Stand Outside -- August 26, 2021
Song's lyrics reflect on a dystopian neoliberal nightmare.
Regarding the recording. I put a lot more time into sound engineering and mixing.
The result is a well balanced recording. The idea is to make sure you can hear each
of the musical parts (vocals, guitars, bass, drums). You test with both headphones and speakers.
I used several techniques to get a well balanced recording.
First, I spent lots of time choosing bass voicings. You can play the same note on different strings and neck positions.
One position may sound sharp and percussive, another may sounds really smooth.
There is no electronic process for converting a percussive bass voice to a smooth voice.
Thus, how the bass line is played can either help or hinder the mixing process.
Next, I used equalization ((EQ) adjusting bass and treble) and panning
( moving sounds to the left, middle or right) to separate the different musical parts.
I used compression and limiters to make sure all the musical parts are in the same volume range.
Finally, the latest versions of Ardour (the digital audio workstation (DAW) used for recording and mixing)
have been an incredible help. When you are ready to release a mix,
you need to create a master audio file. Creating the master audio file has been a huge struggle for me.
The latest versions of Ardour have made that process so much easier ( and better)!
A real game changer for me.
