Recording - September 2010 - 56

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Suggestions: As we have said many times in this article through the years, no single piece of recording gear, be it box or plug-in, has caused as much havoc to submitters’ recordings as the compressor. Its misuse and overuse are the stuff of legend in these parts, and sadly Nick’s acoustic guitar tone is the latest to join the scrap heap. How it is possible to not hear the pumping that is sooo obvious on the guitar? And even more puzzling is the decision to use it to that degree in the first place. Was the guitar performance so uneven that only a massive amount of compression would smooth it out? If so, we would suggest that Nick go back and re-track the guitar using a more distant mic placement. If it still is uneven, then how about trying two compression passes at gentler ratios to tame the wild beast? Last but not least, there have been many fine articles pertaining to compression in the pages of Recording through the years. They are a great resource, Nick... just sayin’.
Summary: Master the compression and you’re on your way.
Contact: Nick Moison, NIXLIX@aol.com.

Jose A. Mena
Equipment: Windows PC with Digi 003 running Pro Tools LE 7.4; Line 6 POD XT Pro; Addictive Drums sample library; Fostex PM0.5 monitors.

Nick Moison
Equipment: Dell XPS laptop with MOTU 896 interface running Steinberg Cubase 4; KRK Rokit 5 monitors, Blue Kiwi mic, Universal Audio 6176 preamp/compressor, TC-Helicon VoiceLive vocal processor, Line 6 POD 2.0 and POD X3 Live guitar processors, Taylor 614ce acoustic guitar, Ibanez RG series electric guitar, Yamaha bass, Roland Fantom-X6 keyboard workstation, Monster and Planet Waves cables.

Music: “Only Angels” is a male vocal rock song. Nick wore all of the hats on the project, except for the drum tracks, which were flown in by StudioPros.com. Recording: Very nicely done, for the most part. Nick has written a quality song and with a few exceptions, the recording follows suit. The track intros with a slow keyboard swell, followed by Nick’s Taylor 614 acoustic guitar. Two things jumped out at us fairly quickly at this point. Number one: May we all agree that it’s time to retire the ubiquitous slow keyboard intro swell? Like the revered old warhorse that it is, let us hoist its jersey to the rafters and call it a career, shall we? Number two: we have had a great deal of experience with Taylor guitars and have found them to be some of the most effortless and satisfying of instruments to both play and record. That said, Nick does not seem to be getting the most out of his instrument here. Rather than the full rich tone that one would expect from a Taylor/Blue Kiwi/UA 6176 signal chain, we hear a rather small, “plastic” and heavily compressed sound that has failed to benefit from its top-shelf origins. We also found the bass guitar to be lacking in volume through our monitors. Fortunately, the other sound sources fare better. Nick’s lead vocal is a fine performance/recording and well represented in the mix to boot. Ditto the harmony vocals. Finally, the drums supplied by the nice folks at StudioPros.com here exhibit fine tones and a convincing arrangement, supporting the track very well.
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RECORDING SEPTEMBER 2010

Music: “Nowhere to Run” is a “metal” instrumental track. Jose composed, programmed, played the guitar and recorded the song. Andres Mena helped out on the bass. Recording: Let’s file this one under “a tale of two tracks”. Jose has harnessed his considerable guitar and composing chops into what is, to our knowledge, the first Metal Funk song that we have ever reviewed! Let’s start out by giving Jose his props on the guitar. The man can shred with the best of them, and his tone is awesome, gritty and full, with none of the thin overdistortion that we often hear in this genre. Unfortunately, the programmed drums fall short and the bass is rather tame in tone and performance when compared to the electric guitars. To be fair, we have rarely, if ever, come across programmed drums that work successfully in metal. There seems to be something inherent in the tempo and feel that is hard to achieve “in the box”. Fortunately, though, our story has a happy ending, and for this we must praise “The Funk”! About halfway through the track, Jose’s tune makes a 180 degree turn, and all of a sudden Andres comes out swingin’ with some big time thumb-slappin’ chops. The bass tone here couldn’t be more perfect, and believe us, he’s just killin’ this tune from here on out. Play on, brother! Suggestions: Not unlike many submissions, we would love to hear live drums replace the programming here. Without it we feel that the song will remain in its present “demo” state. Our second thought concerns fair play. While it was gracious of Andres to attempt the “metal” bass parts in the song, it is obvious that his real strength is not metal. Therefore, we would ask Jose to compose yet another track, this time with an emphasis on the funk.
Summary: Courageous idea—but two half songs don’t make a song.
Contact: Jose A. Mena, josemena79@yahoo.com.

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Recording - September 2010

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - September 2010