Jon Loder

I've added some of the suggestions. We plan on re-recording the piano tomorrow. The pianist realizes that she needs to leave some room. There's also one more backup singer and we'll use a different bass player. I tried to EQ the track we have but it's just not there above 300hz. I think I got the snare tamed with a notch reduction around 400hz. I also panned a few things around and added a touch of reverb on the vocals. I automated the backup singers on a bus for volume changes. I think I'm getting close. This is a great forum. Thanks guys. I appreciate the help more than I can say.

That all makes sense. Thanks scook.

I watched the Creative Sauce instructional on YouTube. He said that ASIO is important enough that you should use ASIO4All if your device doesn't have it. I typically record with a workstation (Tascam DP24Sd) and transfer the files into Cakewalk for mixing and mastering. Since I don't usually record with Cakewalk, does it matter if I just use my DAC (Peavey USB-P) without ASIO? The reason I ask is because I got it working but now, when I have a video playing (YouTube, Netflix, etc) I can't do anything in Cakewalk without crashing the sound drivers in the browser.

I have no complaints about the Tascam. It's very easy to use. I just keep the peaks around -6db or so. Noise ratio seems to be zero issue. The tracks go into Cakewalk completely raw. I don't even use compression in the Tascam. I didn't think the drums were an issue until you guys mentioned it. The snare does appear to be a bit intrusive. I'll try some selective EQ and see if I can notch it down some. Other than that, maybe I'll take another run at trying to get the MIDI out to work. We're planning on re-recording the piano part Sunday. I'll try the two-mic method. I've watched a few instructional vids on grand piano mic'ing. It seems like the only proper way to do it is with expensive stuff. The bass is attenuated quite a bit. There's no punch to it. We're probably going to have a different bass player on this one. He just verified that he'd do it.

The drums are on a single track. I would like to do something about that but, for now, that's what we're capable of. The recording is being done on a Tascam DP24-SD. The workflow is basically having the piano, lead singer and one backup singer record live and use those 3 tracks for a headphone mix. Then we record the individual parts using a Sennheiser e935 mic. The piano is a Yamaha grand with a single Sennheiser e835. My preference would be to use a click track but the pianist does the arrangement and she needs some latitude with tempo changes. It's her call. I'm working on creating a temp map in Cakewalk but, for some reason, the markers aren't selectable for me. I can't move them to the transients.

The drums are an issue. My recording equipment is kind of limited. Our drum kit is a Pintech with an old Roland module. I think there's a problem with the MIDI output. I can't seem to get any signal to the interface. I gave up on that and allowed the drummer to balance the kit and I mic'd his monitor speaker. It's not the best option but, without some expensive equipment and acoustic drums, I think it's the best I can do. I suppose the easiest option would be to replace the module and go MIDI. Thanks, guys. I'll post some progress shortly. Jon

The general assessment seems to align with what I first thought. That is, very busy. It's everything, everyone, all the time. It's musical information shooting at the brain like a garden hose aimed at a shot glass. The bass player is relatively new at it. He has a lot to learn. I've been trying to get him to be more punchy. I don't think he knows how to adjust pups, tones, gain, etc. I'll work on that. I tried the high-pass filter last night. Mostly on the piano but a little on every track. It really brightened things. Great trick. Gotta remember to do that. I'm relying mostly on presets in the Pro Channel for starting points. I panned the backup vocals and found that it makes a huge difference. I didn't expect that. You mentioned keeping bass and vocal elements in the middle. Is there a general rule for what goes where for a starting point? I need to figure out track automation so I can get the backup singers balanced. I'll be working on learning that today. Thanks for the help. It means a lot. Jon

I've been recording with a Tascam DP24-SD and transferring to Cakewalk for mixing. Now that I've got the workflow down, I really need to learn how to use cakewalk. I've got some of the basics down but I'm having trouble getting things polished. Here's my first attempt: (there's some dead space at the beginning for intro) I've already used Melodyne to tighten up (and fix a few clinkers) the vocals. I've also turned on the "Pro Strip" and selected some defaults. I could use some suggestions for where to go next with processing. Also, I can't seem to get a tempo map. I can get the transients to show up but I can't select the markers to drag them.