Moosical cows

[Dr. Avery]

Here's a thread for us "victims of the muse" to post links to our musical works.

PLEASE NOTE:
All submissions must be your own work, as well as your own property. This is not a thread for copyright infringement purposes.

[Dr. Avery]

Here is a link to a song I am in the process of re - recording called sadness my brother -- nothing to say.

It's an acoustic number recorded in acid pro 4 with a Labtec AM-242 PC mic. All of my work is recorded in GENUINE 16 bit sound.


By clicking this link You agree to the following terms. You are granted a license to listen to, and freely distribute this song. This song is the property of Alan Avery. Said song (or any media containing it) may not be sold without written permission from Alan Avery. Cheese is your friend.

http://12.224.194.91/Sadness%20my%20...20to%20say.mp3

This song is shoutware - meaning after you listen to it, please let me know what to think. Feel free to offer up any level of brutal honesty, as I am a bit new to the studio and am looking for some constructive critisism to aid my production process.

[Lion7718]

I really like the music part, but the vocals are muffled, and I don't like the background/overlapping vocal part at all.

You said to be honest...the music itself is great

[Dr. Avery]

Thanks for you input lion.

[Lion7718]

It's good, don't take it the wrong way, I couldn't do any better.
When you gonna upload the next one?

I really liked the music The vocals were a muffled in a few places. I also liked the overlapping/background. Will you posting the lyrics and final version soon?

[Machiavelli]

I have to agree, the music is killer. The vocals aren't quite crisp, but all in all I want to hear more.

Plus I like cheese.

[the flinger]

ill reiterate about the vocals....but i like the music!

few rythmic differences in the beginning, or maybe its supposed to be like that, but either way my internal drummer was SCREAMING at that part!

plus, my internal drummer wants in on this, but im not sure if that would quite fit in! (he is quite annoying at times, and almost always crazy!)

keep up the good work!

[Blurry]

can't make out what you are singing and it seems like you are just moaning at times...but i liked the interchanging of vocals...you put some really cool effects in there.
the 2:46 mark was nice and uplifting....the ending didn't quite make an impact on me...all in all, it was a fine song.

thanks for letting us listen to your music and maybe our input will do some good

actually, i can't wait to hear you play the flute, since that seems to be your thing

[Dr. Avery]

Wow! Not only have you all taken the time to listen, you were even thoughtful enough to come up with come up with some honest (if sugar coated ) feedback. This is greatly appriciated as your comments are helping me to improve my recording technique. Thank you for being honest. If I had wanted an ego stroke I would have played it for my geographically local friends who would be too worried about hurting my feelings to give an honest opinion. YOU GUYS ROCK!!!

My feelings could not possibly be hurt as this is my first attempt at recording, and I am faced with some sound engineering obstacles which will be explained in detail later in this post.

I am going to try to address all feedback and questions in this post because posting seperately for each comment seems too much like cheating for levels... I am also going to share how your feedback is being utilized in the studio (er, my bedroom) to improve future recordings. If I miss a question or comment, please PM me and I will respond as soon as possible.

________________________________________________

If anyone here has studio engineering experience and would be willing to give some advice please, or if you can get Alan Parsons to produce my work post or PM me (Sure Doc - I've got Mr. Parsons right here on the phone. ROFL !)
_________________________________________________

So, you liked that solo, eh Blurry? Or at least that part - good enough for me That particular 10 second guitar solo took me over 4 hours to record.

As for the flute, I would love to record some flute, but right now, mine is broken - more specifically the pads are shot, one of the rods is severly bent (2-3 millimeters) and long story short, it doesn't work. I should be getting it replaced within a few months.
_________________________________________________
Known Issues:

The vocals are muffled, mumbled, and just plain off

The first (and ultimately worst) production error I made was in attempting to record without first creating a click track to precisely maintain the tempo. The resultant fubar tempo made it very difficult to sync the lead vocals to the guitar, and practically impossible to line the background vocals up with the guitar and lead vocals (and their inconsistancies). Some of the mumbling was caused by trying to use the lead vocal as a cue when there was an inaccurate variation of tempo and trying to come up with a harmony on the spot all at the same time and having to lay back when uncertain of timing.

To remedy this I am going to create the 2 click tracks required: 1 in 3/4 time for the first part, and the other in 4/4 for the change approximately in the middle.

Another issue confronting me is the really cheap PC mic I am using to record myself. I have solved most of that problem by putting a sock on it to act as a pop filter, But I still must maintain a considerable distance from the microphone to keep it from cutting out. The sock outweighs the mic.

As for the vocal clarity issue, there are two causes which I have found. I had to notch out some of the upper middle range in order to eliminate the sound of my PC fan in the mix. This resulted in a serious hit to the vocal clarity. I am going to try putting the computer on a pillow to prevent ambient vibration being conducted through the floor and walls. I am also going to cover all but the back of the computer with laundry to minimize the PC sound. I'll also try pointing the back of the computer (where the loudest cooling fans are) opposite the direction the microphone is facing. Unfortunately a sound proof room isn't an option, But I'll make the best of what I've got.

The microphone sounded much louder during recording than during playback - causing me to hold back too much on the singing because it sounded so darn loud - It turns out the the 20db boost under advanced microphone settings doesn't boost the recording level, it just jacks the volume of the realtime monitoring.

Thank you all again for helping me to figure this stuff out. I am still new to the recording / production thing, and your comments have helped to greatly accelerate my learning curve.
I am rewriting the Background vocals.
I think that covers the major vocal issues.
________________________________________________

As for the end of the song, I've been thinking about adding a minute or so guitar / freestyle vocal outro and fading out instead of - um - not fading out. Playing out? Well, at any rate, instead of what I'm doing now.
_________________________________________________

I will be spending at least 8 hours of at least 3 days each week throughout this process. I plan to release the second draft of this song at some point between the 14th and 21st of this month, and I plan to release a rough draft of a different song

I have always used a 3 drafts, 1 final product system for everything else and figure I should stick with that for this project as well. That way I can filter out the carp and finish with a product that I'm not embarassed to release to the public.
__________________________________________________
Flinger:
Alright! 35 bonus points for spotting the weakly enforced tempo. Tell your internal drummer to PM me and we'll talk.
_________________________________________________
Final note:
The first time I wrote this post it took me about 3 hours to almost finish. Within the last 4 words of completing it there was a power outage and the entire message was gone. Then I had to spend several hours trying to remember what I had written and retype it. The moral of the story is this:
AAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!

[saavychick]

nice music doc. i really liked the guitar playing from the 7 sec. point to the 20 sec. point and again at 2:32 - 2:56. well done

[Machiavelli]

Originally posted by Dr. Avery
the second draft of this song at some point between the 14th and 21st of this month, and I plan to release a rough draft of a different song

I'll wait, just don't let your laundry covered case overheat.
I have visions of you catching your laundry on fire.

[Dr. Avery]

Thank you savvychick. I'm not much of a lead gutarist so I really have to spend a lot of extra time to end up with a solo that doesn't completely suck.

[the flinger]

"I have always used a 3 drafts, 1 final product system for everything else and figure I should stick with that for this project as well. That way I can filter out the carp and finish with a product that I'm not embarassed to release to the public."

good plan, i hate carp


"Flinger:
Alright! 35 bonus points for spotting the weakly enforced tempo. Tell your internal drummer to PM me and we'll talk."
done


"Final note:
The first time I wrote this post it took me about 3 hours to almost finish. Within the last 4 words of completing it there was a power outage and the entire message was gone. Then I had to spend several hours trying to remember what I had written and retype it. The moral of the story is this:
AAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!
"


ouch

[Dr. Avery]

Check this badboy out. Who needs a $300 condenser mic when you can own - not rent - this powerhouse for $10!



Yep - that's my mic. With it's Noise Cancelling and Amplification Technology (NCAT) geared towards diminishing all frequencies not associated with speaking, you can give all your recordings that much sought after 'long distance overseas phone call' sound

I'm still on schedule for next friday, but here is something to waste your time listening to until then.

This is an electronic piece composed and rendered in fruityloops 3.4 called Bounce

That's all for now, see you next friday with the new stuff.

Al