Recording Newbie - First Attempt

[Joseph Carlson]

Hello all,

I recently took up an interest in recording some of my songs so I put together a little home studio more or less following the advice I got from this site - https://ehomerecordingstudio.com/

Anyway, here is my first attempt at recording one of my tunes.

https://soundcloud.com/black-barn-music ... d-bar-tabs

I haven't tackled mixing and mastering yet, I have some books on the subject so I plan to read those first and then take a swing at it.

I would appreciate any tips, tricks, advice, or constructive criticism from some more experienced folks.

Thanks,
Joe

[Tony Prior]

Joe, great start, I couldn't detect anything offensive in the recording, it was pretty good !

The more you do it the better it gets.

Going forward there are many things you may want to consider on different tracks. Perhaps different reverbs, maybe one uses a stereo reverb , one uses a mono reverb, small things like that separate instruments. Plus panning. No two items, should ever occupy the exact same PAN space.

Not that I do it right, I place BASS direct center, lead vocal perhaps panned slightly off center, R5 or R8 or L5 or L8 with maybe a stereo 'verb which also has to be panned appropriately. Add your other instruments so they fit in the mix but are not on top of another instrument.
Small things make a BIG difference. Slight PAN differences will really add some dynamics. Listen in the cans, play with the fields , solo each track to see how it sounds alone. Small things...

Nice track, nice song, nice playing, best to you !

t

[Joseph Carlson]

Hey Tony,

Thanks so much for taking the time to listen and offer some really great feedback. I hadn't given the panning that much thought, I will give your suggestion a try.

Also, the suggestion about different reverbs is a great idea. I have been using the same reverb throughout. Is there a specific reverb that you like? I have just been using the ones that came with Studio One.

Seems like a lot of people really like Valhalla Vintage reverb. Any experience with that one?

Again, thank you for your thoughtful feedback. I really appreciate it.

Regards,
Joe

[Tony Prior]

Joe, regarding the reverbs, very often people will use the same reverb placed on an aux bus but if you have the ability with the DAW to use a different reverb on a specific track, such as a stereo reverb or even a stereo delay you may find it opens that track up big time. Maybe you would only use it on part of the track, like an intro or a solo...

I use Pro Tools and is has multiple reverbs as well as a group called D-Verbs which I may use on a specific track.

experiment ! Studio One is an excellent DAW, grow into it, take notes !

t