A big "Hello" + check out my band's first EP. . .

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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drasp
audio school graduate
Posts: 14
Joined: Wed Jun 30, 2010 9:48 am
Location: St. Petersburg, FL
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A big "Hello" + check out my band's first EP. . .

Post by drasp » Sun Jul 04, 2010 7:08 am

Hello all! :D

I've poked around on TOMB before, but just finally joined up. My band just finished mastering our EP - our first recorded material - and of course it was a huge learning experience. I had a few different Portas in highschool (mid '90s) and had lots of fun recording & 'experimenting' with friends, but never really had a "band" to record.

We're all busy "grown-ups" and the band exists mostly as way for us to blow off steam. We practice one night a week & play out once or twice a month. The reception, within our local garage/punk scene has been really good & we decided we ought to go into the studio & try to 'capture the magic', Heh!

Our rehearsal studio has a room w/ a booth & a pair of VS1880s & the price couldn't be beat, so we chose to go that route. Recorded the basic tracks live in the studio, only two takes per song. Chose the best take & added vocals + a few overdubs to double solos & add a little texture. Completed all six tracks in two nights of ~3-4hrs each. The raw tracks were way too clean/flat/dull - not what we expected to hear. We sent them out to a good friend in Portland to have them messed up a bit. He did a wonderful job of fixing them up, so we got them back & did the mastering w/ a friend in a local studio. Overall, we're quite happy with the end result. Even if we failed to capture the energy of our live performances, the tracks are better than we expected when we first started out. . .

Take a listen!

http://theprettyvoices.bandcamp.com/alb ... -voices-ep

I'd LOVE any feedback, good or bad - not only on the tracks/songs/performances, but also on the artwork - if you click through the individual songs you'll see I've put up some 'rough sketch' cover ideas. Nothing is quite sticking out for us yet.

Anyhow - the process of digital recording -> Pro Tools has actually led me back to cassette 4 tracks. I've gotten my hands on a 414mkII & will be digging up some mics & pres to play with. :D

mvollrath
gettin' sounds
Posts: 106
Joined: Thu Nov 08, 2007 7:29 am
Location: Asheville, NC

Post by mvollrath » Wed Jul 07, 2010 8:10 am

I feel like it all comes together really well sonically, though the bass seems to get lost sometimes. On tracks like Grease Fire where the bass plays a nice melody, it would be nice to hear more of it.

Nice guitar tones!

Musically Lost Weekend is my fav.
"All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up." - pablo picasso

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drasp
audio school graduate
Posts: 14
Joined: Wed Jun 30, 2010 9:48 am
Location: St. Petersburg, FL
Contact:

Post by drasp » Wed Jul 07, 2010 10:00 am

Thanks! :D I think Lost Weekend might be my favorite as well. . .

You're 100% right on the bass tones. I'd love to get more of a Stranglers "dirty bass" kind of vibe. . . From what I understand, we had some nasty clipping in the bass tracks & it took some Pro Tools heroics to fix. Same goes for the drums. Guitar & vox didn't need much, I found it ironic that were were using Pro Tools to fix a recording that was supposed to be "one take live in the studio" stuff! :D
mvollrath wrote:I feel like it all comes together really well sonically, though the bass seems to get lost sometimes. On tracks like Grease Fire where the bass plays a nice melody, it would be nice to hear more of it.

Nice guitar tones!

Musically Lost Weekend is my fav.

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