Recording - May 2020 - 70

Readers'
TRACKS
BY MARTY PETERS

Readers' Tracks is where respected engineer
and producer Marty Peters listens to your
recordings and critiques them, pointing out
where and how you can make them better.
Listen to the songs, read the reviews, and
submit your own materials online.
"The Perfect Take" / Andrews Way
Equipment: AKG, Behringer, Blue, Casio, Dimension Pro,
Fender, Grace, iZotope, JBL, Latin Percussion, Mackie, MOTU,
Neumann, QSC, Red Sky, Roland, Sherman Clay, Shure, Sony,
Toontrack, Universal Audio, VOX; PC running Sonar.
Music: Stacey Andrews (vocals, percussion); John W.
Andrews (guitars, bass, keys, drums, percussion, vocals,
harmonica, production); Fiverr.com provided the sax solo
(mystery artist!).
Recording: If there's a loyalty awards program, John would
certainly qualify! In his production notes, he tells us that he has
been submitting songs since 1996, with prior submissions in
2007 and 2019, and he's been a subscriber since our 'Home
and Studio Recording' days back in 1989. Emeritus standing
John, and hats off! Let's dig into John and Stacey's latest effort and see how things are faring. Upon our initial listen, a
lot is going on here. The arrangement boasts several distinct
sections, each with its own character. The brief intro features
a very Queen-like vibe-kudos to John for capturing a very
credible Brian May tone on his soaring electric guitar part.
The track then pivots into a '50s, 6/8 feel (think 'Donna' by
the late great Ritchie Valens) that features Stacey delivering a
whimsical lyric beautifully sung and recorded; here, the Blue
Kiwi and UA 6176 signal chain shines big time. John has done
an excellent job with his instrumental bed overall, particularly
the melodic bass guitar, which displays fantastic tone. John tells
us that he farmed out his sax duties through fiver.com's audio
services-with impressive results. It's truly a fantastic age for
online services and collaboration, and we applaud John for
his decision to take full advantage here-both the performance
and tone of the sax are top-notch. As far as anything negative
in the recording, the snare drum was slightly tinny sounding

compared to the rest of the drum kit. The Roland TD 25 is a
tremendous piece of kit as our friends across the pond would
say, and chock full of great snare options that would be more
harmonious in our way of thinking.
Suggestions: What a treat to follow the progress of one of
our most loyal listeners! And yes, John, things have certainly
changed since you got your Teac A-2340 four-track reel-to-reel
in 1975! As for touch-ups to 'The Perfect Take', spend some
quality time with your Roland TD-25. A robust snare is in there,
we promise!
Summary: Till the next time, friends.

"Perfect Space" / Andrew Vetter
Equipment: Audio-Technica, Boston Acoustics, Fender, Focusrite, M-Audio; iMac running GarageBand.
Music: Dan Zweben (singer/songwriter); Andrew Vetter
(songwriter, guitar, bass, synth, drum programming).
Recording: 'Perfect Space' is a rock tune with lots to like,
and a few minor problems. The good stuff: Andrew has done
an excellent job assembling his sound sources; the arrangement is tight and well-conceived. We like the solid drum programming; the fact that it's not hidden, but rather situated
ideally in the mix (as real drums would be), please us greatly!
The restrained tap delay on the vocals is effective, as is Andrew's use of panning, which provides all the instruments with
their own room to shine. Less effective is the lack of bass balance in the mix; there's not enough girth to fill out the rhythm
section. The snare drum sounds a bit strident, and the lack
of a well-rounded bass exacerbates the problem. Our other
issues are with balance and relative volume. The lead vocal
is well recorded and delivered without artifact, but it's too far
out in front of the rest of the mix. This is also the case with the
synths, but to a lesser extent. While this may be necessary for
a crowded mix, Andrew has created a good deal of spaciousness here, and the disparity between Dan's excellent vocals
and the instruments is a bit much.
Suggestions: This is a fine effort overall, and the fixes should
be quick and easy. Starting with the time-honored and always
recommended A/Bing, we encourage Andrew to find some
commercial releases in this style and compare them, first of
all through his monitors, and then through as many alternative
speakers/environments as possible. Are the missing low end
and bright snare issues room-related? Hard to tell, but A/Bing
can go a long way toward sorting it out. We extend the same
advice regarding seating the vocals. We suggest a bump in
the bass presence, a woodier snare sound, and a reduction
of the vocals (along with a tiny bit on the synths) to make the
mix more cohesive.
Summary: EZPZ.

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70 RECORDING May 2020

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Recording - May 2020

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