My first recordings with my gear

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Member Since: Sep 27, 2003

Hey everyone, I am happy to say I finally completed my band's demo. It's my first crack at all the new gear I have been buying. to record I used the aardvark q10, behringer mdx4600 compressor, 57's and pg81's and some anonymous kick mic, and cool edit pro 2.

I didn't have as much time as I would have liked to mix it all, only about 3 days. Also, I made some mistakes that I will now learn from, like overcompressing the kick and snare, and even some vocals on the way in to the soundcard=\

Anyhow, here's the link www.purevolume.com/endermi

Let me have any criticism you've got.

David

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Bane of All Existence
Member
Since: Mar 27, 2003


Feb 28, 2004 12:30 pm

you know dave, that's pretty good for your first recording. now that you've got this going on, it's all about fine-tuning to get your individual sounds as excellent as possible.

constructive criticism:
how did you record your guitars? the tone sounds thin, and it sounds like you might have turned the mids up in an odd spot or you're having phase with multiple mics.

your drums would sound way better if you lowered the snare in the mix, tuned them up real nice, and put the kick mic very close to the beater inside the drum to make it stand out in the mix.

if you feel you're overcompressing tracks, just use a compressor in cool edit so that you can adjust it at all times instead of hardwiring it during tracking.

do some reading to get an idea of how various people make recordings that you think are excellent. you've got a great start.

Member
Since: Sep 27, 2003


Feb 28, 2004 12:51 pm

i recorded the guitars with that double miking trick on this site. I had the 57 up close and a pg81 (our only condensers) back about a foot and a half or two feet if i remember right. the only EQ on the guitars should be rolling off the very low end (i think up to about 80 or 100 Hz).

the snare was a bit loud but i also wanted it to stand out. but i had been listening to these constantly (short time frame for mixing) and so after a while i just couldn't tell. the kick was a disaster. his kick drum sucks to begin with, and then it was over compressed going in and the mic placement could have been better.

I had a lot of trouble making the low end not so muddy. I think i fixed it somewhat, but it still could be better.

I don't know anything about tuning drums, and i think my drummer doesn't even have much experience with it (he's only 15), so maybe we should look into that. if you have any web resources that explain drum tunings well, that would be helpful.

thanks a lot, minkus

a.k.a. Porp & Mr. Muffins
Member
Since: Oct 09, 2002


Feb 28, 2004 01:30 pm

Nice!! I really like the music, too. I would listen to this :) It reminds me of a couple of punk bands I listen to. I would actually recommend compressing the snare drum more (through software) which would then also effectively turn down the volume of it. A bit of reverb might be good on it too. I like the guitar sound a lot. Good Job! If that's your first stuff, than I can't wait to hear what else you're going to do.

Bane of All Existence
Member
Since: Mar 27, 2003


Feb 28, 2004 01:43 pm

the thing about that guitar double mic'ing trick is that you really have to use your ears. i throw a pair of headphones on, get an excellent sound with my close up mic, and then move the second mic around, listening to the swooshing phase sound, and finding a spot that brings out the best of the tone. if you put the microphone in a random place, you don't know whether you're helping the tone with the second mic or destroying it (constructive vs destructive interference, AKA "phasing").

as for drum tuning, search on google or something. here's the first match i got from yahoo:
homepage.ntlworld.com/dr.stu/tuningd.htm

keep it coming!

a.k.a. Porp & Mr. Muffins
Member
Since: Oct 09, 2002


Feb 28, 2004 02:59 pm

Yeah, I would say that the weak point of the whole mix is definately the kick drum. It needs to be louder and you need to cut out the mids and boost the lows and highs-- alot, especially since, as you said, it's not a great kick drum in the first place.

a.k.a. Porp & Mr. Muffins
Member
Since: Oct 09, 2002


Feb 28, 2004 03:02 pm

Oh-- and that's awesome that your drummer is 15 and is that good! I thought I was good for my age then...

Member
Since: Sep 27, 2003


Feb 28, 2004 03:28 pm

Yeah, i had to eq in a LOT of beater smack just to hear the kick on any kind of headphones or small speakers. it just wasn't there otherwise. next time i record i'll be much more careful about the sound of the snare and kick going onto the tracks so that won't be necessary.

also, that's cool that you like the music, too=)
hopefully we can count on you being another fan, we need as many as we can get hehe.

Member
Since: Jan 17, 2004


Feb 29, 2004 01:32 pm

Well played Dave, these 3 tracks that ive heard are absolutely awesome, just my style of music. And props to ure drummer, at the age of 15. As you say, there are a few things that arent perfect, but heck, its pretty damn awesome as it stands.
Congrats

Member
Since: Jul 02, 2003


Feb 29, 2004 01:59 pm

Very nice job for your first go at it. Sounds pretty good to me, real good infact. I certainly wouldn't have any problems listening to your songs. :)

Dan

punk rock @$$hole
Member
Since: Feb 29, 2004


Feb 29, 2004 11:18 pm

better than my first recording.

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


Mar 01, 2004 10:05 am

Hey Indy Dave, those are great songs. Nice songwriting on that first one, "Your Majesty", especially. Hey, your drummer kicks ***. :)

That's a quality recording, considering it's your first. Great job. It's hard for me to comment about the quality since I'm hearing it on a built-in computer speaker at work... I would like to say though, that the only obvious problem I heard was an occasional disharmony (EDIT: I'm referring to the vocals...) at the beginning of "Your Majesty", and then at a couple of points in your other songs, though I couldn't say from memory where they were exactly. You guys have a really high energy level that comes through VERY clearly in your recording - nice job. I think that's the audio equivalent of being photogenic in pictures...

Anyhow, really good job, can't wait to hear more from you. :)

Member
Since: Sep 27, 2003


Mar 01, 2004 01:19 pm

thanks everybody for all the kind words. as for the disharmonies.. i need to find autotune ^_^ i'm not the best singer this world has ever seen. i'll definitely be posting here straight away as soon as we record more songs.

thanks again,

David

a.k.a. Porp & Mr. Muffins
Member
Since: Oct 09, 2002


Mar 01, 2004 02:50 pm

Well, it's a nice raw, punky "disharmony" :) And I do like your voice.

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


Mar 01, 2004 03:01 pm

I second Porpoise's comment. :)

Member
Since: Sep 27, 2003


Mar 01, 2004 06:16 pm

hrmm.. ok i can live with that=)

Czar of Midi
Administrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002


Mar 01, 2004 10:34 pm

I will third that vocal comment. It seems to work well with the music. And hell yes you guys sound like raw energy. Your drummer is that good at 15, KEEP HIM AROUND I can only imagine him getting better. I do like the punkish sound for sure, where do we go from here has that type of edgey feel to it. I cant find anything to beef about the guitar sound at all. It is again a very cutting edgey sound that fits the music. You can hear the rawness of the guitars, I should state that it sounds very live. The bass guitar seems to sit well in the mix as well. Sounds like you got a better kick sound on the where do we go from here track although it still does ring on occasion.

Otherwise, for your first attempt it sounds as though you guys are off to a great start. Hope to hear more of your stuff soon, I will be listening to it for sure.

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