Mark V live again... VH time!

[donnyboiler]

https://soundcloud.com/end-of-the-century/you-really-got-me

 

[seanseanhd]

Nice.

 

[Wayno]

Tidy

 

[OryCheyne]

I like your tone and the whole band sound when all instruments are playing. If you recorded this live can you share what the mic or di arrangements were and which DAW? not just for your amp? I wasn't keen on some of the dynamics but you're pulling a great sound and at least you are doing it. Which is better than what I can say for myself at present. I also noticed you don't seem to be running any effects at all. Is that right, and is that your preference in general?

Nice work,
Ory

 

[donnyboiler]

It was recorded dry down a SM57 into a portable Pro Tools rig. Then I imported it into a Logic project for mixing. There is a fair bit of bleed down the vocal and snare mics as it was all done in very close quarters, but I managed to get the tone pretty much where I wanted. There's a stereo verb bus on the whole mix, I sent quite a lot of guitar to it along with snare and vocal.

Keys and bass were DI'd, both vocals were SM58s, and the kit was fully mic'd using some expensive stuff that belongs to our keyboard player's studio!

When you say you don't like the dynamics, do you mean I'm playing too aggressively or that the whole band is? Or do you mean the mix is compressed too hard for your tastes. No offence will be taken; everyone has different tastes.

 

[Wayno]

I like it, early EVH is very aggressive sounding picking, to my ears anyway. All ears are different though. For a live recording its very clear sounding. Do you have your amp up loud on stage or backed off and through the PA for volume out of interest?

 

[donnyboiler]

I normally go to around 80% of the volume I want and use the PA to add a little clarity and spread. I find it helps my singing a little bit if have the guitar a little quieter. It's still pretty loud though

Glad you liked the sound. Our keys player runs a great studio; he recorded the whole gig and I'm currently mixing the best tracks. More soon.

 

[Wayno]

Thank you for the reply. My band has always struggled with over the top stage volume. Just lost our second guitarist to family commitments though so I'm gonna try running my Mark V through the PA too. Thank you for your input.

Keep the vids coming, they sound great.

 

[OryCheyne]

I agree with Wayno, it's a very clean sound, especially considering you're all in the same room. On second listening (yes I posted my comment after only one run through), I think the dynamics are actually consistent and you are together with the feel, just that part after the solo there is some dead air which doesn't seem to sit right.
I noticed you loaded Smooth Criminal and Are You Gonna Go My Way on the cloud. You guys are even tighter on those. Thanks for sharing, I really like them.
My only suggestion, if the recording arrangements allowed, and the SM57 picked it up, would be if you could put more of the bottom end chug from the V in the mix. There seems to be room between guitar the bass you could still claim without it getting muddy.
Also, are you singing main vox and playing same time?

 

[donnyboiler]

Thanks. A lot of work went into the drums which are always the hardest to get right in this type of scenario. I went with a constructive approach on the EQ; looking at what was bleeding where and instead of trying to gate or EQ it out, complementing it with a corresponding EQ cut somewhere else. A good example would be the guitar: I found a lot of high midrange was bleeding down the vocal mic, so I left it in and cut a bit of high mids from the 57 on the guitar cab to compensate. So if I go back in and solo guitar now it will get darker than what you hear. It was a new approach for me and it seems to have worked.

I agree with your comments after the solo. I actually had a string ping off the fretboard and behind a pickup - listen carefully and you can hear me popping it back on. As a result I'm a bit sloppy coming out of the solo which makes everything else sound wrong! But hey, that's live recording; some of the tracks we put down aren't usable at all

Yes, I'm on lead vx and guitar at this gig.

I'll see about your EQ suggestion for the next track I do

 

[Wayno]

That's the thing with playing live, no re-takes, no punching in and out! Warts and all haha. That's an interesting take on dealing with bleed down the mics, surprised you don't get phasing issues though. Saves on messing around with gates etc I suppose.

 

[donnyboiler]

I was surprised how little bleed there was actually. We were on grass and in a marquee which helps I guess. There was a bit of guitar down the vocal mic, and obviously a little bit of snare in almost everything, but other than that it was pretty separated. We were all pretty close together so no phasing issues.

 

[Wayno]

Yeah bleed and reflections are much less of an issue outside, can be a right pain in the *** inside. Do like your approach to dealing with the bleed that was there though, never heard of that technique. Defo gonna give it a trial next time I try record my band. Had first practice without second guitarist tonight and gotta admit it was much easier to get my guitar to sit with the bass, drums and vocals without getting lost or overpowering.