dangerboy Posted July 1, 2010 Share Posted July 1, 2010 I got really tired of my bass being mixed out of recordings. Or being mixed to sound awful. So I have started learning to engineer my own recordings. It's early days (I'm still pretty ropey), but at least you can hear the bass, and everything sounds like it does in rehearsal! And I don't have to explain my slightly weird bassplaying style to anyone. 3-piece art rock for fans of Shellac, Young Widows and My Disco: [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Reducer/dp/B003TMT52K/ref=sr_shvl_album_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1278020854&sr=301-1"]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Reducer/dp/B003TMT...54&sr=301-1[/url] (Bass recorded on an Electrovoice RE-20 and a Sony c55p if anyone cares) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdwardHimself Posted July 2, 2010 Share Posted July 2, 2010 (edited) [quote name='dangerboy' post='883516' date='Jul 1 2010, 10:53 PM']It's early days (I'm still pretty ropey), but at least you can hear the bass, and everything sounds like it does in rehearsal![/quote] A bit of advice here. If you want to be any good at making recordings then it's not good to start trying to sound exactly like you do in rehersal. For a start it's not actually possible even with today's technology to re-create any sound you hear exactly on a recording. What i suggest is that you stop thinking that you have to document exactly what you hear at band and start thinking of the recording as a work of art in itself. That's what i do. I think that it not only gives you better sounding recordings imo but it also helps with your songwriting, because you can think a bit more "outside the box". Like picking up a new instrument. [quote]I got really tired of my bass being mixed out of recordings. Or being mixed to sound awful.[/quote] Sorry if i'm being a bit premature in my assumptions here because I've not heard your other recordings. But also if you want to be a good recording producer then sometimes you have to not think of yourself as the bass player, but as the song producer as a whole and instead of what you think you think sounds best in terms of just the bass, but how does the bass fit best into the context of the song? I hope this is all making sense. Sorry if i sound really nasty because i think the recordings sounded okay. As i said before possibly a bit rough but i suppose that's okay if you like that sort of sound. Not everyone does though. Were the drums actually recorded or did you use some sort of machine or software to do them? Also nice mic btw Edited July 2, 2010 by EdwardHimself Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
51m0n Posted July 2, 2010 Share Posted July 2, 2010 (edited) I think it sounds fine. If your band sounds in rehearsal as you want a recording of it to sound - then record it to sound like that. A lot of hype is put into overdubbing and the art of studio production, magic dust and fairy lights etc, yet the real art is capturing a performance IMO, all the absolute most classic band recordings have done that, and many of the most timeless are so because they value honest to goodness recording of the band as a whole I like it, its quirky and unapologetic about it. This a very good thing IMO, stand out bands, stand out because of their quirks, (the Pixies spring to mind), nice one mate! Technically you could do yourself some help by (and I may be way out of line hear) ducking the bass off the kick on SIlent Running, just enough to hear a little of the transient off the kick (its just lost at the mo). I'd also recommend a proper bit of mastering mate, thats whats missing to my ears if I'm honest. Costs dosh, but done right it really does make a hell of a difference. Edited July 2, 2010 by 51m0n Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmesa Posted July 2, 2010 Share Posted July 2, 2010 A slight Shellac influence ! Nice.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rimskidog Posted July 2, 2010 Share Posted July 2, 2010 [quote name='51m0n' post='883888' date='Jul 2 2010, 12:46 PM']I'd also recommend a proper bit of mastering mate, thats whats missing to my ears if I'm honest. Costs dosh, but done right it really does make a hell of a difference.[/quote] If the mix is good mastering should be pretty transparent. I havent listened (hate listening if I'm not on monitors) but if you are saying it needs to sound different then it's either the initial recording or the mix that is at fault. The earlier in the process you can fix stuff the less you have to compromise (so always be thinking about your mix right from the point you start tracking). Doing that will lift you above 95% of homestudio engineers (and a big percentage of crappy studio engineers too) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shambo Posted July 3, 2010 Share Posted July 3, 2010 I liked that aswell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dangerboy Posted July 3, 2010 Author Share Posted July 3, 2010 Thanks for the thoughts guys - I know there's still quite a bit to learn. Mastering is definitely something I need to look into. And be brave enough to trust to someone else! We were trying to get a sound that still had rough edges - we didn't want our three-piece to sound like anything bigger. Tom (the drummer) will love the fact that he was mistaken for a machine. That's very much the sound he goes for. I'm off to teach myself how to duck the bass to capture kick transients in Logic - that's what I like about recording, always something new to learn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dangerboy Posted July 3, 2010 Author Share Posted July 3, 2010 [quote name='jmesa' post='883896' date='Jul 2 2010, 12:51 PM']A slight Shellac influence ![/quote] Very very guilty as charged. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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