Three "New" Songs from Lemon Test! Take a Listen!

[Confusitron]

My band, Lemon Test, recorded three songs about seven months ago which were new at the time. These songs were "commercially released" (by us personally) before I ever posted in this forum for criticism on the mixes. Now we are planning to head back into the studio in the upcoming months and we would appreciate any input as to how we can improve our future recordings based on these. Below are links to streamable versions of our three "new" songs from our three song CD titled Too Few Times of Playing Well. The songs are "Hong Kong", "Capsized", and "Untitled".

Click here to listen to "Hong Kong"!
Click here to listen to "Capsized"!
Click here to listen to "Untitled"!


Please feel free to comment on the songs. We hope you enjoy them.

Our links:

lemontest.net
MySpace
Purevolume


I have further information about Lemon Test which you may find in the above links that I would like to share with you all later.

Thank you.


EDIT: Link to "Untitled" did not work so it was fixed.

 

[true-eurt]

Untitled server was down.

Capsized....

It sounds like a cross between a banjo and a mandolin playing the intro. Or is it just some great effects on the axe? Autoharp?

The only thing I hear, that could use a bit of tweaking is the instrument in the intro. It gets a bit too much volume in it's solo parts or maybe too much high end on it...it seems a bit too bright. But hey, this is some good stuff!!

Great sound and style!! Vox tone puts me in mind of a blend of Sting and Steve Miller.

This is excellent. I have you cranked on my headdress....wow, this is awesome.

The outro gets me all excited. I love this song...reminds me of a small vessel of wood on the ocean...great.

The end is great!! Okay, I am done babbling!!

Are you all youngin's? Some kick butt talent for your age.

True

 

[true-eurt]

I am listening to Hong Kong now....and it is off in a different direction than capsized!!

I like the intro. It starts out with a driving beat and a melodic vox. Cool.

I think the kick could come up a bit. I notice that throughout the tune the volume of the drums flucuate. They are low in some spots, that could come up and too 'out' in a few spots. I can't put a time on them, cause the player they are on has no time sequencing. Some boxy tone going on there. That is a matter of taste though.

Nice use of bass...up it a bit too in spots maybe. ?

The jam sections are really good, in fact the song reminds me of a jam session!!...I want to just blast the volume out!!!

I wish I could listen to this on my monitors...but others sleeping prevent that.

I am looking forward to listening tomarrow.

I love the driving beat and the energetic rolls. Gets me to rockin'!! The guitar runs are good too.

Everything fits within the puzzel, with very little tweaking needed...listening on the phones anyway.

I am on my 5th listen...I know I probably am not listening correctly at the moment, so for now ...later.

 

[true-eurt]

Untitled...this one sounds more soft fusion rock to me.

Smooth...

Guitars are eating the vox in spots.

You guys have a great sound...kudos and good luck in all your ventures.

Once more, I want to listen with the headphones off and the monitors on.

I am not hearing much bass on this one.

I am very interested in what gear you use and I am especially interested in what effect pedals your using on the axe. Great stuff.

I really like the drummers style too. I would love to hear him/her in a few years from now.

I would actually like to hear you all in a few years

 

[TexRoadkill]

You guys have a cool and interesting sound. The only thing that really bugs me is the drums. They sound too muffled. Although "Untitled" sounds a little better.

Check out the drums on the Spoon "Kill the Moonlight" album. If you can get a drum sound like that it would fit well with your style.

I just noticed you're from MI. I'm working with a band out here called Fat Rhabit from Holland, MI. I guess boredom is good for musical creativity.

 

[Confusitron]

Capsized....

It sounds like a cross between a banjo and a mandolin playing the intro. Or is it just some great effects on the axe? Autoharp?

The only thing I hear, that could use a bit of tweaking is the instrument in the intro. It gets a bit too much volume in it's solo parts or maybe too much high end on it...it seems a bit too bright. But hey, this is some good stuff!!

I suppose, in accordance to the way you put it, it is just some great effects on the axe. That was a basically untouched guitar signal (from what I remember) that was recorded. I may have increased the high end a bit for the close microphone on the amp (a Fender '65 Twin Reverb Reissue), but other than that, I just cut the low end (70 hz) on the guitars. I guess I thought of the present high end as a pro, as most of the time my signals sound a bit muddy.

Great sound and style!! Vox tone puts me in mind of a blend of Sting and Steve Miller.

Thank you. The vocalist had very little training at this point, so it's good that someone could put their finger on something. We're unsure of the singer's future with the band at this point.

This is excellent. I have you cranked on my headdress....wow, this is awesome.

The outro gets me all excited. I love this song...reminds me of a small vessel of wood on the ocean...great.

The end is great!! Okay, I am done babbling!!

Thank you very, very much!

Are you all youngin's? Some kick butt talent for your age.

True

The guitarist and singer are 18, the drummer is 21, the bassist is 25, and I am 17 (I was 16 when these were recorded). When these songs were recorded my role with the group was very minimal, aside from recording. I was the writer of the verse and chorus keyboard parts in "Hong Kong" and I helped to write the ending section (including trash-canning) of "Untitled" on bass (the dundun-dundun-dun-dun-dun-dundundun). I'm now more involed as a keyboard player, though I have not been formally trained in anyway and I play quite rudimentary parts.

I am listening to Hong Kong now....and it is off in a different direction than capsized!!

Does it make you want to dance?

I like the intro. It starts out with a driving beat and a melodic vox. Cool.

I think the kick could come up a bit. I notice that throughout the tune the volume of the drums flucuate. They are low in some spots, that could come up and too 'out' in a few spots. I can't put a time on them, cause the player they are on has no time sequencing. Some boxy tone going on there. That is a matter of taste though.

Nice use of bass...up it a bit too in spots maybe. ?

Yes, the kick could come up a bit, but I also think it could "come up a bit". At the time, I was miking the whole bass drum with microphone. I didn't have a hole in the resonant to mike the beater for attack, which probably would have made the kick more present. It is more of a thump than a kick in these songs.

I realized the drums were a bit distant after the songs were out, so I know what you mean. I was happy, however, that they weren't overbearing (like the cymbals on the recordings prior to these). You can at least tell they're there. The snare disappointed me. I'm not sure what my process was on that, but I could not make it anymore present than I had because of clipping issues. I'm not sure if I used a compressor or limiter on it, but I should have. The drums had just recently had new heads put on before this recording and probably should have had more tuning done.

Untitled...this one sounds more soft fusion rock to me.

Smooth...

Guitars are eating the vox in spots.

I'll be more careful next time...

You guys have a great sound...kudos and good luck in all your ventures.

Once more, I want to listen with the headphones off and the monitors on.

Thank you again. Speaking of our ventures, I'll let you in on that in a little while.

I am not hearing much bass on this one.

I think I agree.

I am very interested in what gear you use and I am especially interested in what effect pedals your using on the axe. Great stuff.

Maybe I'll get some info for you.

I really like the drummers style too. I would love to hear him/her in a few years from now.

I would actually like to hear you all in a few years

Thank you!

You guys have a cool and interesting sound. The only thing that really bugs me is the drums. They sound too muffled. Although "Untitled" sounds a little better.

Check out the drums on the Spoon "Kill the Moonlight" album. If you can get a drum sound like that it would fit well with your style.

I know what you mean. I should have spent much more time on them. I thought "Capsized" was better, actually, but now that I'm listening to "Untitled", I do hear a bit more clarity. I'll see about the Spoon. I do need some more tips on engineering for the drums. I should probably tell you what my set-up was for the drums later.

I just noticed you're from MI. I'm working with a band out here called Fat Rhabit from Holland, MI. I guess boredom is good for musical creativity.

I cannot say I know who they are. Holland is on the other side of the state, so they're pretty far away.


I appreciate the input from the both of you and thank you for the compliments. We appreciate them greatly.

 

[Confusitron]

Bump. Bump.

 

[the inhabitant]

The vox sound dry to me. Also, the drums sound pretty dead. There's no snap to them. The snare sounds dull especially; I think it could use some more high end. There are also moments when the vox are being trampled on frequency wise in Hong Kong and Capsized. Some of the guitars, like the one panned center in Untitled, seem to to have a strange reverb on them that makes it sound like it's coming from the distant end of a tunnel. There may be some mud in the keys but I don't know what to tell you about that because you've got a lot of elements fighting for the high frequencies... maybe just roll off some low end on that then nudge the fader up slightly as I can barely hear them.

I'm just being nitpicky (and probably wrong LOL) about most of this stuff, but the drums... That's the one thing holding this back the most from sounding like a pro, big label type recording. They're dry and dead. Sometimes when my drums are sounding dead, I end up trying a lot to fix it and finally give up and start over by pulling all fx, eq etc off of them and starting over and suddenly they sound better than I had them when they were mixed and I realize I was using too much compression. So maybe that's something to look for on your next record.

As for the music, I like your sound a lot. It reminds me of something but I can't put my finger on it. I think Hong Kong is a pretty damn good song. I hope you guys find success because you deserve it.

 

[Confusitron]

The vox sound dry to me. Also, the drums sound pretty dead. There's no snap to them. The snare sounds dull especially; I think it could use some more high end. There are also moments when the vox are being trampled on frequency wise in Hong Kong and Capsized. Some of the guitars, like the one panned center in Untitled, seem to to have a strange reverb on them that makes it sound like it's coming from the distant end of a tunnel. There may be some mud in the keys but I don't know what to tell you about that because you've got a lot of elements fighting for the high frequencies... maybe just roll off some low end on that then nudge the fader up slightly as I can barely hear them.

Yes, the vocals do sound dry, but they were the best I had ever had them sounding at the time. Along with reverb, what are some things that can be done to make them sound more defined? Make the signal more wet with reverb? And also, I agree that the drums sound pretty dead... How can I make them sound alive? I understand the trampling. I might just have to be a bit more anal about volumes next time. The center panned guitar on "Untitled" probably had the reverb applied from the amplifier (a Fender '65 Twin Reverb Reissue), or maybe it was mic placement. The keys definitely have mud. The keyboard played was a Wurlitzer 200A (I think?), a vintage solid state keyboard. It has some electrical hiss issues which causes me to cut higher frequencies and I also lack a proper DI box/impedance matching system for it, which could help with the sound. The Wurlitzer is pretty muddy sounding in general. I didn't touch the signal much aside from the hiss issue, but I should have compressed it or boosted mids. As a result, I wasn't really sure how to "bring out" the keys in the recordings, as it was almost a rumble.

I'm just being nitpicky (and probably wrong LOL) about most of this stuff, but the drums... That's the one thing holding this back the most from sounding like a pro, big label type recording. They're dry and dead. Sometimes when my drums are sounding dead, I end up trying a lot to fix it and finally give up and start over by pulling all fx, eq etc off of them and starting over and suddenly they sound better than I had them when they were mixed and I realize I was using too much compression. So maybe that's something to look for on your next record.

Can you tell me of any methods that can improve this sound? As I said earlier, the heads that were used on this recording were quite new. Infact, we recorded "Hong Kong"'s drum parts on two seperate weekends (if I remember correctly) because things were not sounding too good as the heads were still being worn in. I just recently used the method where the heads are tightened up as much as possible when you first put them on, you allow them to sit, then detune them later to where you'd like them to be. It made tuning a snare a thousand times easier, and the snare has stayed in tune since. I did not have a top and bottom microphone for the snare on these recordings, only a top. Could the incorporation of the resonant side's sound beef things up?

My microphone set up for these songs was...

Audix OM-2 - Snare and piccolo tom
Audio-Technica AT2020 - Bass drum
MXL MXL990 - Toms
MXL MXL991 - Overheads

I really didn't use all that much as far as effects go on the drums. I think I compressed the snare and bass drum a bit, used a gate on all drums, and put reverb on the overheads, which created a somewhat boxy sound (maybe very boxy).

As for the music, I like your sound a lot. It reminds me of something but I can't put my finger on it. I think Hong Kong is a pretty damn good song. I hope you guys find success because you deserve it.

Thank you very much. And as I stated earlier, I'll tell you all of our "success"/ventures later (or you can just read a little about it on our web site or MySpace page).

 

[the inhabitant]

I've done a lot of reading to find out what the pro engineers that have done some of my favorite CD's do. One thing is that they don't use the verb that comes on guitar amps. Nice, realistic reverb on either an expensive plug-in or outboard fx box always sounds better. When recording an amp and cab or combo amp, turn any verb or "presence" etc, all the way down for sure. If the amp has any FX, those same effects added on later with a nice plugin or processor usually sound much better. When I record electric, I usually never record any FX but that is not a rule; I've got one tune I'm doing right now for which I utilized a guitar fx box that had some chorus that was sounding really good at the moment I was rehearsing it, so I went ahead and layed it down. I'm afraid to know what it would have sounded like to use some nice expensive chorus because it would have probably sounded better but...

Also the vox are pretty good level wise I think - I mean, in terms of volume. But in terms of EQ there are some other instruments that are sharing the same space. Each element of a mix really has to fight for space so it's good to look at a mix as having three dimensions. Tall being frequency, wide being panning and depth being reverb/fx. (FX and verb are what causes a sound to seem as though it is coming from far or near when you close your eyes and listen for where it sounds like it's coming from on an imaginary stage.) If a part is too dry (not any verb or fx on it) then it tends to sound like the singer is singing quietly right in your face as opposed to being up on stage with the rest of the band. So the trick is to find a seperate place for everything in that three dimensional space so that each part can be clear yet sounding like they belong together.

Since the vox tend to be panned centered - as well they should be most of the time - that leaves you with verb/delays and EQ. Now the first thing I would do to clear up the EQ thing is to sweep through the frequencies with a 10db cut until you find a place where the vox sound more defined. Another thing to try is to sweep through the guitar parts with a cut until the vox sound more defined. Whatever you do, remember that cuts are better than boosts; always try to cut first to fix an EQ problem, but once again that is not a rule. Also roll off the low frequencies on them. Set up a hard roll off and then sweep up until you hear it change and then back it off a little bit. That will also add some definition.

As for the drums, I usually end up tightening up the snare much more than I would for a live performance - tight as hell; the toms should be tuned so that they will fit in to most of the regular keys like E, A and C. (Tuning drums can be hard as hell but if you want to know how I do it, let me know; it will be a long ass post though.) A mic on the bottom of the snare helps as it picks up the actual high pitched snare rattle well but I usually end up flipping the phase on it to avoid some low frequency enhancing phase issues. If you do put a mic at the bottom, listen to it with the phase both ways and choose the one that sound the best and least muddy. I also usually end up gating the bottom mic as it picks up more of that tom-esque resonance that rings after the rattle stops. Also, I don't know what your tracks sounded like before you gated them but setting them up so they just reduce the volume of the unwanted resonations sounds more natural and usually better than cutting it out all together. Put some verb on them but none on the kick - prefferably a different verb than the one used for vox and one with a short decay. Use a fast preamp on the snare. If you don't own any nice preamps, there's nothing you can do but if you own some nice one's, use the fastest one(s) you have on the snare because there are some very fast transients that add a lot of snap to a snare sound that most preamps are not fast enough to pick up.

Also, try messing around with panning your reverbs and also EQ them. Verbs tend to add mud. You usually end up needing to roll off the low end on them especially with a busy song that has more than four parts. You can also take out some high frequencies if you don't want the verbs to stand out in the song.

Sorry I didn't answer your questions in order; I just kind of went off there. I hope I've answered some of them. Sorry if I'm telling you stuff you already know; I don't mean to patronize. There are a lot of people around here that know a lot more than I do so hopefuly some of them will come along...

 

[Confusitron]

I've done a lot of reading to find out what the pro engineers that have done some of my favorite CD's do. One thing is that they don't use the verb that comes on guitar amps. Nice, realistic reverb on either an expensive plug-in or outboard fx box always sounds better. When recording an amp and cab or combo amp, turn any verb or "presence" etc, all the way down for sure. If the amp has any FX, those same effects added on later with a nice plugin or processor usually sound much better. When I record electric, I usually never record any FX but that is not a rule; I've got one tune I'm doing right now for which I utilized a guitar fx box that had some chorus that was sounding really good at the moment I was rehearsing it, so I went ahead and layed it down. I'm afraid to know what it would have sounded like to use some nice expensive chorus because it would have probably sounded better but...

I see what you're saying. The only thing is, this is the classic Fender '65 Twin Reverb reverb that we used. I believe it's quite highly acclaimed. But I do see how it affected the signal. I'll try this next time. I lack a DI box, so I had no direct recordings of the guitar for these songs. That would probably help with defining the signal more, wouldn't it? It would probably be harsh, but if it's mixed well enough, it could be put to some good use.

Also the vox are pretty good level wise I think - I mean, in terms of volume. But in terms of EQ there are some other instruments that are sharing the same space. Each element of a mix really has to fight for space so it's good to look at a mix as having three dimensions. Tall being frequency, wide being panning and depth being reverb/fx. (FX and verb are what causes a sound to seem as though it is coming from far or near when you close your eyes and listen for where it sounds like it's coming from on an imaginary stage.) If a part is too dry (not any verb or fx on it) then it tends to sound like the singer is singing quietly right in your face as opposed to being up on stage with the rest of the band. So the trick is to find a seperate place for everything in that three dimensional space so that each part can be clear yet sounding like they belong together.

This has been mentioned in the past. Do you or anyone have any methods of achieving this? I'd like to hear about them.

Since the vox tend to be panned centered - as well they should be most of the time - that leaves you with verb/delays and EQ. Now the first thing I would do to clear up the EQ thing is to sweep through the frequencies with a 10db cut until you find a place where the vox sound more defined. Another thing to try is to sweep through the guitar parts with a cut until the vox sound more defined. Whatever you do, remember that cuts are better than boosts; always try to cut first to fix an EQ problem, but once again that is not a rule. Also roll off the low frequencies on them. Set up a hard roll off and then sweep up until you hear it change and then back it off a little bit. That will also add some definition.

I'll look into this. I've always had trouble mixing with anything beyond volume, such as EQing.

As for the drums, I usually end up tightening up the snare much more than I would for a live performance - tight as hell; the toms should be tuned so that they will fit in to most of the regular keys like E, A and C. (Tuning drums can be hard as hell but if you want to know how I do it, let me know; it will be a long ass post though.) A mic on the bottom of the snare helps as it picks up the actual high pitched snare rattle well but I usually end up flipping the phase on it to avoid some low frequency enhancing phase issues. If you do put a mic at the bottom, listen to it with the phase both ways and choose the one that sound the best and least muddy. I also usually end up gating the bottom mic as it picks up more of that tom-esque resonance that rings after the rattle stops. Also, I don't know what your tracks sounded like before you gated them but setting them up so they just reduce the volume of the unwanted resonations sounds more natural and usually better than cutting it out all together. Put some verb on them but none on the kick - prefferably a different verb than the one used for vox and one with a short decay. Use a fast preamp on the snare. If you don't own any nice preamps, there's nothing you can do but if you own some nice one's, use the fastest one(s) you have on the snare because there are some very fast transients that add a lot of snap to a snare sound that most preamps are not fast enough to pick up.

All I've got is a PreSonus Firepod. I do not own any outboard equipment. Anything you can suggest purchasing that is reasonably priced?

Also, try messing around with panning your reverbs and also EQ them. Verbs tend to add mud. You usually end up needing to roll off the low end on them especially with a busy song that has more than four parts. You can also take out some high frequencies if you don't want the verbs to stand out in the song.

Are you saying that I should duplicate tracks, add reverb to one, then pan them in different directions? Then also EQ the track with reverb?

Sorry I didn't answer your questions in order; I just kind of went off there. I hope I've answered some of them. Sorry if I'm telling you stuff you already know; I don't mean to patronize. There are a lot of people around here that know a lot more than I do so hopefuly some of them will come along...

It's okay. I appreciate any info you can provide me with. Besides, I didn't tell you anything I already know, so you can tell me just about anything you'd like. Bah - just because others know more doesn't mean that you can't be helpful.

For my drum overheads, should I continue using my MXL MXL991s, which are small diaphragm/pencil condensor microphones, or should I try something like my MXL MXL990s, which are more like large diaphragm condensor microphones? I've seen large diaphragm mics being used everywhere these days (maybe I was just unaware of how common they are as overheads) and I am wondering what kind of improvements they may provide. Maybe I should just be repositioning my mics for a different sound.

Thanks.

 

[rayc]

Intro sounds like a Killers take on Duran Duran then things change and it much more original.
What is the effect on the guitar - sounds like it's miked through a piece of plumbing pipe.
Things sound a little thin - might be the MP3.
The playing seems very good & the mix too. there are little hints of Pursuit of happiness in this song too - that's GOOD thing - I might add.
Lots happening but it's not quite happening on a sound level. I can't help but you've been given some good ideas already.

 

[the inhabitant]

I see what you're saying. The only thing is, this is the classic Fender '65 Twin Reverb reverb that we used. I believe it's quite highly acclaimed. But I do see how it affected the signal. I'll try this next time. I lack a DI box, so I had no direct recordings of the guitar for these songs. That would probably help with defining the signal more, wouldn't it? It would probably be harsh, but if it's mixed well enough, it could be put to some good use.

No. I still wouldn't use that verb for recording (personal taste + stuff I read) although it does sound amazing live. Yes. Adding some direct does ad clarity but don't go overboard with it. Usually just blending in a little of the direct signal with the mic'd ones until you can hear some clarity added is enough.

This has been mentioned in the past. Do you or anyone have any methods of achieving this? I'd like to hear about them.

In terms of depth, just don't use the same verbs on everything or they'll be sharing the same space. Also, pay close attention to the decays. Sometimes it sounds really cool to time the decay with the tempo so that the verb sort of pulses with the song; don't time all of the decays the same though. I really like timed decays on drums. And you probably already know to time the delays with the tempo (1/4, 1/8, 1/16, 1/32 - whatever sounds best.)

In terms of panning, don't just pan something here and something there because you think it sounds cool when different things are coming out of different speakers; listen to how much things are clarified by putting them in thier own places. Try to avoid "big mono" which is a very wide image where everything is panned way out to the edges; when panning a doubled part, just pan it until you begin to hear that chorus-esque effect and then stop (or even pull them back in a little). That will leave you a space in the phantom image for something else; perhaps another doubled part can be panned a little wider than that first doubled part. Also, when panning out a doubled part, you don't necessarily have to keep it centered. For example if you pan something at 0 and 30, that might place it's phantom image at 15.

I'll look into this. I've always had trouble mixing with anything beyond volume, such as EQing.

Just remember to EQ stuff in the mix; don't EQ anything to make it sound good by itself or you'll end up with a bunch of stuff fighting for the same frequencies. After you EQ something to give it some definition in the mix, it might sound like crap solo'd but that's OK; it's the mix that counts.

All I've got is a PreSonus Firepod. I do not own any outboard equipment. Anything you can suggest purchasing that is reasonably priced?

There's a catch to the outboard gear stuff. If you're recording digital, you will end up having to do an exta D/A and A/D conversion to send the signal to the outboard gear and back, which will cause the signal to loose some fidelity. Unless you're using super nice converters (which you're not) than it might not be worth it. I have never used SPDIF to send something digital to an fx box and back without converting, so I'm not sure how/if that works but that might be something to look into.

Really nice plug-ins work as nicely as all but the best outboard gear but you may not have enough dsp and ram to run them so you'll have to look into that as well.

Are you saying that I should duplicate tracks, add reverb to one, then pan them in different directions? Then also EQ the track with reverb?

If you've got a really nice reverb, sometimes it will have some eq controls. Otherwize, you can record a 100% wet signal to a seperate track - that way you have your verb and dry signal on seperate tracks - pan it somewhere, EQ it etc and then nudge that up into the mix to taste. The longer verbs should have most of the low-end taken out completely and sound bright. Also, be careful with panning a verb hard left or right because at that point it sounds unatural and distracting.

For my drum overheads, should I continue using my MXL MXL991s, which are small diaphragm/pencil condensor microphones, or should I try something like my MXL MXL990s, which are more like large diaphragm condensor microphones? I've seen large diaphragm mics being used everywhere these days (maybe I was just unaware of how common they are as overheads) and I am wondering what kind of improvements they may provide. Maybe I should just be repositioning my mics for a different sound.

This is a matter of personal taste, I'm using large diaphram OH's right now but I think most people use small diaphrams. Just experiment...

I don't know if I'm giving too much detail for this forum, because I'm a newbie but I think it's better here than trying to start new threads in the other forums. So hopefuly nobody minds my long ass post...

 

[Confusitron]

Bump. I'll be responding in a bit, but I want this to get some more attention...

 

[Confusitron]

In terms of depth, just don't use the same verbs on everything or they'll be sharing the same space. Also, pay close attention to the decays. Sometimes it sounds really cool to time the decay with the tempo so that the verb sort of pulses with the song; don't time all of the decays the same though. I really like timed decays on drums. And you probably already know to time the delays with the tempo (1/4, 1/8, 1/16, 1/32 - whatever sounds best.)

I did time out the decay on the drum overheads, but manually, as in I figured how many milliseconds a quarter note is and so forth. I am unsure if I have a reverb plug in with the note divisions selectable.

Really nice plug-ins work as nicely as all but the best outboard gear but you may not have enough dsp and ram to run them so you'll have to look into that as well.

Can you or anyone else suggest any of these plug-ins? How much are they, or even better, are they free? I've been on some free VST plug-in sites, but I'd like to hear some first-hand accounts of how well they work. Do you or anyone else have any input on them or know of a site that has that offering? I have a gigabyte of ram on my recording computer, which I would hope is enough.

If you've got a really nice reverb, sometimes it will have some eq controls. Otherwize, you can record a 100% wet signal to a seperate track - that way you have your verb and dry signal on seperate tracks - pan it somewhere, EQ it etc and then nudge that up into the mix to taste. The longer verbs should have most of the low-end taken out completely and sound bright. Also, be careful with panning a verb hard left or right because at that point it sounds unatural and distracting.

Where might I find a nice reverb plug-in with these features?

I don't know if I'm giving too much detail for this forum, because I'm a newbie but I think it's better here than trying to start new threads in the other forums. So hopefuly nobody minds my long ass post...

Your posts have been helpful, as well as everyone elses. Put whatever amount of detail you want.

Thanks.

 

[Confusitron]

Bump.

Does anyone have anything to add?

 

[Confusitron]

As I was just thinking about his thread, I realized I did not ever reveal the "further information" about Lemon Test. I also have a few more questions.

As for the "further information"... Our band has sort of hit it off as far as getting a chance goes. We began contacting a session keyboardist in Nashville by the name of Tim Lauer about ten months ago. Since then, two trips to Nashville for recording have been made where he served as the producer (one where instrumental tracks were recorded, another where vocals were recorded). "Hong Kong" and "Capsized" were recorded in Nashville, but have not yet been completed. Tim has done work with artists like Faith Hill, Rick Astley, Megadeth, and many others. While in Nashville on the first trip, we had two engineers. One, by the name of Kyle Ford, a talented and accomodating fellow and a graduate from Belmont University, and the other, by the name of Jim Dineen. Jim has been an engineer for over twenty years and has worked with with artists like R.E.M., Wang Chung, and Rebecca Saint James.

The trip was a lot of fun and a great experience. Tim believes we have a chance, along with some other very major people in the music business who are partly responsible for what is in the top 40 these days. We are currently writing more material which will be recorded in these upcoming home sessions (not Nashville).

We just fired our lead singer a few days ago on what seemed like good terms and are in search of a new one. If anyone here knows of anyone possibly interested, it would be wonderful to possibly get in contact with them.

Also, for the upcoming recording sessions, I plan to buy a direct box, which was discussed previously. I'm looking to spend $50.00 or less. Should I be going with passive or active? Which brands?

Thank you.

 

[the inhabitant]

Radial makes the best DI's. If you can't afford a JDI with a Jensen transformer, I would get a Pro DI. It has a big fat transformer that's the next best thing to a Jensen but they still cost $80. I don't know what to tell you to get that's $50 or less as I haven't had good experience with anything $50 or less, but that's because I'm using them for their transformers to isolate unbalanced equipment and also for re-amping.

If you're getting plenty of signal out of your chain and don't need another signal boosting gain stage, get a passive DI as they work well for isolating, i.e. getting rid of the noise (EMI) that happens when you try to interface balanced equipment with unbalanced equipment and RFI that happens when your using long guitar cables or single pickups etc. They also can be a good cheater for getting around EMI caused by a ground loop.

BTW, I'm new around here so I'm just now learning the etiquette of these types of forums. I've figured out that people generally don't go into this much detail in this environment (mix postings, etc). I thought that was bull shit at first but now that I've been hanging around a while, I can see why it has become the norm. There are a lot of songs posted on a regular basis and folks like me only have so much time to try to respond to them all (not that I have half the expertise of most of the people giving advise around here). And if we were to respond to every little question about DI boxes etc, we would end up answering the same questions over and over again. So my advice to you, and I mean no disrespect, is to jump into an appropriate forum, such as an equipment forum, and do a search about DI's. If you don't find what you're looking for, start a new thread in that appropriate forum and ask your questions there.

I don't know. Maybe I'm wrong to suggest that, but that's just the vibe I've gathered now that I've been around for a couple of months and have a better understanding of the etiquette.

I don't think anyone is going to get mad about you asking specific equipment questions here; I just think that you would get a whole lot of good answers in the proper forum as opposed to the few, if any answers, you would get here.

Also, where's your band located again? I may know of a good candidate for lead singer depending on where your located.

 

[Confusitron]

BTW, I'm new around here so I'm just now learning the etiquette of these types of forums. I've figured out that people generally don't go into this much detail in this environment (mix postings, etc). I thought that was bull shit at first but now that I've been hanging around a while, I can see why it has become the norm. There are a lot of songs posted on a regular basis and folks like me only have so much time to try to respond to them all (not that I have half the expertise of most of the people giving advise around here). And if we were to respond to every little question about DI boxes etc, we would end up answering the same questions over and over again. So my advice to you, and I mean no disrespect, is to jump into an appropriate forum, such as an equipment forum, and do a search about DI's. If you don't find what you're looking for, start a new thread in that appropriate forum and ask your questions there.

I don't know. Maybe I'm wrong to suggest that, but that's just the vibe I've gathered now that I've been around for a couple of months and have a better understanding of the etiquette.

I don't think anyone is going to get mad about you asking specific equipment questions here; I just think that you would get a whole lot of good answers in the proper forum as opposed to the few, if any answers, you would get here.

You're probably right. I was thinking that I've begun to stray quite a bit from the actual mixing process. I'll try some threads elsewhere. Thank you for what you've provided me with anyway.

Also, where's your band located again? I may know of a good candidate for lead singer depending on where your located.

We're in a town called Cass City, in the "thumb" of Michigan. It's about two hours north of Detroit and an hour East of Saginaw.

 

[ecktronic]

The drums dontr sound like they were tuned well. I beleive this to be the most important stage of recording. The source.
Could do with a bigger stereo spread. I would double track the keys and pan to give some room in the middle.

Drums should be louder.

Nice tune,
Eck