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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
Mixing Help
Mixing Help
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HarpNinja
1954 posts
Dec 02, 2011
11:47 AM
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I am trying really hard to get some decent live recordings. If you would, please give this a listen (just me playing at home) and comment on the MIX?
I think the vocals are hot and there are too many highs on the harmonica, but maybe I am way off?
http://mikefugazzi.com/files/cocaine.mp3
Thanks!
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Mike
Quicksilver Custom Harmonicas
VHT Special 6 Mods
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MrVerylongusername
2090 posts
Dec 02, 2011
12:31 PM
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I only got mono - presumably part of the problem is the looping setup which really restricts your panning/separation options. It was quiet too.
My immediate reaction was the vocals (although well sung) were a little on the lifeless side and perhaps a little too dry.
Even more so with the beatbox track - it lacked punch; wooly, like you'd cut the high end.
The vocals were sometimes overwhelmed by the lead harp, but more of a tonal issue than a volume one - I don't think the lead harp had too many highs, just that in comparison the other major elements lacked them.
You could fix a lot of this with EQing.
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5F6H
1007 posts
Dec 02, 2011
1:00 PM
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Hi Mike,
I only got mono too...switched the cans so sound was in my good ear...;-)
I'm not too bothered about level, this can be dealt with post production. So long as you capture what's there & keep the noise floor relatively low, I wouldn't worry too much.
I hear what Mr VLUN means, but I'm not so sure a lack of "wet" is the primary issue, more that the high end is too attenuated, lacks life? A little dull, rather than dry?
Agreed on the lack of highs, harmonica sounds the most natural.
Track is too long, probably works great live, but as a recording I'd aim to lose a minute or so.
Regeneration on the harp delay is a bit over the top, too long on the repeat, it's a bit distracting. I find myself listening for the repeat & paying less attention to what's going on in real time. Getting a good wet effect to me is one of the hardest things to get really right...I'd keep the wet pretty restrained, or off, see if there's something you can add after the event if you are looking primarily to record it.
Overall, it's not bad, performance is solid.
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www.myspace.com/markburness
Last Edited by on Dec 02, 2011 1:05 PM
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HarpNinja
1955 posts
Dec 02, 2011
3:02 PM
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Thanks for the comments!!!
I committed the cardinal sin of recording and took a direct feed from my mixer. I know next to zero about home recording, but I have an Onyx Blackjack which is supposed to be a really great amateur usb recording interface (according to gearslutz.com).
I don't have good monitors...I just have my PA mains and a great pair of Sennheiser studio headphones.
So what I did was setup my mixer into one PA monitor and then took a direct feed from that into the Onyx. I used the main output rather than a tape out, etc, as I didn't really know what I was doing.
I then mixed for the best monitor feed, which I realize isn't necessarily the best recording mix. Everything heard here is mixed before the interface and recorded in Audacity. I forgot to record in mono after finally figuring out how to record in stereo. My bad!
I used two channels in the mixer...one vocal and one instrument. It sounded good through the K10...lots of punch, but...and here in lies my biggest issue regarding live and recorded sound...what I hear in realtime isn't just from the monitor. I hear it in my head acoustically.
So in real time, the vocal mix and lead harmonica sound right, but are influenced largely by the sound in my head.
I thought about miking the PA speaker, BUT I think this set-up is easy for me to tweak. The con is I have to set the best recorded mix and not live. For this, I literally setup the best room sound and then took a direct line from the board...a big no-no so I am told.
My hope is to simply get a good enough recording to share on things like this forum and my own study. I am not sure I'd ever use it as a "demo" as YouTube has become the preferred method for that around here, and I for sure wouldn't have any illusions of selling them.
There is a fantastic studio downtown with an Emmy nominated producer who I am friends with. He has invited me to do a recording/taping mini-documentary to use as a demo that has me playing my looping rig in real time. I haven't solidified a date, but I'd try and use that as a demo vs a home recording.
In the back of my mind, I do hope that I can get a "good enough" direct feed from a mixer to tape live shows for constructive feedback and rehearsal purposes. I think I can get to that point....maybe. It'd help if I had any background in this at all.
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Mike
Quicksilver Custom Harmonicas
VHT Special 6 Mods
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lor
44 posts
Dec 02, 2011
3:47 PM
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I ran it into my Sound Foundry on the computer. It's definitely a stereo recording with signals only on the left channel. The bass tones which sound very 'wooly', i.e., like buzzing, incomplete tones, they look like (the program displays the waveforms graphically) harmonica sound, but they are recorded at just barely above noise level, as tho' maybe they were too loud audibly, perhaps overdriving a mic'd speaker, but ended up put down way too far in the mix. It needs to come up about three times the volume, try 8 to 10 dB higher. Might be the compression to mp3 took out some definition also, at that low level. The beat box/drum is fine. The high harp and vocals sound very good. Nice clean, attractive performance, too. All IMHO.
Last Edited by on Dec 02, 2011 3:48 PM
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HarpNinja
1956 posts
Dec 02, 2011
5:06 PM
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lor,
The bass is too low in the mix? I have a bear of a time dialing that in for recording. It sounds fine through the monitor, but always way crappier when recroded.
Thanks!
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Mike
Quicksilver Custom Harmonicas
VHT Special 6 Mods
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lor
45 posts
Dec 03, 2011
10:48 AM
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Yes, the bass is too low in the mix. Tell me how you recorded it. Mic? Line in? Thru pre-amp? Then tell me how you plugged it into the mix. What equipment, what setting, etc.
By the way the left channel is the one on the tip of the plugs. Stereo plugs have 3 connectors, the tip, the ring (right channel), and the sleeve (ground). Mono connectors have only 2 connectors, the tip, (no ring), and the sleeve (ground). If you used a mono plug somewhere, it grounded the right channel, hence no signal.
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