Recording - December 2013 - 64

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John Lewitt
Equipment: Apple iMac with Apogee Duet interface running
Apple Logic Pro 9, iZotope Ozone 5 (mixdown and mastering), Toontrack EZdrummer, Native Instruments Session
Horns (played on a M-Audio KeyRig 49 USB keyboard controller), and Synthogy Ivory II Grand Pianos (controlled by a
Roland A-88 MIDI master keyboard). Mics: Mojave MA-200
(guitar and vocals), Royer R-121 (banjo), sE Electronics
Reflexion Filter portable mic isolator. KRK VXT4 monitors,
Tech21 SansAmp Bass Driver (for bass track, played direct).

Music: "Nothing Can Stop Me" is a male vocal acoustic
rock song, John wore all of the hats on the track.
Recording: Catchy, catchy tune, John, with a refreshingly upbeat lyric (harder to do than one might think!).
As for the recording itself, the Mojave MA-200 mic marries up really well with the lead vocal, and even better
on John's acoustic guitar. The acoustic has a beautiful
feathery tone that fits beautifully in this context. We
also like the choice of the Royer R-121 ribbon mic for the
banjo. The ribbon's inherent lack of high frequency
range is perfectly suited to combat the strident nature of
the banjo, in our opinion.
John used his Tech 21 SansAmp to fashion a nice round
faux acoustic bass tone, and we love the choice and sound
of the "upright piano" from the Synthogy Ivory II Grand
Pianos/Roland A-88 keyboard combination.
Now for the flip side. The harmony vocals had a fairly
brittle sound through our monitors, and also were presented too loudly in the mix. While the drum programming was fine in terms of tone (it's very hard to ruin the
sound of EZdrummer), there were several rough patches
in the timing. We also felt that the song could have been
more successful without the simulated horns and the
congas, which were muddy and distracting to our ears.
Suggestions: As most of you loyal readers out there have
probably surmised, the vast majority of our submissions to
64

RECORDING December 2013

Readers' Tapes come from one man/woman band operations,
also known in these parts as the "wearers of many hats". With
that in mind, Engineer Hat John has made many fine decisions
with his recording, including mic selection, EQ, and ambience,
and Player Hat John has laid down some nice tracks.
Our suggestion is that Producer Hat John revisit his mix and
re-evaluate the sum of its parts. It is oh-so-tempting to add onto
arrangements these days, particularly when there is no outside
producer to advise you, but you need to be sure the stuff your
adding aids the song. If, after review, John is still committed to
the horns and congas, we suggest that he spend some time on
their tones, as well as their place in the mix as a whole.
Summary: A fine summer soundtrack that needs some decisionmaking.
Contact: John Lewitt, jmlewitt@gmail.com

Matthew Mather / Simber
Equipment: Apple MacBook Pro with Universal Audio Apollo
interface running Apple Logic Pro 9, Native Instruments Guitar
Rig plug-in, and Toontrack Superior Drummer. PRS 24 Custom
guitar, Ibanez SR500 bass.

Music: "Fight For Our Lives" is a male vocal rock song.
Matthew did it all with the exception of the vocal, which was
performed by Armando Escalera.
Recording: My mother-in-law (forget the jokes, the woman
is awesome) likes ice cream. A LOT. Matthew seems to feel
the same way about compression. Fortunately for Mom, that
sugar buzz wears off by and by, and she can go on about her
business. Recordings, on the other hand, have a considerably longer shelf life...
From the intro acoustic guitar to the squashed snare drum
to the square wave nature of the overall mastering, everything
here is being affected by overcompression. So is all lost? Not
by a long shot! Matthew and Armando have a damn good track
under all that leveling, we just have to excavate it!
Suggestions: Historically, the primary goal of compression
was the leveling of volume and the taming of out-of-control
transients. Ah, but then came the loudness wars, which
placed the compressor/limiter into the vanguard of the "my
track's louder than your track" insanity. (Read this month's
Recording Fundamentals for more on this topic.)
Did Matthew need compression on his sound sources? You
bet he did, especially in the last minute of the track, when
Armando cuts loose with some killer vocals and the bass
guitar starts to "bring the beef", as the saying goes. But why
the overcompression on the lightly strummed acoustic guitar, not to mention the delicate vocals at the intro?
Timestamping your recording with the latest fad effect or
method du jour (in this case, overcompression) is a slippery
slope, and unless you are damn sure you can live with the
results down the road, we advise caution. Our suggestion to
Matthew is to go back to his mix and learn to apply other
skills in order to control his sound sources... such as fader
riding, automation and mic placement.
Also, since there is no label honcho barking at you regarding
the mastered volume here, letting the dynamic range back into
the mix, particularly on the acoustic guitar and snare drum,
would bring life to the song in ways that may surprise you.
Summary: There's gold under there... start digging, boys!
Contact: Matthew Mather / Simber, ffighter18p@yahoo.com

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Recording - December 2013

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