Zoom Gear & Home Recording Forum

For the benefit of Mr. Kite society at large I've done a test drive of the T-Racks suite (not just the EQ I linked above, the full version 3.1.1 Mastering suite, a mere $500).

For those who wish to download (patiently) and listen (patiently), here are two versions of the same mix:
Version 1: Master effects are Acoustica reverb and compressor, the latter set to function as a limiter with Auto Gain.
Version 2: Master effects are the same Acoustica reverb, plus the T-Racks suite, set to a preset called "gentle sweetener #1", nothing tweaked. This is an EQ, compressor, and brick wall limiter.

[FYI, this song is made up of samples that come with Mixcraft. There are some additional effects and automation on individual tracks, but I won't bore you with the details.]

I'll let you draw your own conclusions, but here are mine. I like what T-Racks is doing to the mix, it is indeed more pleasing to the ear, making the original sound a little "flat" by comparison, but that brickwall limiter is out of control. Repeated listenings of the second mix quickly induce listener fatigue. The first thing I'd do to tweak this preset is take the limiter way down. I'd do so now, but I've used up all my day's ambition already.
[A little coffee later]
Ok, here is
Version 3: Same as 2 except I fixed the compression and limiter settings so they don't suck quite as much. This is still way more compressed then it should be, but it's way better than version 2 to my ears.

Now I'm actually going to read the damned manual.

Well, I've cluttered things up and killed all conversation, so I'm moving this derail to it's own thread called Master This Song - Hate Fear Lies (from show 198 thread)

Joe Holtaway - We Go Sailing - Lovely song. Really a pro quality to it. Simple but magnificently performed.

I won't be submitting to contest. I know for a fact that I wouldn't use it if I won.

I've been recording rank (and I do mean rank) song outlines. I've got about four or five. But I have no umph to get any of them across the finished line.

But remember, Lennon and McCartney worked on the songs together in the beginning, but by the end each one brought a song and the rest of the band was sort of like a backup band.

Now the Stones, it's always been a Jagger-Richards thing (since maybe '65 or so). That is partially what drove Brian Jones to the edge. I don't think either one has done anything great on their own.

Dave, it all sounds interesting, but I don't get much of it.

Kevin Selby - Wonderin' (R16 Demo Project) - Wow! Another pro sounding song. I love that piano. This was supposed to be my "year of the keyboard". That's kind of gotten sidetracked. This is a very well written song. Outstanding work. I'm blown away by the production on this. Demo, sure, but really well crafted tune. I love that solo guitar during break.

Leigh Wright - For An Hour or Two - Already reviewed this one on the forum. I'll just reiterate that I really like this song. What a great mood Leigh's captured on this recording. Being English allows certain sentiments to be conveyed convincingly and this is a good example. This is pure London. You couldn't do this in a New York setting. It just wouldn't work.

"I Will Meet You In The Center" - Outstanding song, by the way.

Hard Mix - LOL!

I don't know much about mixing, but I know what I know and it's rather easy now that I know it...or something like that.

I've been listening to a local act that is making a minor splash on the national scene. They are called Beach House. They were on Jimmy Fallon Show recently. Kind of moody syn-thy stuff, but it's not bad. Here is a link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNQ97P0rQk8

I was never a big Genesis fan. I did like "Lamb Lies Down...".

See through tee-shirt - I'm into that!

David Partrick - (I Unfriended You on) Facebook - Recording at home for 30 years. Wow. He's the Rolling Stones of the home recording.

Dang, Dave, I haven't heard you quite this loose before. First we heard about "10cc's of..." and now the, as they are calling it, the "F bomb".

Anyway, back to David's song.

Dave, don't "lurk" in the forums. Become an active member. It's a give and take thing.

This reminds me of Don Henley in vocal tone. No nits on production or songwriting. It's kind of a novelty song, but it's beyond what I could accomplish, so my hat's off.

Listened while working today and really enjoyed the show.

I think a couple things that struck me odd about the song with the facebook song were how thin and digital sounding the guitars were... Not sure why but something just felt really weird about them.... I did like the song a lot and can feel a lot of the same way about facebook at times!

As for balanced cables I can't recall how many times I have used them to solve issues with stage monitors and mains being in odd loops.

Guys, great show as usual.

Dave, forget about the 10 seconds of silence ... what's up with your heavy breathing Tony???

Good explanation of the balanced cable thing. If you're going short runs - under 5 feet (and not crossing a bazillion power cables), then unbalanced cables should be fine in home studios.

EZMix - yeah, I don't know if I'd spend money on it - seems as though I have waaayyyy too many plugins to keep me occupied and the lack of tweakability would be a no-go for me. I'd agree with Tony - the name is quite misleading. It might work for some folks, but you've got so many variables going into and out of the plugin that will complicate and frustrate me...

Sorry, but I have to keep this short and sweet. The songs were fantastic!

Joe - a great mellow vibe that kept me entranced on a walk home.

Kevin - great catchy tune! A real fun listen

Leigh - the song took me on a journey - very cool

David - fun and relevant! Couldn't stop and giggle at some of the lines reflecting on my own experience.

Cheers, D

Enjoyed the show. Good songs once again.

On playing with a band vs. home recording solo - I used to play in bands (covers and jazz standards) and I remember a sax player once told me that playing in a band would be much more fun if you didn't have to deal with musicians.

That said, I know that most of the bass players and drummers I've played with could quickly come up with a much more interesting part for my songs than I do after hours of trial and error. On the other hand, we home recorders probably come up with stuff a real drummer would never dream of playing.

Overall, I'm similar to Tony. With no obligations to other musicians, I sometimes go weeks without touching the instrument. And that's OK with me.

Great Comments all.

I will try to tone back the F-bombs. Did I really do that?

Glad everyone seemed to enjoy the moment of silence. The heavy breathing was probably due to me going too far with the compressor to get us that "radio sound".

Playing in a band - As was said, it is tough to get a group of people together that 1) like each other, 2) can actually play, 3) have time to play, 4) don't want to play more than you do, 5) don't just want to do it for the money and 5) have the same musical tastes as you do.

I have been super luck with Jude over the last 20 years. We have almost identical tastes in music and are both pretty easy to get along with. We have attracted a drummer and guitarist/keyboardist that work well with us. Everyone seems happy with the situation, with minor grumbling here and there. That doesn't happen often. I have been in some disastrous bands

Bands playing your songs- I have to say it has been really exciting to have the band playing my songs. Since becoming a "serious songwriter" it has been really rewarding. It was exciting to record the songs and arrange them, but then it is a brand new challenge and excitement to work them out with the band and see how people react to them. It is really fun to fine tune the arrangement, see what energy the band brings to them, etc. It is kind of like taking the song off paper and making it a real, living thing. Does that make sense?

Didn't Tony once read an email on the show from someone who referred to the HMHS as (I'm paraphrasing, I'm sure)
"full of profanity laden rap songs"?

I immediately thought of that.

Dave, it didn't offend me at all. I was just surprised to hear you speak like that. I speak like that all the time. I didn't know you did.

Dave, yes, your comment about a band playing your songs makes perfect sense. I wish I could just write songs for other people without ever having to record them myself. I might be inching towards that sooner rather than later. (Or, more accurately, posting songs for other to use, if they want them.) It's not the idea of writing a song that makes me tired, it's the actual plugging everything in and hitting "play" that does it.

I don't remember the f-bomb either, when was it ?

This will be quick as I am really, really supposed to be working....
* "Sailing"-- shows how striking a simple, non-mould-breaking piece can be when it's done well. Lovely.
*"wondering"-- not my usual genre, but this sounds very polished-- nice piano sound too.
*"For an hour or two"-- I liked this very much. A bit Nick Cave, a bit Berlin cabaret.. excellent creepy vibe. I'm a big fan of Nick Cave. This reminded me of "The Carny" from "Your Funeral, My Trial"-- highly recommended.
*"I defriended you on facebook" made me smile. Nice hook, clever lyrics: great fun.
*Mastering: a subect to which I would like to devote more time and thought. All I've done usually is fairly absent-mindedly thrown some compression or limiter on the master fader and-- Bob's yer uncle!-- I declare the thing "mastered." Clearly, there is a lot more to it.....

Oh, and on being in a band...
I was in a band in college. The major problem was that we had no rehearsal space and couldn't afford regular rehearsal room rental. So a lot of under-rehearsed, panic-stricken shows. It was fun, though.
Sometimes I miss the energy that you get playing with someone else (especially your own tunes), but weighing everything up, I'm probably happier and making more artistic progress doing things on my own.

Thanks for the kind comments.

I feel compelled to reply to the comment about the "thin sounding guitars." Well, as a bassist, I think of those skinny necked, tiny stringed, mini-basses as being thin to begin with!

And, I really don't play guitar well.

But all that aside, the reality of this is that I generally don't eq stuff after it's recorded. Not that I have an aversion to it. It's more a technical thing. I'm blind, and while I can mix with Sonar, I've yet to master twiddling on-screen eq's.

I'll have to see if I can work that out.


And I thought Dave's 10 seconds of silence seemed like a little tip of the hate to Miles Davis.

First an apology

I listened to this and another show last week when I got back from a break.
Then wrote some comments and a reply. It wasn't 'till later I noticed it hadn't shown on the thread. So briefly:

Nice show guys. Liked the songs - 'cept one. I was surprised that you put mine up, as to me it didn't seem in the right century - let alone the right genre. Anyway thank-you for that, and thanks for the comments. Just a quick reply to Polly - the song was about looking back on desperate times, when a meal, or a drink was necessary to survive, rather than a business. So not cheap, but essential and maybe the action of the last resort. I didn't mean to explain that, but now I have Am working through Nick Cave links - thanks to those who mentioned him and Zoetrope who pointed the links out.

And Tonee Sire, Gu Djin is a corruption of gudgeon - pronounced Good Gin, try it with your teeth in or however you want, as I answer these days to "Leigh"

Liked the discussion on cables - interesting. Didn't hear no "F" bombs?

Thanks again for the show.