the guitar solo although it could have been longer and I'd add some more licks here and there in the song, maybe during the following chorus ,, Some harmonies would be nice as well to add some more color to the vocals,,otherwise it gets boring,, My theory is that each chorus repeat should have something else added to keep the listeners ears interested and involved. You should be able to tell where the song is holding no matter at what time you start the music. In other words, if you'd start listening at any point during the song you could tell if its chorus 1,2,3 etc..

So throw in some extra instruments, sparkly sounds , violins..

Otherwise, sounds like a nice clean recording,,Bass sounds good too. Here's one more idea if your up to it. Try turning down (off?) the bass while she sings because she's going flat due to it. I'd personally give the song to someone with more of a singing range.



Nice work though, Keep posting
Shana
 
oddly catchy...

It's not downloadable so I could only use the lo-fi stream. I can't comment on the sound quality because of that...

-jhe
 
A little more background:

The song is way to long as far as a hopefully top 20 but it is actually a church song. We sing it on Sunday mornings and long and repetitive is kind of the point. It tends to help get people involved if they can have plenty of time to sing the same thing. "Oddly Catchy" is almost necessary. More guitar - Some of it's there I just buried it because I wasn't comfortable with it. I will definitely have to work on it. Back ground vocals - currently four parts on the chorus. I was trying to have them more as an extra strength to the lead as opposed to another thing to hear. I do agree though, they got a little too buried. Same thing with the reverb. I have been around so many people that over use it that I know I tend to under use it. I need to learn to compromise. Extra parts - I agree, that is almost always a good idea. "let the song grow". I'll have to look at that as well.

I'm hopping for some more technical recording ideas. Did I get the space right for each of the parts? I had to cut a little bass out of the keyboard and a ton out of the strings to keep it from being muddy and make room for the bass guitar. Does it still sound right? I think the drums are a little too loud in parts but do they sound ok? How can I make them sound better? I found that if I recorded them flat they sounded like a drum set in my living room but if I recorded them with some extra bass on the bass drum mic and after recording them I boosted the highs and lows they kind of came to life. Any ideas on getting a good level when doing a mixdown? I still have the problem of the finished CD being to low.

Thanks so far for the input

Oh, it can now be downloaded.
 
What kind of effect do you have the beginning piano? A delay of some sort? I would add it to the end piano as well.

I'm listening to it on headphones now

Is the bass panned left?

I know nothing about drums but the hi hat (?) needs space, reverb , something..it feels like woodywoodpecker at the top of my head. Very annoying. How many tracks are you using for the drums? I they need to be panned a bit. At about 4:25 there's a mistake in the bass- sounds like you fixed it up real quick-maybe my imagination.

"Back ground vocals - currently four parts on the chorus"

I don;t hear any!

I don;t know much abt computer mastering. I use a standalone burner but I have the same problem. I don;t think you'll ever get the same level as commercial recordings.

Hope that helps
Shana
I
 
No Hi hat. More reverb for the drums? Probably. Currently can only use two tracks for the drums. That's all guitar studio allows. One for two overhead mics one for snare and bass.

Bass should be just off center barely. There are actually tones of mistakes in the base. I played a five string and the low D doesn't work real well, as well as several timing issues and several wrong notes. When I upgrade my software I'll let my brother-in-law play it. He's the bass king.

It is delay on the keyboard. I'll have to listen to the end again.
 
No worries.

I did feel that the ride cymbal was a little to much ring and not enough definition. I'm going to try some nylon tipped sticks to get a little more attack then noise.
 
I wasnt talking about that,

I don;t know what to call it-maybe its the snare? Something that was consistantly hitting at the top.
 
ok fret,
You have to use compression on the over-heads. mabey better mics. In fact you should use compression on all the mics. use condenser mics on the over-heads. pull the overheads back to capture the cymbals as well as the toms and snare. Otherwise only using four mics on drums is fine. If you don't believe me listen to my song 32 days, on mp3.com

http://www.mp3.com/ryanmcdougall

Yes, shana has pointed out all the mistakes I could hear on the singing. besides the file was to large to download so try cutting the lenght for the ep. You don't always want to do it the same in the studio as you do when you play at your church get togethers. cut the length and I will download it, then give it a nother listen. Also, You don't always want your recording to sound like you are in a church. Most churches are terrible on drums. So it's alright to sound like you are in your living room.

As for the final level you have to compress then normalize. But to get pro quality you have to read up on what the pros do. This is a great place to find out how.
As for backing vocals, I couldn't hear any on the lofi play, but generally you want do do harmonies, not two tracks singing the same part. your voice will get stronger over time and your range will improve. just keep at it. don't be discouraged by great singers like shana.
long post
talk too much
 
thanks for the reply.

What do you mean by pull the overheads back? Also what mics would you recommend? Please forgive the cross post.
 
some clairification:
sorry I mean pull the mics away from the drums. especially the snare. then compress. You should invest in some condenser mics. I recomend the akg c1000's. they are inexpensive and easy to find on ebay. I use the octava mk012 or the larger pair that guitar center has on sale for $300 a pair. Condenser mics will pic up the high frequencies that the 58's wont. see the drum forum for mic placement and the mic forum for the mics.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top