Shame on Me

Very nice guitar playing....you've got a nice touch. Very interesting voice....

Haha! I knew before I heard this you'd use those lines in the chorus! Very cool :)

Anyway, your voice....It's very cool sounding, I can tell it's got some fascinating frequencies that would be well captured by even a lower end condensor mic. I don't get the impression I'm really hearing all of your voice here.
The talent is there, the recording needs attention. But don't get me wrong, this sounds very good. Once Gear Aquisition Syndrome takes hold, so will your inspiration.

And then things like...

I'm hoping for any advice or suggestions except;
a)Don't quit your day job,
b)Practice, practice, practice
c)What did you do with the money that your Mama gave you for lessons?
I just needed to post something before falling victim to the "3 P syndrome".
Click to expand...

...won't even come into play.


Just some thoughts...Great song by the way, look forward to more!
 
Cool stuff Bill. Nice pickin' and your voice fits the style real well. The overall level is very low. I really had to crank it up just to hear it.


Twist
 
Uh Oh

G'mornin all,

SLuiCe,
Thanks for the kind words.
A condenser mic. Uh Oh. I just blew my whole wad on a new computer. I guess that I'll have to re-read Harvey's novel about mics. Maybe I'll click the mid-boost switch on my old KGB D330BT first and see what kinda difference that makes. I thought that my voice already put out more mids than I needed. I guess that I'll just see what happens.
I use the words in the chorus all the time. The song was an attempt to expound on an old truism.

Twist,
I'm glad that you thought the singing and picking mated well. Not all my stuff is in this vein and I try hard to match my vocal delivery to the music. Since I don't have a pretty voice, I at least have to sound like I mean it (and I do).
I don't know what to say about the volume. I had all my levels pegged at -6.2db. It plays plenty loud on my cheap speakers. What would I check next?

Thanks again folks, for taking the time to listen and comment. I'll reciprocate as soon as I learn enough about this stuff to make a semi-intelligent comment. Cause, after all,
what do I know?
Bill
 
Hey Bill,

Thanks for your critique of my song earlier today. Cool song yourself. Here's a few of my quack suggestions.

-maybe a touch of reverb on either or both the vox and guitar. Just a touch though. It would especially help take the edge of those long vocal notes in the chorus.

-harmony vocals for the chorus?

-I'd roll some of the bassy eq's off the vocals too and maybe a touch of the guitar. The mix, in general could I think benefit from a bass reduction. But, you might really want that bass.

-It's just my ears, but I'd love to hear a second acoustic guitar come in for a solo at the end alongside the other. Again, just me.

-Bump up the level of the whole mix. Get those faders workin'.

Very good though. Very ala Steve Earl, Texas Singer-Songwriter, Texas blues. I'd work a little on the eq and remix.

A
 
I like it also. It's got it's own style to it.
I'm sorry I can’t help with the technical part of the mixing. I do think it sounds like your holding back a little vocally or not really singing from the diaphram. Singing those E's like in shame on me is always hard. The notes get chewed up with a closed mouth and tight jaw. Be cautious of intonation right at the end.

Nice style, all in all I like what you have

Joe
 
Hey Bill,

Great song, I enjoyed listening to it.

I turned the bass down and added a little reverb on my second listen, it sounded a bit better... so I agree with what everyone has been saying.

I also agree your voice deserves a better mic.
 
i enjoyed listening to you stuff. The picking is very good, the sound also. The voice is signature. As mentioned before an alternative mic method or type might bring out your presence a bit. Nice stuff fella. comfortable listen :)
 
Hey Bill,

Please forgive any repeated comments or advice.

First thoughts.........nice vox and lyrics. You tied a common saying into the chorus in a fresh and descriptive light that I liked.

The recording and mix sounds kinda meak and squeamish. Was it a live take? I think it was and liked your pickin' more because of it. However, I think your fine song could be oh so much finer under the lights of a semi-produced setting. I.E. , cut the git and vox seperatly, set a means of tempo ( maybe a simple kick drum and some augments) and since you can play so nicely, maybe give it a short acoustic lead/fill.



Don't get me wrong now..........I dig the tune as is,,,,,,,,,it's just that I hear this production thing in my dence head and wanted to pass along all my stray and errant thoughts.


Peace and thanks for the listen,
Theron.
 
Thank you Everyone

G'mornin Folks,
This was my 1st digital recording and I knew that there were a ton of issues. But, I was getting so confused (at my age, my brain needs constant de-fragging) that I decided to post so I would get some concrete direction. I'm gonna print this out (along with any other advice I may receive) and as soon as I get over this #@&*!$% cold, start again from scratch.

Hey A,
Glad you Quacked by.
I'm hesitant to put more verb on the vocals because it sounded so unnatural. But, I'll try and give myself a chance to get used to it. The bass thing seems to be a common theme so I'll give that a try too. I went through this entire process with my eyes fixed on the meters, trying not to peg my meters at over -6db. Maybe if I roll off the bass, I can turn up the gain and still stay under that ceiling?
This song was meant to be just a (old) boy and his guitar. So, I'm reluctant to add more intrumentation. But, I may have to try that too.

How do Joe,
I'm truly tickled that you liked this.
You hit it right on. I was way holding back on the vocals. I usually sing very loud (from years of folksinging in a room with 6 guys banging on acc-guitars). When doing this live, I usually just turn my head a little at the loud parts and everything works. But, when I tried that here, I could really hear the difference. So, I got closer to the mic and tried to sing softer. I guess that didn't work and I'll have to try something different.

Hey back at ya Gunther,
I'm glad that you enjoyed.
I'm gonna play with the verb and bass roll-off and see what happens. My KGB mic has a bass roll-off switch, so I'll start there. I just payed off my new puter and it will be a while til I have a big enough cash stash to look into a new mic.

Howdy Toki987,
Thanks for listening and liking.
I'm gonna try changing my EQ and levels on the mic, step back and let'er rip. I don't want it to be too comfortable. It's supposed to be a little edgey. I can always compress later, right?

Hi Theron,
You're forgiven. Anyone that can appreciate a good cliche is otay by me.

"The recording and mix sounds kinda meak and squeamish"

Yup. When stepping onto the ice, step lightly. That's me.
Sorry to disappoint you, but I recorded the guitar first and then sang over that. Which was part of my many problems. I'm used to doing it all at once. When I was playing, I kept getting lost. Lets see. Is this the 3rd line of v1 or the 1st line of v3. Uh oh here comes the pickout. When I was singing I couldn't figure out what to do with my hands. Too much thinking. That always screws me up.
As a Viet Nam vet and a retired hippie, I'd like to echo your thoughts;
PEACE dammit!

Well....I got a good fire goin so now I can turn off the wall heaters, unplug the phone and get to implimenting all these good suggestions.
Thanks again all for your time and advice. Cause, after all,
what do I know?
Bill
 
After hearing your response I identified with you immediately.
I get a lot of enjoyment out of me and my buddies drinking a few pops, playing and singing every known tune together, loud and obnoxiously, if you catch my drift.

I'm real new at this but one thing I noticed that I think is a good tip is that if you can hear yourself too damn good in the headphones you may sing differently. For some of my ballsier stuff I brought down the voice in the headphone mix and was forced to open up a little more which helped my tone.

Joe
 
Nother great suggestion

G'dafternoon Joe,
Loud and obnoxious...Ahhh, the good ol' days.
Great idea about turning down the Vox in the headphones. But, I don't know if I can do that. I can turn them off, I think. I'll have to go in and investigate. I'm using N-track.
Thanks for the tip. Cause, after all,
what do I know?
Bill
 
When I was playing, I kept getting lost. Lets see. Is this the 3rd line of v1 or the 1st line of v3. Uh oh here comes the pickout.
Click to expand...

Many times, I'll lay down a live scrap track with a click/metronom to keep time. Then I'll lay down the git track while listening to the scrap track as a guide. This can help vox tracks as well. I tend to sing better when I'm singing along with myself

Hope that helps some
Theron.
 
Toki987 said:
i enjoyed listening to you stuff. The picking is very good, the sound also. The voice is signature. As mentioned before an alternative mic method or type might bring out your presence a bit. Nice stuff fella. comfortable listen :)
Click to expand...
 
Sounds purddy good. I think maybe a little verb and compression?

Good pickin' man. Wish I could be that smooth. :D
 
Bill,

I was reading your responses to your responses :)

I'm hesitant to put more verb on the vocals because it sounded so unnatural.
Click to expand...

I agree. When I listened to your mix I put in just enough verb to *feel* it, but not really enough that the average listener would notice there was verb. Short decay time, low level… just enough to get rid of the dry sound, maybe a bit more.

For the guitar I preferred a good bit more verb. It just fattened it out and gave it that sweet sound that acoustic guit’s have when they get some nice verb. Not so much that the detail was lost but enough to notice it.

Also, it’s not just that there is too much bass with the mic, it’s as sluice said, there seems to be more to your voice than the mic is showing us. Start saving up that big wad of cash so we can all hear what you really sound like :)
Also, I am wondering if you’re getting too close to the mic? Depending on the mic, there might be a proximity effect that boosts the bass when you get close to it (you probably know that though.)
Also, the bass cut on the mic might only cut the very low frequencies, usually 80hz or less (to kill rumble and such). On vocals you wouldn’t notice that. Check it out.
Maybe play with mic placement and your distance from it.


But, I am just a newbie myself, so take all I say for what its worth.

And again, great stuff.
 
Runnin' outta RAM

G'mornin Gentlefolks,
Y'all sure have made me feel welcome!

Hi again Theron,
Excellent idea! It woulda took me years to figure that one out.
I'm definitely gonna turn on the metronome, count out intro beats and perform the song like I would live. Then scrap that track later. Thanks...I like it.

How do Fenderlikingood,
Thanks for the...um...paste. I haven't tried that yet. I appreciate your (?) kind words.

Howdy Jagular,
Thanks for your purrrfectly concise comments. I am gonna start all over and play more with the processing. Oh...you'd be surprised what a little Nair can do.

Thanks again Gents. But, I think it's time to let this post slide. Not that I'm not enjoying this, but because of;
Information overload
My pea-brain's gonna blow
I've hit the wall, and, after all
...what do I know?
Bill
 
Yup, what you said

G'mornin Gunther,
Thanks for responding to my responses to my responses. ;)
Yup, what you said. I'm gonna play with all of it.
I'm sure that proximity effect was a factor. I got way close to the mic because what I normally do had the input meters jumping all over the place, so I tried to control that by singing softer. On to Plan B.
My mic has 2 switches. Bass roll-off and mid-boost. Each with 3 positions. I didn't play with either, on stage, because they caused too many EQ problems. But, I will now. I have to. At least until I go back to work (carpenter).
Thanks again for your time. I need all the help that I can get. Cause, after all,
what do I know?
Bill
p.s.
Rating for this thread...Very Helpful!
 
I know your sick of your own thread already... but I have to throw this in:
If your worried about the levels jumping all over the place, try compressing the vocals a bit during recording (like a 2:1 or 3:1 ratio.) If you dont have a compressor you can get a decent one from behringer for 69 bucks, has all the features you will need and is clean.
This way you can turn up the gain to hear the softer stuff, and when you open up and get louder compression will kick in you wont clip the signal. Compression will probably sound better than the turn your head to the side trick, but who am I to know?


Anyway, Ill leave you alone. Im probably telling you crap you already know anyway :) Ill be looking out for the new version when you release it.

- Later -
 
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