Cockos Incorporated Forums - View Single Post - (Just wondering) when it's time to make things simpler

Vinicius Marques · 02-02-2016, 08:38 AM

Wow, it's been almost 4 years since I started this thread! We had to bypass this recording thing for a while, but since last July we restarted it and now it's going.

First of all, good news: we finished one song and have another one in mixing stage. Check out a lyric video for the song "Charles Bronson" (portuguese lyrics, but anyways): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLdWWpep_wY

Now, let's get a bit technical: I ended up finding that we should record bass, guitars and a scratch vocal over a drum machine, then real drums, then vocals and backing vocals, then guitar solos and then harmonica. I know that's a bit uncommon to not record drums first, but that's what really worked for us. The drum machine helped us to keep in time but with a more "live" feel, and made it easier for the drummer to lay his parts after the fact.

Rythm guitars (Gibson Les Paul Studio and Epiphone SG Special) and bass were recorded directly into a Tascam US-800, then I used SimulAnalog GuitarSuite Marshall JCM900 simulation for the guitars and Ignite Amps SHB-1, TPA-1 and NadIR (with free RedWirez IR Library Marshall 1960A Celestion G12M-25s Neumann U47) for the bass. Guitar solos were captured by a Wahrfedale DM-S dynamic mic close to the speaker of a Marshall MG15. I tried to reamp everything, but in the end I found the simulations worked better for the track, except that I ran the bass part through a preamp and back to the box for a more focused sound, since the bassist used an active Fender Jazz Bass and I wasn't happy with it.

Drums were recorded with the 4-mic Recorderman setup, using a pair of Behringer C2s for overheads, Wahrfedale DM-S for the snare and an old brandless dynamic inside the kick. Vocals and backing vocals were tracked with a Sennheiser E835s, and a homemade pop filter. The harmonica used the same Wahrfedale used on the snare and guitar amp, then Voxengo Boogex amp sim.

In Reaper, I used basically the amp simulators, ReaEQ, ReaComp, ReaDelay, ReaVerb, and Stillwell Rocket. For mastering, ReaEQ, two instances of ReaComp and JS Master Limiter.

I took almost six months to mix and master the song, mainly because I had only 2-3 hours a week to do it, and the band kept rehearsing in the meantime. But in the end, I finally can say that I'd rather get something finished than perfect, and here we are!

Thanks for all advice and please take a listen!

02-02-2016, 08:38 AM	#18
Vinicius Marques Human being with feelings Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Brazil Posts: 42	Wow, it's been almost 4 years since I started this thread! We had to bypass this recording thing for a while, but since last July we restarted it and now it's going. First of all, good news: we finished one song and have another one in mixing stage. Check out a lyric video for the song "Charles Bronson" (portuguese lyrics, but anyways): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLdWWpep_wY Now, let's get a bit technical: I ended up finding that we should record bass, guitars and a scratch vocal over a drum machine, then real drums, then vocals and backing vocals, then guitar solos and then harmonica. I know that's a bit uncommon to not record drums first, but that's what really worked for us. The drum machine helped us to keep in time but with a more "live" feel, and made it easier for the drummer to lay his parts after the fact. Rythm guitars (Gibson Les Paul Studio and Epiphone SG Special) and bass were recorded directly into a Tascam US-800, then I used SimulAnalog GuitarSuite Marshall JCM900 simulation for the guitars and Ignite Amps SHB-1, TPA-1 and NadIR (with free RedWirez IR Library Marshall 1960A Celestion G12M-25s Neumann U47) for the bass. Guitar solos were captured by a Wahrfedale DM-S dynamic mic close to the speaker of a Marshall MG15. I tried to reamp everything, but in the end I found the simulations worked better for the track, except that I ran the bass part through a preamp and back to the box for a more focused sound, since the bassist used an active Fender Jazz Bass and I wasn't happy with it. Drums were recorded with the 4-mic Recorderman setup, using a pair of Behringer C2s for overheads, Wahrfedale DM-S for the snare and an old brandless dynamic inside the kick. Vocals and backing vocals were tracked with a Sennheiser E835s, and a homemade pop filter. The harmonica used the same Wahrfedale used on the snare and guitar amp, then Voxengo Boogex amp sim. In Reaper, I used basically the amp simulators, ReaEQ, ReaComp, ReaDelay, ReaVerb, and Stillwell Rocket. For mastering, ReaEQ, two instances of ReaComp and JS Master Limiter. I took almost six months to mix and master the song, mainly because I had only 2-3 hours a week to do it, and the band kept rehearsing in the meantime. But in the end, I finally can say that I'd rather get something finished than perfect, and here we are! Thanks for all advice and please take a listen!