Snakehips & friends....

[Michael Messer]

Sounding great on these two songs.





Shine On
Michael

[bonzo]

Wot MM sez. I'd pay at the door to see you guys. 🙂🙃🙂

[snakehips]

Hi there !

Thanks for that !

That's our Prof Scratchy, sitting & playing his 1932 National Polychrome Triolian.
On piano is the now 27yr young Thomas Lucas, who I told the MM Forum about some years back, when he joined myself and Prof Scratchy to form a new version of my wee combo, Mud In Your Ear. He lives in Aylesbury now but we try to nab him for a recording session when he comes home to Scotland to visit family.
It's all one-microphone recordings, with a good mic preamp UA LA610mk2, and into a Zoom R16 !
Our other friend, Richard W. Rinn is the one doing the recordings, and sings on Memphis Town, plus plays harmonica too.

[Michael Messer]

One mic recordings are a wonderful way to record and the Zoom R16 is a superb machine.

Back in 2004, Chris Rea and I talked about recording a series of 78s using mechanical recording equipment. I did quite a lot of research and spoke to some guys that were recording engineers back in the mid 1920s that knew about one mic recording techniques. One guy told me that when two mic recording came in, they all thought it was sacrilege! Sadly for various reasons the project never happened, but it was fun along the way.

I recently did a one mic recording, I used Logic Pro and a Neumann mic and the results are really good. There is a natural organic way it comes together in one mic, but there's no room for any errors. It's like taking a photo of five people, if anyone blinks it's ruined!

Shine On
Michael

[snakehips]

The number I sang & played slide guitar on - that was one take. Most are, unless you count false starts on a few songs.
If time had permitted, I'd have liked to have done another take of my tune, as my slide guitar solo is a bit duff, not quite reaching the 18th fret with my slide ! (excuses, excuses...... ha ha !).

[Michael Messer]

Richard, I heard that, but I would do. You know that sometimes when a musician is reaching and pushing themselves for something and feels they didn't quite get there, that is often the stuff that the listener thinks is the best. Not quite reaching a note can sound great, as long as the timing and phrasing are dead on. I can't tell you how many times in a recording session I have been listening back to a take and commented that I didn't quite get there, only to hear the engineer, producer or other musicians tell me that part is where the magic is. A mistake is of course a whole different thing, but reaching and pushing for something is what your audience are after. Feel and vibe on a recording will always be more important than an occasional glitch or imperfection. That is the reason you recorded it on one mic first take. Otherwise you could have multitracked it and patched up your solo, which I guarantee would not have come across as well as the live recording. When you hear yourself and you think that you got there and nailed it perfectly, that is when you need to take a step back and try harder. You and the other guys sound great together playing those songs.

Shine On
Michael

[snakehips]

Ha, ha ! Thanks, but no, it was duff notes that I manage, almost always (in E at least), and on certain guitars, when capo'd up to the 3rd fret !
But hey ho, the rest of the band played great throughout. Shame our double-bass player (also a singer in a rock'n'roll / rockabilly band), and our drummer could not attend.

[Michael Messer]

I completely understand what you are saying and you are right to be frustrated that you couldn't reach that note, but the perfect performance rarely, if ever exists.

Shine On
Michael

[leeophonic]

Richard,

I really enjoy the music that you guys produce, every one can be there own worst critic but I see no reason to be as it is a great scene/vibe you have there and we are all jealous watching here virtually when to be part of something is what we all aspire to.

More please.

Regards

Lee