"Spellbound" Siouxsie and the Banshees cover.

  • Thread starter Thread starter Bubba po
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Bubba po

Bubba po

Tiny Stonehenge Moment
Ok, this is a project I started about two years ago. Well actually, I recorded the drums and bass at the end of a session doing something else, two years ago. :D I promptly forgot about it until two months ago when I was deleting songs off my multitracker, listened to it again and decided it was worth finishing.

The drums are recorded with two overheads and the kick drum only, so I'm fairly happy with those, considering. Wish I'd had the snare mic'd separately.:cursing:

Players are myself on guitars, my son on drums and my wife on vocals, plus my mate on bass. Constructive comment, as always, appreciated. :)
 
The vocal needs de-essing ("choiceshh" ;)) and it could be louder as well. Her singing is great and deserves to be heard well.

The bass was kind of drowning out the kick drum for me.

Great performances. I like the concept of a family band.
 
The vocal has a noticeable amount of upper frequencies on my monitors and headphones.
 
Schwarzenyaeger said:
The vocal has a noticeable amount of upper frequencies on my monitors and headphones.
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Just kidding - it is a little sibilant, but I'm not really sure how to go about de-essing. I just put it down to the cheapo condenser mic I'm using at the moment being a little harsh. I was more worried about losing articulation of the vocal within the busy production that has lots going on in the upper frequencies of the drumkit, two heavily-strummed acoustic guitars and a fairly trebly flange guitar up the middle. :D It does take another pair of ears to pick up on these things. I really need a better vocal mic. :/
 
Your wife got herself some pipes and the kid can play. You should adopt a kid that can play bass. :)

I don't know the original, but since all the instruments and the vocal have that dreamy, reverb-y thing going on, the "faraway"-type sound you're getting with just overheads for the drums is working for me.

I listened with earbuds and then battery-operated headphones that tend to be bass-heavy... no sibilancy with the earbuds, there was a little with the headphones. I'm not sure I would have noticed it if I weren't looking for it. I thought the bass and guitar levels were good. Snare level was fine with earbuds, could have used more with the headphones. The kick was easier to make out with the earbuds because it sounded sharper. It was more of a sustaining "boom" with the headphones, and blends with the bass somewhat. I generally prefer a sharp kick but the boom seems to fit that "reverby" sound of the rest of the instruments.

Great performances by everyone involved. I forgot you were British until your wife sang the word "entranced". At first I'm thinking, "what the hell is she saying?" Then it all made sense. :)
 
I listened with sennheiser h/phones.
No significant sib issues at my end - just the odd s here * there.
Blockfish has a good de esser or you can cut a notch in the syllable if you have a decent daw.
I have their 1st LP - Hong Kong Gardens wasn't really representative was it.
I like this version - the missus can sing/belt - nice Partridge connection.
Nothing to nit given the circumstances re drums.
 
Great tune guy! I have no nits at all other than a few harsh esses here and there. I do hear it myself as well. Could it be part of your reverbs and stuff?

Dial that in a little bit and i'd say it is damn near perfect. your lads drums sound great and he has a fantastic flow and the wife has a good set of pipes.
 
ShanPeyton said:
Great tune guy! I have no nits at all other than a few harsh esses here and there. I do hear it myself as well. Could it be part of your reverbs and stuff?

Dial that in a little bit and i'd say it is damn near perfect. your lads drums sound great and he has a fantastic flow and the wife has a good set of pipes.
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Thanks ShanPeyton. :D I've read out yours and the others' comments to my wife and son, and they were both thrilled. So it seems that the consensus is that the occasional ess needs sorting out. I'll have a go at it and try to resist tweaking anything else in the project! I know how easily stuff can go a bit tits up once you start fiddling! :D

I've decided to bite the bullet and work on getting my recording room better after this project. I thought the drums turned out fairly good, but the amount of work I had to do post-recording to get them there was bloody ridiculous. I don't want to go through that again, so recording it right in the first place is now a must. So - laminate floor, bass traps, emptying the room of crap and a bit of acoustic treatment is in order.
 
Sounds good, Master Po. I like it and I hate country music. ;)
 
The drums really hurt this IMO. Everything else is pretty decent. The vocals are a little sibilant, but it could just be the reverb hyping up the sibilance.

It's really just the drums that hurt it. No snare. It seems empty and hollow without a snare cracking away.
 
Greg_L said:
The drums really hurt this IMO. Everything else is pretty decent. The vocals are a little sibilant, but it could just be the reverb hyping up the sibilance.

It's really just the drums that hurt it. No snare. It seems empty and hollow without a snare cracking away.
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I know, Greg - it's killing me. I had to make a no-win decision at the mix stage - sacrifice a lot of the snare or live with horrendously over-emphasized cymbals. I'm tackling the drum problem head-on and getting my room sorted. The kit and cymbals are good, the room's not ridiculously small, my mics are budget but fit for the job and my kid plays well. There should be no reason why I can't record great-sounding drum tracks. After all, I can record good sounding guitars and vocals. :cursing:
 
Sky Blue Lou said:
Well you are talking to the resident drum recording expert (hint). I expect you knew that. Pride goeth before the fall, yeah?
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Indeed it does, Lou. :(


It's still the best thing I've recorded at home. :D
 
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