Huh By Project Dead. Thick skined only

> > > Huh By Project Dead. Thick skined only

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Chief Cook and Bottle Washer
Member Since: May 10, 2002

Well, how do I put this. Everything advisory. Parental advisory, satanic content, vulgar, Profane, etc. etc. They are good at what they do. Recorded in my auto repair facility between cars on hoists. Instruments all recorded live using microphones only. Vocals where recorded seperately and added. If your into this sort of thing enjoy. If not enjoy the recording anyway. Oh yea, it's in my music profile.

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Member
Since: Jan 27, 2003

Nov 29, 2003 10:45 am

Walt,
I have to say it is a big differents from your other postings. I like the raw sounds of all your recordings and I would have to take your advise as to record what they ask for and ask no questions...are you sure that is not the same vocalist I was recording....LOL

GutterSlinger

Chief Cook and Bottle Washer
Member
Since: May 10, 2002

Nov 29, 2003 10:53 am

Wow, that would be scary, (hears outer limits theme playing). Yea, had little option but to give them what they wanted. I simply don't make noises like that and had no idea what they where looking for!

Member
Since: Jan 27, 2003

Nov 29, 2003 11:04 am

Well I do have to say I like the raw sound and keep up the good work! I took your advise. Record what they want done and send them home!!!!

Chief Cook and Bottle Washer
Member
Since: May 10, 2002

Nov 29, 2003 11:31 am

Glad I could help in some small way. I have chosen to adopt the concept of "give them what they want". I find it very challanging both in terms of technical ability and personal ability. When I first asked this group what sound they wanted the bassist said "Picture a road with hills and valleys to each side. The guitar and I are the road and the percussion and vocals are the hills and valleys we travel through". That picture actually developed as I went through mixing and mastering them. I either am starting to share their vision or their insanity. Not sure which! It is hard for me to deny myself the luxery of "tuning" for what I want to hear. Therein is the biggest challange. I do find it rewarding as I preceive that I am getting glimpses of them instead of just me.

Some glimpses scare more than others!

Czar of Midi
Administrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002

Nov 29, 2003 09:48 pm

I gotta say I liked it. This may just be the mp3 format but the vocals were a bit back in the mix, but like I said it could just be the mp3. Otherwise I thought it sounded great. And you could hear the garage for sure in the recording. The drums were tight yet had some ambiance to them as well as the guitar and bass. Nice full sound but with a live atmosphere to it. Very raw feeling as well. It doesnt sound treated or messed with, just live. And the vocalist or you did a good job of making it sound as though it was all done in one take.

I could almost here the sheet metal ringing as well, was that a 1998 Mercedeze SL? :-)

Chief Cook and Bottle Washer
Member
Since: May 10, 2002

Nov 30, 2003 01:57 am

Thank you Sir Noise!

Their request was no one up front, so I pushed the vocals ever so slightly above the rest of the mix to get at least a flavor for them. And thank you per the vocal mesh. It took a quite a bit of futsing with a room reverb to get a close enough match to be acceptable. A 1972 vintage Mercedeze actually. I absolutely love those cubie wall dividers! Used probably a dozen of them. That's how I was able to focus the sound on the mics to make it full and yet let it bounce off the back of the building for "controled" ambiance. I had plenty of room and was able to avoid destructive bounce. Of course, there are still a bunch of things I want to try with this group. Including a "studio" piece by piece build up. I just don't want to loose that raw energy they produce. Regardles, it will be fun.

Czar of Midi
Administrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002

Nov 30, 2003 08:29 pm

I am guessing the garage would work well on all accounts there. You seem to have had some pretty good control over the sound as it is on the very first try there. I would be lack to say that you shouldnt try it again, so I will say definately try it there again. You now have an insight as to the way things will sound there and I am guessing you may allready have ideas as to how you can get even more out of that space. One of my first out of the ordinary experiances in recording was in an old bus garage that was converted to a gym of sorts. Padding on the walls and what not, but still alot of open echoing vastness. It took a bit of trying but in the end it sounded like anauditorium and that is what made it possible to record those guys live, without the crowd. I will say this again, you captured a very open and live feeling sound. But it retains the tight controlled soudn expected from todays recordings. Nothing seems to have gotten in the way or away from a good sound.

As for the vocal part, that would explain it. It sounded good were it was, but I wondered why it was back in the mix. Now that is explained.

Chief Cook and Bottle Washer
Member
Since: May 10, 2002

Nov 30, 2003 08:53 pm

Thank you so much for your critique, Noise. I truely have a lot of faith in your assesment and your willingness to be candid. This whole thing started when I ran across an article explaining how a perticular jazz album was recorded. I had heard the album and was instantly interested per the fine sound I had heard. When I saw the picture of the room they were using I immediately thought "NO WAY!" Huge, Open, Hot, room. All of the "wrong" materials for a studio. They went on to explain their use of dampening panels around each of the musicians as well as mic placement. The whole thing intrigued me. As I mentioned, I will continue to work with this band and try some other things, and yes I do plan on building on the foundation of the first recording. But my big itch is to get some subtle instrumentation into the garage. Flute, strings, etc. I started on this a little as one of the tracks from Project Dead has some acustic guitar which I used two 012's on instead of the pick up on the fiddle. The whole trick was to put on the headphones and leave them on as I adjusted panels and mics. Using the 012's as my ears I was supprised at the latitude available. Noise from outside the building was the only formatable problem I ran into. Had one plane landing and one traffic stop that we had to work around. Recording equipment fans and such where no problem at about a 10' distance with a couple of panels inbetween.

Anyway, I'm babbling. Thank you again all for the critiques. Hope maybe sharing technique will also help others!

Czar of Midi
Administrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002

Nov 30, 2003 09:27 pm

Agreed on the sharing thing. I hope others catch this thread and pick up on it. I know I have been reading about several odd recording studios located in buildings you wouldnt consider. Some because of the ambiant noise and others becuase of the acuastics. But these guys have recorded some awsome stuff. One such studio has let the ambiant noises, ala traffic and the factory loading dock below work there way into almost every album he has produced. Most of it is very superficial, but it is there no the less. And I guess after listening to alot of his stuff I realized soem of the subtle little things I took for granted were actually things he never really planned on being there. But he made it work. So anyway now Im babling.

So on with the show this is it.

sloppy dice, drinks twice
Member
Since: Aug 05, 2003

Dec 02, 2003 08:19 am

While that's not my favorite genre, I used to be into it, and the recording sounds excellent. The only critical comment I would make is that the guitar's distortion sounds a little solid-state-ish, which is probably the guy's signature sound or something anyhow. I'd make it throatier, more growly, but that's just me. Everything else came through very well, and it was a great sound and mix.

Chief Cook and Bottle Washer
Member
Since: May 10, 2002

Dec 02, 2003 08:56 am

Thanks TinCan! Yea, the first thing I did was to sit down with the guitarist and run his track through a warmer with him guiding me. I had a very distinct advantage here. I was totally clueless as to what he was trying to create! My genre is swing. The guitar in all of my groups is a miked acustic shooting for absolute clarity. Obviously all that babble is the long way around saying "you got it!" That is his signature sound. Approved by him on tape prior to mixing.

Your comments are very cool however. I am planning on doing a studio version of their stuff at some point in the future should they decide to persue that. All of the comments that I get will be fed back to the group as it can only help them in creating a "marketable" sound.

Thank much!

The fat one always watches us.
Member
Since: Nov 08, 2002

Dec 15, 2003 07:49 am

Not my cup o'tea but i dig the ambiance. a "natural reverb being pushed by un-natural music" or somthing. how many mics on those drums? i think thats the best part of this- really got the drums well. the rest of the mix is good too, but the drum "sound" was the catcher.
im not sure why you had to put an advisory... i really couldnt understand anything.(i know, im old- im sure teenagers can hear it just fine)
i think you did a great job with these guys, and im sure theyre going to want to use you again. and thats whats its all about. customer is the important thing!

Chief Cook and Bottle Washer
Member
Since: May 10, 2002

Dec 15, 2003 02:47 pm

Thanks Tony, And don't feel bad about understanding the vocals. While I was sitting with the guitar player tuning his tone per his taste with the PSP warmer, he mentions, "I have yet to understand a word that boy sings". And there you have it! If the guitar player can't, how should we?

I used on mic on each of the toms. Senheiser clip ons. On Supercartiod rode NT3 on the snare. A single Shure 57 on the back of the kick (here next time I will also have a micro on the striker). And finally two Behringer B2's overhead pretty close to the cymbles. I still had to do a fair amount of band pass isolation on each track for mix down, but they did pretty good.

Thanks again for taking a listen!

Walt

> > > Huh By Project Dead. Thick skined only

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