NOOB HOME RECORDING (011) PLASTIC FLOWERS RAW VOCAL MIX

After completing the levels-only mix I went through the POD Farm vocal presets and found one that had a clean reverb effect. I stuck with my plan to record wet so that I didn't have to fiddle with the dry track during mixing.

I recorded one track for the main vocal first. Then another performance track doubling the chorus parts only.  I did one rough pass to include the main vocals to the levels-only mix. When I was happy with it, I proceeded to do the back up vocals. I used the same POD Farm vocal preset but adjusted the reverb module to increase the depth and make the back up vocals sound farther from the main vocal. I duplicated the back up vocals and panned them left and right.

Here's a clip.

Levels-and-Panning-Only Rough Mix including Vocals

So far so good :)

I'll let it stew for a bit to give my ear a rest and listen to it a few more times. Then I'll make a final decision whether to proceed with the mixing segment.

See the Plastic Flowers NHR String

NOOB HOME RECORDING (010) PLASTIC FLOWERS ROUGH INSTRUMENTAL MIX

After recording the basic parts, Guitar, Bass and Drums, I did an initial "levels and panning only" mix to get a rough idea of the final product and also to make it sound somewhat pleasing when I start laying down vocals. I think it improves my performance when the music sounds good, at least in my ears.

The tracks I ended up with are:

NOOB HOME RECORDING (009): PLASTIC FLOWERS BASS GUITAR

I think the easiest part to play on this song is the bass guitar. I tried to do it as close to how our original bass player did it. Just simple but melodic.

I used the Eighties bass module in POD Farm but left the Brite Room reverb module in place. My thinking is that since I used it on the guitar and the drums also had some room reverb within BFD Eco, the bass should be in the same "room" to make the sound cohesive.

Here's how it sounds...


Plastic Flowers Bass Clip

On the next post, I will share the rough instrumental mix. Stay tuned.

Next: NHR - #010, Plastic Flowers Bass Guitar

See the Plastic Flowers NHR String

NOOB HOME RECORDING (008): PLASTIC FLOWERS MAIN GUITAR

Back in December (2012) I finally managed to record the main guitar and bass parts of Plastic Flowers.

First thing was selecting the effect. When we played it live back in the 90s, I used a chorus pedal that fed into an amp with reverb that gave me a shimmery, watery effect. On POD Farm, I got close using a vocal preset called Verb Vocal which comprised of the Console preamp and Brite Room reverb modules. I then swapped the Console Preamp with the Class A-30 Top Boost amp.

 I then tweaked some of the amp and reverb unit to taste.

Here's what it sounds like.

Main Chorus Guitar

Next: NHR - #009, Plastic Flowers Bass Guitar

See the Plastic Flowers NHR String

NOOB HOME RECORDING (007): Laying The Foundation

I finally mustered enough motivation to continue my home recording adventures... well, being sick  and cooped up in the bedroom all day had something to do with it.

I fired up Reaper and continued working on the basic drum pattern on Plastic Flowers using BFD Eco.

Laying the "basic drum pattern" is my preferred method for starting a song project. It's as simple as setting the tempo, key in alternating base drum and snare pattern,  then copying and pasting the pattern to last the entire length of the song.

Doing so gives me, one, a better metronome as opposed to the usual beep sound that comes with most DAWs, and second, it serves as my drum template. I would already have one-third of my drum programming done since all I have to do next is add the embellishments.

NOOB HOME RECORDING (006) - Plastic Flowers

As I mentioned in my previous post, I was abandoning "The Metro" cover and re-record an old original song instead. It's called "Plastic Flowers" written back in the 1990's by my friend and bassist, Paul. This was actually our first song as a band.

I tried to record it in on my own in 2005 with the following setup:

Vocals - using a cheap Sony dynamic microphone
Guitar - my Les Paul Jr.
Bass - also my Les Paul Jr.
Drums - a Boss DR-500 drum machine
Effects - Zoom 505 (1990's release)

All audio was run through a Tascam 4-Track tape recorder, no tape, which was hooked up via it's RCA outs into the stock sound card of a Dell PC, running Audacity. The guitars and "bass" was recorded by mic'ing a Crate 15w practice amp. This was my first taste of recording on a PC. I just dove in not really knowing exactly how it's done but Audacity was so intuitive that I got results which was far better than recording on a 4-track at the time.

Here's the old recording that I'm going to use as a reference.

Pill - plasticflowers(hall) by mario gozum aka PILL

Next: NHR 007 - Laying the Foundation

NOOB HOME RECORDING (005) - Recording Bass Tracks

I still haven't established a process on how I go about recording a song. However, it seems logical to start at pre-production and recording tracks. It's tempting to start mixing as I go, applying EQ and compressors, etc... as soon as I lay down a track but I try hard to avoid it. I keep reminding myself that mixing should start after the tracks have been cleaned, edited and when every piece of the puzzle is in place so that everything is mixed in context.

NOOB HOME RECORDING (004) - Adding Drum Fills

A drum VST's preset patterns repeating over and over through several bars can quickly become boring and will scream fake. So taking the time programming from scratch or tweaking presets can go a long way.  Adding drum fills can even take the song further and break the monotony.

NOOB HOME RECORDING (003) - VST Drum Programming

Nothing beats having real drums with a real drummer playing behind it. As with almost everything with this hobby, the drum kit or kits, the number of mics needed to capture the sound, studio rental if you happen to primarily work in your bedroom... all come at a cost. Not to mention hiring an experienced drummer if you don't already know one who is willing to work for free. I have none of the above so the next best thing is the drum machine or virtual drums.

NOOB HOME RECORDING (002) - Lining Up Drum Beats

For the benefit of total beginners, I would like to point you to the Glossary link at the top. This will come in handy as I throw out a bunch of acronyms and foreign sounding terms. -Mario

After finding a suitable version of The Metro for a scratch track, it's time to get busy with drums or drum programming. In my case, it's the latter since I don't know any drummer, I don't own real drums and even if I did, I won't do a good job at it. Enter, the drum Virtual Studio Technology instrument or VSTi for short.

NOOB HOME RECORDING (001) - The Scratch Track

On NHR (000), you've heard the cover version done though very meager recording setup and little to no recording experience. Had I taken the time to actually listen to the original song to figure out the key, I wouldn't be griping about it today.

NOOB HOME RECORDING (000) - Welcome

Welcome to the NOOB HOME RECORDING segment. This is where I will share my experiences (and frustrations) on budget home recording, its basics, EQ's, Compression, and all sorts of recording stuff, as I learn them.