More folk...[Updated...new track]

[jasedee]

Oooh......it's been a while since I bored you all with my recordings of non-dance/electronica-based music.

Edwina-Track 2 (http://www.soundclick.us/fastkG/10/05/freemp3/strataliving+edwinatrack2.mp3)

I work at a cool little cafe, and at times we get musicians in to play for the afternoon. This girl named Edwina is one such artist, and she came and played at the cafe the other week. She is from Norway (I think?) and is a singer/songwriter that plays guitar.

I managed to get some spare studio time at a place where my friend works, and we got in there for a couple hours and knocked out 3 songs.

We recorded to 2" analogue tape on a Studer 24-track, using Langevin Mic pre's (for Vocal/Guitar mic), and the Euphonix console pre's for the two room mics. We also went into a UREI 1176 (for the Vox/Guit mics) compressor/Limiter before hitting tape.

We then bounced the analogue tracks into PT, and I took the audio files home and mixed in Cubase SX.

Any comments/criticisms are welcome......

Cheers!

Jase :)

[Tomer=Trance]

top gear!
cant wait to hear it.
what mics did you use?

after listening:
i miss out a bit of room verb on the vocal and guitar.
here pronounce is not too good,is it all done in a single take?
overall good recordings but she doesnt sound like much of a talent.... :?

[jasedee]

top gear!
cant wait to hear it.
what mics did you use?
*For the vocals we used a Rode Classic II, set to fig.8 polar pattern

*For the Guitar we used a Neumann U89, also in fig.8 polar pattern

*Then we had two room mics, which were Neumann KM84's

[techno_7]

Nice!

But i agree with tomer that the vocal could use more 'verb;P

[Juho L]

The guitar: Good sound. Clear and crispy.
The Vocals: Suck big time. Seems to distort a bit and the voice in general is not-so-good. The characteristics and style makes me want to go to shout outside - Really annoying to my ear.

Like Tomer said the recording is really dry, so it is a nuisance to listen to. The dryness is not a problem with the guitar, but serious problem with the vocals. Although all your stuff seem to be really dry, which is understandable because you're a upcoming recording engineer (at least I presume you are).

[Merlot]

agreed. slap some verb on the guitar and vocals.

[jasedee]

Cheers for the comments!

I agree.....needs more verb on the vox! We did try to minimise spill into the Vox/Guitar mics....but she liked to move her head around alot and needed to look at her finger positions, so we ended up with alot of guitar spill into the vocal mic.

This was a shame as the more verb I added on the vocals made the guitars sound very washy. I didnt spend too long on the mixes either, no more than a couple hours mixing all 3 tracks.

The distortion on the vocals are intended. I guess I was just experimenting with tube distortions....

I might post another one. The first track we did seemed to havemuch nicer seperation, and you will definately hear more verb on her vocals.

All songs were tracked "Live".....no overdubs.

Thanks again for listening!

:)

[jasedee]

Ok....here is the first track we recorded.

It's much slower, the guitars are a bit duller, but I think the vocals in this one are nicer than the other.

Edwina Track 1 (http://www.soundclick.us/fastkG/09/05/freemp3/strataliving+edwinatrack1.mp3)

Anyways, please let me know what you think

Honesty is appreciated ;)

Cheers,

Jase

[Hollowcell]

Like usual you have put up an update or a new track before I can pick the first one to bits. You have to remeber I don't have cable at home, so I DL and listen later. Anyway.....

The number 2 at the top of the thread. :D

Completely agree with the other guys here.
Guitars are cool, but that vocal is just needs more than a nice mic to get it to work. The vocal isn't all that bad, but it needs spice for sure.

Good to see you are still fitting this sort of thing in Jase.

[jasedee]

Like usual you have put up an update or a new track before I can pick the first one to bits. You have to remeber I don't have cable at home, so I DL and listen later. Anyway.....
Dude....you live in one of the most technically advanced cities in the world, WHY DONT YOU HAVE CABLE????

Just kiddin'...... ;)

Completely agree with the other guys here.
Guitars are cool, but that vocal is just needs more than a nice mic to get it to work. The vocal isn't all that bad, but it needs spice for sure.

Good to see you are still fitting this sort of thing in Jase.
Yeah.....damn those vocals! It's funny how you dont notice things until others point them out.

I dont get much time for recording cos of uni....but when I get the chance I take it

Cheers HC! maske sure you listen to the other track, I think this one is better recorded/mixed than the other

[Juho L]

Yeah.....damn those vocals! It's funny how you dont notice things until others point them out.

Your ears get tired to the track after you hear it over and over again. Basicly you loose the realities which leads to a point in which everything sounds good.

[jasedee]

Your ears get tired to the track after you hear it over and over again. Basicly you loose the realities which leads to a point in which everything sounds good.
Yeah....which is why it is a good idea to have someone other than yourself to do your mastering. Very important for the reasons you outlined.....

Did you manage to listen to the other track?

[Juho L]

Yeah....which is why it is a good idea to have someone other than yourself to do your mastering. Very important for the reasons you outlined.....

Or just keep a day or two break.

Did you manage to listen to the other track?

Let's see...

This is better. Much softer. But still the vocalist's style is annoying to my ear.

[Seeyou]

I myself would keep the track dry from reverb. It is in fashion to use clear sounds nowadays. Reverb would be nice in an ambient remix with electronic sounds though.
I would give a little more bass presence to the voice and cut some highs in both voice and guitar.
I would prefer a little bit more proximity effect to the voice since it is the leading element of the song and it has to sound warm and fat rather than thin and cold. I also hear a lot of booth reverb, or is it an additional effect? Try to minimize it!
The track is excellent.
This is just my opinion and a matter of taste and I mean no harm :wink:

[jasedee]

I myself would keep the track dry from reverb. It is in fashion to use clear sounds nowadays. Reverb would be nice in an ambient remix with electronic sounds though.
True....it kinda feels more personal and intimate when everything is not drowning in Verb'. Also, I think sometimes people use reverb to cover up a badly recorded take.

I would give a little more bass presence to the voice and cut some highs in both voice and guitar.
I would prefer a little bit more proximity effect to the voice since it is the leading element of the song and it has to sound warm and fat rather than thin and cold.
Yeah......it is strange...her voice always came across quite thin that day. Alot of the tiime she would be moving her head so she could see her hands, and I think she was moving in and out of the on-axis response of the mic. Seeing as it was Fig.8, the off-axis rejection is much greater than that of the off-axis response of a cardiod.

I also hear a lot of booth reverb, or is it an additional effect? Try to minimize it!
What is "booth reverb"???

The track is excellent.
This is just my opinion and a matter of taste and I mean no harm :wink:
hey...no probs! Opinons are what I am after. Thanks alot for listening and taking the time to give some feedback!

:)