My First Recording

NorioDS

Download this recording here.

OK, I lie, it's not my first recording but it's the first recording I've ever done with the intention of sharing the results with other living people ?

I'm not happy with my intro, nor my outro and I'm ESPECIALLY not happy with my stuff ups around they key-change in the song but, other than that, I'm REALLY chuffed with this recording.

I recorded the guitar by plonking my USB headset in front of my amp and playing the backing track on my speakers. I would have preferred to have listened to the backing track on my headset while recording the guitar but that wasn't possible as they were already in use ? (Of course, the goal being to eliminate everything BUT the guitar from my recording)

(I record using Audacity. Nice program. It's free, too!)

I then imported the backing track as a separate track.

Next, I used the default settings of the "amplify" and "bass boost" effects in Audacity to get my guitar sounding a little louder and a little less twangy.

And, lastly, the most exciting part, I used the default settings of the "delay" effect to make me sound like an uber pro ?

(Oh and I also then exported the project to an MP3 for your listening (dis)pleasure ;D)

The result shows me:

I should invest in a delay pedal NOT a reverb pedal ;D
I should record myself a lot more
I should get better recording equipment (like a dedicated mic for my amp)
And I should pay more attention when there are key-changes in the songs I'm playing along to ?

Francis, you were so right. I'm sure it was you that said I should get a delay pedal instead of reverb.

Any comments on this?

NorioDS

And after listening to it a second time, I'm absolutely disgusted but I'll leave this here as it may just inspire someone to record themselves and post it for all to hear ?

AlanRatcliffe

And after listening to it a second time, I'm absolutely disgusted

LOL! Welcome to my world!

Downloading it now.

NorioDS

Perhaps you can share some insight on something I've been pondering.

If I listen to it on my headphones, it sounds just dandy. If I listen to it on my desktop speakers, not so much.

However, the speakers are great and everything else sounds perfect either way.

(Is it just that my recording sux?)

cain

Hehe norio

Recording your stuff is actually bit more tricky than just strait recording. To get it to sound properly get something like cubase etc thats a pro sound recording tool. Then get a decent sound card like a maya thats made for recording. The problem is that most non pro tools record at crap bit rates and that most built in sound cards are not made for recording so it will sound crappy. Its not your playing ?

To get things to sound awesome, you use compressors and gates etc. Investing into a decent software and pc hardware will be very beneficial in the long run.

AlanRatcliffe

Every system and room is different. The goal of mixing your music is to get something which sounds good on the vast majority of them - "portability" they call it. This is why studio monitors are less coloured and flattering than most hi-fi speaker systems, so that if you get a nice balanced mix on them it should.

Headphones are great for tracking, but don't mix with them - they give a false sense of the mix. Reverbs and delays always seem more apparent when heard in headphones. Phones also throw out your perception of the stereo soundstage - your brain largely identifies stereo positioning from the reflections in the room around you by interpreting the minute phase differences from the induced comb filtering. Pretty amazing stuff.

I've got no idea how the acoustics in your room are, but they have a huge effect on what you hear from your speakers. Ideally you want something with a little life, but generally fairly dry and NO short reflection paths. Research a little on speaker positioning and you should come up with a lot of good stuff you can do to improve things (or at least make sure you are already doing it right).

As far as your recording goes, playing is great (If a little "noodly" - which is fine as this is what this kind of thing is for). Your tone needs work. You're mostly operating in the upper frequencies, competing with the pad and cymbals, etc., while the midrange which is wide open for a guitar is largely untouched. In short, you are suffering a bad case of "mosquito tone" ? I don't know, but this could be the micing - I didn't quite understand your explanation of your recording process. Anyway, get some mids in there to give it some body and it will be fine. Remember the human ear is tuned to the midrange, being most sensitive there (because that's where the human voice is centred). The upper mids and highs add the articulation (or intelligibility with vocals) while the lower mids add the body.

The delay is great, but there's too much. Delay and reverb fill space, but at the expense of moving the sound further back in the mix. Ease off a bit and you will find the sound becomes more upfront, fitting for a lead instrument.

But Kudos on getting in there and recording something. I'm working on a few clips I hammered out this morning.

sepheritoh

Your guitar playing is pretty awesome (especially compared to what I can do).

The recording is a bit out of balance, but Alan already gave more and better advice than I could ever hope to give.

What I can say is: keep on doing this. No recording / mixing engineer has become a grammy winner the first time. It takes lots of practice and each time you will get better. The more you record the better you get. In my first year i my studio I just kept going at it until I felt comfartable.

Thanks for posting this.

NorioDS

Sepheritoh - Thanks bud ? That's really encouraging. I'm going to record a few things again soon but I first want to change my setup a bit and focus on the message I'm trying to deliver. I can almost never repeat something I've played twice. I just mess around the whole time but, if I plan on actually gigging, I should at least keep the melody the same.

I definitely agree that I should record a lot more. That's going to be a valuable way for me to learn a lot of new things. Not least of all is how mis-aligned my playing can sometimes be against the backing track I'm playing over. (I don't always follow the track in a particularly musical way)

Alan - I never knew that "portability" stuff. Good to know! What's "tracking"?

What would you say is a short reflection path? It's a small room with no specific attention paid to the acoustics. I just start playing and hope like hell that it sounds good ? Will definitely research speaker-positioning today!

I never considered the implications of the extra Treble. I just like the screeching a bit too much, I guess ? Will definitely tone it down and see what I come up with.

By the way, does the whole song sound noodly, or just specific parts of it? I'm still working on building good melodies without playing the exact same phrases, over and over again.

Definitely appreciate your suggestions re: the delay. I just accepted the default setting (in Audacity) and, after playing it back a few times, I can hear what you mean about the delay drowning the actual lead out a bit too much.

Looking forward to hearing those clips you recorded!

Francis - Thanks for the pointers. I'm hoping to buy a Mac Mini and dedicate it entirely to recording. I've heard of a few people doing that and they seem to get good results. What are compressors and gates? I've heard of using compressors for sustain but I'm not sure if that's the same as what you're talking about.

NorioDS

Found some more great stuff on Alan's site about compressors and gates...

http://www.alanratcliffe.com/articles/compression.shtml
http://www.alanratcliffe.com/articles/gates.shtml

cain

Hehe i was referring to recording. Not like pedals. Its done on the recording engine. Even if you get a mac mini bud, i would still get another soundcard that connects via firewire or usb2 thats MADE for recording.

Im learning lots from recording, cos my friend is studying sound engineering and recording ?

AlanRatcliffe

What's "tracking"?

The recording stage, when musical performances are captured to tape/hard drive. As opposed to mixing, when levels, EQ and panning are set for each recorded instrument or mastering, where the stereo mixdown is tweaked for the best possible sound.

What would you say is a short reflection path?

Where the sound from the speakers bounces off a nearby surface. This means it arrives at your ears slightly later than the direct sound and causes phase cancellations in the treble frequencies that throw out your perception of the tone. It's usually caused by the flat surfaces near the speaker: specifically the desk surface and the walls to either side and the ceiling above. Raising the speakers so the tweeters are at ear height helps with the first, and some absorption in the right places on the walls helps the second. You can find the places to add absorption on the walls by sitting in mix position, while someone slides a mirror along the wall at tweeter height. When you can see the tweeter in the mirror, that's where you put some absorption.

I never considered the implications of the extra Treble.

It's not so much extra treble as too little midrange and bass. It could actually work for an intro (with the delay too) - but in small doses and in contrast to something more meaty and solid (think Still Life by Iron Maiden).

By the way, does the whole song sound noodly, or just specific parts of it?

Just here and there. Nothing serious.

Looking forward to hearing those clips you recorded!

I'm struggling to upload all of a sudden - files I upload are coming out 222K short. ??? Waiting on a support ticket.

I just read your first post again. Do you mean you recorded the guitar with the mic in a computer headset?

cain

Hehe Allan

When norio played on his cube a while back at my house, he has almost no bass/mid and the treble was turned up full. One just needs to play with the EQ a bit more. I also did that but realised that playing single strings sounds more "treblish" anyways and to get more of a trebble sound just go higher up the neck.

I think you got it right allan, norio doesnt use a decent guitar mic nor a decent sound card. So it affects his recording horribly. Norio's tone sounds allot better than that recording.

AlanRatcliffe

Norio

Your Cube has a line out (labelled as recording out/phones). If you don't have a great mic for recording, DI'ing from that directly to your soundcard will give you the best results - in fact for the most part, modelling amps like the Cube work better DI'd as they usually have mic modelling built in too.

cain

Yeah i he is selling it tho. But his ibanez amp should have a recording/direct out. Most solid state amps do, i think ?

AlanRatcliffe

Most newer ones do.

NorioDS

Thanks for all the great info ?

And Francis, thanks for the compliment. I'm blushing ?

Alan, yup, I'm using the mic from a headset to record. Not ideal but I'll get a proper mic later. The M57s or something that you recommend. Just got to sort my finances out a wee bit.

cain

Norio just get a cable to go into your line out on your amp, then go to hifi corp and get a coverter from the big guitar jack to a pc sized jack and plug it into your line in port. It will sound dandy. Not as good as the real thing but should only cost R30 for the converter and you should have a spare guitar cable anyways.

NorioDS

I'll give it a shot -- nothing to lose.

In fact, I think I have one of those goodies already.

Thanks man ?