First Recording Attempt

stevie_bees

stevie_bees

Cat In The Hatministrator
Ok, so I've never really been in a good position to be able to record. I've used an old Yamaha QY-70 sequencer for backing tracks in the past, but never been able to record guitars competently. I've come up with this using GarageBand and an iRig 2. Any and all thoughts/advice gratefully received!

https://soundcloud.com/steve-bees/want-me


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Re: First Recording Attempt

How balanced does it sound? I haven't added any automation to the tracks, and I still need to work out how I'm going to record my vocals. I'm thinking about using my vocal mic into my V-Amp 2, which has a valve preamp setting, then running it through IK Multimedia's Mic Room plug in (if it'll work) to get a clear recording. Although I'll maybe try the mic direct into the iPad to see what results I get.


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Re: First Recording Attempt

Drums are too loud, imo, and sound very monophonic.

It also could use an all purpose room reverb to glue the instrumemts together.
 
Re: First Recording Attempt

Yeah, I'm not particularly happy with the drums. They are just me tapping out the patterns using the GarageBand drums, but they definitely need work. With regard to reverb, are you talking about an all over master reverb for the whole track?


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Re: First Recording Attempt

For my taste, too much overall reverb on the track would make everything too mushed together.

I'd use some for the vocals, and perhaps some slapback, pushed back a ways, for the rhythm guitar.
If you're going to add a scorched-earth solo, that would do well for some Grand Canyon-y goodness.
I agree the drums need to be swapped out... very generic sounding.
Get a good sounding kit and leave it dry, or just a light touch of room echo. No Phil Collins!

Overall, the groove itself is a vast improvement on the synthpop version. Nicely done!
 
Re: First Recording Attempt

I have no idea if you can set up aux's in GB.
If you can, set up an aux track with a room reverb.
Then send each instrument to the aux track to taste.
Reverbs are a great way to create depth, you don't want it full on.
But if you imagine the drums being the furthest back, for example, you can send an extra dB or two of send level to the reverb track. That will make it wetter and sound further back.

Once again, not sure how it works in GB, I use LPX and Cubase.
 
Re: First Recording Attempt

 
Re: First Recording Attempt

Any advice on getting a good recorded bass tone? I used the GarageBand P-Bass sound to get something, but I'd like to record a live bass track. I am, however, limited to my 5-string Soundgear bass and the Amplitude app on my iPad to get the tones. Should I be compressing the bass at the amp, or worry about compression on the track? How should I eq the amp? Lots of bass, no treble/middle? I'm really not sure where to starting aiming for here! [emoji2]


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Re: First Recording Attempt

That will work fine. I use a $100 Squire 3/4 bass for 20 years. :)

Use a bass amp sim and most of the work will be done for you.
 
Re: First Recording Attempt

Is it best to record a single bass track, or record a couple with differing tones to get a fuller sound?


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Re: First Recording Attempt

stevie_bees said:
Is it best to record a single bass track, or record a couple with differing tones to get a fuller sound?
Click to expand...

I like to record a single bass and then mult the track. I then high pass one copy and low pass the other, one for low frequencies and one for mid/high frequencies. I then blend them to taste.
 
Re: First Recording Attempt

Okay, way too much compression going on; it's pumping quite badly. There is also some phasiness manifesting on the bass guitar; it's not holding to the center of the soundstage at all.
 
Re: First Recording Attempt

Thanks for the feedback. I had a quick look through, and part of my problem is GarageBand on the iPad being pretty restrictive. I think the bass issue may be because one of the two tracks was slightly off center. I must admit tho, I'm finding compression a bit of a black art at the moment. I can only add compression directly to each track, and I can't find any adjustment for the parameters. Again I suspect this to be just a limitation of the app. Also, I don't have any monitors, so it's all being done through headphones and I think I need to break up my working into smaller chunks. I'm probably getting ear fatigue! :)
Still, every day's a school day!


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Re: First Recording Attempt

Ok, so another run at it! :)

I found that one of the bass tracks was off center, so I've realigned that. I've taken out some compression and spread a couple of the tracks a little more. Once again I'm using headphones and an iPad so it's tricky to know exactly how things are coming out.

https://soundcloud.com/steve-bees/want-me-update


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