A Flamenco-esque quicky

D. Churchland · #1 03-08-2010, 03:08 PM

Since I've been trying to revamp my recording style to include a more organic sound with fewer effects (or none) I've been experimenting with nylon string acoustics more often.

This isn't intended as a serious CD quality track but I would like some comments on the recording itself.

When I recorded it I did the percussion tracks panned hard left and hard right and the solo guitar left in the middle. If there's a better way to do it then please say so.

Any comments are welcome

http://www.box.net/shared/i4flesx30d

D. Churchland · #2 03-08-2010, 08:00 PM

nothing? not even a bad comment?

rick-slo · #3 03-08-2010, 09:46 PM

Will, sounds alright through headphones. Try panning the percussion say 70% to 80% and see what that sounds like.

D. Churchland · #4 03-09-2010, 11:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rick-slo

Will, sounds alright through headphones. Try panning the percussion say 70% to 80% and see what that sounds like.

Ok, just a little closer to the middle then?

DupleMeter · #5 03-09-2010, 08:43 PM

It feels very disjunct to me. The sounds are fighting just a bit. The percussion (which sounds like muted string strokes and banging the back of a guitar) has an odd resonance that 'hangs' in the room. I'd try to scoop that out with a little EQ.

I might try percussion hard left - guitar hard right. Send everything through the same stereo 'verb to soften and mesh the 2.

or you cold keep the guitar centered, but take the percussion more 2 o'clock and 10 o'clock...tighter spread, with a light stereo 'verb pulling things out to the edges more.

Just a couple of ideas.

theotigno · #6 03-10-2010, 08:21 AM

First of all, check out this article on mixing. Especially, check out the EQ portion of it.

My initial thoughts were that the "rhythm" that starts it all of sounded muddy and boxy. Were you sitting close to a wall when you recorded it? I would also try backing the mic a little further away from the guitar.

I thought that the solo guitar worked well in the way you recorded it.

Here's a flamenco-esque recording that I did with a friend of mine after I got my Sharp SC. We recorded it one night, and then I did a quick mix the next day. I opened the Garageband session and took some notes. While it's not a "professional" recording, it may help in seeing how I wanted the mix to work:

The solo guitar had no EQ on it (it was intentional)
The shaker (actually, a sea salt container) and the tumba had a low cut on it (tumba was cut @ 200; shaker was cut @ 1.2k); each are panned -48 either way (out of -64 maximum, which would be 67.5˚ out of 90˚)
The rhythm guitar had the following on the EQ: low cut @ 56, +3db @ 4k, +4db @ 7k; it's in the center
There's also a bass line being played on the guitar, which has a high pass filter @ 1.6k; it's in the center

Side note: everything has reverb on it except the bass line guitar. Also, yes, my tumba playing does drift off somewhere in the middle. He loves recording in the late hours of the night and I am an early morning riser.

I don't know if that'll help, but you should definitely check out the mixing article!