New song recorded entirely with ribbon mics...

[Hidden Driveways]

Just finished a new track using 4 different ribbon mics. There are no software instruments on this one, it's all instruments and voices - all mics. I went back to my indie rock roots a bit on this one:

http://soundcloud.com/hidden-driveways/ ... circles-in

I made notes in the wavefile so you could see which microphone was used on each part.

Here's a link to the article I wrote about the ribbon mics:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/find/newsLe ... icrophones

[leedsquietman]

Really cool vibes, nice track.

I think the vocals could use a bit more compression as there are a few moments where the vocal suddenly jumps right out and overpowers everything, and the congas/percussion could be a touch higher in the mix.

I really like the overall recording and sounds though. Ribbons have their own character and can make a really good alternative to regular dynamics and/or condensers at times. The acoustic guitar is really well captured, as is the vocal.

Thanks for sharing

[alex.the.forge]

nice song, really like it

it's cool to hear the different mics!

thanks

[Hidden Driveways]

Thanks guys!

[gjm]

Cool.

[dhamlin]

to the HIDDEN DRIVEWAYS,is good you music,you do in Live all the whole song? to can share you equipment on the make of you songs? you do the job is good my friend,

[Hidden Driveways]

to the HIDDEN DRIVEWAYS,is good you music,you do in Live all the whole song? to can share you equipment on the make of you songs? you do the job is good my friend,

Yes, I used Live for recording the whole song. As weird as it sounds, I recorded this through my DJ mixer. I have the Rane TTM 57SL DJ mixer. The DJ mixer connects to my computer through USB, and acts as my soundcard / audio interface. The DJ mixer is limited to 44.1 kHz 16-bit, so that's the resolution I recorded it in.

I have external microphone preamps (the RME OctaMic II), which I plugged into the line input channels on the DJ mixer. I needed to use a few adapters to patch the gear together.

It's a totally weird and totally wrong way to record, but I made it work. I've been putting off buying a new audio interface for a while. I want to upgrade my audio interface, and upgrade my computer too. This was recorded onto my 2004 dual 1.8 gHz G5. In a way, I kind of enjoy making my old computer work hard. Part of the challenge of recording music is making my gear work together.

It's easy for me to hit the limitations for what my computer can handle. In a very real way this helps me finish songs. With this tune I literally had to stop tracking at a certain point, and I had to stop adding effects and mixing automation pretty early on.

I look forward to getting a powerful new computer soon, but I learn a lot and get a lot of work finished with my lovely weak old machine.