The best recording I've done...

Discussion on new albums, developing listening skills, critical listening to others' work, as well as TOMB members' MP3 links, online recording critiques

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jkelly222
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Post by jkelly222 » Wed May 25, 2011 3:07 pm

Some really great stuff so far!

I'm really proud of this Psychedelic tune I play drums on and also recorded/mixed. This is on one of my bands latest lp's on Hardly Art (Subpop).

We recorded onto a 16 track Tascam with absolutely NO outboard equipment and only a handful of microphones, the nicest one being an SM27. Everything was recorded in an unfinished shed behind my old house in Texas.

Our friend made this awesome collage video that fits perfectly with the tune.

I feel like I could really blow away this entire album because it was such a huge learning experience; however, I'm very proud of the entire thing.

Here's the tune. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxSNMK7muuE

Or for better quality. http://vimeo.com/18754793

Note: It is intentionally a bit "off". Heavily Zappa inspired.

Also very happy with this more soul driven turn from the same lp. Same two dudes. Same set up. The quality on youtube is kind of a bummer but here it is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zCwoCoP ... re=related

jkelly222
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Post by jkelly222 » Thu May 26, 2011 7:18 am

joel hamilton wrote:I have a new one, because I was genuiely moved by these guys...

http://blindboys.com/

I did a pretty amazing session with these guys up at avatar. With Anthony Hamilton and Soulive.

Amazing, inspirational people nd performances. The songs of the civil rights movement. It was being filmed for a documentary, so presumably you will be able to see how I recorded them, all live, in studio A at avatar... sometime tis coming year I hope.

The blind boys are inspirational, and i am proud to have recorded them.
Really awesome!

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An Empty Glass

Post by Richard King » Sat Nov 05, 2011 7:44 pm

A song (the only song) that was recorded AND had a video added to it one night at Waldo's on a Wed. night in Vero Beach, Fl. The band plays there every Wed and I recorded them a couple of times in the past. This is the time where I was recording and picked up the video recorder and walked away from the audio rig and videp taped while audio just kept on running. I took the audio mix and replaced the camera audio on the video tape with this as the result. I do, pretty much, only LIVE audio projects, even though I started with studio projects in the mid '70's.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... 2OqvA5U6wE

Some other projects (and this project) may be found at my website: http://www.richardkingmedia.com/?page_id=47 All recordings at the site are LIVE recordings, which is what I enjoy doing best, rarther than studio recordings. There is, however, a picture at the website of the studio I worked at in the early '70's, along with a single recording from the '70's also (LIVE) that you might (should) know (maybe). :lol:

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Post by charmingtedious » Tue Jan 31, 2012 7:10 pm

Here's a nice song I did a couple years back with Madeline, a rad singer/songwriter from Athens, Ga.

We just did this as a quick CDR for the artists to sell on tour, figuring I'd dump it to tape and give it a proper mastering job. if it ever got a proper release. I didn't hear about it for a while, and then suddenly Orange Twin was pressing up a 7". Would have liked to have had another shot at the mix, but oh well!

That's Phil Elverum (Tape Op #32) on wobbly guitar in the coda and Gus Franklin (Architecture in Helsinki) on the trombones.

The song was presented to me as simple piano ballad and I like that the arrangement took it to a grander scale without sacrificing intimacy or rough edges or the emotional core of the song.
Last edited by charmingtedious on Thu Apr 19, 2012 2:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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ieatpants
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Post by ieatpants » Sat Apr 14, 2012 9:37 pm

whoa, cool. so much good stuff here. charmingtedious, your link doesn't seem to work (Error 403: Forbidden)... it's too bad cause i love everything elverum is involved in...
anywayssss, i just finished an album of songs inspired by the life and stories of sci-fi author philip k dick and here is the title track, the empire never ended
i dunno. a hamburger? b/w http://ieatpants.bandcamp.com

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Post by charmingtedious » Thu Apr 19, 2012 2:44 pm

Link fixed!

ieatpants, interesting stuff--reminds me a bit of Jarvis Cocker's solo record?

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Post by ieatpants » Fri Apr 20, 2012 1:45 pm

thanks mr. tedious, that is some lovely music there. nice dynamics and subtlety.

and i have loved jarvis cocker since i was a wee boy and would give him a testicle if he asked. but he hasn't :(
i dunno. a hamburger? b/w http://ieatpants.bandcamp.com

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Post by scottlepore » Sat Jul 14, 2012 11:14 am

My most favorite recording I've ever done is off an old album of mine.
It's got this interesting chord in it that I made up that came out of nowhere, a totally grooving bass line and it was all done analog and it sounds awesome!
Dig it.

http://shesthesheriff.bandcamp.com/trac ... al-version
Scott W. Lepore

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Post by Greener » Sat Sep 29, 2012 3:08 am

To date this is one of them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THzuHss7BpQ

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Post by Greener » Sat Sep 29, 2012 10:48 pm

[quote="scottlepore"]My most favorite recording I've ever done is off an old album of mine.
It's got this interesting chord in it that I made up that came out of nowhere, a totally grooving bass line and it was all done analog and it sounds awesome!
Dig it.

http://shesthesheriff.bandcamp.com/trac ... al-version[/quote]

Lose the snare from the kit, it's loose and rattling outside the mechanics of the track. The whole kit is strung up to hum real fast yet you're playing slow.

The whole sound of the song is fun, it feels like the closing song to a film where ugly people get married and live happily ever after... You know the sex is going to be ugly, the kids ugly too but the fun and happiness is going to be bountiful. I find your music calming and inspiring in a positive way. Have you ever though of having someone sing over it?

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Post by dwreckords » Sat Mar 09, 2013 4:47 pm

Probably my 'best' recording so far, im pretty stoked on it. Guitars were tracked through my AxeFx 2, Bass through SVT Classic Head into a Mesa 8x10 cab. Recorded and mixed at my studio, mastered by Stephan Hawkes @ Interlace Audio

https://soundcloud.com/sasquatchstudios ... it-from-me

https://facebook.com/uglycolors

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"Everything Is Going Strange"

Post by optofonik » Mon May 08, 2017 8:22 pm

https://soundcloud.com/mickdavies/every ... ough-mix-2


This is it for the music. The bridge is done. What were the scratch vocals are going to stay, I like the mistakes. The rough mix will stand until I decide to come back to it (or someone foolishly wants to license it). For my purposes, it is, for the moment, done.



Here's some "liner notes" for anyone who are interested...



***********************************************************************


I've worked with it a few days here and there for the past eight months. The sessions totaled about four weeks including researching the material for the bridge.


Writing sessions are the most drawn out because I'm not terribly good at instruments outside of voice so it takes me longer to find what fits than it does a seasoned performer. Once I find what fits I have to practice over and over before recording it, sometimes for a couple of days. Again, it takes me longer than a seasoned instrumentalist (to be clear, any trained vocalist knows that voice is an "instrument" so I'm talking about the kind of instrument one plays using one's hands in some way or another). When writing a guitar or bass part, for example, I usually end up having to learn some new basic technique that I don't know yet in order to accomplish playing the part, especially if something interesting happens by accident, something I'm not practiced at. When that happens I usually have to spend hours (or days) learning how to consciously perform the "accident".


Drums take the longest I think because I'm having to write and track them "by hand". I use two excellent programs that are, I think, as good as it gets without a real drummer. As good as they are, however, it is still an arduous task that can take several 12+ hour days. I fell asleep in my chair after about 20 hours during one drum writing session. A days like that impresses upon one to be mindful that creativity becomes a victim to diminishing returns at a certain point; technical capabilities take a hit as well. I would much prefer a real drummer.


The vocals are easier for me because that's what I was trained in. I record scratch tracks as I write the lyrics. In this case it was around 3am so I was forced to keep it hushed to avoid having that cops called for letting loose on anything. After an already long day I was half asleep anyway so belting anything out probably wouldn't have been in the cards anyway. The following day I planned to record a ?proper? scratch vocal track but I liked how the restrained scratch vocal sounded. I practiced different phrasings in that ?hushed? style but ended up liking the scratch track better, warts and all; better than any of the stuff I was doing wide awake in the middle of the afternoon.


Once a new part is recorded I live with it for a few days or weeks. If I can listen to it over and over in my car on on the rush hour commute from the L.A. foothills to, say Manhattan Beach, and not hate it I'll decide to write the next part and track it. Early on there were two synth parts in the bridge that didn't survive the drive.


I started writing the song shortly after an old friend and former bandmate, a guitarist passed away. For a time we were like brothers and, although we kept in touch, we hadn't spent anytime together in years. We had been planning our reunion but about a month before it was to take place he died unexpectedly. I felt I wanted to learn how to play guitar o honer his memory.


If I had to guess the total hours from inspiration to where it's at now it would probably work about to be about 160. I'm pleased that I decided to keep at it. The song progressed as the presidential campaigns were coming to a close, the election finished, and the new administration took office. I was really distressed (like many) by the circumstances surrounding the outcome as much as the outcome itself. Writing and recording, "Everything Is Going Strange", has been a healthy way to channel my feelings and deal with the stress; as songwriting does for many. I'm glad I was able to channel the negative energy into something positive and get it out of my system.

The guitars used were a Squier VM Jaguar and a Squier VM Jazzmaster. The bass was an Epiphone Thunderbird IV. Not that it matters.
"Let us wander through a great modern city with our ears more attentive than our eyes..."

Luigi Russolo, 1913

optofonik
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"Everything Is Going Strange"

Post by optofonik » Mon May 08, 2017 8:23 pm

https://soundcloud.com/mickdavies/every ... ough-mix-2


This is it for the music. The bridge is done. What were the scratch vocals are going to stay, I like the mistakes. The rough mix will stand until I decide to come back to it (or someone foolishly wants to license it). For my purposes, it is, for the moment, done.



Here's some "liner notes" for anyone who are interested...



***********************************************************************


I've worked with it a few days here and there for the past eight months. The sessions totaled about four weeks including researching the material for the bridge.


Writing sessions are the most drawn out because I'm not terribly good at instruments outside of voice so it takes me longer to find what fits than it does a seasoned performer. Once I find what fits I have to practice over and over before recording it, sometimes for a couple of days. Again, it takes me longer than a seasoned instrumentalist (to be clear, any trained vocalist knows that voice is an "instrument" so I'm talking about the kind of instrument one plays using one's hands in some way or another). When writing a guitar or bass part, for example, I usually end up having to learn some new basic technique that I don't know yet in order to accomplish playing the part, especially if something interesting happens by accident, something I'm not practiced at. When that happens I usually have to spend hours (or days) learning how to consciously perform the "accident".


Drums take the longest I think because I'm having to write and track them "by hand". I use two excellent programs that are, I think, as good as it gets without a real drummer. As good as they are, however, it is still an arduous task that can take several 12+ hour days. I fell asleep in my chair after about 20 hours during one drum writing session. A day like that impresses upon one to be mindful that creativity becomes a victim to diminishing returns at a certain point; technical capabilities take a hit as well. I would much prefer a real drummer.


The vocals are easier for me because that's what I was trained in. I record scratch tracks as I write the lyrics. In this case it was around 3am so I was forced to keep it hushed to avoid having that cops called for letting loose on anything. After an already long day I was half asleep so belting anything out probably wouldn't have been in the cards anyway. The following day I planned to record a ?proper? scratch vocal track but I liked how the restrained scratch vocal sounded. I practiced different phrasings in that ?hushed? style but ended up liking the scratch track better, warts and all; better than any of the stuff I was doing wide awake in the middle of the afternoon.


Once a new part is recorded I live with it for a few days or weeks. If I can listen to it over and over in my car on on the rush hour commute from the L.A. foothills to, say Manhattan Beach, and not hate it I'll decide to write the next part and track it. Early on there were two synth parts in the bridge that didn't survive the drive.


I started writing the song shortly after an old friend and former bandmate, a guitarist passed away. For a time we were like brothers and, although we kept in touch, we hadn't spent anytime together in years. We had been planning our reunion but about a month before it was to take place he died unexpectedly. I felt I wanted to learn how to play guitar to honer his memory.


If I had to guess the total hours from inspiration to where it's at now it would probably work about to be about 160. I'm pleased that I decided to keep at it. The song progressed as the presidential campaigns were coming to a close, the election finished, and the new administration took office. I was really distressed (like many) by the circumstances surrounding the outcome as much as the outcome itself. Writing and recording, "Everything Is Going Strange", has been a healthy way to channel my feelings and deal with the stress; as songwriting does for many. I'm glad I was able to channel the negative energy into something positive and get it out of my system.

The guitars used were a Squier VM Jaguar and a Squier VM Jazzmaster. The bass was an Epiphone Thunderbird IV. Not that it matters.
"Let us wander through a great modern city with our ears more attentive than our eyes..."

Luigi Russolo, 1913

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vernier
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Re: The best recording I've done...

Post by vernier » Tue Sep 28, 2021 10:23 am

This one ..as it turns out I like this one . . .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkguC26AO7U

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