#310440 - 02/21/06 05:48 PM
The Gonzo “Trouble” cd project - a diary of sorts
|
gonzo
purveyor of noise
Loquacious Planeteer
Registered: 08/16/99
Posts: 32637
Loc: SL.UT
|
These are excerpts from my original journal that ran here in the music/creativity forum.
It has been edited, for space and clarity, lost links, etc
Note: There are many references to tracks that were made using the POD XT device….
Almost all of the tracks that were done with the pod, were replaced with newer tracks using various miced cabinets and amp heads. Most of these newer tracks are not documented in this journal, but I left the references in for anyone who might be interested.
Entry One. (@may 2004)
I’ve just begun a new full-length cd project.
-and what i'd like to do is, occassionally post notes about the sessions...
This project is going to be different from my previous ones, because for the first time in years, i'm going to use a real drummer.
This project has been in my head for several years now, and many of you have heard some of my demos for it. After many years of road work, then weekend warrior gigs, and finally a good 10 years of just writing and recording, I’m finally going to get the chance to embark on a “real” project.... meaning, no drum machine.
Thanks to my peer group here at the planet, I’ve had about 4.5 years of good advice on tracking, eq, effects, and insights into mixing that I maybe would have never figured out.
Now it’s time to put it to work!
This project hinges on the fact that I have the good fortune to be working with Mike Musgrove and Brent Dacus- a session drummer that is hooking up with Mike to provide “drums for hire”.... so to speak.
Mike is working on getting that gig together as I write, a service that will be open to all.... and especially planeteers. “-recorded in Mike Musgrove’s studio and available for drum tracks for all VS projects!”
Here’s what Mike has to say about Brent:
”He’s one of the degreed SOBs. I met him about 20 yrs ago. We played in a couple of non-descript C/W bands (or as we called it - haaat music). He does gig stew around here. Does some sessions, stays busy taking calls. He’s doing the next few weeks with the symphony doing “Annie” at the concert hall. A little of everything. He toured with Reba McIntyre for a little while then decided he’d rather have a root canal.
Super nice guy.”
So the first thing I did, was contact Mike, via email. Easy as pie. I explained to Mike, that I wanted to use existing recordings I had done on my vs-880ex and my vs-1880, as templates for the new versions I wanted to record. Mike has a 2480, so sending him backup files of my individual songs was as easy as an evening of burning, and an afternoon trip to the post office.
A lot of you know, I have used drum machines for years. Not out of preference, of course, but out of need and speed… sometimes, it’s hard for a solo artist to hook up with the right people to jam and write and record with, and the drum machine is just easy. The drum machine helps me flesh out arrangements, and get the basic groove.
But I find that I’m constantly trying to place my “groove-thang” on top of a static beat…it’s the thing I’m most conscious of- moreso than tones, or bum notes, or mixing issues… it’s always about the groove. And from years of playing with a drum machine, I have learned how to fit my groove into the framework of the machine… either pulling or pushing the beat…. landing in front of, or on top of, or behind, the robotic pulse of the machine.
Even if I manually change the drum machine programming, ride the tempo knob as I’m recording, use the auto-swing functions, it’s never the same, as playing with a real drummer.
I spent almost 7 years doing full time road work, and have played with some exceptionally good drummers. I’m talking about guys that can play any style, at the drop of the hat, with authenticity and feeling…. convincingly. This is one of the reasons why I have never hooked up with anyone since I’ve been off the road…. I just simply haven’t found a drummer that I really clicked with. I was spoiled. …AM spoiled.
That’s where Brent comes in. What a great drummer. With very little input from me, he has taken the first batch of songs, and done amazing things with them. That’s what I’ve been used to- that’s what I wanted. And he did it!
The first song we worked on, is a song called “Choices”. The arrangement of this song is fairly complicated, with a complicated mix. The original drum machine programming was very straight feeling….. a decent sounding track, for sure.. but not the feel I really wanted at all. What Mike did, was make a tempo map on a separate track, to correspond with the original drum machine part. Then Brent can use that ‘click track’ to play along with the rest of the music….
Mike writes:
“One listen...scribbled some notes...one take...one punch in. This guy is amazing...that song has a lot of shit in it!”
It DOES have a lot of shit in it! LOL 
But Brent was able to play within the parameters of the click track, and totally groove inside of what I had laid down to the drum machine.
The first few sessions were a learning curve for Mike. A lot of experimentation was done, both in mic placement and eq strategies…. We emailed each other back and forth, and discussed ideas like mad scientists looking for Frankenstein’s Les Paul. Ultimately, the first couple of songs ended up being re-tracked, based on some critical listening to mic placements. It was extremely gratifying to hear changes in the recordings, based on our conversations and ideas.
At this point, I’ve decided that I want Brent to feel free to put some of his style into my songs. I’ve always been a drummer at heart, and unfortunately, I can’t lift my right foot up and bring my left hand down at the same time. I like his flourishes and syncopations that he dreamt up to go along with what I had already done... much better than anything I could have programmed with my limited equipment and skills....
There are a couple of songs that I will want him to think “Neanderthal” on... LOL. And I’m sure that he’ll do exactly that.
So meanwhile, while I’m waiting for finished backup discs to return, I’m laying down new tracks on new songs, to go along with the batch that I will compile as the drum tracks are laid down. The intent, is to use brent’s new drum tracks as the basis for the new grooves… I’ll blow away all the original tracks, and re-do them all, playing along with brent, as if we were actually jamming together. More on these tracks later.....
-gonzo
Entry 2
Sending and Getting data backups in the mail.
I’m always worried that the post office will zap all my data…..
LOL
but it never does….
of course, I put mine in lead containers, with a copper wrap around that…. and brown wrapping paper around that, and big huge ‘do not x-ray’ signs……!
the shipping fees are outrageous
To do this project, I’m sending Mike Musgrove roland proprietary data backups of my songs.
he recovers them, records the live drums, and backs it back up, and sends me the data backups, with the tracks lined up for my unit (18 for me, if I had a 1680, it’d be 16 tracks, if I had a 880, 8 tracks stacked up virtually, etc….)
Sending backups, is easy….
Receiving, is a bit different.
with the vs1880, you can’t just recover a backup cd…. you’ve got to also do “Song Import”…. which is a bit of a pain, but not too bad… it’s just something you have to remember to do…
So I’ve got the first backup back….
my song, “Choices”.
Mike arranged the new drum tracks as such:
(1)Kick, (2)Snare, (3-5)Toms 1-3 and (6-7) 2 overheads,(8) hi hat.
Theres a full drum mix on 7&8, v.track 2.
Processed drums are on 1-8, v.track 7.
Raw drums are on 1-8, v.track 8.
click track on 16, v.track 2.
The click track will probably come in handy if I’m re-doing anything through the breaks and the cymbal-only parts, which I do quite often.
Mike has given me the raw drum tracks, and those are the ones that I’ll practice mixing on….
a lot to learn about live drum mixing..
but he has also provided me with cleaned up, or “processed” drum tracks, where he’s gone to the trouble of gating and eq’ing and compressing each individual drum part….
on the raw tracks, there’s a fair amount of bleed, and on the processed parts, it’s tight.
I may end up preferring the raw parts, just because it’s so neat to hear real drums ringing….
but after I get further into the mix process, I don’t doubt that I’ll go back to the processed drums….
on his 2480, he has expander and compression available on each individual channel…. I don’t have that on my 1880, and it may be easier to use his choices (which sound good) than for me to go back and try to apply effects and work towards the same end with a couple of bouncedowns…. but at least I have the option.
I’ll get Mike to chime in on his techniques for drum processing, and post that soon.
All I can say for now, is wow. The drum performances are kick ass.
i'm stoked.
Entry 3
I've been spending a lot of time trying to setup guitar sounds in the pod.
zzzzzzzzzzzzz......
so, when I actually go to record, and try to use some preset that I've set up just for that particular song, i never like it.
why is that?
I end up tweaking it way beyond it's original conception, and most of the time end up changing amp models anyway....
what's cool, though, is even having the options.
hey, how about a Hiwatt.
no, how about a fender twin?
no, how about a JCM-800......
of course, certain amp models seem to sit well in certain tracks, and other times the same ones just simply do not work.
and I still like the sound of the pod through my amp instead, with the microphone and speaker model sections turned off. Real power amp, real speaker, real microphone.
Now, when I crank my boogie up, about the only thing I can do to really affect the sound, is not the gain, or the tone settings, or which guitar I'm using....
it's 2 things.
volume, and mic position.
I can get the guitar to sit in the track completely, just by micro adjustments of where the mic sits in front of the speaker.
-and I'm finding, that for my sound, no matter how hard I try to set up my nice AT4033 for recording rockin' guitar parts, the venerable ole 57 sounds the best.
i still like the 4033 in the room, but most of the time, I want the part to be bone dry, and in your face, and then I can tweak it forever that way....
when you've got a second mic setup, and the room sound on it's own track, yes, you can leave it out, but when you put it in, it seems to want to sit in a particular spot, that, to my ears, is reminiscent of the original sound.
and another thing.....
now that I've got real drums to work with, the way the bleed through to each other, and create a sense of space, changes all the mix elements. It's a good thing, just a different thing... so I'm learning how that comes into play as well.
So, I've got several tracks now, and I've spent a lot of time just mixing the drums. Because there are so many variables now (8 live drum tracks versus 2-track drum machine), plus signal processing on each track, I've got to figure out just exactly what kind of overall drum sound I want on this project.
Of course, I don't want it to sound like a hodgepodge of songs thrown together..
but at the same time, there are so many options!
it's going to take me a little while....
A good producer, that's what I need.
and an in-house engineer!
LOL
well, I think it's time for me switch gears now, and start to focus on re-tracking.
Starting with bass.
I bought an Ibanez srx-500 bass off of ebay last month, along with a sansamp bass di.
After a lot of experimentation, I've found that using the sansamp, to get the low deep bass, and taking a bypass out of the sansamp and going directly into my mic preamp and digitally into the vs, and then putting THAT signal through a MTK effect setup just for bass guitar, is giving me the best tonal options.
The other option with the second bass signal, is to run it through the pod. With the new updated software, I've actually got a model of a 1x15 cabinet now
I can take the direct sound, and blend that into the sansamp sound, and between the two tracks, hopefully I can find the sweet spot of the bass.
you know, once upon a time, I used to mic the bass straight through my guitar rig, and that actually sounded really sweet!
Maybe that's the deal....
ok, another experiment.... for tonight.
once I settle on a sound, I'll probably stick with it througout the recordings.
I'll post the mtk settings as well.
Entry 4
not happy with my guitar sound.
used to be so easy, at my old house in charlotte...
cabinet in floor....mics high and low...
cranked to high heaven...
door closed......
across the hall in second bedroom (studio!) for isolation...
perfect.
now, i'm in a wooden box of a room, with only a thin wall (bricks and two sets of drywall) seperating me from my landlord....!
it aint working.
that's why i got the pod.
but it still aint working......
for me, it's just not right....
more on this later......
well, i've purchased a Demeter Isolation cabinet.
LOL
i did an ebay bid, was the only bidder, so voila.
i've been hip to the demeter box for well over 10 years....
taco, and the ghost of the taco, and I, had several conversations about his usage of the randall isolation box.
he's quite happy with it, and uses a THD hotplate on a mesa amp into one....
the demeter box, i believe, might be a bit sturdier of a unit... and a smaller footprint.
i first experimented with iso boxes all the way back to 1979.
i actually used a flexible piece of fiberglass, in an upward scoop fashion, to re-direct the sound upwards...
i would place my marshall 4x12 backwards against a stage or practice room wall, put the scoop at the bottom, about 2 feet out and then up the height of the cabinet, and put a big piece of bed foam on top of it.
i'd block off the sides with more foam.
the soundman loved this, and as far as i knew, i was the only one doing something like that in our area. It wasn't isolation, as much as it was directed sound, attenuated at the end.... but it dramatically cut down on stage volume, and i could run my cabs wide open, and still have control.
i read, years ago, that allan holdsworth had built an isolation box for himself, and has recorded that way for years.
i knew some bigtime artists (rush, queensryche, others) have used iso boxes live....
and i know the deal about squashing the frequencies inside the box, the louder you go...
well, at this point, i prefer the sound of a real miced cab, to the POD simulated cabinets, as good as they are....
it's more a feel thing for me.
i doubt the casual listener would ever notice the difference.
But, in a panic over getting my sound (LOL) i did the ebay thing, didn't think i'd get it, but i did.
i've been trying to build a box....of sorts.
i've used giant computer monitor boxes, filled with carpet foam, with little holes cut in the front for the mic to go through.....
i've tried building "doghouses" to go over my speaker cabinet........
i've tried it in the closet, i've tried it with multiple layers of packing blankets over it, etc, etc, ad naseum.
no good.
so, now this.
it will be an experiment for sure, seeing as to the fact that i've never played through one of these before....
as soon as it shows up, i'll do a/b tests with the pod, and post em.
the speaker that comes with it is the same as what i have in my cabinet now....
a celestion 30 watt vintage.
let the games begin.
(as soon as it shows up.)
Entry 5
Well, as i wait on this new Demeter isolation cabinet i bought to arrive, i figured i'd start sorting out some of the mixes i've recieved....
"choices", and "Long Journey" are the ones I'm currently playing with...
I've had demo's of these songs up in the past, on the vs-planet radio show...
choices mix:
man, i've been groovin' to this choice song, with the new drums, every since i got back from the meeting..
i love what Brent does with the cymbals on the breakdown part...
as soon as i forget the original, quit listening to it, this version starts to become the one. you know, his kit sounds so good dry, i just don't know if i'll end up going there with the effects or not....
first listen, takes some getting used to the jazzy stick work.....
the original was more neanderthal-like! But i like the direction it's going now much better.....
Drums sound great on both. Mike has given me raw straight tracks, and processed tracks as well. Mike can run each track with expander and compression and eq on each, and bounce these down to "processed" drum tracks, so i have a choice.. use his cleaned up processed drum tracks (which sound great) or go back to the raw drum tracks and begin mixing them myself....
He also included an already-mixed two track stereo pair, of his processed drum mix plus some ambience effects (cool reverb and gated plate seem to work well).
It's easy for me to line up his already mixed stereo pair, and then mix in my music and vocal tracks along with the stereo drum mix..
I've pretty much decided, I'm going to mix all the drums and bounce to a stereo pair, for my final mixing. This will make the mix a lot easier, but i'll probably have to go back and forth a few times, to dial in the kick and the snare with the music.....
even at 18 tracks, i don't have enough open tracks to straight-mix everything.... i've got 4 electric guitars, 3 acoustic guitars, 2 bass tracks, a percussion track, and 4 vocal tracks on the "Choices" tune, plus the 7 or 8 drum tracks....
So, the choices for drum mixing the raw tracks are EQ, compression, gating, and reverb.
I'm torn, now, deciding whether or not i like the natural ambience of the room mics, and the ringing drums with no compression at all, or whether or not i like the more highly processed and polished sound of the gated tracks with eq and compression on each individual track.
I'm leaning towards the more raw honest tracks..
It's a producer's decision, really, and i'd be better off having someone else make that decision.
On one hand, I really like having real drums, and I personally like the sound of a kit as it would sound if I was really in the studio, sitting out in front of the kit, listening....
On the other hand, having a cd that will sound like a "produced" effort, with a super punchy sound, big reverb and intense panning, will probably attract more listeners.
HMMM.
It's fun to play with the mix, starting from scratch, but christ almighty, you sure can paint yourself into a corner quick! I can change a thousand things, in a thousand different directions, and they all effect everything down the line!
Mike already gave me killer (pre-mixed) stereo drum tracks.... maybe I'm just beating myself up! LOL
some notes from Mike Musgrove during tracking:
Mike:Rough mix of choices....just noticed the floor tom needs to be de-boomed a little and its possibly a bit steep from 100-200. One listen...scribbled some notes...one take...one punch in. This guy is amazing...that song has a lot of shit in it!
Long Journey ended up being a few takes...had to work out the timing for some of those 3 beat measures. I did a rough mix thru headphones of Long Journey (couldn't get the office to clear out). Was just listening to it and it blows, but I'll send it anyway. Too much drums, dialed to much of the snap out of the snare...yada yada. This version has the gate reverb.
Sending the gate reverb version of Long Journey too. It'll have some of the same issues, but it will give you an idea of the possibilities you can have with mixing them.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
-and it did! LOL
After my last conversation with mike, i think he's planning on re-taking some of these early drum sessions, because he wants to update his mics. As good as they sound now, i can only imagine what it will sound like with better mics and whatnot....
I'll post about that next time.
-gonzo
Entry 6
trial mix of “choices”
this was using the first set of tracks I received from Mike Musgrove.
I mixed this a bit drum heavy, just to get an idea of where I want to go with this…
some notes from Mike-
Mike: Cheap PG81s have been replace by rode ntks for overheads. Senn 421s on all toms.. Different front head on the kick drum to make it easier to mic...huge difference. Separate mic on the hi-hat.
I'm using 2 Rode NTKs for overheads……Micing the hi-hat seperately just in case you want to add in some sizzle on it. I'm going to swap out the snare mic (sm57) for a betas sm57. Its got better rejection to knock the hi-hat down some and much higher proximity effect to bring out the lows in the snare.
Mike has been experimenting with different mic setups, and micing schemes…
we will probably do this one over…. but I thought it’d be neat to at least post a preview of the direction it’s going.
ENTRY 7
Well, the iso cab came....
and it seems to be very tight, and well built....
it has a brand new v30 celestion in it...
so, i gotta be careful driving my boogie into it (60 'boogie' watts into a 30 watt driver spells disaster!)
i took a song (that is not included in the current cd project)and re-recorded a solo guitar part on it, using the iso cab, and a sm57.
guitar>>podxt>>boogie efx return>>demeter iso cab>>57>>art dps>>convertor>>vs
one thing i did, as recording sections of the song, was reposition the mic at every section..
just to see what i could dial in...
you can probably hear the difference in edge and bite from slight movement of the mic from section to section...
the sections are easy to figure out, they're the chunks that i play non-stop through...
one thing that is different on mixdown, was that the effects i had on the speaker cab from the pod (i thought it was very wet) didn't come across through the mic...
my guess is, there's some frequency cancellation occuring inside the cab.....
the sound seems very dry, compared to the direct pod guitar on the original version...
i've always been very cognizant of how wet an effect sounds in the room, versus the way it comes across to the mic..
the mic hears things differently, than our ears do....
so, obviously, i wanted a wetter effect, and didn't get it... more homework to do....
i can say this..
i like the FEEL of the cabinet and amp better than the direct sound and feel..
though, i'm going to have to experiment a lot, to find what i'm looking for with this iso cab.
i think the next experiment, is going to be changing the 57 out for the AT4033.
Also, i haven't quite dialed in the low end yet.... i've got post parametric eq on the pod for the amp model, and i've got post 5-band graphic on the boogie for even more tweaking....
more later.....
Entry 8
wow.
surgery on the iso cab was sucessful!
let me explain-
when i first got the iso cab, and first heard it, i thought "this is totally worth the money".
but i also looked at the dacron insulation that lined the entire cabinet, and i thought "i can do better".
so, i went online, purchased 36 sq ft of 2" Acoustic Wedge Foam....
12"X12"X2" squares....
i did this originally, to treat the corner of my mixing area.....
but, then i thought, why not put this inside the iso cab?
it'd be better than that wimpy dacron batt insulation!
so, i spent sunday afternoon, stripping out all the dacron insulation (man, that stuff was put in really well!) and prepping the surfaces for spray-adhesive gluing in the insulation.
i had to block off the speaker, and wrapped the cab around the access door for any sprayover, and starting cutting out pieces of the wedge foam, to fit in just right.
i cut out sections for the handles, the speaker wires, the mic cable, and the microphone mount.
every inch of the inside of that thing is covered now....
looks like a anechoic chamber in there!
and talk about a difference in the sound!!
i can crank up even louder now, and what the mic hears is more accurate, more even.....
I'll try to get some pics tonight, and post tomorrow...
this iso cab, as loud as i play it, does not completely kill the sound, of course....
it allows me to play at (almost) stage volume, but is only as loud in the room, as a casual volume stereo would be....
wouldn't work situations where you don't want any bleed over onto other mics in the same room, but is totally do-able for home and apt. situations, especially if you had a low wattage amp you wanted to crank all the way...
as it is, the boogie is still only on about 1.5.
LOL
and that's freakin' loud.....
but it's a 60 watter, 60 boogie watts, my little mark2b head is as loud as a 100 watt marshall......
i still think, ultimately, if i want to use the boogie head, i could get a nice weber speaker, and a speaker mass, and dial it in even better!
and i'm still using the pod for the different amp sounds, and i'm still to experiment with just pure boogie....
now, i'll seriously start tracking for the cd project, and it's given me some new ideas for what kind of guitar sounds i'm going to use for some of these older songs i'm re-doing......
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#310441 - 02/21/06 05:49 PM
Re: The Gonzo “Trouble” cd project - a diary of sorts
|
gonzo
purveyor of noise
Loquacious Planeteer
Registered: 08/16/99
Posts: 32637
Loc: SL.UT
|
entry 9
this was a pictorial of the inside of the isocab….
If your interested in seeing the pix, email me and I’ll send a link for posting the pics..
Batsbrew@gmail.com
entry 10
wow.... finally got some hardcore time, to work on tracking....
man, i've been going through the worst family crisis bullshit this summer...
tracking, is like a vacation to a far away land, where my mind can do it's REAL thing.....
a real Zen moment for me, to get dialed into a sound, and then just let it go...
it's healing.
so, there's that.
also,
i find, i am playing the parts a lot, before i nail a take.
normally, for me, it's a one shot deal.....
i know these songs so well now, that as i'm tracking, i know whether i'm in the groove or not, whether i execute a part the way i really want to hear it or not, so basically, i'm standing within arms reach of the record button, and i just go, til i feel it not working..... go back, cue up, and go again.....
the song: "Where I want to Go"
some of you guys have probably heard the original version of this, on the VSPR...
i've also posted it in the mp3 forum...
of course, now, with new drum tracks from Brent, i just had to start over with this one..
hey, have you called up mike musgrove yet, to replace your crappy drum machine tracks with some killer REAL drums?! LOL
you really should, you'll love it.....
I've been experimenting with more sounds...
so, first, the iso cab-
so far, so good, and i've discovered that, for certain sounds (deeper modern guitar rock sounds- pod) that the AT4033 seems to work best...
but for my original boogie only tones, and at volume, the sm57 seems to work the best.
it's an odd thing, but i notice that the at4033 distorts, even if the gains are well below zero, on both the vu and the digital inputs to the vs....
the high decibels inside the cab, just really toast the mic!
another good excuse for a low wattage amp- my boogie cranks out 60 watts, and 60 boogie watts is a butt load of watts!
my kingdom, for a killer 5 watt amp!
but after some experimenting, i figured out just how hard i could drive the cab and mic, withouth the breakup on the mic...
and of course, the 57 can take a lot more...
i've decided to go for a completely different sound on this song, than on the original..
the drums inspired me. I've brought acoustic guitar parts into the mix, and heavied up the electric rhythm parts.... the original, had 4 elec rhythm parts combines, to blend fuzzy, crunchy, and cleaner guitar parts for the whole...
now, it's 2 heavy guitar rhythms, hard left and right, and 2 acoustic rhythms slightly off center, left and right...
to me, it has a more timeless vibe to it now, and kinda strips the overall rhythm down a bit...i've been debating about trying to bring new modern sounds into what i'm doing, but when i hear it 10 years from now... is it going to sound DATED then? hm......
but then, i've gone and added some wild weird background parts in stereo, which is what the pod is really good for.... stereo outs, panning delays, it's cool because the pod doesn't take up the same sonic real estate as a miced signal does....
but, with that statement, i've decided to record all my miced guitar parts dry, and add vs effects for time effects (delay, reverb, etc).....
the vs effects just sound better for that....
the pod sounds really good for "Guitar-specific" sounds.... flangers, phasers, univibe, compressors, tube screamers, etc.....
and with the pod running into the boogie, the time effects generated from the pod don't record well in the iso cab.... it just doesn't really come across, unless i really jack the effects more than i really want....
vocal recording:
all vox into the AT4033, into the A-Designs Audio MP-1, then into the dbx compressor, with a 4 to 1 ratio, and just kicking in every once in a while....
i've got reverb in the cans, but the track is being recorded dry......
i'll do the effects on mixdown....
bass:
well, i've tripped across the combination of sounds i'm going to use on the whole project....
i go into the sansamp, and that goes straight into the digital convertor and into the vs onto it's own track...
then, the bypass from the sansamp, goes directly into my boogie!
clean channel, but set fairly hot, where the sound is thumpin'......turned down a bit, so as to not fry my speaker! (30 watt celestion, not a bass speaker!)LOL
...and the at4033 picks it up, and i run that into the A-Designs Audio MP-1, into the dbx compressor, and to it's own track.
then, i blend the two together, straight up panned....
only, i find that if i invert the sansamp signal, it makes it sound deeper when blended with the miced bass sound, and that sounds pretty good!
so, the idea is, to blend a real miced bass sound, that doesn't have a lot of range (think midrange) with the sansamp signal direct, which has TONS of deep sound, plus some high end definition.
Elec. Guitar:
the rhythms, get the at4033 into the ART DPS preamp, set on neutral.....
the solos, get the sm57 into the art dps preamp, again, neutral....
here's a couple of shots of the studio setup while i'm tracking....
before i start doing final mixes, i'm going to treat the corner of the room with some auralex foam....
ok, here’s the real deal….
The "Tone Generator"
Entry 11
I've gotten new drum tracks from Mike, and i've done some experimenting with first passes at trying to mix just the drum tracks....
i've learned, that inverting the phase of the overheads cleans up a lot of minor phase issues i'm having with the way i've chosen to mix the drums (hot overhead tracks....)
so, there's that.
also, it's quite obvious to me, that mixing the kit by itself, and getting it to sound great, just does not work in the mix once everything else is in there...
i want the drums sub-mixed down to two tracks, with the effects committed, and all that....
so, to mix the drums (8 tracks) down to a stereo pair, means i'm going to have to mix all the music without the drums, to a stereo pair (cuz i have more music tracks going, than i have tracks left to just play them while mixing...) -and then bring the drum tracks up, and mix it so it blends...
the single most important aspect of getting it all to "glue" together, seems to be a combination of the snare, and the cymbals...
drum mixing- the learning curve.... it's quite necessary.
i've spent more time playing with drum submixes, than i have tracking!
Entry 12
after a conversation with fun@1st, about iso cabs, i thought i'd cut and paste a bit of it here, since i've already posted info on my experiments with the iso cabinet...
i'll tell you what i think, now that i've had mine a while....
my iso cab, is working great. i sometimes wish i could crank it even harder, but then it does start to bleed through quite a bit, though i've had no complaints from the neighbor next door, in fact, they never even hear it when it's at it's loudest.
i also noticed, that when i have the vs on record, and i'm not playing anything (during a section with no guitar)- that if i'm talking in the room, the mic WILL pick it up!!
LOL
i've had to go back and cut out (erase) sections of songs where the guitar was not playing, but all voices in the room were being heard on the playback when i solo'd the channel!
anyway, i don't think i could improve the iso cab any more than i already have.
and i don't believe there is any way you could isolate the speaker any better, inside the one cavity....
even if you had floating walls inside, etc...
it wont make any difference, because the volume of the speaker invades every nook and cranny, and wherever the sound waves hit inside, they transfer to the next surface..
the only way to truely get isolation, would be to build a nice tight box (like the demeter) that would not rattle anywhere....
then, build another iso box, for the iso box...
i think, a thick outer wall (think 1" thick minimum), with really dense foam inside of that...
then, the actual iso box would fit inside that.
it'd be even better still, if you could use something heavier than wood..
or, instead of foam for the lining, use lead instead.
i have read, in the past, that this is how holdsworth built his custom iso cab, he lined it with lead.
the heavier the material, the less low end energy is transferred.
that's why foam is no good for low end sounds (the chunk and thump that comes off my iso cab is almost worth micing!)
my needs are not critical enough to need further isolation, but from everything i've read about studios and iso cabs, and pros using them, it's always an iso cabm, for the iso cab.
Entry 13
ok switching gears now....
enough of this electric stuff...
time to do:
Acoustics!
LOL
i'm working on a song called "Trouble"...
-which is a combination of acoustic and electric guitars, vocals, some percussion, and no drums.
the original, had a 12-string as the main rhythm element, so i just had to use a 12-string again, 'cept i don't have one.
well, i had to borrow a 12-string from a friend....
a Hohner 12 string, complete with 12 strings and an adjustable bridge.
also, a little duncan tube-style soundhole pickup...
the idea was, to double mic the guitar, and a third track for the pickup.
solo'd, the sound was pretty nice...
but alas, after recording, after playback....the guitar basically sounded like shit.
so, i ended up going back and dubbing in my trusty Taylor 414 as the main rhythm, and then panned and blended the 12-string acoustic tracks as 'filler', using some seriously wack eq.
all i ended up using of the 12 string tracks (two performances for 6 tracks of 12-string) was the high end sparkle of the octave strings....
but i did learn some interesting things from the session......
the signal paths:
57>>art dps>>v3 voicing set for "vocal">>digital out>>into the vs with "Acoustic MTK" insert on input track
AT4033>>A Designs Audio MP-1>>dbx mc6 comp>>art dps (digital insert) for digital out
guitar pickup>>pod xt>>sine chorus and reverb (plate)>>direct into vs
panned the mics hard left and right...
and the pickup in the middle...
didn't like that..
so, panned the 4033 hard left, the pickup at about 9pm, and the 57 at about 11 pm...
then, for the other recorded performance (doubling), i panned the same way, on the opposite side.
this sounded the thickest, and kept the performances seperated from each other...
a little more personality between the two...
the combination of the 57 and the at4033 works well...
but, as you can see from the pics, i used the 4033 as the overhead, and the 57 on the neck..
i think the 57 as an overhead, aimed right at the soundhole, and the 4033 capturing the upper bout of the acoustic, and the neck, is a much better combination, and i'm using that right now to record other acoustic tracks in other songs.
the hotter i run the compressor, and the closer i mic, gives me the immediate in-your-face guitar sound i want, but also picks up everything else...
stomach rumbling
clocks ticking
underwear chafing.
you get the idea.
so, unless you've got a supremely quiet room, you're gonna get less-than-stellar isolation.
Entry 14 thru 15- deleted trial mixes
Entry 16
the lesson i learned, last night, is that, when you are focused on "Tracking", do not switch hats and start to "Mix".
my lesson.
Smack!
thank you sir, may i have another.
Entry 17
on recording electric guitar:
i did discover, last night, during my tracking session, that no matter how much i don't want to use my good ole sm57 (why use that, when i've got a nice AT4033 sitting right next to it!)....
i get the best hard rock guitar sounds using it.
i spent an hour or more, tweaking the 4033 inside the iso cab, playing much louder than usual, and running that through my A Designs Audio MP-1, and i just couldn't get the focus and sharpness and bite out of it that i wanted...
i adjusted levels, i adjusted the sound of the amp, i moved the mic to and fro, i basically wasted time.
well, no, i did learn.
finally, i yanked the 4033 out, stuck the 57 in, and voila.
just like that.
i spent 5 minutes, and had the sound i was hunting.
close miced (of course, inside the iso cab, everything is close miced!!) LOL
mic pointing at the speaker's cone edge, about 1.5" inside of it, and about 1" away from it..
now, running that 57 through the nice MP-1 mic pre certainly helps in the clarity, but having an extremely nice preamp, sometimes can work against guitar sounds, because it seems to make the sound more brittle... more fragile.... more delicate..
all qualities, you don't want with rowdy guitar.
LOL
but in this case, it sounded nice. i had to adjust the input WAY down, to keep the needle from out of the deep red...
i have used my cheap little ART DPS unit to great effect, as far as micing guitar goes....
puts a little 'hair' on the sound, which is good...
Entry 18
on micing electric guitars, and using compression:
i find that, i can get away with zero compression on electric guitar parts, because when i use high gain sounds, i get a lot of natural compression from the amp itself..
i'm running the pod xt through the effects return on my mesa boogie, and i'm running the boogie on about 2, which, on that model, is just past where it really kicks into the power amp section, so i get some honest tube compression out of the amp...
but, even then, i'll get low end build up on certain things using the iso cab(palm muting comes to mind)....
and all of a sudden, there will be a spike in the preamp input, and this is what dictates where you set your preamp level.
i have to set the mic pre inputs low enough, so that when this occurs, i don't get any redlining going on in the digital convertor..
but there's a tradeoff..
if i use the compression, i can tame these peaks easily enough, but it changes the sound somewhat.
and for this particular track, i was going for the most un-affected sound i could get....
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#310442 - 02/21/06 05:49 PM
Re: The Gonzo “Trouble” cd project - a diary of sorts
|
gonzo
purveyor of noise
Loquacious Planeteer
Registered: 08/16/99
Posts: 32637
Loc: SL.UT
|
Entry 19
as i'm getting more into the mixing side of things, i've come to realize how bad my room is for the task..
-I'm renting right now, so i can't really do anything structural, or drastic enough, to make a difference...
i know what to do, i'm just not in a situation, to do it.
-when i purchased the acoustic foam to treat my Isolation cabinet, i purchased extra, to somewhat treat the area of the room that i'm using to track and mix in (the downstairs spare bedroom)...
i've added as much sound treatment as i can, but it's just not going to overcome what the room is.
It DID help, what i did... made a really big improvement..
but the ceiling is flat sheetrock, painted, the walls are painted sheetrock, and the floor (which i like) is all hardwood parquet floor.....
so, basically, a big hard reflective box.
Bass traps, are about the only other thing i should try... but the dimensions of the room are such that, it won't make that much difference.
so it's a lot of trial and error, burning different versions and listening on different systems, just to dial in certain things, that, in the right environment, would be really easy to dial in.
I appreciate proper mixing environments now, more than ever..
and how important that part is, in the ultimate equation of getting good mixes.
i'm not kidding myself here, it's still just a DIY project, done at home, with decent equipment, but nothing fancy....
but, the difference in the overall sound of my mixes, when i'm really dialed in, versus when i just mix off the cuff, and don't really pay attention to what i know, are the shortcomings of the room i'm in, makes all the difference in the world.
Bottom line is, the room, rules.
***************
i've heard some people complain, that all we talk about over here in planet land, is gear, and mixing, and blah blah blah blah...
well, for me, that's what i enjoy most about this, the learning, the experience..
i WANT to get better at it, even though i know, it's really only for myself.
that's what i love about this place, sharing the knowledge and/or experience.
yeah, it's geeky.
and i don't care.
Entry 20 – deleted trial mix….
Entry 21 -- enter: the new microphone
bought a ADK Hamburg mic, on the suggestions from DOT, at studio forums.... he's a VS planeteer as well..
TYPE: True Condenser Pressure Gradient Fixed-Cardioid Microphone with All NEW Upgraded Capsule and All NEW European JP-MOD Upgraded Electronics that honors the euphonic tradition a Vintage German Mic.
CAPSULE: ALL NEW 1" / 25.4mm 6µ Center Connected, Gold Vapor-Deposited Diaphragm
ELECTRONICS: ALL NEW Low-Noise European Designed Class A Discrete Fet+ Bi-Polar, Transformer-Coupled Featuring European components in proprietary configurations with electronics scientifically ‘tuned’ to the capsule.
FREQUENCY RANGE: 20 Hz to 20 kHz
1st off, it seemed to respond well to the A Designs Audio MP-1 preamp....
- i sat about 1.5 feet away from the mic, with it aiming towards different parts of the guitar on each track.
6 tracks altogether.
everything was run flat, except on the input channel, i set a slight high end tweak:
+2db @ 10khz
on the mic, no pad, no rolloff.
slight compression after the pre, on the input.
no eq on mixdown, everything flat...
and only reverb and some slight delay added to the one track that is the main melody....
there are 2 melody tracks, but the 2nd is blended back and off to one side, dry.
(Note: I ended up using this mic for almost every lead vocal on the rest of the album, from this point out.
I like this mic).
Entry 22
man, MIXING is a bitch!
LOL
well, it's a bitch for me, because, i've got cheap monitors, and i work in a bad room.
i've done what i can, but i cannot setup my space for what it really needs to do (i'm in a rental), so i make the best with what i've got..
for example, i had my monitors setup in a corner, with sound treatment all around..
but no matter how hard i try to get the low end tamed, and the sound neutral, it just isn't.
so now, when i mix, i've found a better method, which involves me pulling all of my rig out into the middle of the floor (i've got rack mounted amps and preamps that i can pull out across the floor on a milk crate, and my vs machine is on a roller stand.... monitors are on stands..)
and even though it's a pain in the ass, to drag it all out there, fix all the cables, unhook this and re-hook that, it still sounds better than being in the corner....
LOL
so, i'm spending a lot of time listening to my favorite pro recordings through the monitors, getting used to the sound of them in the middle of the room...
then a/b'ing my mixes against those.
it helps a lot, this constant back and forth, comparing and listening.
but very time consuming.
plus, i hear performance issues, and want to go back and retrack things..
which i've been doing now, for 3 months!
LOL
oh well, the red light only costs me my personal time....
i've retracked guitar parts, and vocal parts...
for example, last night, i retracked the lead vocals on a song called "Long Journey", just because i wanted to use my new ADK Hamburg condenser mic....
i DID get a better performance than i had, so it was worth it..
but the single biggest issue for me, is low end.
i can mix, what i can hear, easy as pie..
i just can't hear anything, in this room!!!
it'd almost be worth it, for me to rent a studio just to mix in, because my time spent would be cut in a fourth, at least.
but, i'll stick in there, and keep on.....
Entry 23
well, i've learned one thing about levels...
yes, you can limit, and compress, and take the levels all the way up to just kissing 0db, but when you put it all together, it sounds like a riot.
LOL
so, for this project, i'm going to have a PROFESSIONAL master it (rather than my crude attempts at mastering).......
and i've been seriously trying to keep my individual tracking levels lower, never kissing the dreaded 0db mark.....
in the past, i've been willing to let the occassional peak happen throughout a performance, because, to my ears, i'm not hearing any distortion.
i guess it happens so fast, that you don't really hear it on the individual level..
but when i add them all up, it starts sounding grainy.
one thing, i noticed, listening closely, with excellent headphones, to the latest modern releases, is that the whole recording sounds grainy, and really loud!
like, they've pushed the dynamics completely out, and everything is as loud as it can be, individually and collectively, and this sounds exciting at first, but after 4 or 5 songs, it's fatigueing.....
so, i've set levels for tracking such that, i never hit 0db with even the loudest peaks..
which means, typically, i've got real weak overall track levels, around the -12 to -9db mark....
and i figured that the sound would suffer....
but what i'm finding is, once i turn my monitor levels up to compensate, my stuff sounds more clear, more distinct, more punchy, and more dynamic, than the pro stuff i'm a/b'ing against, that sounds like a solid wall of sound....
i know this is elementary level engineering stuff...
but for me, it's a revelation.
some people like the wall of sound effect, and some people are young enough that it's the only way they've ever heard music, and don't know any difference.
i have to pull out older rock recordings (pink floyd, Aja, etc) that are mastering standards, and get a better handle on the mix elements....
i'd like to get the mixes just as close to finished sounding as i possibly can, before sending them off...
the work it out tune, used the new Hamburg condenser mic for all the vocals..
Entry 24
mixing madness
well, if you've got good levels going in.....
if you've got a good sound source, got it going on...
got the right mic positions and eq and compression levels...
if you get down on "Tape" correctly...
then, the mixing should be as easy as throwing the levels up, and voila!
correct?
not for me....
everything interacts with everything else.
yes, it'd be easy enough, for me to just take what i have, throw the levels up, and mix according to what the given sonics offer....
and, i've done that in the past.
where, i simply turn off all the eq, no compression, and simply mix what i've got.
and, there's a certain purity to doing it that way...
but, once you turn the eq back on, start tweaking, adding a little compression here and there, some rolloffs....
you're on the journey to "tweaking hell".
LOL
i mean, it could never end.
i could massage a mix for a thousand years, constantly changing this, and that, based on how i felt at the moment....
so, as a general rule, now i'm trying to only cut...
with only 1 or 2 db of boost on anything that just absolutely needs it...
so, i guess i'm spending about 2 hours on each drum mix, and then the same for each song mix.
drum tracks are typically 8 tracks total. kick, snare, 3 tom mics, 2 overheads, and a hi hat track...
i often have more than 10 tracks of additional music and vocals (i'm working on a 18 track machine, which means i really only have 16 tracks to work with, the last 2 being used for bouncing down the final mix)--
so, this means i've got to bounce down the 8 drum tracks to a stereo pair, and then mix the remaining 14 tracks of music and vox..
but, it's impossible to mix 8 tracks of drums, without hearing the rest of the mix in context.
so, i came up with this scheme.
i would quick mix the drums to a stereo pair, best guess.
then, i would bounce my best 1st pass music mix down to a stereo pair, but leaving the drums off of it.
now, i have a good basic music mix, minus drums, that i can play as i final mix the drums.
works perfect for me....
so now, i can dial in the kick and snare, and hear whether or not the overheads, with the cymbals, are glueing the mix together correctly, or standing out, or fading away..
************
the drum mix...
i've tried individual compression and gating on the raw tracks that Mike Musgrove engineered for me....
but, i haven't been able to improve on his "cleaned up" tracks that he sent (in addition to the raw tracks)....
he has a 2480, which has individual channel compression and gates, without using up effects cards....
and his choices for cleaned up drum tracks sound excellent, so i'm mostly using his tracks.
i'll have to give him an engineering credit on the cd!!
and well deserved....
anyway, once i've gotten a good overall balance between cymbals, snare and kick, i dial in the toms, and start eq'ing....
kick usually gets a +1db@50hz, -3db@400hz Q=2, and +2db@3khz, for some good definition....
snare is different on every song...
most of the snare eq's have been close to flat, with a push of 1-2db@3-7khz, and sometimes a rolloff around 100hz, or a slight cut around 500hz....
the toms, typically get +1-2db@125hz, -1db@500hz, and maybe a touch of 2-4khz...
overheads, get rolled off around 200hz, and a touch of 14-16khz......
sometimes i use the hi hat track, sometimes not, because typically enough of it has bleed through the snare mic and the overheads, to actually sound pretty good in the mix without any additional level...
i've been using a gated reverb on the kick, usually room1, about 1.1 sec, 100% diffusion, and different predelay lengths depending on the meter of the song.
it seems to help, to get the predelay centered in the middle of the beats, so you get the attack, then the reverb effect happening inbetween the attack beat, and the next beat...
snare, has been getting a different reverb, not gated, mostly no predelay, and usually a hall or plate...
i personally love the sound of brent's drum kit dry...
it's a good sounding kit, with nicely tunes toms and snare..
but, these songs seem to want some room effect. The original tracks are pretty dry, and even the overheads are needing some room effect added….
the great thing about mike's tracks is, there's a slight room sound available on the overheads, but the close mic tracks are pretty dry, which means as far as mixing goes, i can take them anywhere i want to, with the addition of mechanical reverb.
now, ultimately, i'd love to track drums in a live room, with distance mics making up the entire room effect...
but in the case of mike offering drum tracks to "fit any requirement", i think studio-quiet tracks are the only way to go...
otherwise, you're locked into the specific sound that the room mics put on....
so, as i'm mixing, i've decided to mix "panning" from the drummer's perspective.
i don't think, that "audience perspective" will actually matter, in terms of what direction the drums are played in (phil collins IS a left handed drummer! LOL )
so, as a right handed drummer would sit behind the kit, my mix is (left to right):
50L left overhead-left; 24L left tom; 14L hi hat; 4L snare; 4R kick; 14R 2nd tom; 35R 3rd tom; 50R right overhead.
of course, every mix i've gotten so far, have been variations on this panning scheme...
sometimes, i'll favor a piece in a certain direction, as to not step on something else i've got panned..
ultimately, of course, you want to mix all tracks at once, but with my setup, i had to get a little more frugal....
(editor’s note: after all the mixing sessions were done, I decided to go back and re-mix almost all the drum tracks… opting for very little processing: selective eq cuts, some plate reverb, some ambient room reverb, and some smooth compression)
Entry 25
well, just as soon as i think i'm done, i start listening to things i don't like, and start tracking again!
LOL
i'm sure you all do the same thing, at one time or another.
For me, to be band director, player, writer, performer, engineer, and producer (sic), i more or less have to play a headgame with myself... to get into the right headspace for whatever task i'm going for....
example: when i'm tracking, i'm only the performer. which means, i've got to get all the setup stuff done first (all the studio recording stuff)....
then, walk away..
come back, and just play, and forget about the levels and all that.
then later, i've got to come back to at as strictly Producer.....
parts i thought were so cool before, start to drift into the background, to make room for the more important thing...
so, basically, looking at the big picture, takes some removal from the performer part.
now, in the case of having a session drummer give me new drum parts, built on top of existing demo tracks, I ended up with much finer and important vibe elements to work with, than the original concept (which was typically a drum machine with various patterns put in for some sense of rhythmic play).
my original intent was to simply re-use a lot of the original bass, guitar and vocal tracks, and blend in the new drums.
but damn, these drums sound so good, it's making me re-think almost every part i originally had.
as it is, right now, i've re-recorded all but about 10% of the entire track scheme.
Bass parts, especially, had to rise to the occassion, and having such excellent drum tracks, made me realize i HAD to go back, and put out bass and rhythm parts that were just as good as the new drum tracks.
the new drums, basically, raised my game.
And for that, Brent, i thank you.
(though, it's really causing a delayed release....!)
LOL
that's ok, it'll be worth it.
Entry 26- deleted trial mix
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#310443 - 02/21/06 05:50 PM
Re: The Gonzo “Trouble” cd project - a diary of sorts
|
gonzo
purveyor of noise
Loquacious Planeteer
Registered: 08/16/99
Posts: 32637
Loc: SL.UT
|
Entry 27
a recent recording session yeilds some pics
my setup, very simple:
vs 1880 on stand, krk rokits on stands, hafler power, art dps, furman power conditioner, A Designs Audio MP-1, qps burner, sansamp bass di, pod xt, dbx mini-comp, mesa boogie mark2b head, demeter iso cab w/vintage celestion, various pedals, sm57, adk hamburg, audio technica 4033, guitars shown are Carvin dc200 Koa, Ibanez SRX 500, taylor 414.
Entry 28
someone brought up an interesting topic in the grille,
i thought i'd expand on it a bit with my own experiences....
Taking notes while TRACKING
-and, mixing methods.....
man, i have forgotten more setup stuff, than i remember.
so, i finally buckled down, while doing this project, and
started taking notes.
i cannot tell you, how much time it has saved me, getting
back to square one a month after i tracked something...
i have a few forms that i make copies of, things like
basic track sheets, and scene setups, to keep up with
what i'm doing as i'm going through.
when i'm tracking drums, for example...
i'll save a scene or two for a couple of different drum
mixes, with differnt eq's, pans, effects, etc, and on the
scene form, i'll quickly jot down final settings or notes
that will get me back to wherever i left off.
i always write a little date next to the last entry, so
i'll know, chronologically, when i messed with it last.
on my master track form, i typically set up differnent
levels of virtual tracks (there's 16 available without
changing banks), for different things..
example:
drums, will all be on virtual tracks 1, and submixed down
to 15/16 v-1 (i have a 1880, so i have tracks 1-16 for
tracking, and 17-18 for pre-mastering a stereo pair).
acoustics, will jump up to virtual tracks 4.
bass, will occupy two tracks, on virtual level 6.
electrics, will be on virtual level 8.
keys, on 9.
percussion, of any kind, on 10.
vocals go on level 12....
then, all submixes, bounces, or trial mixes go on 14, and
the final mix always goes on 17/18 virtual level 16.
i write all the submixes down, and typically save them as
scenes. that way, i can go back and figure out what to change
level wise on a particular bounce or submix, and i always save
the scene just as i'm about to record, so when i call the scene
up, the bounce-to track is lit red and blinking...
i submix drums down to one stereo pair, so i have to submix a
"trial music mix", which is everything BUT the drums, so i'll have
something to mix against when i'm mixing the drums. This gets saved
as a scene.
sometimes, i'll submix several acoustic guitars down to one stereo pair,
and i'll submix the music and drums together on a temporary pair, without
the acoustics, then get the blends and eqs and effects just right, then print
all that to a stereo pair.
then, on mixdown, i only have to work one linked fader, to control all the
acoustics.
on this project, most bass tracks are a blending of 2 seperate tracks,
tracked simultaneously, using one signal from a sansamp bass di, and
another parallel signal going through my pod xt and a bassman amp model.
i blend these two signals together, to get the one track.
all along the way, whenever there is a bounce of several tracks down to 2,
i save a scene of it, and write down what i did. just recalling the scene
isn't enough, because half the time, i don't remember why i even saved the
scene!! LOL
note taking, is crucial.... though it takes some time, and a little wind out of
the sails to do it, it pays off every single time.
every time.
tracking guitars, for me, is different.
every single time i track, i do something completely different.
even if i liked the last tone, i'll change the amp, change the mic placement, and
mess with it til i like the sound i get, AT THAT MOMENT.
now, whether this is a good use of my time or not, i don't care, because the setup is
as much fun to me, as the tracking.
same, pretty much, for vocals..
sometimes, i'll run the gain a little bit hotter, sometimes less...
sometimes, the compressor gets lightly set, sometimes it's pumping...
the thing to do is, experiment enough, to know how to get what you want without
hunting and pecking...
in other words, know your gear. whatever it is, and milk it.
and make notes, of what you did, if its settings you might want to use in the future,
draw a quick diagram and note what was unique about it.
notes may seem geeky, but they are simply time savers.
Entry 29
[[[ link deleted ]]]
sneak preview of the song "Choices".
- mixed this for the vs planet comp cd.
-and this is a final mix for the submission, but a "next to last" mix for my own cd.
i have issues with this mix, that i will fix, but would love to hear some second opinions.
(un-mastered 16 bit raw mix)(crank it up)
[[[ link deleted ]]]
Entry 30
ok, here's a new trial mix, unmastered, of an acoustic-based song called "Pura Vida".
this will seem pretty quiet, so crank it up.
[[[ link deleted ]]]
This is the Taylor 414, miced through combinations the AT4033 mic and the ART DPS
mic preamp and the A Designs Audio MP-1 mic preamp.
i originally did some percussion on the back of the guitar, but wanted something
more authentic, so i decided to get some congas.
so, I bought the congas brand new, through the VS Planet Music store
(walrus gave me a great deal... call and ask)
nice quality, calfskin heads, heavy as hell..
i miced these up with a single ADK Hamburg thru the A Designs Audio MP-1 mic preamp....
about 2-3 feet away, facing towards the bottom of the congas..
i wanted a somewhat muted, mellower sound for the percussion, and opted for the sound
off the bottom rather than more attack sound from the top.
vocals are done through the AT4033.
Entry 31
the tracking is finished.
man, i knew that it'd take me a little while, but it took a lot longer than i
had imagined.
Part of the reason it took so long, was the drum tracks.
when i sent my drum machine demo songs off, for Brent to lay drum tracks down
on top of, it was my intention to use my original tracks, and just blend his new
drum tracks in.
But, upon receiving the drum tracks, it became clear to me, that every single part i
had done, would have to be re-done.
reason?
well, when i play to a drum machine, I try to put a human groove element in and around
the drum machine groove.
i'll intentionally play certain parts behind the beat, consistently, and other parts ahead
of the beat.....
whatever is required, to give the song a real sense of groove.
groove is everything, to me.
without it, there's no magic.
and face it, there's just no magic in a machine groove.
well, Brent added his own groove, inside of my groove, that just so improved the overall
feel of the thing, that it begged for new tracks...
new bass tracks...
new rhythm tracks....
new vocals, new backups, new everything.
and i couldn't be happier with the decision to toss everything i had, and start over.
it's worth it.
these songs have gone from full blown demos, to the real thing....
performance pieces, with as much imagery and passion and thought as i could put into it.
and even still, as i'm doing the last tweaks to the mixes, i hear parts i wished i could re-do..
parts to add in, some to take away, it never stops.
i'm getting to the point now, where i really want to put this thing in the barrell, and pull the trigger.
time to move on.....
Entry 32
another sneak preview...
[[[[ link deleted]]]]]
the story behind this one, is that i asked Crispy (a planeteer that unfortunately has disappeared....) to program (in Nuendo) a backing track for a song i wrote in 1999....
he did, and did a killer job with it..
only, he disappeared before i could get wav files and remixes, and all i had was a 160kbps mp3 file to try to clean up and use.
(Note: this song was not used on the “Trouble” cd.)
Entry 33
Mixing
ah, mixing, it should be so easy.
bring up a level here, bring one down there, voila.
there, that's a nice blend.
ultimately, in my mind, it WOULD be that easy.... using the best products money could
buy, in the best sounding rooms, and assuming that the performances and songs were
stellar.
well, that ain't my rig or gig, so i gotta really think this thing through, to get the most out
of what i got...
ok, mixing songs, immediately after performing them.....
bad.
for me, anyway... it's become quite obvious to me, after months of tracking and working on
some of these mixes, that the further i am away from the tracking, the easier it is for me to
put on the producer hat, and make decisions on mix elements that aren't "dear" to me anymore...
see, at one point in my musical life, i have individually worn different musician hats...
i've been a tenor in a vocal group....
i've sung solo in church choir.
i've played rhthym guitar in studio sessions, and i've been a lead player in the same.
i've played as bass player in 2 groups, and for years as a guitar player/singer in road
bands.
and in each instance, i approached the task with the attitude that i was filling only one
seat, only one job, and therefore i adopted the mindset required for that one task.
and for me, it worked.
but i work really fast when i'm writing music, it's like a flow of water, and i have to work
extra hard at getting my mind into the right place to be only the guitar player, or only the
singer, or only the bass player.... you get the idea.
so, getting back to mixing....
it's really a completely different gig....
when you've played the parts, you've got an idea stuck in your head, of just how the one part
should sound...
and i've found that, if i immediately go to the task of mixing, i favor sounds and eq's and levels
that are not really appropriate for the overall sound and feel of the song.
that's been a huge lesson to me, while putting this project together.
it makes me appreciate mix engineers that much more, they really are fulfilling a huge part of the
ultimate outcome of an album...
seeing the big picture, the sum of the parts, is more important than any of the individual performances.
Entry 34
covers.
ok, i haven't posted in a while.
my executive producer ( ) suggested that i include a cover song on
my cd.
hm.
could be a good idea....
i spent years, in road gigs, mostly covering other peoples songs,
and for the last 10 years or so, have purposefully chosen to exclude
playing covers of others songs, to focus on developing my own sound,
style and groove......
but, it's been so long, i thought i'd throw down.
my first two attempts at this song, a cover of creedence clearwater
revival's "bad moon rising", were fun to do, but in the end, were so
close to the original, that it seemed like karaoke to me-- which was not
the intended purpose.
suffice it to say, that doing these first two version, gave me a good sense of
the song, and helped me figure out what i really wanted to do with it.
Geek stuff:
though i'll re-track all guitars and vocals, here's the run down on the demo
rhythm guitars are all Pod XT into ART DPS convertor;
Slide Guitars are all miced up mesa boogie thru demeter iso cab, sm57
thru A Designs Audio MP-1 into dbx compressor into ART DPS convertor;
Bass is thru sansamp bass di direct into dbx compressor into ART DPS convertor;
vox are all thru ADK Hamburg mic into A Designs Audio MP-1 into dbx compressor into
ART DPS convertor;
drum machine intoART DPS tube preamp section and then into convertor
Entry 35
well, near the end of mixing, I decided I wanted drier sounding drum tracks.
I went back, and had marathon mixing sessions, bringing the drums in with similar eq, effects, and reverb treatments to get a more consistent sound from song to song.
In almost all cases, I wanted the drums hotter than I ended up mixing them…
Only because the drum tracks were so good!
But, when mixing, I had to decide on vocal elements, guitar elements, all these things that were fighting for front and center, and so some of the best parts of some of the drum performances had to take a back seat.
I’m sure, someone with better mixing skills than my own, could have brought these parts out to shine like they should.
But, it was a learning experience, that’s for sure.
Cover Art-
I hired a friend, who is a graphic artist, to do the cover art for the project.
He came up with 4 different versions, and I chose the final one that ended up on the cd.
Walrus had the concept for the actual CD label, which is to be a constant throughout the Planet Records label release.
I would prefer to have a unique, customized cd label myself (my artist also designed a cd label for me) but I defer to the master plan!
Mastering:
This was fairly easy….
Falcon Eddy (a planeteer as well) was hired to do the mastering….
He has done several projects with walrus in the past, and so they had a good working relationship, and had already been through the hoops…
I sent 24 bit mixes to Falcon, via roland proprietary backup files… FE would download the backups into his 2480 (my 1880 was compatible, so no problems there) and then run them through his fairy dust machines…..
He would send me hi res mp3’s of what was going on….
We would discuss the results (mostly eq things, trying to fix my low end messes) and then he would re-work them, song by song.
Most of the 1st passes were good to go…
He also did some surgical fixes on a song that had a hi hat issue…. And his work on this problem was just short of miraculous!
After we settled on final mastered songs, a ‘Gold Master’ was sent to Tonesoup, the duplicator company…this would be the disc that would be used to do all the duplications for sale.
I sent ToneSoup the cover artwork, done in photoshop, and the lyric sheets, the doctored photograph for the back cover, and a picture I doctored to be used as a ‘watermark’ in back of the lyric sheet…
It’s a greyed-out shot of my new parts-o-caster I had just finished, that I call the ‘cream machine’.
Just some basic instruction was all Tonesoup needed to pull it all together.
They sent me pdf’s of their mockups for the cd inserts and covers, and we made some minor changes, then OFF to the PRINTERS!
To see the final cover, just check the link below:
Entry 36
cd’s done, and now it’s out there.
I wonder if anyone will Ever read any of this!
LOL
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#310444 - 03/20/06 01:07 AM
Re: The Gonzo “Trouble” cd project - a diary of sorts
|
Hano_dup1
Planeteer/Artist # 45
Planeteer
Registered: 12/15/00
Posts: 11296
Loc: Leuven - Belgium - E.U.
|
I wonder if anyone will Ever read any of this!
I have read all of it.
For me it reads like a book.
What a great school.
Thanks, teacher. :thumb:
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#310446 - 05/13/06 09:48 PM
Re: The Gonzo “Trouble” cd project - a diary of sorts
|
gonzo
purveyor of noise
Loquacious Planeteer
Registered: 08/16/99
Posts: 32637
Loc: SL.UT
|
thanks Hano, and Stuart, for checking it out..
and i DO hope, that it is of SOME worth, so that maybe all of my headaches will allow someone else to skip having to go thru all the BS that i went through.........!!
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
0 registered
and 11 anonymous users online.
|
|
21438 Members
30 Forums
169251 Topics
1968052 Posts
Max Online: 3597 @ 04/07/26 07:02 PM
|
|
|
