Gordon Lightfoot's - If You Could Read My Mind

Posted: Thu Jan 11, 2007 4:51 pm

I rerecorded this song, paying more attention to my space, trying to get quiet results. The guitar and vocals were recorded separately on separate tracks to get the best separation. I used the Avalon AD2022 preamp. For vocals, the Peluso 2247LE, and for guitar the Gefell M300 matched pair. I also used a UA2192 AD/DA converter into the E-MU 1212m soundcard SPDIF connector.

It is a song my wife has always enjoyed, so I was wondering what you all thought of it? If You Could Read My Mind

Posted: Fri Jan 12, 2007 2:59 am

Dear Rick, I think it's very sweet and your wife will love it and you ever so much more. What a wonderful present and so personal.

Now onto the testicle part. I thought the guitar sounded exquisite. A lush enveloping sound. Quite nice. Quite natural.

While I heard the love in your vocal, I found some things unsettling more so with headphones on than on the monitors? I don't actually think I'm hearing the acoustics of the room in which you recorded your vocal in? I believe you're using some kind of digital room synthesis program/reverb plug-in blah blah? I found it popping out at me, at times and found that unnatural. It really hit me the wrong way. It also seemed to me that you're trying to sing in a manner to reduce certain unnatural sounding dynamics in your recorded vocal sound, to keep the song mellow and pleasant? I think you would do better to record your natural dynamics of your singing and add a little limiting and/or compression, in software, to the recorded track? If your microphone preamp gain setting is such that you set proper record level to your loudest passage, you will not have any problems with distortion, when tracking. It is at this point, after tracking, you might want to add some compression and/or limiting in software, to smooth your natural dynamics, that sound unnatural to you when recorded, to preserve the evenness and consistency of the song. I think you could then produce more emotion in your performance without fear of overload and distortion?

But then I wasn't sure if you're asking about your performance or the testicle aspects of your recording?
Ms. Remy Ann David

Posted: Fri Jan 12, 2007 4:56 pm

RemyRad, WOW!

Thanks so much for the great response on my recording, exactly the thing I needed! I recorded this other song today with what you said in mind, and I applied a little bit of compression to the vocals. I think the results are much better. What do you think? Here is the link: Anything you think I might be able to do to improve this mix would be appreciated also. Sweet Baby James

Posted: Wed Jan 17, 2007 3:35 am

Dear Rick, I thought this second song sounded much better? I didn't find anything objectionable about the reverb on this one? The little bit of compression you used, I thought really improved the overall consistency of your performance. Amazing how much a difference that can make. So nice to be serenading your wife. What a loving and passionate thing to do. Dare I ask how long you have been married? I get the impression it's been a good long while?

I'm jealous
Ms. Remy Ann David

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