Vocal Recording Example and Question

J

jeffoest

New member
Hi all,

This is a song that I am working on.

Dreams By The Lake (Tribute to Bix) 3:48

While I would certainly welcome critiques of the mix and recording (hey - I know my weakness is the vocals) I'm really curious about what techniques you guys use to eliminate the amateur choppiness at the beginning and end of this piece. Basically in the quiet sections - you can hear the microphone hum cutting out with edits. I've tried to record just a 'hum' track and overlay it but it sounds really bad that way so I just edited it out. I've always had this problem with the quiet passages. I'm not recording in a particularly noisy environment. The mic I used for this one was the tube MXL V69 which I find a bit noisier than some of my other mics, but still.....

Song info:

This song was written as a tribute to a jazz cornetist from very early last century - Bix Beiderbecke. It is a kind of a combination of pop and jazz (well, mostly pop). I used the Motif for all instruments (piano, clarinet, cello, strings/horns patch, drums) but the electric bass and the vocals. The song was inspired by a book that I read when I was young that was written by a guy who was looking back to a summer he spent when he was 13 years old in 1926 when Bix was vibrant and jazz was new. If the song intrigues you, more about Bix can be found here at the following two places - Biography with Sound Samples and NPR Audio Biography. (July 2004)

Thanks!
 
i think it sounds pretty good.
a touch of reverb might be nice on the piano though, maybe just early reflections. and the vox seemed a bit too loud, but thats a taste thing.
nice work though.
 
that is a great tune, man. the combination of dixieland-ish, vaudevillian elements (notably the clarinet) and pop melodies is very paul mccartney, very sgt. pepper. also, your voice brings him (as well as another paul mccartney-esque singer- ben folds) to mind. well done!

one critique- i hate fake drums. hire a real drummer and you would have some REALLY great stuff. do you gig and stuff?
 
I dunno, sounds pretty good to me. I don't notice the hum really. I'm listening on computer speakers tho.
 
I had to use the headphones and turn them way up but I can hear what you are talking about. I've seen pros use a fading technique where instead of snipping the track they fade out and back in. Makes the transition much smoother. One guy puts these "><" deals before and after all the punch-ins.

Your hum track idea was a good one. Too bad it didn't work. What I am hearing is a slight hiss like that of a record playing. It works well with the song and I actually missed it where you clipped it out. Maybe you could try a "record hiss" track. I also heard a couple of pops or clicks in there reminiscent of vinyl. You could reduce those with some micro cut/volume edits or just add more for effect.

The vocals are very smooth and nostalgic. Not at all the weakness. Sorry to be at odds with you. I think the drums are much too strong. Try them at almost background level - like the clarinet fills. Or about the level where they are on the piano solo and with some punch taken out of the kick.

I would also lower the volume of the intense part in the middle and bring out the vocals more there. You might try a crescendo into it like you did out of it and consider continuing with the piano instead of or in addition to using the synth.

Overall a very talented piece and a great idea!
 
I second the fake drums issue. They're also a little loud from 1:12 to 1:27.

Vocals and piano could use some eq work as they sound a little muddy to me. Boosting the high end will probably help a lot. Also, bring the vocals up at the 1:53 transition. (which IMO would sound great if you faded the other tracks in over a second or two rather than having them hit suddenly)

Great Tune!
 
excellent...

the ending was great... 40-50's phono...

overall balance was nice...

but, maybe the cymbals were a bit harsh... to loud?

nice clarinet... panned on the right side...

where's the humming?
 
I'm reading through the comments finding myself nodding my head in agreement. Really really appreciate the detail and insightful observations - I like them all and see how they could improve this song.

MColling, I don't gig for now. I'm pretty much focused on just improving my songwriting, singing, arranging and production. If I feel that I get to a stage where I have enough songs that I am proud of, I would consider getting out and really recording them professionally or gigging but for now that seems like a lot of work!! lol

As far as the drums go, not quite sure how to get away from the drum machine thing. As I get better, I quantize less and play 'live' drums a bit better on the sampler but I think they still will always have that quality of 'fake'. The other options is get a drummer, get a set of drums and learn to play them, or I've seen websites where drummers offer their services to lay down a track to your tune (usually about $100 for a song).

One thing I wonder - and tell me if this is crazy talk!! - if I were go to out and buy ONE drum to play and record live - what would be the best one to buy for the most incremental improvement?

-snare drum
-ride and high hat
-anything else

(i.e. - the rest of the kit would be programmed)

What do you think? dumb idea or potentially useful?

Thanks all!
 
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