Ok heres a recording for crtiique ...Start your Engines!

Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2005 1:23 pm

http://www.nowhereradio.com/artists/easylistening/

http://www.nowhereradio.com/artists/album.php?aid=4456&alid=-1

Recording info:
Sonar3 on a Pentium III 1ghz
AArdvark L6
Mixed through Monitor Ones powered by Alesis
Mastered on Sound Forge 7 using Waves L2
T -Racks final

Tracking:
Mic: Rode NT2
Pre Amp:Joe MeeK VCQ1 Single Channel Pre Amp
Guitar: Martin DC1e (open and direct)
Piano:Korg Triton
Strings;Korg Triton/ Proteus 2000
Glock"Alesis QSR
Percussion Alesis D5
Bass: ESQ 1 Fretless Bass

Other gear used:
Alesis Midiverb 4
ART Pro VLA
Yamaho Rev500

Room treatment.....drapes on the windows behind the monitors Wink

I submitted this tune because there has been some heated dialog regarding the "quality" that can be obtained in a a home studio with low end to mid range gear in a totally untreated space. Take your best shots....(' Laughing

')

The recording has been recently "critiqued" by a few respected engineers and it would e intersting to hear if anoyone has the same comments as they did listening to the track on CD.

Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2005 1:59 pm

Wow...

I'd pass out if my stuff sounded even close.

Don't know what else to say except great job.

Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2005 3:07 pm

The only critique I would have at all would be in the mix and we all know theres could be 1000 great mixes to every song....The one here represents that particular moment in time and is flawless for that purpose.Therefore all I can say is great job and the proof is in the recording......!Nice song too.....Excellent vocals....very warm recording...for an MP3 its very detailed...I'm gonna burn a copy and take it downstairs to the studio and put it through the Genelecs...The instrumental arrangement is very understated and nice...at first I was wondering when the band was gonna hit in and then after a listen I was glad it didnt...very pro...I can only 'assume' the rest of the record is much the same...bravo.

Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2005 4:56 pm

Unfortunately the rest of the CD is progressively worse LOL There is a song on there that was recorded on a Tascam 644!!! But the funny thing is after having sold about 400 CDs over the past few months no one has ever commented on the varying technical quality (although they are mastered for some sameness)

Thats where much of my attitude about the publics not knowing whats great comes from. Thus by reluctance to purchase the real upscale gear.

I put the CD out quickly because I had been asked over and over agan after the shows if I had a CD and I did not. I write and record for fun and as such never considered a 'market" for my songs. They are not examples of whats popular .

So I went back throuh 20 years of "masters" and placed 9 on the CD. the one I put up there was the lastest recording of a song I wrote while working on a cruise ship. It is not very dense and issues with gear can be better "heard" in a "lighter" recording. I am revamping my studio and will rerecord the rest of the songs after doing so.

I submit the song and will link to it as an example of what someone without top end gear can do in a home studio with no room treatment and low end monitors. Could it be better with all the more expensive bells and whistles? I am sure to a point...would the difference be generally noticed or appreciated by the listening public.....I'm not so sure of that .

Thanks Dave...Please expand your thoughts on the mix further.....I really want to hear those kinds of ideas. I have an open mind with regard to the technique area for sure if not so much the gear area

.I will post what other engineers said about the recording after I get a few responses here if any.

Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2005 7:40 pm

AllRIGHTY... went down into the studio....listened to a burned copy on the Genies from the Sony mastering CD recorder..Much more detail that computer speakers...Nice..I still wanted the drums to crack in at the solo section...that huge wash drum sound...I also reaffirmed why I LOVE KORG keys..A former partner of mine and I had a midi studio a few years back...All Korg...M1,M3,T3,lots of samplers(12 and 16 bit depth?/) and hybrid to tape and sequencers clocked together...Live guitars(of course and vocals) We had a booth....anyway, we did a lot of other synth kinda things and heard and worked with a lot of brands....They usually ditched the Yammies and the Rolands mid way through every project...Korg just sounds better...The cellos on this piece are a good example why.

As far as a mix....All I could do would be to make it DIFFERENT....that aint better...just different...Some things I would have leave a little earlier in the phrase or maybe hit a bit harder, the guitar could be up front a bit more...kind of make it sound like the singer is sitting on a stool playing and singing and everything else is accompaniment..That might make it more intimate....heck....what do I know....peace ...I would like a crack at that song in a big studio to mix....i really would....just for fun and profit....

Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2005 10:34 pm

Nice job, very good recording quality. Sounds alot like Neil Diamond to my ears. My only comments are that the vocals are pretty hot in the mix, I like the music to be a bit more prominent, but just my opinion. One thing that I found annoying was the bongo? drum. Its so buried in the mix that at first I thought it was some background noise. I don't think it fits in this song.

Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2005 1:00 am

Quote:

One thing that I found annoying was the bongo? drum. Its so buried in the mix that at first I thought it was some background noise. I don't think it fits in this song.

BINGO

You nailed one of the comments I recieved from one of the engineers that critiqued the track...The damm slap conga.....Well good! Im gonna have to revisit the mix and either apply some multi band on it or dump it. Thanks!

Regarding the vocal I may have over done the vocal as in the past I have always been told the vocals on my own music was to far back. (I don't have a lot of love for my own voice Embarassed

I may have over compensated here....

Thanks for your time and comment.........

Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2005 1:07 am

Quote:

...I would like a crack at that song in a big studio to mix....i really would....just for fun and profit....

Thanks alot Dave for your comments..I think it would be interesting to see what another does with the Mix....I may be in Seattle near the end of the year, if so I will bring the tracks and we'll give it a go...Especially the drum Idea..never "heard' a drum kit in that song.

Yes the KORG Triton is the king of synths.....You can almost do a complete CD with the Trition..I tried out a Motif yesterday and I still like ny old Triton sound set better.

.The string lines were layered with the Proteus 2000 (my second favorite synth module) The Cellos pure Triton.

Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2005 7:23 pm

Nice job King frog- you do sound a lot like neil diamond- but not as gruff

On the technical side the vocal was a little strident listening in my computer headphones- I haven't heard it in the studio monitors yet-
the congas sounded like cardboard, like a loop will sound sometimes when it has no reverb-

Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2005 7:25 pm

Kinfrog:
I really enjoyed your music. Everything very pro and flawless. It is so good I forgot everything about sound and mixes. I just enjoyed myself. Thanks for the music.Javier

Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2005 9:56 pm

Thanks you guys i appreciate your comments,,,and YES the percussion is going to get another look. That comment seems prevalent both here and with other enginears that had a listen.......Thanks

Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2005 6:34 pm

Good mix values but almost every element in the song is a keyboard source. Plug the line in, set a level and hit record. Nothing amazing going on there.

I was hopeing to hear what your real drum tracks real bass and guitars sound like when you recorded them. I know you say you have a real fretless bass in there, but to be honest the tuning is too perfect. I assume it's a midi based patch. I do not hear any real acoustic guitars either.

So the only thing that is recorded with a mic and a pre is the vocal, which as mentioned is a bit thin and strident. I would add it's pretty flat and unexciting. Not bad, but it could have a better sound.

This is a very typical midi programmers mix IMO. I've heard it a hunderd times before.

Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2005 10:29 pm

Thanks for the listen Kurt.

The BASS guitar is an ESQ1 (vintage 80's synth) Fretless Bass as noted above......

The Guitar is real ...but looped. I record a measure at a time quantized, cleaned up and created Loops as Im not a much of a guitar player. I can play rhythm though so I do that with all my guitar tracks electric and acoustic.

Unfortunatly I cant hire a string orchestra and players to make my CDs, But I am beginning to use CD samples of the real instruments with the VS1 softsynth sampler.

Thats said; I prefer to use all the tools at my disposal without bringing in other players. It works for me as I only sell my CD at my shows to mostly people with untrained ears.

The example is ment to represent what an ordinary Joe can do in a home studio by themselves with low to mid range gear. Nomore no less.

Hopefully, in any case the songs shine through the Keyboard generated parts. For me it's mostly about the song.

Thats all I and many home grown songwriters can hope for without spending a whole lot of money on gear, players, arrangers, engineers, and/or recording in a pro Studio.

Posted: Fri Mar 25, 2005 10:23 am

Well anyway, it's a good song and the mix suits the purpose.

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