Recording - April 2017 - 64

Readers'

TRACKS
BY MARTY PETERS

Listen online at www.recordingmag.com

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Mike Ringler
EQUIPMENT: Yamaha AW16 16-track digital recorder, Shure SM58
mic, ART Tube MP Project Series preamp, Ovation Celebrity acoustic/
electric guitar, Fender Powerhouse Strat, Jay Turser JTB-2B Violin bass,
VOX Tonelab guitar processor, DigiTech BP-50 bass processor, Roland
SPD-20 electronic drum kit.

MUSIC: "Come Walk With Me" is a male vocal rock song.
Mike was the one-man band on the track.
RECORDING: Done in its entirety on a meager (by today's
standards) standalone Yamaha multitracker, this is a fairly successful track that rises above "demo" level, but is not without
areas that could stand some TLC.
With the limited available track count, we thought that Mike's
basic song arrangement was quite effective. Equally effective, in
our opinion, were the panning and placement of the various sound
sources throughout the track. We also have to give Mike his props
for performing all of the instrumentation here. While we have
certainly heard better tones during our tenure at Readers' Tracks,
all of the parts here were solidly played, particularly the drums.
As for areas of improvement, we found the acoustic guitar to be on
the thin side through our monitors. There were also noticeable signs of
vocal sibilance throughout, and the cymbal crashes were strident and
short on decay time to our ears. Lastly, the entire mix seemed to have
an "in your face" presence that failed to provide the "seating" of the
sound sources necessary to provide for a smooth listening experience.
SUGGESTIONS: Capturing high quality acoustic guitar
sounds is a topic that we have covered many times in the pages
of Recording. We would encourage Mike to experiment with mic
placement; moving his mic out in front of the soundhole would
provide a more robust tone. The key here is to go in small increments
in order to avoid a boomy sound. Regarding the sibilance, we
suggest that Mike go back to his tracks and remove any compression
that may have been applied. Next, listen and note if the smear on
the S,F, and T sounds disappears (as we believe it will).
64

RECORDING April 2017

Following that, we would recommend that Mike spend
some quality time A/Bing his mix against some of his favorite
recordings in this genre ("Daisy Jane" by America springs to
mind) and study how those mixes are built and layered, with
special attention to the vocals and cymbal levels.
In art class we are encouraged to study and copy the masters
as a learning tool, and yet in the recording realm folks can
be strangely resistant to the concept. Trust us when we tell you
that there are but a small handful of savants in the world... for
the rest of us, it's study and learn, trial and error!
SUMMARY: Plenty here to work with!
CONTACT: Mike Ringler, miker345@yahoo.com

Dan Davis
EQUIPMENT: 2.4 GHz MacBook Pro with M-Audio FireWire Solo
interface running Apple Logic Pro 8, Native Instruments Guitar Rig
3, and Propellerhead Reason 4 (used for all drum and synth parts).
Audio-Technica ATH-M50 headphones. LTD EC-50 electric guitar
with EMG pickups, Ibanez GSR 200 bass.

MUSIC: "Remembrance" is a rock instrumental track. Dan
wrote, programmed, performed, and recorded the song.
RECORDING: A fine overall effort here by Dan that is
unfortunately undone somewhat by his arrangement, along
with overall mix tone.
Dan is obviously a man with some serious chops on the
guitar, given the muscular performance here. We loved the
software-generated crunch on Dan's electric guitar, with none of
the flabby low-mid buildup that often presents itself in this genre.
As for the rhythm section, the results were a bit more hit and
miss. While the bass performance was solid, we found that the
tone lacked low-end presence through our monitors, so it failed
to drive the track as we would have liked. Moving on to the programmed drums, Dan was wise to keep things simple and realistic. Kudos to Dan for letting his guitar do the talking!
Turning our attention to the arrangement issue mentioned earlier, the "breakdown" section that Dan implemented three quarters into the track seemed an awkward fit to us. To our way of
thinking, the track up to this point was an energetic showcase for
Dan's guitar skills... and then abruptly the energy gives way to a
Phil Collins-style 1980s vibe, complete with an uber-dry sidestick/
handclap feel that screams "fake drums". By the time the track
resumes its original form, the motion and energy have little time to
ramp up again before the end of the song. Lastly, while there is a lot
of good stuff happening in the track, through our monitors the overall mix was rather thin and tilted towards the brittle side of things.
SUGGESTIONS: In our mission to advise and assist you loyal
readers, it is sometimes incumbent on us to step outside of the usual
tone and processing issues and discuss arrangements. While we
would never insist that anyone change their artistic vision, we suggest that Dan reconsider the breakdown section of his track.
As for the mix tone, while Dan has listed headphones, there's
no mention of monitor speakers. Working with headphones
alone, even the great ATH-M50, can result in mixing without reliable tonal balance. Testing one's mix on multiple sets of speakers
should be a mandatory part of every recordist's job!
SUMMARY: Check early, check often.
CONTACT: Dan Davis, wearespinning@yahoo.com

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