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Well, here it is - the "official" share your music thread for The Studio Trenches.

 

A few guidelines:

 

1. Please restrict your submissions to this thread only.

 

2. Please specify what you want - if you're just showcasing your work, this is a good place to do that, but SPECIFY that or you're going to get critiques. If you're asking about the SONG, mention that or you're going to get comments about your mix. If it's production ideas you want, say so. If you're having problems with a specific part of the mix or instrumental timbre and you want to restrict comments to only that, tell us so! You get the idea...

 

3. When responding, please keep in mind what the poster was requesting and respond with that in mind. And PLEASE, let's keep it civil. Try to find something positive to say. No, don't feel like you have to kiss anyone's butt, but the tendency is to comment about what you'd do differently or what you didn't like - let's try to make an equal effort towards commenting on the things we DO like.

 

4. It might be wise to give us a general description of your level of professional involvement, experience level and gear you used. A person who is just getting started out on a 4 track and is doing it as a hobby shouldn't be held to the same sonic standards as someone who does it for a living and uses a Studer and a Neve. Please try to keep these things in mind when responding and be encouraging to those who are just starting out.

 

5. Do the right thing - if you want to submit, this is the place for it - but don't abuse it. If you want others to listen to YOUR submissions, you need to listen to - and comment on - their submissions. As a general guideline, I recommend you listen to / comment on three or four submissions from others for each submission of your own.

 

6. It might be a good idea to list the playback system / monitoring chain(s) you used for listening to a submission when you respond with your critiques and comments - that info could be helpful to the original poster.

 

7. Have fun!

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Alright, I'm in!

 

I'm a TOTAL NOOB at recording, hard-disc/digital/PC-based or otherwise. I barely know how to do so with what I have. (I'll get around to that in threads with future questions, I'm certain.) I probably barely qualify to make sonic toast with the gear, hardware and software that I have.

 

That being said, "FWIW", here's my submission for critical and expert scrutiny, scrotiny, and suggestions afield:

 

"Soapbar Example"

 

Currently my sole postable/linkable mp3 (hosted by a good friend). Forty-odd seconds of two guitars (or rather, one guitar, twice), tuned to Open-D, originally done on-the-fly simply to give an example of P-90 "soapbar"-equipped guitars in action.

 

I won't bore you with any more mundane details unless they're requested.

 

I already have my own opinions about its artistic shortcomings, don't worry about sparing my feelings or anything! It's presented here both to start off kicking the ball around, and to get any and all actual useful information that anyone cares to throw my way. (READ AS: FREE EDUCATION) Be as critical as you want!

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Cavean,

 

I really liked it. I thought the sounds were well recorded.

 

I was wondering how you got that reverse guitar sound in the middle. Did you add the reverb later and then duck the primary sound? Was that studio manipulation?

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Here are three of mine

 

I'm most interested in what you think of the songs/performances, but in the context as if you think the mix (or lack therof) does them justice.

 

Note I'm using solely GarageBand 1 and only the pinhole mic of eMac to do the vocals... I DI'ed the bass and guitars; and the drums are samples/loops... The sparce keyboard/synth sounds are MIDI and weren't even played on a keyboard... they were played via mouseclick.

 

HOWEVER, I personally think despite all of these flaws and inadequate research, the product came out pretty good and "real."

 

Should add that vibe I was going for on these songs are more in the vein of underground New Wave rather than pristine/Grammy quality.

 

Thanks!!!

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rhythminmind,

 

Ok, I'm ready to nitpick. I listened to several. I'm just going to pick on no. 5.

 

For this kind of music, I think the vocalist needs to be up front. Listening on headphones she sounds behind the guitars which seem to be getting the most attention. Also, the vocal sounds just a bit thin. With either EQ or a multiband compressor, I would bring up a bit of the lower mids jjust to take the edge off the sound of the voice.

 

The guitar solo was prominent to the right. So at that point the recording sounded lopsided.

 

The bass drum had the high end too overemphasized for my taste. It sounded like a snare except you heard it at all the usual BD spots.

 

The above comments were nitpicking, because I thought it really well recorded and I liked the music. Overall, I think the singer should have been up front in the mix instead of behind the instruments.

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thanks for the insight.. yeah we did some more mixing last night.. we brought the vocals up overall on a few tracks.. yeah my drum sound can seem kinda odd.. i'm using a strange kit setup and i'm playing with "hot rods" those sticks made out of dowels. allot of the MTV unplugged recordings had them.. I wanted something more organic.. funny i say that because i also used a 10" snare, not to natural sounding..

 

i'll post some new mixes after the next versions are finished..

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Originally posted by alcohol

Here's a submission of something I did with my son's band, Moxie Fever. I'm going to remix this so any detailed comments or criticisms are welcome. The guitar effects at the end are a mistake, please ignore those.


Give Me The End


moxiefever.com

 

 

Great song!

 

Here's my notes as I'm listening...

 

 

 

Add some reverb to the snare, turn down that hi-hat just a tad.

 

Pan the guitars a little more...especially the solo...throw that in the right or left channel.

 

Around :27, where the vocals double, try using a drip of reverb to set them back in the mix and turn down the backup vocal just a little.

 

 

and oh man I love that auto-panned guitar around 1:30...that's so cool! Great job!

 

I think the whole mix could benefit from a little more ambience.

 

 

And as far as the effects at the end go, that would be an excellent opener for the next song in line (i.e. have this song end, and the song right after it start with those effects).

 

 

This is a superbly written song. Kudos to you and your son (and his band)!

 

 

I will probably critique more later. I've got a client here I've got to record so, I might be on a little later!

 

 

 

~Jared

:)

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Originally posted by rhythminmind

well let me know what you guys think.. i'd like to hear some comments..


http://www.rhythminmind.net/temp/mp3/

 

I'll do one more...

 

 

the only problem I see here, is the highs are way too overemphasized. My monitors are a bit on the bright side, but I think I've learned them now (which makes me sad; I JUST bought a new set of monitors too, so I'm going to have to start the process over again with those).

 

So even with my monitors being a bit bright, these mixes are still very bright.

 

I would back off the highs on all of the instruments (except maybe the vocals, but please do boost a little low end to make it sound more full).

 

Otherwise I think it sounds okay, and the snare has an excuse to sound that way, being a 10".

 

 

:)

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Originally posted by Caevan O'Sh!te

Alright, I'm in!


I'm a TOTAL NOOB at recording, hard-disc/digital/PC-based or otherwise. I barely know how to do so with what I have. (I'll get around to that in threads with future questions, I'm certain.) I probably barely qualify to make sonic toast with the gear, hardware and software that I have.


That being said, "FWIW", here's my submission for critical and expert scrutiny, scrotiny, and suggestions afield:


"Soapbar Example"


Currently my sole postable/linkable mp3 (hosted by a good friend). Forty-odd seconds of two guitars (or rather, one guitar, twice), tuned to Open-D, originally done on-the-fly simply to give an example of P-90 "soapbar"-equipped guitars in action.


I won't bore you with any more mundane details unless they're requested.


I already have my own opinions about its artistic shortcomings, don't worry about sparing my feelings or anything! It's presented here both to start off kicking the ball around, and to get any and all actual useful information that anyone cares to throw my way. (READ AS:
FREE EDUCATION
) Be as critical as you want!

 

 

this has a lot of promise ;) I dig it

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>>Caevan O'Sh!te

I really like it, partially because it reminds me of a song I wrote a while back :D Seriously, it's very well played, great articulation n the lead part, and I really like the volume swells. The only thing that really disappointed me was it was so short -- I wanted to hear more ;)

 

Not sure if you recorded it direct in or through an amp, but next time you record it, you might want to mess with the EQ on the amp, and arrangements of cables, etc. to cut down on the buzz (in fact, if you have a CRT monitor and you're playing an electric guitar, you might notice increase buzz depending on how you're oriented relative to the screen). It's tough in a recording this 'quiet' because the noise can leap out more, but i think if you can cut down on it, it would really improve the 'mood' of your mix.

 

Nice job! :D

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Originally posted by fretless

ok, warning 10 min. long
:rolleyes::p:D


I would love to know some pro vocal tips
;)

Thanks

http://home.comcast.net/~scottjhayes/_drums3.mp3

 

I'm not really the best vocalist myself, so I can't help you much there. I think it sounds good though ;)

 

I might add a little compression to the vocals, turn the overall level on them up just a little, and maybe turn the relative volume of the delay effect down a tad.

 

I like the song a lot ;)

 

Matt

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Originally posted by younggunmn



I'm not really the best vocalist myself, so I can't help you much there. I think it sounds good though
;)

I might add a little compression to the vocals, turn the overall level on them up
just a little
, and maybe turn the relative volume of the delay effect down a tad.


I like the song a lot
;)

Matt

 

Hey Thank you younggunmn , your opinion is most appreciated ;) I will kick it around a bit .

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How's this for my SILENT recording studio.

 

http://blyons.homeip.net/newmix.mp3

 

Just a test demo to help me practice mixing in syth sounds cause they are so dry alot of the time and dont need lots of volume to be heard well.

 

Drums and synth are - Reason

 

Guitar and bass are direct into a - Line6 Guitar Port.

 

Recorded into a - m-audio 24/96

 

Tracked and mixed in - Sonar 4P

 

Mixed in cheap - AIWA headphones

(ganna get some $100 upgrades soon)

 

I'm just looking to see how it translates to quality monitors i know lots of guys around here have, and if they hear any red flags. Any input on how i might make things sound better would be helpfull..

 

 

Thanks in advance!

 

PS.

I understand the idea to get a central sample thread, but once it becomes 15 pages long no one will look at it anymore imo...

 

We shall see.

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Originally posted by Ivor The Engine Driver

thanks for all of the helpful insight.


:(

 

I would say that when i was listening i just kept thinking that i'd start with the Kick drum, and maybe turn the guitar's down a bit.

 

The kick needs smoe help,, it has no punch at all.

I would do some EQ work to it.

 

Good stuff though!

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Originally posted by Ivor The Engine Driver

Here are three of mine


I'm most interested in what you think of the songs/performances, but in the context as if you think the mix (or lack therof) does them justice.


Note I'm using solely GarageBand 1 and only the pinhole mic of eMac to do the vocals... I DI'ed the bass and guitars; and the drums are samples/loops... The sparce keyboard/synth sounds are MIDI and weren't even played on a keyboard... they were played via mouseclick.


HOWEVER, I personally think despite all of these flaws and inadequate research, the product came out pretty good and "real."


Should add that vibe I was going for on these songs are more in the vein of underground New Wave rather than pristine/Grammy quality.


Thanks!!!

 

Love the tunes! Let Me In sounds great! I wouldn't change anything about it. As always, your guitar tone is superb. Also dig the Love Experts material. Huge McGuinn fan!

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If I can just nudge in here...

 

I think it would be excellent if one person posted a clip or a group of clips, and then before the next person posts theirs, wait until they get a response with advice or how it sounds.

 

That would keep things in order and also give everybody a chance to be heard and critiqued. That way no one is left out and everybody wins.

 

 

 

Good idea? :)

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Originally posted by geek_usa

If I can just nudge in here...


I think it would be excellent if one person posted a clip or a group of clips, and then before the next person posts theirs, wait until they get a response with advice or how it sounds.


That would keep things in order and also give everybody a chance to be heard and critiqued. That way no one is left out and everybody wins.


Good idea?
:)

 

I think this is ganna be a mess.

 

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Recorded this in my barn, in an odd way. First the singer and I recorded an acoustic guitar and voice guide track on to a 1/2 inch 8 track. Then a week later I had the drummer show up and record drums to the guide track. Only had 3 mics but they were good ones. I put a U87 about 6 ft in front of the kit about chest high to the drummer, then a AKG 414 over the drummers left shoulder about 6ft high pointing at the snare, the 3rd mic is anothe 414 on the right hand side of the kit pointing at the drummers shoulder. This is a common 3 mic technique and I think it worked ok to capture what the kit sounded like in the room.

Then we transfered the drum tracks and guide tacks to ProTools

and I started layering stuff,and got rid of the guide tracks. Guitars recorded with a 414 and U87 for some room, the amp was a Deluxe reverb, a Gibson Les Paul for solo, strat for rythm, Gibson B-25 for acoustic,B-25 restrung with Nashville tuning, Bass a G&L direct thru homemade passive direct box. Used a Lexicon PCM60 for most of the reverb. We ended up recording this again in a pro studio but this version still sounds better, probably cause I had so much time to mess with it and get the perfomances right.

Hope you enjoy

 

http://www.mp3lizard.com/download.cfm?id=7889

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Sorry for posting without giving a critique of the above clips first, but I'm at home today with dial-up and ity is so slllllllllllllllloooooooow. I'll listen to some stuff tomorrow when I get back to DSL.

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Thanks for the comments!

 

When we rate rigs in the effects forum, the rule is you have to post a critique of the previous two or three before you can post your own for critique-ing. That seems to ensure that everyone gets their share of feedback and advice. A little bit more difficult here, as many people work during the day, making it hard to listen and evaluate songs. (Much easier to glance at someone's rig and say, "I like this, I don't like that....") But maybe it's an idea.

 

That said, I'll try to give some listens tonight and post my thoughts.

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