Tait's Band's new song :)

[Tait]

hey guys,

my band's just put up a new song, i'm just wondering what guys think? the new song is unplug, although feel free to comment on the other 3 if you like

the site is [url="http://www.myspace.com/blaqrainband"]www.myspace.com/blaqrainband[/url]

if you've seen any of my other threads in the recording forum, you'll know i'm pretty new to the whole recording thing, so as well as general comments on the song, i'd like to hear comments on mixing and editing etc. so if there's something you'd have done differently, tell me!

some of the things i particularly want to hear about are -

1) the tone of the guitar - i put up a thread about this a little while ago, and i'd like to think its sounding better, but any advice on getting a nicer sound when recorded? like i said in the other threads, we have no trouble getting a great tone live, but it just doesnt seem to work when we record it.

2) the drums - one thing i've realised is that i really don't know how loudly or quietly the drums should be mixed. i've always seen the drums as a tool for the other musicians, keep them in time, keep a rythm etc. but when it comes to mixing, i have no idea if i'm making the drums too loud or quiet. i'm just having a listen to it now, and i suspect the drums may be a little too quiet in unplug. have a listen to the other songs too, see what you think.

3) my voice - i'm singing lead vocals on unplug. i'm not our lead vocalist (although i'm singing on 2 out of the 4 songs on our myspace!) and i really don't see myself as a good singer. the first song i sang on (its called any more, its on the myspace) we chose me because both the drummer (my brother) and the lead guitarist agreed my voice suited the song more, so i didn't mind singing that one, if it was better for the song. but the reason i sing this one is because the lead singer hadn't learnt the lyrics and it was only a week before our next gig, so we decided since i wrote the song and knew the lyrics by heart, i'd sing it for the gig, and... well, i've sung this song ever since. so i'd really like comments on the singing, good or bad comments, either way. just be honest.

4) the tone of the bass - just as a matter of interest really, what do you think of my tone, both from a bassist's point of view and from a sound engineer's point of view? i realise, live at least, some tones just don't work with the rest of the band, even though they may when you're just playing by yourself. i assume this applies with recording?

5) anything else you want to comment on really. i'm inexperienced, i don't really know what to look out for with these things. any advice/constructive criticism on either the song or the recording/mixing etc. is welcomed!

Edited December 11, 2009 by Tait

[trent900]

I'm no recording expert either, old boy, but here's some first off impressions:

What's the difference between, say, Downfall and Unplug and 'Any More'? Somehow Any More seems to have a much fuller, more rounded sound so if you recorded them all and can remember what you did differently I would go back to the recording technique used to Any More. Are you recording tracks separately or just doing a single live take?

1. Tone of the guitar: it is a bit, well, empty and tinny, isn't it? In previous attempts I've found two things to be handy at sorting this out: a direct out from the amp, if you can get one, and weirdly a mic [i]behind[/i] the speaker cab for the guitar. The DI gives you the full range signal without colouring from the cab and the 'behind the cab' mic gives you a bit of muffle to add to things. Complicated...but in my limited experience effective. Other than that, you may be using the wrong microphones: the ultimate classic Shure SM57 is a good one for guitars, or any decent dynamic mic, or a really good condenser.

2. Drums: definitely too quiet in Unplug. Lots of mics needed for good drum sound, and you need a special mic for the kick drum generally. Also, this sound might benefit from compression, which needn't be expensive. Check out this [url="http://homerecording.about.com/od/recordingtutorials/ss/recordingdrums.htm"]tutorial[/url], which deals with the basics. Other than these, it sounds like your drummer could give things a bit more beef.

3. Vocals: no problem with the vocals for the style, I don't think. Only thing I would say is that most of the song fits in quite a narrow vocal range...

4. Bass: again I think your bass tone is fine for the music you're playing. It cuts through quite nicely.

5. Nothing, other than one of my first questions again: this sounds recorded live in one take. That is really pretty hard to do and make sound nice, so I think for an inexperienced guy you've done a very good job.

I would see if you can borrow some gear, different microphones and a compressor if you don't have one already and play with different mic arrangements etc., then if you need to invest in some new gear you can make sure it's really required before you shell out and get the right stuff.

Jon

[Tait]

[quote name='trent900' post='686590' date='Dec 16 2009, 05:43 PM']I'm no recording expert either, old boy, but here's some first off impressions:

What's the difference between, say, Downfall and Unplug and 'Any More'? Somehow Any More seems to have a much fuller, more rounded sound so if you recorded them all and can remember what you did differently I would go back to the recording technique used to Any More. Are you recording tracks separately or just doing a single live take?

1. Tone of the guitar: it is a bit, well, empty and tinny, isn't it? In previous attempts I've found two things to be handy at sorting this out: a direct out from the amp, if you can get one, and weirdly a mic [i]behind[/i] the speaker cab for the guitar. The DI gives you the full range signal without colouring from the cab and the 'behind the cab' mic gives you a bit of muffle to add to things. Complicated...but in my limited experience effective. Other than that, you may be using the wrong microphones: the ultimate classic Shure SM57 is a good one for guitars, or any decent dynamic mic, or a really good condenser.

2. Drums: definitely too quiet in Unplug. Lots of mics needed for good drum sound, and you need a special mic for the kick drum generally. Also, this sound might benefit from compression, which needn't be expensive. Check out this [url="http://homerecording.about.com/od/recordingtutorials/ss/recordingdrums.htm"]tutorial[/url], which deals with the basics. Other than these, it sounds like your drummer could give things a bit more beef.

3. Vocals: no problem with the vocals for the style, I don't think. Only thing I would say is that most of the song fits in quite a narrow vocal range...

4. Bass: again I think your bass tone is fine for the music you're playing. It cuts through quite nicely.

5. Nothing, other than one of my first questions again: this sounds recorded live in one take. That is really pretty hard to do and make sound nice, so I think for an inexperienced guy you've done a very good job.

I would see if you can borrow some gear, different microphones and a compressor if you don't have one already and play with different mic arrangements etc., then if you need to invest in some new gear you can make sure it's really required before you shell out and get the right stuff.

Jon[/quote]

hey,

thanks for the reply!

i can't really think what i did differently on any more that i haven't done on downfall or unplug, but i've still got the project on my computer, and i doubt i've edited it much since then, i'll see if there is anything i did in post production i haven't done on unplug.

the guitar does sound a bit empty, skankdevlar suggested adding another guitar chugging away at the roots. i can hear it now and i agree with him, a nice distorted guitar palm muting the roots. don't get me started on lining out from the amps (check my other threads in the recording section!) i'll have to try putting the mic behind the speaker though in the future. although i did aim for the guitar to be a little less heavy than in, say, any more. i could easily get it sounding darker and dirtier, but personally i dont think that heavy distorted sound suits the song.

i've turned the drums up a bit, i totally agree they were too quiet. our biggest problem is atm we're using a line out from the electric drum kit. i really need to try and get my hands on some drum mics, it would completely fill out the sound and help with mixing the drums doing it that way IMO. i'll also check out that link.

thanks for the comments on the vocals. the song does fit quite a narrow vocal range because, honestly, i can only handle a narrow vocal range. like i said in the original post, i'm not the worlds greatest singer, i don't really even know how i ended up singing on unplug. but it works, and i think some of the agression of the song would be lost if there was this amazing voice singing beautifully.

it wasn't recorded live in one take though, we recorded each track seperatly.

thanks a lot for the comments, they're greatly appreciated!