# Jakob Dylan cover



## keefsdad (Feb 7, 2006)

I got the Fast Track working with Reaper, the XLR input at least, I still can't get signal from the guitar input. 
Anyway, here's my Dylan (jr) cover, I always liked this song.
The first one;
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=384353

I'm not sure if it sounds any better than when I was plugging straight in or not, a little, I hope. Opinions welcome:rockon2:


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## Kenmac (Jan 24, 2007)

Nice recording Jeff. I like the way the electric guitar sounds in this one. Did you use a real amp or a VST?


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## keefsdad (Feb 7, 2006)

Kenmac said:


> Nice recording Jeff. I like the way the electric guitar sounds in this one. Did you use a real amp or a VST?


Thanks. I miked my Hot Rod Deluxe. I haven't figured out how to get a decent guitar signal any other way.


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## shoretyus (Jan 6, 2007)

I have tried a couple of ways. I have a peavey equalised DI that works well. It plugs between amp and speaker. Gives an accurate sound with out waking the kids.


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## Greg Ellis (Oct 1, 2007)

The electric guitar sounds great to me. That's a really good track, I think.

The acoustic seems a bit thin or something. Missing some midrange maybe? (I don't know; my EQ-fu is not strong). There are a few spots where it sort of "pops" the mic too. How did you place the mic for the acoustic? Maybe try sliding down that track volume a bit when the vocals come in.

The vocal track sort of pops a bit too, in places. How close was your mouth to the mic? What kind of mic is it?

Sorry, please don't take any of this in a bad way. I'm actually extremely interested in the little details. I've just started recording a few bits and pieces myself.


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## keefsdad (Feb 7, 2006)

Greg Ellis said:


> The electric guitar sounds great to me. That's a really good track, I think.
> 
> The acoustic seems a bit thin or something. Missing some midrange maybe? (I don't know; my EQ-fu is not strong). There are a few spots where it sort of "pops" the mic too. How did you place the mic for the acoustic? Maybe try sliding down that track volume a bit when the vocals come in.
> 
> ...


Hi Greg, I'm more than happy to get your input and discuss this stuff with you. I agree with your opinions, pretty much.
I'm on a very low budget, and have been using one mic for everything, an AKG D3330BT. I agree I need a pop filter. Think I'll try to make one.
The acoustic I used is a great sounding old Guild D40-C, but it has a lot of bottom end, so I have been rolling a bit of that off with the 4 band eq in Reaper. Maybe a bit too much this time. I positioned the mike in front of the sound hole, about 4-5" away, I guess. 
For the electric I played my '99 American Strat (stock pups) through my Hot Rod Deluxe through a TS-5, using the same mike, at very low volume, because I'm in an apartment.
What are you using?


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## Greg Ellis (Oct 1, 2007)

So far I've been recording electric guitars through a Line 6 Toneport GT, which gives me access to a bunch of amp models, speaker cab models, effects, etc., but only one channel at a time.

I have an older copy of Sonar/Cakewalk that I'm using (v6). I'm thinking of changing apps at some point, but it works for now.

I playing around a bit with midi last weekend to add some drums and bass parts to a couple of tracks. It's a slow process, and results are only so-so at the moment, but I'm sorta gettin' the hang of it, I think.

I haven't tried recording vocals at all yet. I literally just started playing with this stuff a couple of weeks back. I've got a crappy old radio shack mic at home that I could try, but I'm not very hopeful. I might need to wait until I can get my hands on something better.

I put some of my experiments up on myspace to share with friends, if you're interested. 

It's mostly first takes and experiments, just to try to learn the tools and get used to layering tracks etc.

http://www.myspace.com/songsbygreg


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## keefsdad (Feb 7, 2006)

Greg Ellis said:


> So far I've been recording electric guitars through a Line 6 Toneport GT, which gives me access to a bunch of amp models, speaker cab models, effects, etc., but only one channel at a time.
> 
> I have an older copy of Sonar/Cakewalk that I'm using (v6). I'm thinking of changing apps at some point, but it works for now.
> 
> ...


Cool. Check out Reaper if you're looking for a new app. It's pretty amazing for the price:smile:
I'll go listen to your stuff now.


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## keefsdad (Feb 7, 2006)

Nice stuff, Greg:rockon2:


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## Greg Ellis (Oct 1, 2007)

keefsdad said:


> Nice stuff, Greg:rockon2:


Thanks. I'm still working up to real songs, obviously. Writing songs is HARD 

We just spent a week at the cottage, and it rained a LOT, so I spent a bit of time writing while we waited for sunshine.

I'll probably get a couple more up there in the next week or two, time allowing.


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## keefsdad (Feb 7, 2006)

Greg Ellis said:


> Thanks. I'm still working up to real songs, obviously. Writing songs is HARD
> 
> We just spent a week at the cottage, and it rained a LOT, so I spent a bit of time writing while we waited for sunshine.
> 
> I'll probably get a couple more up there in the next week or two, time allowing.


I agree,writing good ones is hard, that's for sure. I'm not prolific at all.


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## Greg Ellis (Oct 1, 2007)

I'm still trying to puzzle out a process that works for me.

I've got one song where the beat and the chord progression and the melody for verse and chorus are all coming together nicely, but the lyrics are just throw away crap that doesn't seem to be going anywhere yet.

And then there are a couple of other songs where the lyrics are coming along nicely but I have no idea what to do with the music.

Which way do you normally work - music first or lyrics first? Or is it more chaotic than that?


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## keefsdad (Feb 7, 2006)

Yeah, it's pretty chaotic. I wish I had a method that worked. The last song I wrote, I had a sketch of the lyrics first. But sometimes it starts with a chord progression, too. It's a mysterious thing.


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## bagpipe (Sep 19, 2006)

keefsdad said:


> so I have been rolling a bit of that off with the 4 band eq in Reaper. Maybe a bit too much this time.


Hey, how do you access the 4 band EQ in Reaper? Is it built-in, or is it a separate VST?


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## keefsdad (Feb 7, 2006)

bagpipe said:


> Hey, how do you access the 4 band EQ in Reaper? Is it built-in, or is it a separate VST?


It's built in. I just click on effects on the track, and a huge list comes up. 
Mind you, I find a some of them quite awful. It may be that I don't have something configured properly. The amp models are horrendous. The 4 band eq is pretty good.


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