Recording - June 2021 - 60

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.
'In the Shadow of the Western Gods' / Gabe
Schwartz
Equipment: Ableton Live Intro, Izotope Ozone 9, Neutron
3 and Nectar 3, Waves Abbey Road TG, Behringer U-Phoria 404 interface, Neat Microphones King Bee, Pyle Pro
57, AKG P2, Taylor 110c acoustic guitar, Epiphone banjo,
Rogue mandolin, Squier bass, Vox AV60, Samson Graphite
25 MIDI controller, Puremagnetik Microtron, Pacific Concept
20/12/14 maple drum kit, Tama SLP Bubinga 14x6 snare,
Sabian HHX cymbals.
Music: 'In the Shadow of the Western Gods' is a progressive
folk song performed and recorded by Gabe in his home studio.
Recording: Gabe has submitted a dynamic and ambitious
track that features quite a few instruments sharing similar frequency ranges. Not unlike the music of Mumford and Sons or
The Lumineers, the primary melody instruments in Gabe's recording center in the mid to high frequency ranges. The flatpicked
acoustic guitar, banjo and mandolin were all tracked through
his Neat Microphones King Bee condenser mic. Gabe faired
pretty well for the most part, although there are a few EQ and
balance issues that he could improve upon. That said, before we
dig deeper, we must congratulate Gabe for successfully wearing
so many hats here. While the vast majority of us struggle with
one instrument, Gabe is skillfully handling five while also assuming the recording duties. Wise panning choices help separate
the stringed instruments to a certain degree, while the dynamic
playing gives the track a nice tension and release throughout.
As for the balance issues, the acoustic guitar volume often exceeds that of the lead vocal, particularly during the intro, and
the vocals are a bit recessed in the mix overall. We also find the
snare drum to be a bit wooly and lacking in snap, making it a
tad underwhelming underneath the pluck and brightness of the
60 RECORDING June 2021

stringed instruments. Lastly, the high-hat volume is on the high
side, drawing focus away from the lead vocal.
Suggestions: Gabe has got a mostly successful project here,
just a few tweaks from being even more so. We urge him to
revisit his mix and devise a strategy to rebuild it. In this case,
we would treat it as a solo singer/songwriter-style mix. Starting
with the acoustic guitar and lead vocal, establish a balance with
the guitar slightly behind the voice in volume. Then, bring in the
rhythm section (with some brightening on the snare and reduced
volume on the hi-hat) and work that until everything is melding.
There are myriad commercial releases that can and should be
compared for reference, from James Taylor to Mandolin Orange.
Following this, bring in the banjo and mandolin, retaining the
pre-established panning so that each has its own voice. 
Summary: Strong effort, Gabe!

'Golden Mirrors' / Marcelo Gulino
Equipment: PreSonus StudioLive 16, Avid Pro Tools, SM Pro
Audio MC-01, Shure PG52 and PG58 drum mics, MeldaProduction MonasteryGrand, Spitfire Audio BBC Orchestra.
Music: 'Golden Mirrors' is a male vocal pop song. Julio Rigoli
played the double bass. Fernando Gonzalez played piano.
Cristian Buseki was on drums. Marcelo Gulino sang, played
guitars, arranged the strings, wrote, produced, recorded,
mixed, and mastered it all at his home studio.
Recording: Marcelo has submitted a slow rock song that
comes across as a tad disjointed in spots due to some curious instrumental timing and balance issues. He informed us that both
the bass and keyboards were done remotely and sent to him as
MIDI files-these sound sources are not the cause for concern.
Instead, the problem is a series of stuttering percussion parts
that are throwing the track into disarray, particularly during the
intro and the first verse. The timing issues are impossible to ignore. We see no mention of percussion on his gear list, only the
mics used to record the drums, and the drums actually sound
programmed rather than performed, at least until the 2:20 mark
where we finally hear a discernible kick and snare pattern. As
for the remaining sound sources, the keyboards sound great,
and the acoustic bass even more so. We love the full spectrum
of the bass capture, from the slight high-end string buzz to
the rich, full bottom; it's is a standout in the mix. The vocals
were recorded and presented without artifact, and the strings
were well constructed, albeit a tad hot through our speakers.
Suggestions: We strongly urge Marcelo to lose the percussion
parts in the track-in our opinion, they do far more harm than
good. Beyond that, we suggest dropping the string volume
down a bit so that it doesn't compete with the keyboards for
space in the mix.
Summary: Addition by subtraction.

Listen online at RECORDINGMAG.COM


https://www.recordingmag.com/readers-tracks/ https://www.recordingmag.com/readers-tracks/

Recording - June 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - June 2021

Fade In
Fast Forward
Plugin Outlet: Accusonus ERA 5 Pro Bundle
Arturia KeyStep 37
Soundware Showcase: Spitfire Audio Originals Mrs Mills Piano
Richard Barbieri: Living under a spell: interpreting dreams through texture
Erica Synths: SYNTRX Analog Synthesizer
Moog Sound Studio: Mother-32 & DFAM Analog Synthesis Experience
Patch & Tweak with Moog from Bjooks
Plugin Outlet: NUGEN Stereoizer Elements
Inside the Studio with Mark Hornsby: A little summin, summin!
Eventide: H9000 Next Generation Harmonizer (Part 2)
Reviewed & Revisited: Steinberg Cubase Pro 11
Radial Engineering: EXTC Stereo
Inside the Box with Joe Albano: Working In Multiple DAWs
Reviewed and Revisited: PreSonus Studio One 5.2
Plugin Outlet: Focusrite FAST Plugins
Session Log: The Angelheaded Hipster, Part 6: Plugins
Plugin Outlet: BOOM Library EnRage
Reviewed and Revisited: Modarrt Pianoteq 7
Readers' Tracks
Reviewed and Revisited: Ableton Live 11
Plugin Outlet: Waves Vocal Bender
Fade Out: Spaceship Syndrome
Recording - June 2021 - Intro
Recording - June 2021 - Cover1
Recording - June 2021 - Cover2
Recording - June 2021 - 1
Recording - June 2021 - 2
Recording - June 2021 - 3
Recording - June 2021 - Fade In
Recording - June 2021 - 5
Recording - June 2021 - 6
Recording - June 2021 - 7
Recording - June 2021 - Fast Forward
Recording - June 2021 - 9
Recording - June 2021 - Plugin Outlet: Accusonus ERA 5 Pro Bundle
Recording - June 2021 - 11
Recording - June 2021 - 12
Recording - June 2021 - 13
Recording - June 2021 - Arturia KeyStep 37
Recording - June 2021 - 15
Recording - June 2021 - Soundware Showcase: Spitfire Audio Originals Mrs Mills Piano
Recording - June 2021 - 17
Recording - June 2021 - Richard Barbieri: Living under a spell: interpreting dreams through texture
Recording - June 2021 - 19
Recording - June 2021 - 20
Recording - June 2021 - 21
Recording - June 2021 - 22
Recording - June 2021 - 23
Recording - June 2021 - 24
Recording - June 2021 - 25
Recording - June 2021 - Erica Synths: SYNTRX Analog Synthesizer
Recording - June 2021 - 27
Recording - June 2021 - Moog Sound Studio: Mother-32 & DFAM Analog Synthesis Experience
Recording - June 2021 - 29
Recording - June 2021 - Patch & Tweak with Moog from Bjooks
Recording - June 2021 - 31
Recording - June 2021 - Plugin Outlet: NUGEN Stereoizer Elements
Recording - June 2021 - 33
Recording - June 2021 - Inside the Studio with Mark Hornsby: A little summin, summin!
Recording - June 2021 - 35
Recording - June 2021 - Eventide: H9000 Next Generation Harmonizer (Part 2)
Recording - June 2021 - 37
Recording - June 2021 - Reviewed & Revisited: Steinberg Cubase Pro 11
Recording - June 2021 - 39
Recording - June 2021 - 40
Recording - June 2021 - 41
Recording - June 2021 - Radial Engineering: EXTC Stereo
Recording - June 2021 - 43
Recording - June 2021 - Inside the Box with Joe Albano: Working In Multiple DAWs
Recording - June 2021 - 45
Recording - June 2021 - 46
Recording - June 2021 - 47
Recording - June 2021 - Reviewed and Revisited: PreSonus Studio One 5.2
Recording - June 2021 - 49
Recording - June 2021 - Plugin Outlet: Focusrite FAST Plugins
Recording - June 2021 - 51
Recording - June 2021 - Session Log: The Angelheaded Hipster, Part 6: Plugins
Recording - June 2021 - 53
Recording - June 2021 - 54
Recording - June 2021 - 55
Recording - June 2021 - Plugin Outlet: BOOM Library EnRage
Recording - June 2021 - 57
Recording - June 2021 - Reviewed and Revisited: Modarrt Pianoteq 7
Recording - June 2021 - 59
Recording - June 2021 - Readers' Tracks
Recording - June 2021 - 61
Recording - June 2021 - 62
Recording - June 2021 - 63
Recording - June 2021 - 64
Recording - June 2021 - 65
Recording - June 2021 - Reviewed and Revisited: Ableton Live 11
Recording - June 2021 - 67
Recording - June 2021 - Plugin Outlet: Waves Vocal Bender
Recording - June 2021 - 69
Recording - June 2021 - 70
Recording - June 2021 - 71
Recording - June 2021 - Fade Out: Spaceship Syndrome
Recording - June 2021 - Cover3
Recording - June 2021 - Cover4
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