Songs mastered by our own Sonusman!

C

CharlesThomas

New member
New CD as mastered by Sonusman!

Hi everyone,

The new CD "Questionable Behavior" from my band "Hotter Than Karl" just came out, as mastered by this BBS' own Sonusman.

This CD was completely recorded and mixed in my home studio.

You can take a listen to some of the songs here:

http://www.mp3.com/HotterThanKarl

If you want to buy a copy of the CD or have any comments on the songs or mixes, email me here:

cthomas@facstaff.wisc.edu

For the interested, "homerecording.com bbs" and its members are thanked in the liner notes!! :-)

Take care,

Charles Thomas
Guitarist/Recording Engineer
"Hotter Than Karl"
 
Very well recorded and mixed...what equipment did you use?......

Since we didnt hear a before/after, we'll just assume Ed did a great job on the mastering.....

Hats off to you, Ed, and your band......
 
Tasty recording....I would also like to hear a side by side, but hot damn, I do like the sound you guys got. Nice work.
 
I was thinking, "Hey! I can post the original up too" (with CT's permission of course).

But then I remembered a little point. All the songs actually passed through analog eq and compression, as well as having some DSP applied, and the only versions I have right now are the post analog/pre DSP versions, which would not tell you much of the original sound at all.

CT will have to get the originals up somehow himself if he feels so inclined.

I do want to say that Charles was great to work with, and was very patient with me during a very difficult period in my life. I also very much enjoyed the music, and the recordings were very very good, and considering the quality of the equipment used, came out very well indeed! Good job CT!!!

Ed
 
I like the sound of your songs, CharlesThomas, they're well done and sound great.

One thing, though: I would space "The Way I Am" and "You're Pissing Me Off" apart from each other, they're very similar riffs and may give a listener the idea that the remaining songs (which are also good) are all deriven from that one guitar position used in both songs.

I dig the sound. Tell me, was the reverb on that snare in "The Way I Am" added during mastering or beforehand? Whoever did it, it sounds GREAT.
 
I would like to hear a side by side if CT would be willing. just for all us guys that dont no what the hell were doing.Can listen to see what a good mastering job does to your work. I though it was a real good qualilty.Great sound Charles

Norm
 
The CD was recorded in a garage using my Fostex D-160 and a Yamaha live board (Yamaha GA24/12 Mixing Console). Hardly what I'd recommend, but it's what I had available. If someone has specific questions about microphones or whatever for a specific instrument, I can answer that.

Since the originals were mixed to DAT, I don't have an easy way to get mp3's of the originals posted. Sorry!

>One thing, though: I would space "The Way I Am" and "You're Pissing Me Off" apart from each other, they're very similar riffs and may give a listener the idea that the remaining songs (which are also good) are all deriven from that one guitar position used in both songs.

I have to admit that I don't hear the similarity between these two songs, myself. At all.

Plus the opening riff of "The Way I Am" is in the open position and the opening riff of "You're Pissing Me Off" is at the seventh fret. They ARE both in E, but then again... so are a lot of rock songs. :-)

As it turns out there are seven songs between them on the CD, so even if a lot of people hear things the way you do, I think we're ok nonetheless.

Thanks for the feedback!

CT
 
Charles, if I remember correctly (it's been 12 hours...), "You're pissing me off" has a lead-in that is different, but the chorus or channel or whathaveyou after that sounds VERY similar to "The Way I Am." Or vice versa.

I dunno, maybe it's me. And I can't be sure they're the same songs I listened to (but I think it was those first two on the MP3.com page)...

Dig it!
 
Woah! Nice job, Charles!

The songs were great..... well-played, well-written, nicely arranged, and really entertaining to listen to.

My comments for changes are minimal and subjective.

I'd have used less distortion on the guitars on "The Way I Am".... and played cleaner, punchier, and more Strat-like tones.

I would have given the bass more low-end on "It Won't Be You". It sounded pretty darned good, but was just a bit too light at the bottom end.

Nice job on the mastering, Ed! (as usual)

Great stuff! :)
 
Fostex D-160!...these songs kick major ass...Ive been a fan since I heard "Dragging Your Anchor"....

Any chance of the next CD being recorded, co-produced, mixed and mastered by EchoStar?....you did a great job, but Im curious how much better it would sound....

If you guys ever go on tour, make damn sure to come to Louisiana.....
 
Nice stuff Charles, I started from the bottom of your page since I like blues. I also heard your first track, The Way I Am. Nice tunes, I like the bass sounds particulary on both songs. Great job

Ray J
 
>Any chance of the next CD being recorded, co-produced, mixed and mastered by EchoStar?

Absolutely. Just get out your checkbook! Be sure to add some for travel and living expenses! :-)

To be slightly more serious, I find this line of questioning somewhat unexpected in a "home recording" BBS. It's somewhat akin to seeing someone's home-built aircraft on a BBS devoted to home-buit aircraft and asking "Have you ever thought about buying a factory-built airplane? I'd be interested to see how much better a factory-built airplane would look compared to yours."

Recording and producing our own stuff is why we're all here!

:-)
 
Checkbook is out dude (too bad nothin is in it)....Iknow this is HomeRecording.com...I preach that constantly...but I know music that has commercial potential when I hear it...

My statement was more like "Your homebuilt planes are awesome...have you ever thought about opening up your own factory...."

Sorry if I offended you...
 
No offense taken! I just found it surprising, that's all.

In all reality, since the CD was mixed under such drastically non-ideal circumstances (a really long story), I'd LOVE to hear what Ed could do in his studio as far as mixing. We've made attempts to do this, but he's having difficulty importing WAV files from my D-160 into his ADAT-based studio. For some reason, they're clipping prematurely once they're imported.

The recording and producing, I think I'll keep under my wing for a while. Since my band seems to be falling apart (http://www.hotterthankarl.com), I'm going to sell off some of my live PA gear and upgrade my studio. Specifically, as I said, the CD was mixed on what is nomnatively a "live" board. I'd like to get a 24x8 "studio" console and also a better vocal condensor mic. The NT1 we used for the CD I had nothing but problems with (really obnoxious and unmusical amounts of sibilance IMO).

Hopefully my next solo CD (due out this Fall) will sound even better after I make a few equipment updates. I will defintely keep paying attention to Ed's "mixing" comments. He's got a great set of ears. As I noted in the liner notes for the CD, his comments and advice made a huge difference in how good my mixes were, even under the circumstances.

Again, no offense taken. Thanks much for the comments!

CT

P.S. BTW, WRT "commercial"... the songs I've posted on mp3.com are not the best songs from the CD. The reason is that, as I said, the band is breaking up and that particular CD isn't going to be marketed at all. As a result I'm going to recycle the best songs from the CD into my next solo CD. As I'm sure Ed would testify, the best songs on the CD aren't on the mp3.com page. Heh! Stay tuned!!
 
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Too bad the band is breaking up. It's a very tight band. I listened to the first and last songs posted. Great high energy stuff, and articulate as well. I thought the lead vocals could have used a little stronger projection -- but that's a nit, they were very good as is.
 
Hey Charles, I may have a solution to that transfer problem solved, just not with that damn Alesis card! Damnit. Anyway, I have been doing a bit of work in another studio, and they have a Dakota card and a JL Cooper Data Sync, and they can transfer tracks back and forth quite well. I just need the time at this point to get over there and do it. I am in the middle of a couple very big projects, but one of them is at this studio, so I think within the next week or two I can get those tracks onto ADAT and start working on them.

I will keep you posted.

Actually, Charles is right. Some of the best song ARE NOT posted on his mp3.com site. You all should buy his CD and hear them! :) (shameless plug? possibly...:))

Gidge, I told Charles the same thing about songs with good commercial potential when we first started working on this! I am thinking his solo CD is going to generate some interest for sure! Give him whatever support you can, monetary or moral! I can see at least publishing in the future...

Ed
 
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