General Music Chat

No, I didn't create this account today to spam you all with links, I've had an account for over 4 years, and in the past have found bass players and other band members on Band Mix. But I pester you to ask for feedback, as I've switched genres of music and am hoping for feedback on this new sound. Previously played rythm guitar and was vocalist for more acoustic/folk sounding band, but transitioned to a more contemporary sound on piano. Be honest, be candid, and thank you in advance for your time. Youtube link below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_OFXWjCZn0

Yes, the sound seems a bit processed to me (we have a grand piano, but had a very hard time getting a good sound so ended up recording on a keyboard. Hoping to record again soon on the real thing!)

We are also looking for band members (specifically a bass player and cellist) in the SLC area to work on a new project focused on recording. I play piano and acoustic guitar, my brother is a very experienced musician and is lead guitar. My brother and i have played together for years and performed at venues SLC in the past (Park City Television and the Gallivan Center Plaza). We have several songs ready and want to get them recorded. We record our own music, so if you are looking for a good side-project with minimal time commitment, please let me know.


Thank you,

Claudia

My dear Claudia.

Though my ears are still a buzz from riding the lightning at last nights practice. I have to say I find my inability to discern what your saying to be unusually distracting this morning. I bring this to light mostly because it is a constant struggle for us as well being both a rock & mission band it is vital that our audience can understand clearly each and every phrase.
Until you face and slay said dragon, the rest of the production issues are really irrelevant.
Your trying to communicate emotion ... no ?

Consider the line from RUSH HOUR
Do you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth?
If not, our songs are just background noise.

In other words.

WE CANT HEAR YOU.

We were Honest, Brutal and Candid.
If they cant hear you they're just
staring at a pretty face and YOU
think they understand. That way
niether has a clue.

Sheesh, sounds like I have a lot of work to do. Thank you for taking the time to listen. Agreed the vocals are backstage at this point (hope to re-record soon on a real piano, and I'll make sure to keep the volume on the synths and annoying beats lower). I really appreciate everyone's time, as fellow musicians I feel you give the best feedback.

Thank you for being able to take the Honesty.
We prefer it that way.

Agreed the vox is buried in the mix

Also it sounds like you're recording the instruments to hot ... it sounds distorted.

Hi Blue,

Ok we need more vocals, live drums and live piano. Honest enough?

We are currently doing covers but have recorded plenty of originals in the past. One of our little recording tricks is to have a similar track by a major artist with a mix we really like loaded, so we can do A/B comparisons through the same monitors along the way. This simplifies the process. Do the drums sound big? Too much snare? Natural piano sound? Good overall balance?

For ideas, check out our tracks if you like. They are simple demos that were recorded essentially live in one night in our rehearsal studio, with a few minor overdubs, and mixed the following night. The purpose of our recordings was to generate live work, not really a creative project or to secure an original artist recording contract. They are quick and dirty tracks with plenty of flaws but serve our purpose.

Hello TheJohnny7Band -
Thank you so much, this is great feedback - as these are all things that we can do (I guess how well we can do it is the real question) Fortunately I have a great drummer and we have a piano, so we just need to get it all recorded.

You may laugh at me for my next question, but I am an amatuer. Would you recommend recording on the Piano first, or laying down the drum track first (I have a keyboard version of the song in perfect timing that the drummer could listen to w/headphones)? Does anyone also have any tips on recording a live drum set? We have 4 mics but we are just not sure where to place them.

Last time, we had one mic on the bass, one closer to the snare and then an ambient mic in the room. Honestly, it sounded way too muddy (maybe we had the volume on the ambient mic up too loud?).

There are lots of "how to record..." tutorials on the net and some are quite good. Drums and acoustic piano are the toughest to get right which is why many artists shy away, but done right they make the recording.

If you are really green at recording you may want to consider a professional recording studio for this project. It will be money well spent and you will learn a ton about recording technique from watching the engineers at work. Back in the day I did some session work at Enactron Studios Hollywood (Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson) and Corporate Design (Home Savings Bank). Some of our jingles ended up on TV for a while. I was a lowly guitarist and not really cut out for session work but I essentially learned everything I know about recording technique there.

It is very critical to have the right microphones when recording. As far as the vocals when we recorded the Eng. would have you check your voice thru several dif mics. some have a darker and others have a brighter sound.

It is very critical to have the right microphones when recording. As far as the vocals when we recorded the Eng. would have you check your voice thru several dif mics. some have a darker and others have a brighter sound.

Yes. Quality mics, careful placement and listening critically to every drum and cymbal, instrument, voice and overall balance. A snare that rings or is tuned too high is the bane of every recording engineer. Our drum recording mic setup usually takes two hours. A great acoustic piano recording usually requires excellent mics and a really nice room. Getting good results in the living room can be tough.

I have to back these guys up and say if you want to be taken seriously, spend the money. If you are just starting out and no one with you really has any recording experience, it's really too much information to try and teach you all in a matter of questions and answers. I've been recording for over 20 years and I still have issues if that's any help.

You can visit John Vestman's site, he has a lot of helpful tips on recording and mixing. http://www.johnvestman.com/index.html#Info_links

Also for your vocals, invest in a good vocal microphone for yourself. I record with a Blue Dragonfly. It works really well with my high timbre vocals. It's also a fairly inexpensive mike until I can come up with the bucks for my dream mike, a Neumann. Ahhhhhhh! http://www.bluemic.com/dragonfly/.

Don't be afraid to put your vocals on top. You sound to me like you're marketing more your musicianship when it's about the whole package.

Chaeya

Chaeya

So I am hearing all of the feedback, and think that maybe going to a studio is a good option. There is just so much to know when recording, and I would like to think that this is the best song I have written so should probably be willing to invest in it.

I used to have a Kiwi Blue mic but ended up selling it, as we didn't have a compressor and really weren't able to leverage the full capabilities of the mic.

Did you listen to that before you posted it?

With this bunch posting a bad recording is worse than posting bad music.

(Thread jack alert!)

Hi Chaeya,

I have a friend who is a female jazz vocalist in SoCal that is selling a nearly new Neumann handheld mic at a good price. It is a great mic for female voice.
This one I think:
http://www.americanmusical.com/Item--i- ... 105MT-LIST

If it is what you are looking for I will put you in touch.

(Thread jack off!)