Sunshine of Your Love

  • Thread starter Thread starter ziplock43
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Llarion said:
I scoped your stuff, and your meter is indeed tight. I epecially enjoyed The Boys Are Back In Town" and your take on "Monster Mash.."

John's a great guy. He claims I'm a better bass player, but then, he's deluded, so what can ya do... He's the one with the gig. :)
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Thanks a lot man. I appreciate it. :)
 
I've got another question/situation maybe you guys can help me with? :

I'll lay down the drums first (and yeah, I'm only using two mics, one for the snare/hihat, one for the kickdrum, and they're $30 dynamics, so I can't get a really good sound out of them, whatever though), then maybe a rhythm guitar, then i plug the bass directly into my computer. By this time though, when I'm recording maybe the lead guitar or the vocals, all the sound from the speakers might get into my vocal track or something so that if i were to play the vocal track solo, you'd hear all the music faintly behind it.

Would using headphones, a click track, and getting some more/better mics be the solution to my problems? My amp is crappy too. I've got so many good ideas for covering songs (I love putting my own twists on favorite songs of mine), but it seems I always come up short. I try equalizing and frequency editing and panning and all that good stuff, but everything still sounds muddy to me.

I don't know if I'm lacking recording experience, recording tools, mixing/mastering experience, or a combination of all three. What do you guys think, judging from what you've heard?
 
ziplock43 said:
Would using headphones, a click track, and getting some more/better mics be the solution to my problems?
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Well, I don't know about "solution"...But it can't hurt.
 
ziplock43 said:
I don't know if I'm lacking recording experience, recording tools, mixing/mastering experience, or a combination of all three. What do you guys think, judging from what you've heard?
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I'd say its all three. Noone is born knowing this shit. You just have to read, read, and keep reading and then apply what you've learned to your own stuff. Having decent (not the best ever, just good) equipment goes a long way, but its all useless if you use it wrong. If you're only using 2 mics for the drums, you should probably use them as overheads. Even with junky dynamics you can probably get better results if you try the "recorderman method" (look it up). Its a simple overhead mic technique for drums. You'll need to set them up correctly and fine tune from there. It will take a good deal of trial and error. As for the rest, you can use any old headphones for monitoring while you do vocals.

Most of us are just regular joes who enjoy playing and recording music, and many people here are very good at it. I personally learned a bunch from this site to get started and I still learn new stuff every day. Listen to peoples mixes here in the MP3 clinic. Listen for things you like and don't like. Ask questions. Read peoples critiques. Everyone has to start from scratch.
 
A few things, someone already mentioned that....

the performance is kinda rough, and the drums seem like they are in the background. The drums and the rest of the song seem not to sync in little spots.

What I noticed most of all, is that the use of D-Delay (I presume) to get the guitar track to "echo" from left to right. Actually, sounds like original signal on the left and delayed signal on the right. Though it's subtle and hardly noticeable, it was disturbing to hear the tracks the way it cascaded very quickly from left to right. It didn't sound like natural echo or reverb at all. :eek: ;) Or maybe I'm just trippin'. :eek: ;)

Other than that, it sounded like a really fun tune to produce and play. Not bad for an early effort, but with ample room for improvement. :eek: ;)
 
ziplock43 said:
I don't know if I'm lacking recording experience, recording tools, mixing/mastering experience, or a combination of all three. What do you guys think, judging from what you've heard?
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I think that you've come to the right place to get steered in the right direction without too much damage to your ego in the process.

Do what Greg L says about the recorderman method; you'll be happier with the drums. If you can scrape up a third one, do the kick with it.

It might help if you give us the full lowdown on youe equipment you use to record with; we can tell you the best bang for the buck holes to plug first...
 
Heres another thing I have done for drums before. Use the "recorderman" method (theres a good vid on youtube as well, just type in recorderman recording technique) and try to NOT use the kick. I know this threw me off a lot but even if you can put a big blanket in between that will deaden the kick sound, whatever you have to do. Then after you recorded it, mic the kick drum and re-track only the kick drum over the existing drum track. Its not ideal, but I really like the kick drum present and defined in songs and thats one alternative.
As far as click track goes, download "Hammer Head" from the internet (do a google search) which is a free loop program. Its horrible for making actual drum tracks but great for making click tracks. Set your tempo and make a simple (very important to keep it simple) click track. Import it into your recording software and then do what Greg suggested. For $3 you can get construction headphones (I use them to play drums). Take simple earbuds and put them on, then put on the huge construction headphones. Works wonders.
You might want to write out the whole song on a piece of paper and place it on your snare or on a music stand so you can run through the music in your head as well as on paper (if your rec'ing drums first).


Mike
 
Well basicaly I've got alot of cheap recording equipment:

-Behinger Xenyx 1002 mixer (only two XLR imputs :( :mad: )
-Epiphone Les Paul
-Crate Half Stack (I don't know if you've ever seen the $500, 120 watt one, but that's it)
-2 AKG Dynamic Mics


I can't get a job right now until I finish school up, but the first thing when I do is to get a new mixer, and some new mics, then my friend has a nice Marshall Combo he'll sell me for $200.

Thanks for all your help guys
 
ziplock43 said:
Well basicaly I've got alot of cheap recording equipment:

-Behinger Xenyx 1002 mixer (only two XLR imputs :( :mad: )
-Epiphone Les Paul
-Crate Half Stack (I don't know if you've ever seen the $500, 120 watt one, but that's it)
-2 AKG Dynamic Mics


I can't get a job right now until I finish school up, but the first thing when I do is to get a new mixer, and some new mics, then my friend has a nice Marshall Combo he'll sell me for $200.

Thanks for all your help guys
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Well man, you don't need an amp. Use that 200 to buy an interface or mixer with more inputs. Realistically, to get a really good usable drum sound you'll need at least 4 inputs and the capability to record at least 4 mono tracks at once.

I used to use a Tascam US122 that had only 2 inputs, but I also had a small Yamaha mixer that had 4 XLR's and 4 line inputs. I'd run my drum mics into the mixer, pan everything in the mixer, and then send a L and R output to the two inputs of the Tascam interface. From there I'd record the drums as 2 mono tracks. It worked pretty good, but took a lot of fiddling to get it about as good as it could get. Once recorded, there was no "turning up the snare". You had to get the drum mix right in the mixer or you were left with crappy drum tracks. But, once you get it all dialed in, write down your settings or don't ever touch it again.
 
ziplock43 said:
Well basicaly I've got alot of cheap recording equipment:

-Behinger Xenyx 1002 mixer (only two XLR imputs :( :mad: )
-Epiphone Les Paul
-Crate Half Stack (I don't know if you've ever seen the $500, 120 watt one, but that's it)
-2 AKG Dynamic Mics
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How do you run the Mixer into the Comp? I have a small behringer mixer as well (mine has 4 XRL inputs). I pan everything on the mixer and then send it to my soundcard via the "tape output" on the mixer. If you are doing this, make sure you get a recording soundcard, not a soundblaser.
If you are going to get a new mixer/interface, make sure its firewire cause this will save you a lotta trouble.
By the way Greg, how do you record now? (mics, interface, etc.).


Mike
 
Nightfire said:
How do you run the Mixer into the Comp? I have a small behringer mixer as well (mine has 4 XRL inputs). I pan everything on the mixer and then send it to my soundcard via the "tape output" on the mixer. If you are doing this, make sure you get a recording soundcard, not a soundblaser.
If you are going to get a new mixer/interface, make sure its firewire cause this will save you a lotta trouble.
By the way Greg, how do you record now? (mics, interface, etc.).


Mike
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I use a Firepod. I have a couple of 57's, and an AT2020 cardoid condenser. I also have a CAD 7 pc drum mic kit. Nothing fancy. Pretty basic, relatively inexpensive stuff.
 
Nightfire said:
Gotcha, your mixes always sound pro!


Mike
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Thanks a lot. If my stuff comes out pretty good, its only because I refuse to give up on getting the sound I want. I'll push every button and turn every dial and move every mic and break every rule until I'm pleased with what I hear. :o
 
It's REALLY important that you have a clean, zero-latency interface as well. You can get USB ones on the cheap for $29,

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Behringer-UCONTROL-UCA202-USBAudio-Interface?sku=702540

I use the M-Audio Audiophile 192 PCI card, it servers as the I/O bank, AND the soundcard, and it's MUCH cleaner and faster than any Soundblaster, and it's like $179.
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/MAudio-Audiophile-192-PCI-Interface?sku=703610

They make less expensive ones too.
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/MAudio-Audiophile-2496-PCI-Digital-Audio-Card?sku=701341V

That's where I'd put $200 if I had your current setup, some sort of interface. Don't even worry about changing mixers, get a couple of XLR to 1/4" impedance matchers for other mics. And don't worry too much about noise reduciton at this point in the curve, you can do that in post production.

Or hell, for $200, just do this:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Lexicon-Omega-Desktop-Recording-Studio?sku=245505
 
Yeah I think that Lexicon Omega thing would be a good starting point. For 200, you get a lot of bang for your buck.
 
You know....I got to say....Whoever is singing this version of "Sunshine of Your Love" has a kick-ass voice. There are some pitch issues...But the actual quality of the voice is something that can become special. I forgot to mention that before. It's a nice, thick voice with some balls and personality.

I didn't hear the very first version in this thread. But whatever version is up now is WAAAAYYYYY better than I expected based on reading the comments before listening.

Based on your equipment list and amount of experiece, this is much better than I would have produced under the same circumstances....Except for the drums. If you can find a way to be able to lay down a solid drum track, you'll be on your way to making beautiful music. :)
 
RAMI said:
Based on your equipment list and amount of experiece, this is much better than I would have produced under the same circumstances....Except for the drums. If you can find a way to be able to lay down a solid drum track, you'll be on your way to making beautiful music. :)
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Dude, I don't know if you went and heard Rami yet, but you just got a NICE compliment...
 
My mistake, dude. I'm just trippin'.

I got it now that it's doubled guitars. The lead breaks off on the left. Okay. Forget what I just said.

I like your version, but the sound quality is too loud and with cutting brightness (for my tastes). The live feel is there and the little mistakes don't detract much from the song, overall. I think if u get more punchiness in the drum mix, tone down the trebles, boost the midrange and low end of the guitar tracks a bit, which would allow you to crank the bass a bit more,... it'd all be keen. In fact, I like this recording a lot. It shows a lot of talent and the sound quality is pretty good. Thanx! :eek: ;)
 
Lol, RAMI, are you being sarcastic about the vocals? I always get shit about my friends for how crappy my voice is.

I just take a guitar cord and run it from the mixer's "Main Out" and I've got a little jack from a friend (I've got no clue what it's called) that channels the thick end of that cord into another male end small enough to get into my PC's "microphone in" jack in the back.

It's basically as caveman as I can think.

http://www.soundclick.com/util/getplayer.m3u?id=5264928&q=hi
Can you guys tell me what you think of that? I used the recorderman method (I still think the drums sound bad, but whatever). The intro's really bad, but I just needed something to get me into the song. There are also a couple timing issues, but I was just wondering what you guys think of the quality of this one. I think this is the best sounding thing I've made yet in terms of just tone quality/whatever. I think I used the panemetric equalizing the right way on this one too, but probably not haha.
 
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