Members fuzzball Posted March 4, 2009 Members Share Posted March 4, 2009 I just finished my PowerPoint slides for my monitor (for when we play live) (it took 66 slides. (fun) I need to get one of our songs vocal tracks finished this week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Lee Knight Posted March 6, 2009 Moderators Share Posted March 6, 2009 Been cutting lots of vocals. This band has 4 different lead vocalists. The main lead vocalist sings on everybody elses 1 song highlight as well to tie the whole thing together. So I wanted to try some things I haven't in the past. For instance, this thing about between 12 and 8 inches off the mike. Really? Every time I try that it sounds too ambient and non distinct. Maybe I should try more absortion around the mike. And maybe I should try my friends 87 I never like. Guess what? This works. I'm used to getting guys in around 4 inches and closer sometimes. I got to say, that extra distance makes life easier. All the sibilance and pops etc are gone. The 87 sounds great like this. Hit the 2:1 output transformer switch on the API and we're in Muddy Waters territory. Cool. Then I tried singer number 2 with my RE20 but once again a foot back and lots of side absorption. This was really just a matter of moving the panels I use already around a little differently. And the RE20 on a Leonard Cohen-esque baritone voice from that distance... you just want to reach up and grab it. It's right there... Live and learn. I'm always learning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members KillerV Posted March 9, 2009 Members Share Posted March 9, 2009 I also did a lot of vocals over the weekend. I had another looooong day (12 hours this time) in the studio, but only after I got back from touring for a week the night before. The tour was great eventually, but our drummer (my sister, who gets epilepsy) was in hospital for 2 days after bad seizures, resulting in us having to cancel 3 gigs. She had bad flu but because of her epilepsy it affects her worse than it would normally. The other ones were absolutely fabulous though! It was just a very stressful time. Back to the recording session on Saturday: It was vocals for the church-band's project we tracked the band for earlier. I had 20 people in my studio on Saturday. There were 6 different main vocalists and a small choir. The main vox/choir parts are all sung in such a way that they sort of interweave. I tried doing the main vox first and then the choir part for each song, but they found it difficult to do it that way, so my only other option was to have the main vocalist in my iso-booth and have his/her voice in the playback for the choir loud enough. I set up the playback and mics for the choir in such a way that they had enough to sing on but so that it didn't bleed into the mics too much. I guess I was lucky because I could get it done fairly easily without having to move things around too much. I'll be honest and say that I haven't really done this before (recording choir with playback), so I wasn't sure about how other guys do it. I just had to try and think quickly and come up with solutions, even though I did some planning for it before. That's what I love about these type of sessions - I really learn a lot from them, but I'm starting to realize that my instincts are growing to a point where I can trust them to help me make decisions during a session quickly. Again, these folks were just wonderful to work with. They were very tightly rehearsed and gave me great performances. I've not had this much excitement in my studio in a while. They were all so happy they were making a record. They've been wanting to record for a couple of years, but apparently 2 other studios wouldn't record them, telling them they weren't good enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Editing / mixing a cover of Badfinger's No Matter What. I'm pretty pleased with how it's turning out. Maybe I'll post it later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fuzzball Posted March 9, 2009 Members Share Posted March 9, 2009 Tonight I am working on music for a collge Podcast, and court reporting CD's. By the way my slides worked great, I now have a monitor instead of papers with lyrics and crap for live shows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fuzzball Posted March 9, 2009 Members Share Posted March 9, 2009 I need to book some time in my studio soon (I have been puting off a vocal track for 2 weeks now). By the way anyone here from Chicago? I have a business trip next month there (16th and 17th) It would be nice to see someone from HC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Lee Knight Posted March 9, 2009 Moderators Share Posted March 9, 2009 I also did a lot of vocals over the weekend. I had another looooong day (12 hours this time) in the studio, but only after I got back from touring for a week the night before. The tour was great eventually, but our drummer (my sister, who gets epilepsy) was in hospital for 2 days after bad seizures, resulting in us having to cancel 3 gigs. She had bad flu but because of her epilepsy it affects her worse than it would normally. The other ones were absolutely fabulous though! It was just a very stressful time.Back to the recording session on Saturday: It was vocals for the church-band's project we tracked the band for earlier. I had 20 people in my studio on Saturday. There were 6 different main vocalists and a small choir. The main vox/choir parts are all sung in such a way that they sort of interweave. I tried doing the main vox first and then the choir part for each song, but they found it difficult to do it that way, so my only other option was to have the main vocalist in my iso-booth and have his/her voice in the playback for the choir loud enough. I set up the playback and mics for the choir in such a way that they had enough to sing on but so that it didn't bleed into the mics too much. I guess I was lucky because I could get it done fairly easily without having to move things around too much.I'll be honest and say that I haven't really done this before (recording choir with playback), so I wasn't sure about how other guys do it. I just had to try and think quickly and come up with solutions, even though I did some planning for it before. That's what I love about these type of sessions - I really learn a lot from them, but I'm starting to realize that my instincts are growing to a point where I can trust them to help me make decisions during a session quickly.Again, these folks were just wonderful to work with. They were very tightly rehearsed and gave me great performances. I've not had this much excitement in my studio in a while. They were all so happy they were making a record. They've been wanting to record for a couple of years, but apparently 2 other studios wouldn't record them, telling them they weren't good enough. Sounds scary but fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Richard King Posted March 9, 2009 Members Share Posted March 9, 2009 Editing / mixing a cover of Badfinger's No Matter What. I'm pretty pleased with how it's turning out. Maybe I'll post it later. Great song. I'll bet it's fun to work on that one. I recorded a local Minneapolis band (Thumbs Up) live one time (somewhere in the '70's) that incorporated a bunch of Badfinger material into their act. I'll have to see if I can find a tape of it around here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members brandonhackler Posted March 12, 2009 Members Share Posted March 12, 2009 Today i was recording a rock band with a particularly pitchy singer. I got to use this beauty of a line: "Well man, if singing on key was a girl...you wouldn't have even got to 2nd base today." It's the little moments. Brandon- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members IceBryce Posted March 12, 2009 Members Share Posted March 12, 2009 same here... the music is good but the singer needs lots of work... beyond auto tune. ill make it right but its gonna be tough Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Lee Knight Posted March 12, 2009 Moderators Share Posted March 12, 2009 I had the current project band's harp player in here 2 nights ago. Good harp player... but he didn't come to play harp. He came to sing backups. Not a great backup singer. No real sense of parallel harmony. No matter what, this job is always fun for me. If he's a great backup singer, that's fun for the obvious reasons. If he's not... that's a fun challenge. His issue? He doesn't listen. We run it and he says he knows what it needs... then proceeds to do vocal blues riffing that in no way resemble a harmony, nor does it work as a 2nd vocal. Hmmm. Listen. Every time I'd run the track and say, "let's listen this pass and see what he's doing...", he'd nod yes, then sing more blues riffing. ?!?!?! Listen, please. No.... stop.... wait.... uhhh. And eventually we did stop and listen. OK!! So then it's my gig to sing the harmony that he needs to do in loop mode for him to adjust to it. To learn it. This is all done in a suggestion mode. You might be able to incorporate this part here. I'll sing, you listen for now. Then we loop and I sing with the track while he listens. The trick facilitating his learning the part was the old hand visualization. Hold my hand palm down like a salute but in front of my face. I sing and move my hand up or down from my forehead to my chest following the melody I need him to pull off. In loop. It worked. As he tracked, if he muffed a line I'd go back to the visualization and sing it and bam, he'd get it. I love this. He's stoked and is learning how to be a harmony singer. Good tone, great pitch, and now moving forward, perhaps a little insight into how simple parallel harmony works. BTW, Melodyne and Elastic Audio help a lot here in post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fuzzball Posted March 13, 2009 Members Share Posted March 13, 2009 The fun we have, I once recorded our bass player singing backing tracks for one of our songs, after an hour I told him he should just stop...it would never make it in the final cut. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fuzzball Posted March 30, 2009 Members Share Posted March 30, 2009 I have been working on audio for college podcasts. I have a meeting about what they would like to change (with the samples I have sent). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members KillerV Posted April 1, 2009 Members Share Posted April 1, 2009 I just finished up a small mixing project. I also spent the last 2 weeks editing some video for my band. We're making a music video for one of the songs off our new album and we're using live gig footage for a lot of it. The idea of the video is basically to give an overview of about a year's touring with all the stuff that goes on when you're on the road. I had to watch through hours and hours of footage of the same song and take out the bits that we can use. It was also a lot of work sync'ing it up to the recording of the song so that it doesn't look weird. It came out pretty nice and hopefully we can get some TV airplay for it. I'm also getting ready for a new project I'm starting on this weekend. It's gonna be about a week of tracking and the band is staying with me in a room that I have for guys who need accomodation. They are good friends so it's gonna be cool. The only thing is that there is also a HUGE festival going on in a nearby town (+/-100km away) and my band has to play 3 gigs over a couple of nights so I'm gonna be in the studio during the day and then drive through after the session, play the gig and come back every night. Now if that ain't rock 'n roll I don't know what is... I'm also lusting for a Heil PR30 at the moment and I'm using every spare minute to see how I can manipulate my already shot budget to get one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members UstadKhanAli Posted April 1, 2009 Members Share Posted April 1, 2009 Sounds like fun! The PR30 is quite nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members KillerV Posted April 1, 2009 Members Share Posted April 1, 2009 A friend of mine is raving about what a great mic the PR30 is. I was thinking about getting a SM7, but lots of folks tell me the PR30 is a better buy at this point. I also thought of getting the PR40, which I've actually heard at a radio session (and it was killer on the DJ's voice), but from what I've heard the PR30 is gonna be more versatile, which is a definite plus in my situation. I'm always on some kind of budget so anything I buy preferably needs to be able to a number of things well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members UstadKhanAli Posted April 1, 2009 Members Share Posted April 1, 2009 The PR30 is one of those workhorse mics that you can use on a variety of instruments and applications. I've used it on drum overheads, guitar cabinets, and bass cabinets, even acoustic guitar (I was, admittedly, going for a particular kind of sound with the acoustic guitar, not a typical acoustic guitar sound), and it ruled for each application. I've only used the PR40 for kick drum, and was deeply impressed by that. I've never had an SM7, but that's a pretty great mic for vocals. I'm sure it's nice for other applications to, but I've only heard it being used for vocals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members KillerV Posted April 1, 2009 Members Share Posted April 1, 2009 GAS attack!!!! GAS attack!!! GAS attack!!! Uhhh, it's getting worse... Dude, you gotta stop. I'm wanting that mic bad and I don't have the cash now and you ain't helping. I'm gonna have to import it, which can add anything between $40 and $100 to the price. It's bad, but it's still cheaper than buying anything in its league here in South Africa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members UstadKhanAli Posted April 1, 2009 Members Share Posted April 1, 2009 Sorry, sorry. It, uh, sounds like a poorly wired 57 with fourteen tube socks stuck over it when stuck in a suitcase and falls apart when you look at it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lonotes Posted April 1, 2009 Members Share Posted April 1, 2009 Sorry, sorry. It, uh, sounds like a poorly wired 57 with fourteen tube socks stuck over it when stuck in a suitcase and falls apart when you look at it! ...and it smells bad too! /just trying to help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members KillerV Posted April 5, 2009 Members Share Posted April 5, 2009 That PR30 is at least a little bit closer. I just found a dealer for Heil mics here in SA through that friend of mine who raves about it so much. I initially thought he imported his one but when we spoke last night he gave me the dealer's number. Gear prices are usually insanely high here in SA but apparently this dealer will match the US street price which already saves me some bucks, plus I don't have to pay for shipping and taxes, etc. The dealer is a friend of my friend and is apparently already stupidly rich and only wants studios here to have better gear to help the industry grow, so he sells stuff for as cheaply as he can. I'm phoning the guy up tomorrow morning first thing. The GAS is getting worse by the hour... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members chris carter Posted April 5, 2009 Members Share Posted April 5, 2009 Today....I REST! I've been so insanely busy recently and it all turned into a perfect storm. I had a record I was producing/mixing, plus a few other records I was mixing and it was all staggered out like normal. But then ALL of my clients approved all their various mixes on practically the SAME day (which typically doesn't happen). These aren't demos for local garage bands - these are records for release (some signed, some as self-release) which means I have to do my normal routine of album, instrumental, a cappella, tv track, etc.etc. and check every mix and then put masters together. Printing/assembling is the most boring mindf&ck on the planet and each song takes about 2 hours (or more). So to have a whole bunch piled up on the same two days was just BRUTAL. I have a small TV in the studio specifically for this reason, but it was no help. It was hell. So today, I ain't doin' sh!t!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members UstadKhanAli Posted April 8, 2009 Members Share Posted April 8, 2009 I had a couple of friends over. Drank hofbrau while creating experimental, improvisational music, recording it to go through later. I played the Korg MS-20, a Javanese gender (a gamelan instrument), and a Nord Electro II. The two keyboards were fed through a Diamond Memory Lane analog delay. My other friend brought over two keyboards, including a Korg MS2000, and his bass. And another friend occasionally sang/vocalized and played hypnotic rhythms on the acoustic guitar. Fun stuff. We had a great time, and are doing this again next Tuesday with another friend. This Saturday, I am recording a psychedelic pop band. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fuzzball Posted April 8, 2009 Members Share Posted April 8, 2009 Yesterday I worked on more audio for a colleges fitness program DVD and pod casts material. Today I will work on mastering one of my bands songs, then work on my new monthly independant podcast project....more info will come soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members KillerV Posted April 20, 2009 Members Share Posted April 20, 2009 I just finished up the band's project that I wrote about last time. They're old friends (frontman was in high-school with me as well) and stayed at my home and we had an absolute boys week. It was like I was back in high-school - bad humor, conversations that would offend many girls, balls to the wall rock 'n roll, etc. We had loads of fun and their songs came out great. They've got a couple of murder-ballads that are really chilling in how cold their frontman sounds when he's singing it. It was really cool to work with him through the whole process of playing the part of the murderer. I told him to tell the mic why he did what he did and how. It worked perfectly. I got goosebumps as he was singing. I mixed the album this past week and they're pretty happy. They also came along on the festival gigs and we had them on stage with us one night. Serious chaos. I'm gonna be doing a bit of touring with my band in the next week or so and when I get back I start work recording vocals on a rapper's album immediately. I've done some soul and rnb, but this will be my first time working with a rapper. I'm sure I'll be able to learn something from it. Any tips, guys??? And finally, I placed the order for that Heil PR30 this morning. That dealer gave me a great price when I told him my friend sent me. I'm saving loads. I really can't wait untill it gets here, which will be a week or 2 because they're waiting for new stock to arrive from the US. I did a LOOOOTTT of er.... planning and manipulating to my budget, but I was able to find a loophole that allows me to get the mic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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