Mixing and Mastering a Blues Song Recorded Using Faulty Equipment. Help!

M

MonsterKID

Vocaloid Producer
Hello! My name is MonsterKID and I've been stalking these forums for years! So thanks to all the tutorials I read and good advice. Anyways I've beend called to produce a Blues-rock album and I have 20 days to produce, mix and master and I've already encountered my first problem...

I spoke with the band and told them about a few good studios that we could record their songs in buuuut they didn't want to pay so they spoke with a friend who has a studio. And this studio didn't have amps and had faulty guitar cables, which created a distortion in the instruments that I was able to lessen by making a drop in the highs, starting at the 6kHz. It helped but everything sounds muddy. I just want to slam my head against the wall. Now there is also the issue of that microphone, I bet all my money it's a Dynamic. Also the room was badly sound proofed. They said it wasn't but it is. So much high end and no bass and we got a lot of clipping which is awkward since Izotope Rx3 and Audacity don't recognize any clipping.

Another problem is the drummer didn't come and even if he came there would be no way he could keep a beat. It's like there's no time signature. It will be 3x4 for 2 steps then change to 4x4 for a few steps then go back. I tried creating a beat in my DAW but I can't keep the beat. I tried changing the time signature for my project but nothing at all seems to fit. And the tempo is correct.

What should I do? My producer friends told me to go back into a serious studio and record everything again.

Here are some files. One with the song mixed, vocals and instruments. One file is the acoustic guitar as originally recorded.

View attachment Misteriosa Mulher Acoustic Guitar.mp3View attachment Misteriosa Mulher Demo.mp3
 
you have confused sound proofing (stopping sound getting in or out) with sound treatment (controlling reflections, absorbing and diffusing), so they are probably telling you the truth on that score - if you do not use the right language then you will not get the information you require

as for whether the mic was a dynamic or not is not an issue in my book you should still be able to work with the resulting recorded signal no problem

before I go much further I would like to hear some further examples of the issues you think have - not to second guess you but to understand the problems from an audio perspective - i.e. what you hear and what I hear may be the same or totally different

I cannot even hear how that original acoustic guitar part fits into the second recording at this stage

I also do not hear too much wrong the sound in terms of this being a blues recording
 
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The vocals were recorded in a bathroom with people talking down the hall (which the microphone caught in some parts of the recording). And you are right, there is a problem with the sound treatment too.

Here are the issues I believe to exist:

Vocals: The microphone didn't seem to record enough bass, I think this is due to him singing too high. I also believe there is clipping, which is due to him singing to loud (he sang with both headphone sides on, even though I kept telling him to do it with only one side on). He didn't want to record again. The vocals seem to have too be airy.

Guitars: I believe the cables in the studio caused feedback to get recorded in the audio. This feedback is audible when using headphones.

Bass: Was played off time, I'm adjusting it note by note.

Time Signature: Can't find out what it is. I can't put a drum over it, it eventually becomes off sync.

There's nothing wrong in it being a Blues recording. I thought I would point it out so people wouldn't waste their time opening on something they not know what to do (Like someone who is really good at mixing classical pieces but knows nothing of mixing guitars).

Mixing: I think there's not enough high end, which is due to me removing them to remove the feedback.

Thank you for your help!
 
Yes, that example really doesn't give us much to go on, but if I were to guess based on your comments and what I've heard, I'd say even before picking the right studio, have a recording plan, which starts with pre-production, pre-production, and then pre-production!!!!

In other words, they need to rehearse, and you need to be there. And if you are really "producing," and not "engineering," then you need to work with them to arrange the songs properly and to fix any problems (or as many as possible) ahead of time, before going into the studio. That would include timing issues, picking appropriate sounds, the right keys for the singer, and of course, the right songs that make them sound the best from the start.

GJ
 
rhythmgj said:
Yes, that example really doesn't give us much to go on, but if I were to guess based on your comments and what I've heard, I'd say even before picking the right studio, have a recording plan, which starts with pre-production, pre-production, and then pre-production!!!!

In other words, they need to rehearse, and you need to be there. And if you are really "producing," and not "engineering," then you need to work with them to arrange the songs properly and to fix any problems (or as many as possible) ahead of time, before going into the studio. That would include timing issues, picking appropriate sounds, the right keys for the singer, and of course, the right songs that make them sound the best from the start.

GJ
Click to expand...

I was supposed to just produce. But, after what I saw what the studio's engineer was doing to the song, well... Let's just say he overcompressed the guitars using a preset, without cleaning up feedback and threw preset delay on the vocals. I just had to interfere!

I totally understand, this band caught me off guard. They came to me on Friday. And I told them I would like to see their songs so I could choose only the best for the album, but again they didn't listen to me. They never seem to listen to me :(

Thanks for your reply too! You guys are being very helpful! :3
 
Personally I would be walking away right now - if they are not listening then you cannot accept responsibility for any failures - I know several other pro engineer/producers who would advise you to do the same thing.

time signature is 4/4 but the tempo is variable (as it would be in any good blues song arrangement) and you would have to play the drums in real time not try to drop them in over the top as a grid based.

I really do not believe that it is a producers job to fix the playing of individual notes or otherwise interfere with the timing of the recorded project, especially in an organic form like the blues - you would go crazy trying to fix all the problems and still only address half of them

at this point I would be asking for the stems that were recorded not the effected versions

I seriously doubt that the cables introduced feedback or distortion, it is more likely to have come from the amplifiers being driven in ways that were not complimentary to the sound required

If you need to edit the bass players parts they need to be recorded again

from the sounds of it everything needs to be done again and some serious rehearsal needs to be done also


would still like to hear snippets of the individual recorded parts to see if the issues you cite are as bad as you think
 
I don't think those two snippets sound un-salvageably bad sound-wise. But the playing does sound pretty sloppy. I also don't really get why the studio's engineer would be slapping heavy compression on anything if he's just supposed to record.
 
I agree with the ones who say those snippets aren't the worst things in the world, sonically. But performance quality is an issue. In my experience, it's very tricky to lay drums over instrument tracks that aren't set to a metronome (it's hard even with a metronome, especially if the drummer isn't that good.) Same with the bass track.... without drums to anchor his rhythm, it's going to end up sloppy unless you cut it all up. Note by note...? ugh..

I also agree with bandcoach that if they aren't going to take an honest look at their work up to this point, you may be better off passing on this job. The more you try to turn chicken shit into chicken francais, the more frustrated you will become. And when the end result is a disappointment (at no fault of yours), they'll likely start the blame game.
 
krushing said:
I don't think those two snippets sound un-salvageably bad sound-wise. But the playing does sound pretty sloppy. I also don't really get why the studio's engineer would be slapping heavy compression on anything if he's just supposed to record.
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Yes! The playing was sloppy and I don't understand why the engineer did that. >.<
 
IPM Music said:
I agree with the ones who say those snippets aren't the worst things in the world, sonically. But performance quality is an issue. In my experience, it's very tricky to lay drums over instrument tracks that aren't set to a metronome (it's hard even with a metronome, especially if the drummer isn't that good.) Same with the bass track.... without drums to anchor his rhythm, it's going to end up sloppy unless you cut it all up. Note by note...? ugh..

I also agree with bandcoach that if they aren't going to take an honest look at their work up to this point, you may be better off passing on this job. The more you try to turn chicken shit into chicken francais, the more frustrated you will become. And when the end result is a disappointment (at no fault of yours), they'll likely start the blame game.
Click to expand...

Ugh I gave up on cutting it note by note, it was obviously improvised... These guys seem to not like metronomes too much but they are needed.
I've seen them playing material they rehearsed and they are pretty good. But this was a new compostion (which I think they didn't even finish before we got in the studio).

I will not participate in a blame game.
 
Hey guys! Thank you all for the replies!

I have no idea why he was even doing that. This was barely a studio as you can see in the snapshot of a video I recorded... View attachment 44202

I sat down with the band and had a really long talk. So now they started listening to me! I've already got them rehearsing the songs I chose and arranged for the album and I chose a studio to record in and I'll be mixing inside the studio. They do have money to invest and will be getting payed to open a show at the international Blues Festival (Fest In Blues), taking place in Campinas (a city in the state of São Paulo in the country of Brazil) which will have artists and bands such as Mud Morganfield and Blues Etílicos. So this is a once in a lifetime opportunity! I think they get that now...

Individual raw instruments and vocal:

Acoustic Guitar: https://clyp.it/loq4yr25?token=9a4209c6c1ab46ce67c065de86a61bb8

Electric Guitar: https://clyp.it/c3xstkq3?token=00de28b591b9d8eb0a5c13ef09c270ce

Vocals: https://clyp.it/lf55ioqn?token=3c57adffe05a946fef3044e1771839be

Harmonica: https://clyp.it/anfrl3bq?token=efa039cebc30a7436f77b812886044fd

Again, thanks so much for all your help guys!
 
OK, if you're going to produce (in the traditional sense of "producer"), you need to take control a bit more, and they need to be willing to give that to you, or the situation is unlikely to be workable. At their apparent musical level, they should never have been wasting valuable recording time working on a song they don't know, that they haven't even finished writing, that you are completely unfamiliar with, when they have material that they actually have rehearsed...

GJ
 
Ah, great! I wrote that last reply before I saw your latest/previous message (it didn't show up for some reason). That's more like it; congrats on gaining the trust you'll need!

GJ
 
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