Recording - July 2015 - 64

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Doug Simmons/Glen Mitchell Band
Equipment: Dell PC with 4 GB RAM with RME Fireface 800
audio interface running Cakewalk SONAR 7 Producer
Edition under Windows XP. Fender Strat, Rickenbacker 4002
bass, Yamaha DTXPlorer electronic drum kit.

Music: "Saints and Sinners" is a male vocal blues song.
Glen played drums on the track. Doug wrote the song,
sang, and played the remaining instruments.
Recording: Well, from the sounds of it, Doug and Glen
skipped the decaf and went straight for the espresso shots
here! "Saints and Sinners" comes flying out of the gate with
a fury, and maintains its high-octane drive until the very
end. Sonically there is a lot going on throughout the track.
Sadly, however, there are a number of issues keeping
the mix from reaching its full potential. The problems
start with a very overcrowded arrangement, and that's
even before we get to all of the questionable balance/
ambience and distortion issues plaguing the song.
Suggestions: Much as what you might do when you
assemble a jigsaw puzzle, we would advise Doug and
Glen to lay out all the pieces to their track and consider
how to properly put them together. A great place to start
is with the rhythm section; Doug and Glen should strive
to get a solid marriage going between the bass and kick
drum. At present the kick lacks beater head definition,
and the busy bass line isn't helping matters.
Next, Doug, you should put on your arranger/producer
hat and decide just what "unlimited track count" means
to you. Are the multiple guitars saying something meaningful in the overall scheme, or are they simply competing for limited space? That goes for the heavily layered
backing vocals as well. Remember that the concept of
bandwidth did not disappear with analog tape. Every
sound source demands a slice of the pie... and paradoxically, in many cases, the more slices you have, the smaller the "pie" ends up sounding.
64

RECORDING July 2015

We would also recommend that Doug examine the frequency ranges in play here between the low mids of his fuzz
guitars and the upper range of his bass. The Rickenbacker is
well known for a very trebly sound, but that means you have
to be extra careful when sitting it in a mix; it will compete
with instruments that normally don't have to worry very
much about the bass line.
Lastly, through our monitors, the mix seems to be in need
of some rebalancing. The center-placed sounds, including
the vocals, have a distance to them that contrasts rather
sharply with the "in your face" panned electric guitars. We
would love to hear this mismatch reversed, guys.
Summary: You can always take apart the puzzle and put it back
together again.
Contact: Doug Simmons, dsimmons77@yahoo.com

A. Jude
Equipment: Unspecified computer with unspecified interface running Avid Pro Tools and Native Instruments Kontakt 4. Mics:
Electro-Voice RE320 and Shure SM57. Fender "Clapton" Strat and
Precision Bass, Kustom TRT 50 and Fender Twin amps, Line 6 DL4
looper/delay, DigiTech iStomp effects pedal, BOSS DD5 delay pedal.

Music: "Velvet Mind" is a male vocal rock song. The production notes are a bit too straight and to the point... they
read, in their entirety, "A. Jude: everything". Well, then!
Let's see what kind of "everything" we have here.
Recording: As it turns out, this track from "A." features
some pretty cool stuff. Starting with the Mickey Hart space
drum sounds conjured up via his Kontakt 4 sampler plug-in,
we are presented with a really successful track that is
moody yet driving. We absolutely love the sound of the lead
and backing vocals that A. captured on the recording. While
it is unclear whether he used the Electro-Voice RE320 or
the Shure SM57 to track them, the results are superbly
smooth and perfectly balanced in the mix to our ears.
The remaining sound sources are also well presented, with the
clean clear guitar and bass in contrast to the dirtier synth patch
in the breakdown section. We also appreciated the panning
choices involved in the mix, which provided a "roomy" sound to
a track with a good amount of sonic information. Nice work, A!
Suggestions: This isn't the first time, nor will it be the last, that
we mention the microphone/voice "marriage" in these pages.
Given the sheer number of options available, finding the right
mic can certainly be a frustrating journey. That said, what A.
did here may well serve as the ideal approach. Given the fact
that these were the microphones in his studio, he quite simply
made the best use of the choices that were available to him.
Not only were his vocals expertly executed and presented
without artifact, but in addition, the balance skill shown at
mix time further enhanced their quality. We suggest that all
of you loyal readers take this to heart in your own efforts.
Very few of us are under any old-school record company
pressure to hurry up release dates on our recordings.
Signing off on mixes that still have problems is something
we see/hear a lot of in this column, but listening to the
vocals here is a great reminder of how a bit more effort can
pay great dividends.
Summary: Sweet! "Climbed a ladder to my brain..."
Contact: A. Jude, thesingularitymusic@gmail.com

http://www.recordingmag.com

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