rough and ready, quick and dirty

[madmush]

Hi guys!,

I made this recording (fairly) quickly using presets I've painstakingly crafted over the years, and very little tweaking. I tend to overproduce, so I've decided to allow myself an outlet and make at least some recordings FOR FUN and not worry so much about perfection. Nevertheless, it's got to be fit for human consumption...

This is a one man band thingie, and this recording my first venture into drumming (I've played for about a month and had to do about 120 takes for this, but that's OK, because it was FUN), using a Roland TD-11kv (no MIDI so no quantising but i did use a metronome), so, shall we say, the drums are, I hope! - suitably, not too, rough,

but what's your opinion please?

Cheers from London UK.

 

[dobro]

The low end's too dark. That stuff from about 0.02 to 0.12 is really muddy. It sounds like it's not just the bass but also the guitar that's generating all the murk.

The drums are good for having played only 120 times. But the drum part still has issues with the fills. You're way better when the fills are simple. If I was working this one, I'd be cutting and pasting the great segments in place of the dodgy ones. Also, the kick's loud relative to the snare and needs to come down a bit.

Good song. I liked it. The ending really works for me.

 

[Bruthish]

Agreed, low end is really low and muddy..especially the low toms. I like the song though. Just needs a little adjustment on the low end.

 

[Schwarzenyaeger]

Muddy low end, definitely. Did you high pass filter everything that doesn't need to be down low? The kick and bass guitar are both fighting down there.
Your snare sounds very light. You could try boosting the body with an EQ around 200-300. You might also be having phase issues with an overhead or whatever.

A 120 or a thousand, nobody will know the difference at the end. I did a bit over 2700 takes on a lead part once that I was having troubles with. It's good that you kept it up and didn't settle for a lesser performance of your own!

 

[madmush]

Thanks guys! The only thing I toned down the lower end on was the vox. I do have brand new pickups on the guitar (Bareknuckle! ) and it does have more body than i'm used to.

Did do a couple more drum takes to smooth out that fill that didn't flow!, I had five sections.

Thanks again!

Markus

 

[Chili]

I don't think it's so much what pickups you have or where you set a high-pass filter; I think it's the room you're listening in. Is it treated at all?? To me the kick and bass seem like they are from a different space altogether. I'm willing to bet this sounds kick-ass in your studio, but have you listened to it elsewhere? Or, can you go to the far wall in your studio and hear it the same way? I think if you move around in your room, you'll hear the bass quite differently. Your listening position could be in a big void.

Also, be sure to listen to it at low volumes. You'll hear things you don't hear when it's loud.

I thought the song was good and the playing was too. Cool you had some fun doing this. That's what it's all about.