I made my first attempt, recording a song on my new Tape Recorder. Man, if this is what the audience is hearing (and why wouldn't it be?) its no wonder I never held a job for a real long time! It was horrible! So horrible, I'm not going to save it but keep working on trying to make it better. Part of the problem is, I'm still learning how to use the recorder itself. A whole lot of work is going to be necessary here!

I feel your pain. Just about everything I record makes me cringe!
But keep recording yourself because you’ll learn so much which will lead to improving which is what’s its all about anyways.

Us OMB guys do miss out on the feedback you get with playing with other players (especially those that play better than you)

So don’t be afraid to share your recordings with other musicians that may offeryou some constructive criticism. I posted several things here and received feedback that was constructive in nature which I try to learn from. Enjoy the journey!

Earl, don't be afraid to post your recordings here. However, be prepared for some, hopefully, constructive criticism from some of the pros. You can learn a lot from these guys and I can attest to this first hand. I think it was Uncle Dave that blew me out of my socks when I posted my first recording of Merry Christmas Darling, and he hit the nail right on the head. I went back, figured out my mistakes, and provided an excellent recording a few days later.

Good luck,

Gary

Earl:

Gary always tells it like it is. The good news... you recognize your recordings "are not up to snuff!" This means it may be the recording technique... or possibly, you need to work on your singing and/or playing. If you are concerned about the reaction of others, instead of sharing it with the entire board... send selected members a PM and see if they will share an E-mail address so you can send them an MP3 file. If I'm speaking greek... don't be shy... converting a WAV file (usually the product of a recording device) it is fairly easy to find free software to automatically convert it to MP3... (about 90% smaller and easier to transmit) so constructive criticism can be shared.

All of us have our doubts. Some more than others. Practice, practice, practice.

All the best, ----Dave

Yes, I know, Practice, practice, practice. Believe me, I'm not afraid of the constructive criticism, That's the reason I will be submitting my recordings. I really don't think I'm going to be discovered by posting recordings on Synth Zone so that's not the problem. Thefirst recording though was bad for a lot of reconizable reasons that I really need to work on before I submit anything. believe me I will be submitting stuff over the next couple of weeks.

EVERYBODY I know doesn't like the sound of their voice at first. Especially me. Recording, listening and learning are the ways to get better.
The DR05 will give you back exactly what you put into it. It is fairly important to get the recording level right. It can be a little low and can be corrected, but if the level is too high you'll get a bunch of awful noise.

I think Don is right. Everyone I have heard from likes my voice except me it seems. Besides the recording level, watch your range. For myself, if I get to high, my voice loses the resonance I have(like Gary). After you get past that, there remains the technical elements that you know can be improved.
Bernie

Thanks all for the comments. I will play with it more this afternoon and will try another attempt.

Let me just say without self confidence
you will never be a great musician or singer on any level....
believe in yourself,.... be better than everybody else...
don't give up..

"back in the day" when I first started singing, in my mind I sounded just like the artist who recorded the song ...
Then my parents bought a Webcor reel to reel recorder ... MAN, was I SHOCKED ...
Fortunately, my voice got to the point where I can 'get by' doing vocals ...
As others have said, use the recorder as a learning tool, post songs here, and I am sure you will get helpful suggestions ...

Earl, one last thought. If you have a community college nearby, check their course lists to see if they have "Voice And Articulation" classes. Many community colleges in this part of the country offer this course, and believe me, it can make a huge difference in your vocals. While I have always been blessed with a good, resonant, voice, I always felt there was something missing in my singing. The course provided me with the tools to make a marked improvement.

Good luck,

Gary

No Gary, no such courses here. Would probably find them in Jonesboro or Memphis but here they would have to offer how to break ones hillbilly accent.

Do they still have the annual "Pickin' and Grinnin'" at Mountain Home every year?

TONY, Talk about a flashback. I had something similar reel-to-reel too, but at the time I was trying improve my voice/diction to get what turned out to be a short lived career in radio broadcasting on WPRO-FM. Back in the 60s ‘PRO-FM was using what was called a middle of the road format. We played lots of Henry Mancini, Mantovani, Sinatra music. We had an album of Oscar Peterson called “ A Jazz Portrait of Frank Sinatra.” I remember the program director telling me you’re playing too much of that album on the air. So much so that he took it out of the station’s music library and gave it to me. That’s about the time I became a jazz fan.

Listening to WXHQ 105.1FM this morning while having breakfast I heard a piano version of one of Sinatra's songs ... I thought I recognized the piano player's style so I used 'SOUNDHOUND' to find out who it was - sure enough it was Oscar, from that very same album ...

Tony was that o.t.a. - not streamed? Can't find anything on radio that's features that genre of music (Sinatra, Bennett, etc)..

Don't believe in paying for Sirius- I do use free version of Pandora.

Sparky, o.t.a. ... one never knows what the station will be playing from one song to the next, let alone one day to another ...
Quick story ... they advertise that they broadcast from the top of the Hotel Viking in Newport RI. On a business stay over at that hotel, I asked if I could see the radio station ... I was told - "Oh no, the station is in Middletown - the radio TOWER is on the roof of the hotel" ...
Here is some info:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WXHQ-LP

PS: I said 105.1, it is actually 105.9FM

And we listen to Pandora free as well ... especially at dinner time - Dinner Jazz station, or pick an artist like Bennett, Sinatra, Ella, Diana Krall, Lou Rawls, Michael Buble, ...