New Comer....

Hello All,
 
Our song writing team has to come to grips with the reality that we have the ability and desire to write music, but no talent or skill to play, sing and record it.  It is frustrating because to date, there is no way for us to explain to a talented musician what songs we hear in our heads.  We simply have to record it ourselves.  So, thanks to Cakewalk and a bunch of other equipment, we've muddled together a few recordings to date.  These are miles from being radio ready, but we really wanted to share them with somebody.  And the folks in the Cakewalk forum family have been very patient, kind and understanding to our technical questions so far, perhaps we can draw some constructive comments (and maybe even a little praise:-) in that same spirit.
 
So, if you are so inclined, we are located here: www.soundcloud.com/patmc007
 
If you are so inclinded to listen, we thank you for that.  All of our songs are copyrighted, but if you like something you hear and think you can produce it better, please don't hesitate to contact us at viamusic@hotmail.com.
 
Thanks!

Lynn, thanks for the comments.  I should have been clearer that only three of the songs currently posted are done with Cakewalk (It's Christmas / Bond 77 / The Great Escape).  A credit to your ear, the songs you selected are recordings from 25 years ago commited to a 4 track cassette and mixed to your standard Maxell.  We intend to re-record these using Music Creator 6.  But again, for now, only 3 tracks are literally recorded recently.  Those mixes are hopefully more appropriate.  Unfortunately though, our singing issues become more prominent as the music improves....where does one go to learn about how to sing better and how to record voice better?

Thanks again Lynn.  We use reverb as a crutch and perhaps its time to let that go too.  We'll take these comments to heart and keep on working.  Much appreciated!

Some nice potential, but it has all the same "beginner" issues that we all started out with.  I will (pardon the pun) echo the comments on the reverb.  Rule of thumb, use as little reverb as you can then cut it in half.

It sounds like it was recorded too hot.  Make sure your recording levels are well below 0.0, you can always pump it up later. 

Did you use an compression on this?  (That's an art in itself)

The best advice I can give is live on the forum, it is a wealth of information.  The difference between your early recordings and the ones you will do 5 years from now are very subtle, but the difference in your final product will be huge.  It's often about how little you use the effects and recording levels that make the big difference.

My only crit on the tunes I listened to is the guitar is very out of tune.  Get a GOOD quality tuner and tune constantly, staying in tune is full time job for everyone, especially guitar players.... I should know

Keep on keeping on because that's how even the best guys here got to where they are.

Hello All,

You're comments are great.  Compression is new to me, I understand in theory how and what to do, but the practical application of it seems like a job all on its own.  But I understand to keep working at it.  I promise that my next posting will follow your 'half' rule on reverb.  The newer tunes aren't using guitars yet, but when we get to re-recording the old guitar tracks, we'll work harder on keeping them in tune.

Can anyone suggest a website or book to use to learn more about audio engineerin, i.e., compression, etc.??

I like the songs as well. Nice and well put together. You just need a lot of work on the mixing. Keep at it and read up as much as you can and you'll get better.

Beagle, I just spent some time on your website, specifically under the 'Recording Help'.  As a novice 'compusician', I find it very helpful and really appreciate your having taken the time.  Between your site and the 'dummies' book, I may get something radio ready quality in the near future:-)

Hi Patrick

First off - welcome aboard. Second........ a confession .......

I first listened to a couple of your tunes here before anyone had else had commented and to be honest I bottled out and didn't say what I thought - I didn't know how to say it really. Returning now, I see that Lynn had pretty much the same thoughts as me, but wasn't such a scaredy cat about saying it. Reading on from that it seems that the tracks I listened to were in fact your old recordings - yeah, you could have been a bit clearer there. Anyway, seems like you have some good advice here already, but there's a couple of things not mentioned so far that I have found helpful in my contimuing quest to get to grips with all this stuff . One is the mixing template kindly supplied by Jonas for all us noobs. Jonas mixing template Although I don't use it exactly as is, I certainly learned a whole lot from studying it. There's also this website The recording revolution which is full of free videos giving helpful tips. He uses pro-tools software, but the ideas apply to any DAW and I find his presentation easy to follow. Aside from that, you'll learn plenty from just hanging around these parts - there are some realy helpful people here and in the other forum "rooms" who are an invaluable source of knowledge and inspiration. Not gonna name names in case I get in trouble for missing any out, but you'll soon learn who they are. I will give you this one hint.......I'm not one of them ;)