Re: 2004 Best of DUC Art...
 

Agreed!!!

Real pro look.

Re: Some Jazzy stuff
 

Chris,
Just listened to 'Center Stage' for the first time...these 'reels' sound just great...excellent examples of your work, IMO.
-Roy

Re: Some Jazzy stuff
 

Thanks Roy. I appreciate the listen.

Re: 2004 DUC Disc Update
 

badperson,
I finally got to listen to 'saving all my time'/the Chris mix, and it sounds great...cool song.
-rh

Re: 2004 DUC Disc Update
 

A quick note to Roy Howell. Enjoying the music on your website very much. Extremely "visual", if that makes sense. And the landscapes are huge...listening to Bigfoot Moon over and over: there's a lot in there. Also, one day I aspire to make my recordings as CLEAN. Jeez, I have a boatload to learn.

Re: 2004 DUC Disc Update
 

Jack Rabbit,
Thanks very much...I really do appreciate it.

-Roy

Re: Some Jazzy stuff
 

Bossi-


Bossi,
Sorry to just now be listening, but I've been very busy lately...Like Chris, I think you did a very good job on this, especially with only 6 tracks...good performances too.
Thanks for the listen...
-Roy

Re: 2004 DUC Disc Update
 

I agree. It sounds great!!!

Re: 2004 Best of DUC Art...
 

bump...


SimpleNatureSpirit-

Re: 2004 Best of DUC Art...
 

sounds good to me, and thanks to all you guys for taking intiative. Your work looks great.

bp

Re: 2004 DUC Disc Update
 

Gene Backlin-

Gene,
I'm catching up and just heard this...really enjoyed it...another good job.
-Roy

Re: 2004 DUC Disc Update
 

Thanks Roy,

I have my daughter's choir on the 8th in their Christmas Concert, then FINALLY on Dec 13-15th, I will have them in the acoustically designed music room in a non performance in front of an audience, session.

In the spring they are going to perform Vivaldi's Gloria in a chuch with brass quintet and pipe organ.

Thanks for listening, it is greatly appreciated !!!

Take Care,
Gene

Amateur Tunes
 

After watching the DUC for some time, I boldly place my amateur toolings in the public domain. Don't look for EQ or mastering wizardry here. These are examples of what an amateur can do in a few hours in a back room of an apartment with a 001, a nice sound module (Roland XV-3038), a couple of guitars, and a PodPro. One day I might even put up tunes with lyrics.

http://www.139west82.org/duc

Re: Amateur Tunes
 

Buzz,

Amazing that one person did all that. Amateur you may say, but you seem to have a great deal of musical knowledge and experience. Do you construct the backgrounds as a vehicle to play guitar over? Or do you develop it all together?

Especially impressive (as it is done with a keyboard, no?) is the free time drum sign-off on New Strat Groove.

Will take a little while to process all. I'll post as I listen.

Re: Amateur Tunes
 

Hello Buzz,

I like the guitar playing you did Cool!and piano too.
Nice work!

Bob

First tunes
 

Here is my first tunes ready.

Pois poistakaa

Feel free to tell what is wrong except my singing. I have had hard times to find a singer. And of course it is in Finnish.

Thanx for listening.

Re: Amateur Tunes
 

Buzz,

I didn’t hear anything amateur about this stuff. Great job!!!! I thought it was nicely done. I have heard “professional stuff” that no way matched what you did here. Can’t wait to hear more. I also liked your simple website.

Re: Amateur Tunes
 

Why thank you! And yes, although music & recording is not my profession, it certainly is an important part of my life. I've played in bands since high school and started recording on a Tascam
234 4 track cassette unit in 1982 when I went to college so it's not like the environment is unknown to me.
I consider myself more of a keyboard player than a guitarist but now that you mention it some of those tunes do have a "platform" feel to them over which the guitar is laid.
Glad you liked the free time drum sign-off! Couldn't have done it without the incredibly expressive patch on the drum chip.

Re: First tunes
 

Finnish surf punk metal! Even though you said ignore the vocals, I like the chopped EQ treatment on the chorus ("pois poistakaa!").

Re: Mac Mixes!!!!!!!!
 

Pete: Fragile. That's VERY well recorded and mixed! Great drum sound, guitar sounds, vocal sound. Don't tell anyone you did it on an 001 - they'll never know. Tell 'em you did it on a 2" Otari machine and they'll probably believe you. I bet you had a great room to record in.

Gee, I can ALWAYS find something to nag on about with a recording, but not with that song. OK, I probably would have brought the aux send down a little for the echo on the lead vocal. There...I found something.

Great mix!

Re: Mac Mixes!!!!!!!!
 

Wow - lots of great stuff posted here. I've been using ProTools on my Mac for about 6 months now, I've got a few tracks posted:

strange industrial music

It's pretty different from most of what I've heard here - industrial / ambient / techno, mixed entirely within PT (using Reason as well, mostly for drum sequencing). I mostly use found sounds I sample and then layer together, with plenty of effects. Comments, of course, are very welcome.

Jeff - I like your 16 Years of Grace tracks - a nice mix of haunting and hard-driving. Which disc are they from?

Keep it up!

- Eric

Re: Mac Mixes!!!!!!!!
 

Michaux, very nice, smooth, and clean -- and funky! Doesn't burn my ears off either.

Blue Ridge

Re: Amateur Tunes
 

Wow buzz awesome.
you have a real gift of resolving dissonance, makes it really interesting.
you should be shopping this stuff for movie soundtracks.

Songs from the Labor Camp
 

On behalf of the Labor Camp and Labor Camp Orchestra, I would like to invite you to join in our ongoing celebration of labor. At the following URL:

http://laborcamp.mcad.edu

you will find a selection of many sound projects constructed at the Labor Camp over last few years (1998-2004). At the moment they are grouped in several thematic threads. These are some of the themes continually pursued at the Labor Camp by means of sound or otherwise. While the body of work presented here is neither complete, nor entirely resolved, it remains a testimony of our everlasting commitment to, and love for labor. We work all the time. New components will be added, as new conclusions are reached. It is our deepest hope that in our labor you will find a ray of encouragement for your own work.

Yours,

(for Labor Camp Orchestra)

p.

P.S.
Of course, every single sound there went through PT at some point.

laborcamp.mcad.edu

Songs from the Labor Camp
 

On behalf of the Labor Camp and Labor Camp Orchestra, I would like to invite you to join in our ongoing celebration of labor. At the following URL:

http://laborcamp.mcad.edu

you will find a selection of many sound projects constructed at the Labor Camp over last few years (1998-2004). At the moment they are grouped in several thematic threads. These are some of the themes continually pursued at the Labor Camp by means of sound or otherwise. While the body of work presented here is neither complete, nor entirely resolved, it remains a testimony of our everlasting commitment to, and love for labor. We work all the time. New components will be added, as new conclusions are reached. It is our deepest hope that in our labor you will find a ray of encouragement for your own work.

Yours,

(for Labor Camp Orchestra)

p.

P.S.
Of course, every single sound there went through PT at some point.

laborcamp.mcad.edu

Re: Amateur Tunes *DELETED* *DELETED*
 

Post deleted by DR.Loop

Re: Let\'s Hear Your Latest
 

Digging around today trying to fix things with WMP, I managed to dig up an old session that I had abandoned when I lost my "day gig". I'd left it entirely in the hands of the head engineer there...and he's totally neglected the project, so I decided I'd throw a quick mix on the stuff and get it to the interested parties as an unexpected Christmas present.

Here's a couple of tunes from the last live show I recorded for them (it's a different lineup...but part of the same jazz series from which I've already posted tons of stuff). I think this could quite possibly be the cleanest live recording I've done to date. It's a very quick mix...spent just two or three minutes on it...didn't even listen all the way through...no automation yet, and it certainly isn't mastered, but I hope you like it anyway. Feedback, as always, is very welcome.

http://s94172706.onlinehome.us/temp2.mp3

Enjoy,
Chris

Re: Let\'s Hear Your Latest
 

Here's something I put together over the weekend. Considering on putting this (or some version of it) in the DUC Christmas.

Constructive criticism on performance and/or recording techniques and especially mastering techniques always welcome.

(I am aware of one spot at the end where it peaks and distorts somewhat, that should be fixed later this evening after I get home from work)

www.confuoco.net/music/silentnight.mp3

Aaron

Re: Let\'s Hear Your Latest
 

Nice job Chris, thanks for posting it !


As a side note, what was your approach to micing the ensemble ?


Take Care,
Gene

Re: Let\'s Hear Your Latest
 

Gene,

Thanks. My approach to this was pretty much the same as it's always been...try to get as natural a sound from each instrument as possible. The only exceptions to this come from the fact it's a live performance, which means certain considerations have to be made for the bass.

Bass:
Tracking double-bass live like this is always tricky...mics tend to pick up too much bleed to be of any use, and DI's tend to sound bland compared to what you hear standing in the room next to the acoustic behemoth, same goes for a mic on the amp. I usually start each gig like this by asking the bassist what he's had good results with in the past...as every single bass, player, and amp combo sound completely different...on no other instrument is the disparity in sound from one player and setup to the next so evident: what is golden for one setup sounds like unreleasable crud for another. This particular bassist had a pretty nifty setup, he used a ATM35 (typically a clip on mic) sitting/pointing directly into the top of the treble side f-hole instead of a pickup. He bypassed the pre-section on his bass amp, opting for a presonus Eureka instead. I was able to simply the XLR out of the eureka preamp...which I sent needlessly through a second pre just so I would have some trim control over it during tracking. I honestly didn't know how it was going to sound in his case, so I threw an audix D4 on the bass cab as a safety measure, in case the soundhole mic and pre combination sounded horrible. Needless to say, I've got some eq'ing to do...his eq settings on the eureka were tailored to the 1x12 bass cab he was using that night...and aren't so good for this mix...it's a bit woofy I think. He also squashed the living poop out of it at the eureka, so I won't be adding any compression at all in the mix.

Piano:
I used an AKG C422 in MS in the piano (M mic set to cardioid, and S set to figure 8 as always), about a foot up from the strings, aimed straight down about an octave up from middle C, about half way down the bar in the spine of the piano that points from that octave to the crook of the piano. (This was a large new york steinway D.) I would have like to back it out some and angle it to point at the same spot, but that would have resulted in far too much bleed from the other instument into the S capsule.

Drums:
I used a pair of Oktava MK012 cardioids in a modified XY pattern about two feet above the drummer's head (this cat was tall...at least 6'6"...so the mics were pretty high) in line with the kick drum and throne, each aimed to the outer edge of the outer cymbals...resulting in about 115 to 120 degree angle instead of the standard 90 degree x-y. I used an Audix D1 on the snare, and D2's on the toms, all secured to the drums using the older D-flex clips. The snare mic is treated as a full fledged signal, where the tom's are treated only as spot/support mics in the mix. The kick drum got an AKG D112, about 4 inches from the outer head, about three inches down from the top of the shell, angled down about 30 degrees. I like this method of kick micing, it tends to reproduce a sound that is very "realistic" no matter the kick drum or style in question... When I want a more produced/cookie-cutter sound, like that in today's modern rock, I'll use additional mics and blend them or even use a completely different mic technique.

Hall/Reverb:
I used an AKG C426b for this, configured as M/S, only the Mid mic was set to figure 8 instead of the more traditional cardioid. It was about half way back in the hall and functions purely as a reverb and applause track.

Well, I hope that sheds some light on the recording...by the way, nothing I could do could ever replace great musicians' performances: Willis Delony, director of Jazz Studies at Louisiana State University, played piano. Roland Guerrin, a very esteemed local bassist played the double bass. And Leon Anderson, director of Jazz Studies at Florida State University played drums. There was a vocalist for much of the show, but she isn't heard in that clip...I just haven't gotten around to those tunes yet...with moving and all.

Re: Let\'s Hear Your Latest
 

Hey Chris;

Is that your favorite OH setup for situations, rock included? I remember you posted a song you mixed, but didn't track where the ride stood out a tad too much, and you said it was probably due to the OH setup on the tracking session. What do you think they used on that session?

thanks.

bp

Re: Let\'s Hear Your Latest
 

It's my favorite for Jazz...aamof...I don't think I've ever used it for rock. I don't really have a favorite for rock, just a few go-to methods. I usually wind up using a similar setup but ORTF instead of X-Y for rock. Occasionally, I'll try a strict x-y technique with 414's and add room mics (but only if the room kick's butt) if the ORTF doesn't work. In both cases, the tom mics are more present in the mix. If those two methods don't work, I usually start changing the kit around...starting with the layout and the cymbals then moving on to the toms and snare. That song I posted some time ago (i think you're talking about "moment")...I think the tracking engineer was nuts...he didn't use any "standard" stereo micing technique...it was some kind of funky mic-the-cymbals-from-the-bottom-instead-of-from-the-top modification of spaced pair technique...(I think the engineer must have misread a diagram somewhere.. ). His room mics were equally screwy...and sounded filtered or distorted, one being incredibly clean and the other super wet...It took a lot of painstaking work to get them to where they were in that post...

As a mixing engineer coming from a classical and jazz engineering background, I detest having to work with spaced pair...x/y and ortf are infinitely more versatile in the mixing phase, and produce a sound that is far more naturally balanced and pleasing to the ear imo.

Re: Mac Mixes!!!!!!!!
 

Hey Gang,

This is Pete from Half The World.

Thanks very much for the kind comments and reviews.
I thought I'd answer some questions about the signal chain used.

This was recorded and mixed 100% in the box, PTLE Digi 001 except for the front end.
All tracks were run into an Apogee Trak 2 24bit 44.1k and straight into Pro Tools.
Belive it or not we did NOT have a nice room to record in. This was all done in my
living room, which has not been tweaked in any way for acoustics. There is a doorway
heading into another room from my living room which is flanked by two little walls on either
side. This is where I put the vocal mic and I hang a blanket down the door surface so that as
the vocalist is singing their voice doesn't reflect off the door. This acts as a little
sort of "vocal booth".

The signal chain on the vocals was as follows:

Mary belting out her vocals into a Studio Projects C1
then into the Apogee Trak 2 (which is a killer mic pre and A to D) then straight into PTLE.
My plugin chain on ALL vocals for any session I do is the secret weapon.
1. Waves Renaissance compressor
2. Waves Renaissance VOX (set to the 25db comp preset, which makes the vocal JUMP out at you)
3. Bus a vocal send over to an aux input with delay and or reverb when appropriate.

Bass was recorded DI into the Apogee Trak 2 but next time I'll probably mic it as well.
I tend to run DAD valves on guitar and bass tracks and McDSP Analog Channel on other tracks
and most importantly on the Master Fader, and I mix into this plug from the get go.
Finally, we got the album professionally mastered.

Getting ready to start recording the new album now.

Let\'s hear your latest stuff....right here
 

DR. Loop/Bob,
I was just looking for your new one and it's gone...I've been very busy lately and am trying to catch up. Repost it when you can...thanks, Roy

Re: Let\'s hear your latest stuff....right here
 

Hey Roy,

Yea i deleted BrainFreeze1205 because of the lead guitar spots.I did not really like the way i ended each part and maybe a touch to loud in the mix it was starting to bug me. Hopefully i'll redo them... maybe.lol

I play bass in this too.

Well here it is the way it was before i took it down.

http://www.freewebs.com/fracturecomposer/music.htm

Bob

Re: Let\'s hear your latest stuff....right here
 

DR.Loop,
Glad to get to hear it. Nice piece...very clean, and the solos are cool to me, because you're playing them in a different key position than one normally would, but it works. Nice to hear it with bass too...
Good stuff...
-Roy

Re: Let\'s hear your latest stuff....right here
 

Thanks Roy



I am just about to finished working on a live 4 piece jazz band recording for a good friend of mine who is a unbelievable sax player(old school). There are 8 songs all together(jazz standards). Beautiful stuff. I'll ask him if he minds if i post 1 or 2 of them.I'm sure he won't mind.I think a lot of people here would like it.

Roy... maybe you will be interested in this. Another friend of mine Charlie(Chuck)Campbell of the Campbell Brothers Sacred Steel Guitars . He is a pedal steel guitar player.
www.campbellbrothers.com


Bob

Re: Let\'s hear your latest stuff....right here
 

Thanks for the Campbell Bros. link...I listened to 'Don't let the Devil Ride'.....really interesting hearing blues played on a steel guitar...very cool.
-Roy

Re: First tunes
 

Finne,
This is a really good song...as you mentioned, it deserves a better singer, but I think you've got a good mix going other than that. I definitely like the guitar sounds...enjoyed listening...Good job, and good luck with finding a singer.
-Roy

Re: Let\'s Hear Your Latest
 

Chris,

Those are some sweet sounding drums. Looking forward to hearing some vocals, too.

Aaron,

I like the harmonic structure. Wow, does that guy have a set of lungs!
I realize it's a sample, try putting in some breath breaks for some "fake realism". Nice version.