My first real attempt at mixing a song - and thank Jesus it wasn't an
eye gouging nightmare that I usually have on Garageband. Have I
mentioned how much I hate Garageband? I downloaded a new program called
Reaper and its way better (though I hate the name). They let you use
it for free with no limitations for 2 months which is a freaking
brilliant move because I hate apps or demos that let you use but don't
let you save or export the thing you actually worked on. I also like it
because all the effects have built in presets that I can just put in
instead of fooling around with the knobs - I guess that comes later. I
wonder if I'll look back on this and laugh at myself for going overboard
on everything... hopefully I will.
In the program, the bass is just my acoustic guitar detuned an octave
and it sounds like an upright bass. I didn't intend this to turn into a
bluegrass style acousti-version..though it has prompted me to want to
take apart a Dixie Chix song next... I recorded voice and guitar first
and tried to build around them but I now know you should probably
record bass first because if you're a hair off, the bass really honks
out as late. At first I thought it was the detuning that was making it
sound late / off the beat but then I realized.... it was me. So play
with a metronome even if it seems a relatively uncomplicated song
because late bass just sounds really bad.
The guitar solo is a Frankenstein mix of other solos which strangely
sounds very Mexican / Cuban and totally out of context but whatever.
The harmony was recorded on my big studio microphone and I think does
sound way way better than my hand held microphone that I bought for
gigs. Its more of a pain to set up, but the signal is a lot "bigger".
Also doing this I figured out how to record multiple tracks on my Tascam
device that I didn't know how to do before. You can record once, then
hit record again and hear yourself and have them mix together, or keep
it as a separate new recording - then repeat as many times as you want
and then put the SD card into the computer like uploading pictures from
your camera.
Yes everyone is right - record guitar and voice separately because
otherwise your guitar track is going to have voice all over it that you can't
get rid of.
Take aways
- Use reaper
- Record bass first
- Use a metronome
- Record on the studio mic (duh)
- Record guitar separately next time
Ishida