Question:
Basically, just critique the tar out of this thing. This is actually my first time to record by tracking using condensor mic's. We were pressed for time tonight and did this. The song is "My Best Friend" by Hillsong United and I would like to make it clear that the song is not by us, but by them. I only chose it because we like it and I wanted to test my skill at true tracking. (I have given credit to the artist, this song is recorded by me, and it has been altered so I dont think im breaking any rules).
#1. The vocal volume drops off at the end and I dont know why, i'm working on it.
#2. The vocals clip slightly here and there, we were rushed and it will be better next time.
#3. The vocals are probably not compressed enough
#4. I had a lot of problems with vocals^
"Bash" away!
Answer:
You’re definitely on the right track!

Your sounds are all very true, good, real guitar tone, drums sound okay(except:where's the Kick, toms?)!

Instrumentally, what you have captured sounds kind of like a coffee shop live performance. Very "in the room" sounding.

The vocals sound really good other than the level problems. Your voice works well with that mic.

You will probably have to track a bit lower until you get a decent compressor in the vocal chain. Until then you can try compensating by turning your head slightly for the louder parts, or pulling back? Or record in multiple passes, one for louder vocal parts, another for soft ones? (make sure if you do this that the parts are different sections, not parts of the same line, or it will be heck to match up and make it sound right.)

What was your drum recording set-up?

How many mics, how many discreet channels, room, what mics, placement, all the good stuff. Drums are the hardest thing to learn to record well.
Answer:
Dude...the drums that I do hear sound REALLY good! Just get another mic on the kick and either mic the toms or raise the overhead mics more.
Its a really good start. The electric guitar is really muddy. I would EQ some of the lows and middle-lows out. I'd hi-pass them at around 100, then suck out some of the sound from 300-600 (play with it).
Keep it up!
Answer:
I tried SO HARD to EQ the electric guitar. I am still waiting on my monitors, then i'll be able to EQ accurately (I hope).
As far as the toms go, they seemed ok in the original mix and we didnt mic them so I just cut the tom mic's completely, thinking they were being capture by the room mic and overheads.
MIC SETS-
Vocals- AT3035 w/pop filter (lean in/lean back technique)
Guitar- SM57 off axis, single layer
Acoustic - 2 PG81's, one overhead parallel with the fretboard, the other off axis toward the sound hole
Drums- 2 PG81's overhead in L/R formation
Audix D4 on kick
SM57 on snare
SM57 on hats
AT3035 room mic, 4-5 feet in front/center of kit
I used Cubase. I added a slight reverb to the vocals but the reverb plug in is terrible! I need a good free one to use for vocals and it needs to be mac compatible.
Overall I was really happy with how the drums turned out. I just have problems with the electric and vocals. I think next time i'll use one of my ART Tube MP's for vocals so I have more headroom--would that make a difference? Also, I have a -10db pad switch on my mic...what does that do? I didnt have it on when recording.
EDIT: also: "Instrumentally, what you have captured sounds kind of like a coffee shop live performance. Very "in the room" sounding."
How do I fix that/make it sound like its not in the room?
Answer:
EDIT: also: "Instrumentally, what you have captured sounds kind of like a coffee shop live performance. Very "in the room" sounding."
How do I fix that/make it sound like its not in the room?
I'd say less room mics, more "fake" reverb to create your own space.
Bash pending...
Answer:
Overall, it's very, very raw.
You can pump the kick up a ton, especially in this style of music. A strong bass can usually compensate for a low level bass drum, but since there's no bass, you should bring the drum level up. The cymbals also could be more present, particularly to fill up the sonic space in the high freqs.
I'd personally do a lot more panning with the acoustic and the electric guitar. They sort of get in one anothers' sonic area, so panning them off to sides will aid with clarity. I'd also get some more upper mids in the acoustic tone so I can hear that jump out some more. I'd bring down the level of the electric as well.
Overall, it could be 'verbed up more.
Answer:
Soap,
Where's the bass guitar? That is going to change this whole mix entirely. I can kind of hear the drums sitting better with the bass guitar in there. Can't give any EQ opinions without the bass. Other than the distortion problems, this mix should start taking form with a bass part.
Ok, so heres a good collaboration song. Soap, post this song and ask someone to put a bass track down. I'll throw a bass track on this baby.
TBoz.
Answer:
We don't necessarily have a bassist right now. We have a candidate, but we didnt have time to record bass. Like I said, we were in a rush.
Here's about the most I could do to it, bass aside. I will have a bassist record later. Now that I have a good set of 2.1 monitors I can hear! Listen to this and tell me what you think:
Answer:
Oh and I still would like to have my questions answered:
"I used Cubase. I added a slight reverb to the vocals but the reverb plug in is terrible! I need a good free one to use for vocals and it needs to be mac compatible.
Overall I was really happy with how the drums turned out. I just have problems with the electric and vocals. I think next time i'll use one of my ART Tube MP's for vocals so I have more headroom--would that make a difference? Also, I have a -10db pad switch on my mic...what does that do? I didnt have it on when recording."
Answer:
The Electric guitar sounds much better now. The acoustic is distracting to me...it dominates the mix to my ears. Its getting there. Try either just turning down the acoustic in general, or making your EQ adjustment less dramatic (or boost less db)
Answer:
Feed me more suggestions (anyone) so that i'm not uploading a ton of these and I can do a lot of changes at once.
Answer:
The drums sit really weird in the mix. The electric, vocals and acoustic guitar are all right up in your face, but then the drums have a very roomy feel.
The song is also lacking that low end. Definitely needs some more kick and a bass drum.
The vocals sound pretty good. A little clippy at times, but for the most part EQ and reverb on that channel sound good. What's your vocal channel look like? Next time just track with a little less gain.
Answer:
Originally Posted by Crstngtrplyr77 The drums sit really weird in the mix. The electric, vocals and acoustic guitar are all right up in your face, but then the drums have a very roomy feel.
The song is also lacking that low end. Definitely needs some more kick and a bass drum.
The vocals sound pretty good. A little clippy at times, but for the most part EQ and reverb on that channel sound good. What's your vocal channel look like? Next time just track with a little less gain.
"I think next time i'll use one of my ART Tube MP's for vocals so I have more headroom--would that make a difference? Also, I have a -10db pad switch on my mic...what does that do? I didnt have it on when recording."
"We don't necessarily have a bassist right now. We have a candidate, but we didnt have time to record bass. Like I said, we were in a rush."
Answer:
Originally Posted by SoapbarII "I think next time i'll use one of my ART Tube MP's for vocals so I have more headroom--would that make a difference? Also, I have a -10db pad switch on my mic...what does that do? I didnt have it on when recording."
"We don't necessarily have a bassist right now. We have a candidate, but we didnt have time to record bass. Like I said, we were in a rush."
I read both of those posts. You asked for a bash of the mix. I bashed the mix.
Put simply it needs some bass or a kick (preferably both) and the vocals were peaking throughout the whole song.
I read and understood why it wasn't there, I'm just saying both of those things (and my comments on the drums) were the major lacking parts on the song.
Again, what was your vocal channel like (including effects). When it wasn't peaking it did sound quite good.
Answer:
To answer your question after 3 tries... The -10 db switch on your mic is like any other pad. If you're recording something that's just naturally very loud to where you have little to no play in the gain control then you can flip that switch to knock the signal down 10db. That would allow you to have more play in the gain control to tweak it a bit more. If you vocals were clippy then I'd use the pad on them. That's just what pads do. Takes things that have a naturally hot signal (like an acoustic or bass with built-in preamp) and knocks down the input level before it gets to the circuitry that does whatever that particular piece of equipment is made to do. A compressor/limiter would also help with those vocals.