The bartender where I work likes this song, so I do it occasionally for him. I hit the Record button on my Tascam, and I think it came out o.k., but I would like some honest opinions on how it is e.q.d, and the effects used, the style, balance, etc. It's so hard to critique yourself and even harder to get and honest opinion from others...
Leaving On A Jet Plane: https://app.box.com/s/ss7kyylhqj5t95o7b2a3qzbi5og15hiu

P.S. I'll bet Chas can identify with this song!

Don I think it is fine.... If you need to mess with it.... Maybe a bit of EQ (low mids) on the guitar strum.... and a little dynamics (velocity) on the drums..

Thanks Fran, what I'm trying to achieve is a really good recording mix, AND a good on-stage sound from the same two channels of the mixer, in other words the recording mix and the live mix is the same. I think I'm getting close.
I think I hear what you are saying about the low-mids on the strums. I appreciate it!

DonM. Sounds nicely balanced here in the UK.
I find I hear things differently everyday. One can mess with these things all day and very often the first one is the best.

graham uk

I certainly don't have those 'golden ears' they talk about in recording circles, but I can't hear much wrong with it. In fact, I always marvel at how you get such good recordings 'in the field' and using 'prosumer' recording gear. Of course, it's the opposite of GIGO too, in this case, 'good stuff in, good stuff out' . On the EQ; I think the bass is perfect (no 'boominess' or fighting with the kick drum, the highs are pretty much transparent (as they should be with this backing) and the mids are spot on with lots of 'presence'. Fran could be right with the drums but since I wasn't overtly aware of them while listening, that means that FOR ME, they were just right. For a 'field recording', it doesn't get much better, but that's JMO.

chas

Hi Don I'm no pro but it sounded great to me. Cal

Hi Chas, Graham and Cal,
Thanks for listening and it is reassuring to think I may have a little hearing and/or taste left!
Chas, Fran was talking about the guitar STRUMS not the drums. I don't take the time to get into e.q.ing the style parts much, but I probably should. I do often change drum kits or style part sounds though, if it's a style I use a lot. Incidentally I had a high school friend, Mike Doyle, who flew for Delta for many years, and he told me once that this song always made him feel sort of bitter/sweet. As much as he loved his job, he was always looking forward to the day he could stay home!

original
https://app.box.com/s/ss7kyylhqj5t95o7b2a3qzbi5og15hiu



New EQ version
https://app.box.com/s/wurgw191wxacvpujcxd21j9fmsep1q30

Don nice job I have took a few minutes to spruce up the EQ mix...
check it out see what you think Great song well done!

Don it depends on what you are trying to give your people. The song has a flavor of simplicity – A laid back guitar – a clean piano. It is a good contrast after playing something that is heavy.

If you include dancers then you need to make it more interesting; more bottom – a deeper sound.

So it is not what is better – or how you can improve it; it is what kind of emotion you are trying give your people. As it is it’s a good sounding recording that sounds very much like Don Mason.

John C.
PS – Is there any dancing where you are playing?

Don, sounds damned good to me. Donny's changes, IMO, added too much high end EQ and produced a tinny sound, which also effected the vocals as well. I, personally, would not change a thing.

All the best,

Gary

Don ... instead of you ASKING for EQ help, you should be providing it ...
I didn't think Donny's EQ was 'tinny', but I personally enjoyed the more mellow sound of your original ...
The thing about sound is that it is SO subjective ... I don't think ANY two humans are going to hear EXACTLY the same thing due to even the slightest difference in hearing ... some people are going to pick up more highs than others who might pick up more lows ...
That's one of the reasons I get such a kick out of the 'debates' on this forum about the sounds of different KBs ... I don't know what you are hearing, and you don't know what I am hearing, and NONE of us know what the audience is hearing ... just trust what sounds good to YOU, and hope that your audience is hearing the same thing ...

^ And that's as fair a comment as you can get. Well put, Tony.

To quote 'Jim Ignatowski' from TAXI - "You Mean I was RIGHT?!?"

thanks 124 ...

Jim, what does the yellow light mean?

Gary

It also depends what your listening to it thru....
when there are so many different opinions it leaves your wondering whats wrong...
to each his own..

Thanx for the song Don..

Sounds good to me. I love the acoustic piano sound on the 4X. Hoping for the same piano on the 1000 - the weakest link on the 3X, IMO

Donny ... People hearing different things doesn't mean that anything is wrong.. It's just what their ears are telling their brain ...

I guess Tony there has to be a happy medium..

I think the happy medium is whatever each individual is happy with ...

I'll agree to a point but when i hear a performance drowned in bass or whatever and the player really likes the sound I just shake my head in wonderment,....playing is one thing But creating a good sound is a totally other matter..

Thanks guys! I've been gone all day, playing golf. I have to agree with about everybody. Will listen to Donnie's e.q. job after while.
Again thanks!

Don, I just sent you your Christmas present - a book about Sheriff Bo Tully. It was written by an old friend and fellow outdoor writer, Patrick McManus. You will love it!

Why thank you Gary! I look forward to reading it.

Sounds pretty good. I did notice that the low end sounds a little muddied but the mid and highs are pretty decent. Vocals sound nice but perhaps a tad too loud in the mix. What are you using to record with Don? Could be the mic is just a little too hot or possibly just a minor mixer adjustment would do the trick. If you're recording directly into a DAW on a computer you might need to reduce the gain a little bit. Certain mics are great for live performances while other mics are suited better for recording purposes. So depending on what mic you are using could affect the sound for better or for worse. Overall it sounds pretty good like I said.

All the best,

Mike

Donny - Oooooh .... I think the tweaks make it too brittle. You must have some high freq hearing loss, my friend. I like original EQ much better. Yours is too bright for my taste. I think I still have most of my high freq range intact, after being so careful with speaker placement and volume limits all these years. I know Fran's lost a bit of his, maybe you have too.

Hi Mike,
I simply use a small Tascam digital stereo recorder, and feed it from the monitor send on my mixer. Everything, including vocals, is processed in the PA4X, no external e.q. I run it through Audacity to convert from wav to mp3 and Normalize it.
Thanks for the analysis and suggestions! If I ever retire I may do some multi-track recording again.