Posts filed under 'Miscellaneous'
For those of you who doubt that voXager will ever create something new to listen to, here are the news (sorry for the stenographic style, but time is a precious gift these days):
- guitars for “unto the stars” have been re-recorded and drums have been played by a real drummer (nevertheless the song must be remixed before you can get a glimpse of our current status)
- guitars for “ship of lizards” will be re-recorded in a short time (this time short means really short
)
- guitars for our third song “wheel in space” are recorded (and don’t need a re-recording
), drums are nearly perfect.
- vocals for our fifth song “ship of the moon” will be delivered in a short time (hopefully and if I would be in a position to predict – they will be great), guitars need some makeup and drums are ready.
Most of all 16 songs have been composed (at least we have a draft version of each and every song), so there is enough work for us to do in the next weeks.
But the attentive listener (or reader) may have recognized that we don’t got a real bass so far on any of our samples – if you like our music and can play: feel free to join 
August 29th, 2007
This weekend I’ve just had my fits of the mixing woes. For the first time, I’ve played Unto The Stars on the stereo in my living room. While it sounds quite alright on the studio monitors, headphones, in the car, generally on smaller speakers, and even in mono, on my stereo, it sounded like a catastrophe of epic proportions. Well, perhaps not all epic, but at least like a sonic landslide that takes about a million people into the abyss.
The bass frequencies and lower mids were drowning everything in mud. Kick drum and bass were fighting bloodily like their lives depended on it, the snare hid anxiously behind the mid mud of the other instruments, and the overall high frequencies sounded like… just like most of them were on vacation in the bermuda triangle.
I realize that this must be a result of the linear frequency response on my studio monitors, and the lack thereof on my stereo. Plus a lack of experience on my part. I know for a fact, that most low to mid price stereoes are like that. They have an S-curve built into their frequency response in order to make hip-hop sound as if it were real music. So there… I could have expected that, had I just used the grey matter between my ears a little more right from the start (noticed how I call myself stupido?) Anyway.
Easy fixing, you say, right? I thought so, too. So I fired up Logic Audio and pulled some bass from the drumset, and saw to it that bass guitar and kick drums are not in each others way, frequency wise. I gave the vocals some more highs and even made them a little louder. I worked on the sound of the guitars, made them wider, and pulled the stereo master up against the limiter a little more. In short: I did two dozen things at once. Then I listened to the result on my stereo again.
Geezus frakking ghost! I almost puked. Yes, kick drum and bass weren’t fighting that much anymore, and some of the high frequencies were back from the bermudas. But everything sounded so disjoint, dull and very non-pro. Not even semi-pro anymore like it did before. So I went back to Logic Audio, and jumbled the knobs a little more. Then went back to the living room. It sounded even worse. The highs got nicer, the mids badder. I mean, worse.
I did that for three hours straight, bouncing about 20 versions from Logic Audio, listening, frowning, hissing, cursing, hoping my neighbours were not forming a lynch mob just yet, and doing it over again. And it would get worse all the time. Later that night, I’d eventually give up. I realised that, in order to get a mix that would play o.k. on my (and everyone elses) stereo, I’d have to start the mixdown procedure all over. Not just tweak here and there, but pull all faders and knobs to zero, erase the automation, and redo from start. Or else, just leave it to some pro mixing engineer in the distant future of humanity.
Then I poured myself a bourbon.
And that’s the morale of today’s story, dear boys, girls and aliens from outer space: No better sounding version of Unto The Stars for you and me just yet. Now sue me!
February 26th, 2007
Is voXager about money? It’s not, right? Well, here’s the breaking news: It is about money – in a way. However, it’s not about earning money, not in the first place anyway; it’s about spending money. By me, thy humble (and likely, soon to be bankrupt ) initiator of the project.
How so? Wasn’t it the goal to produce an album in the home studio, at no cost at all? No, not quite so – sure, I’d like to cut on the cost as much as possible, but there are things that can’t sensibly be done at home, and additionally, there are a few other factors that need mentioning:
- Drum recordings. There’s simply no way to do this at home. Except, of course, you’ve got a studio in the basement of your house and have the knowledge how to do things right. I don’t.
- Vocal recordings. Yes, I own a nice large-diaphgram, tube-amplified condenser microphone, that should theoretically do a fine job. But I have no recording booth, plus, I haven’t got enough experience with that.
- Mixing and mastering. I’d like to have this done with as much analog outboard equipment as humanly possible, by folks who know exactly what they’re doing. I’ve got to call on somebody else for this as well.
- Soft- and hardware. I’ve already spent more than €1200 on software, and I’m only counting what I bought specifically for voXager. I’ll spend about the same amount until I’m complete.
- Distribution. Will be done mostly online, but there’ll also be a limited number of professionally manufactured discs in shrink-wrapped jewelcases with color booklets for your CD shelf. Both, online and physical, will cost a pretty penny – let’s just hope it’s not too damn pretty.
So there you go. Yes, I’d still like to cut on the cost wherever possible, but not if this means compromising quality. I’m aware that, at the end of the day, I’ll have sunken a few k€. I’ll be broke, like, y’know, totally – but rest assured, I’m not going to regret it in the least! The music will be put under a Creative Commons Licence nevertheless, and be freely downloadable just as it was planned right from the start. Yeah, I’m Geezus H. Krist, your saviour, now worship me
Well, not really. But bordering on it, am I not?
January 26th, 2007
ASK any guitarist on our planet how to record guitars and the answer will probably be: go into a studio, stick your guitar into a tube amp and record the result with a microphone or much better: use different amps and microphones. Allthough this is the “normal” way to do it, it doesn’t guarantee a good sounding result – it’s for sure a matter of recording and studio experience. Apart from that it doesn’t fit to our vision to record most of the music before going into any kind of studio using low cost DAW equipment.
SO have we got a non-starter right from the beginning?
NO way, we wouldn’t be voXager if we couldn’t find a solution According to countless colourful advertising we didn’t even have a problem, easy way out – just use a modelling amp. Knowing that life isn’t always that easy we gave it a short try…
Just plug in and adjust the level, hit the record button and there you go – but wait, what’s that? As if we didn’t knew it before the guitars were clinically dead afterwards.
DOING it the studio way just in the comfort of our own homes was not even worth thinking about. How liberal can neighbours be? Aside from that there is almost no way to create an accoustic comparable situation outside of a studio – yes, there seems to be a reason why those doggone establishments exist at last.
NOT beeing part of magic circles or using any voodoo techniques, reamping will do the magic for us. The guitar is beeing plugged directly into the computer and recorded with pure clean sound. Those tracks will – electrically adjusted – hit a real amp and then be recorded again. A reasonable agreement between efforts, time and waste of money.
SHREDDING the guitar with clean sound? It doesn’t feel like creating rock music whilst recording not even for us. Therefor the signal of the guitar is splitted and also sent through a distortion pedal. Tape it clean and listen metal
Using a spimple Y-connector pulled down the signal, much better then amp modelling but still an anodyne sound with no balls at all. A little tube preamp boosts up the sound before the signal is splitted and bestows us with a warm natural compression not reached by any kind of amp simulation so far.
THERE will be more lessons to be learned, time will tell. The future lies ahead of us…
January 14th, 2007
HERE, on this blog, in the category “making of”, you’ll find reports from the making of songs – voXager style! From the earliest stages right through their adolescense and supposed maturity, it’s all here. You’re supplied with all the gory stuff you’ve always dreamt of, but were to shy to ask: Early draft versions with soulless VST guitar shreddings by keyboardists; shaky keyboard hooks by guitarists, gruesome vocal renditions by both keyboardists and guitarists, incomplete arrangements – you name it, we have it!
BUT on a more serious note, this is not meant as soul striptease of producing musicians. Well, a wee tiny bit, perhaps. But mostly, however, we’d like to document – for ourselves as much as for you – how we’re composing, arranging and recording an entire album of rock music. From our homes, for the most part, and not from a studio. We’ve never done anything like it before, so we’re likely going to run up into a host of problems, some only minor ones, while others will certainly annoy the poop out of us. The bottom line is this: We’re going to find out. We’re not going to stop, and whatever problem will occur, we’re going to find a solution. (If you’re not interested in solutions, however, fine! We’ll join you gloating over our puny selves in a minute )
Note that you’ll find only draft versions in this category. Complete songs are in the downloads section.
GET your popcorn. Fetch a beer. Grab your mama. The show begins.
January 11th, 2007
The voXager project keeps on rolling and now our blog has started.
December 14th, 2006
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