Any Christian Musicians in the house?

[GeorgeArriolaMusic]

Hello everyone new here but I just wanted to introduce myself. My name is George Arriola. I play several instruments, sing and compose my own music. God gave me the gift of music at an early age. I don't really play live anymore but would like to still share my music with those who might enjoy it, be blessed or be moved by it in some way.
Hope to make new friends on here. I just finished creating my new website for those who might want to visit.
http://www.georgearriolamusic.weebly.com Thank you for the taking of your time and God Bless!

 

[stevevw]

Heres a song I just posted on sound cloud called Shine (sing me a love song)
https://soundcloud.com/https%3A%2F%2Fsoundcloud.com%2Fsteven-waters-3%2Fshine-sing-me-a-love-song

 

[smheelen]

My wife and I just returned to music after nearly a decade away. We just recorded and released our song "Broken" and would love for anyone interested to take a listen. It is posted on SoundCloud:

https://soundcloud.com/https%3A%2F%2Fsoundcloud.com%2Fheelenmusic%2Fbroken
Should you wish to post any comments, we would be appreciative of your feedback.

Thank you so much for your time.

 

[stevevw]

My wife and I just returned to music after nearly a decade away. We just recorded and released our song "Broken" and would love for anyone interested to take a listen. It is posted on SoundCloud:

https://soundcloud.com/https%3A%2F%2Fsoundcloud.com%2Fheelenmusic%2Fbroken
Should you wish to post any comments, we would be appreciative of your feedback.

Thank you so much for your time.

Great song, thanks for sharing it and its good that you have been inspired to come back and do some more music. I like the song and it has a good vibe and easy to listen to. Do you record in your own studio.

 

[smheelen]

Great song, thanks for sharing it and its good that you have been inspired to come back and do some more music. I like the song and it has a good vibe and easy to listen to. Do you record in your own studio.

Thank you so very much for the kind words Steve! We do record at home with a fairly basic setup (Mixcraft 7, PreSonus AudioBox USB 2x2, etc.). This was our first try at our own recording. Hopefully, we learned a few things about the recording process itself along the way that we can apply to the next track.

 

[stevevw]

Thank you so very much for the kind words Steve! We do record at home with a fairly basic setup (Mixcraft 7, PreSonus AudioBox USB 2x2, etc.). This was our first try at our own recording. Hopefully, we learned a few things about the recording process itself along the way that we can apply to the next track.

I have been home recording for some time now. I use a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 interface with Ableton or cubase software. I think you can get some decent results but I believe you need to have decent equipment and know a bit about sound engineering. Not so much at a professional level but at an intermediate level I would say. Someone told me that the acoustics of the room is very important as well. Obviously if you have cheaper equipment like I do then you get cheaper results. My budget is a bit limited at the moment but I am gradually building up my equipment.

I think the professional studios only use computer based software like Pro tools or some of the better ones. Obviously a good mixing desk may come in handy if you have a lot of inputs for mics and instruments. I like your drums as they sound pretty real. Do you use a drum machine. Your guitar sounds great as well so I would imagine thats a real electric guitar. I think the more real instruments the better. My frustration at the moment is getting the professional sound with the instruments. I mean you can go to a studio but they are not so cheap and its easier to set your own one up with similar equipment nowadays to begin with. Anyway well done and I hope it all goes well for you.

 

[SwordmanJr]

Just finished a new one last night. Some people like the vinyl record effect, and some don't.
https://soundcloud.com/https%3A%2F%2Fsoundcloud.com%2Ffourwindsangels%2Fmemories

 

[stevevw]

Heres a couple of more songs I recorded a while ago.
The Returning.
https://soundcloud.com/https%3A%2F%2Fsoundcloud.com%2Fsteven-waters-3%2Fthe-returning Coming at you everyday.
https://soundcloud.com/https%3A%2F%2Fsoundcloud.com%2Fsteven-waters-3%2Fcoming-at-you-everyday

 

[smheelen]

I have been home recording for some time now. I use a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 interface with Ableton or cubase software. I think you can get some decent results but I believe you need to have decent equipment and know a bit about sound engineering. Not so much at a professional level but at an intermediate level I would say. Someone told me that the acoustics of the room is very important as well. Obviously if you have cheaper equipment like I do then you get cheaper results. My budget is a bit limited at the moment but I am gradually building up my equipment.

I think the professional studios only use computer based software like Pro tools or some of the better ones. Obviously a good mixing desk may come in handy if you have a lot of inputs for mics and instruments. I like your drums as they sound pretty real. Do you use a drum machine. Your guitar sounds great as well so I would imagine thats a real electric guitar. I think the more real instruments the better. My frustration at the moment is getting the professional sound with the instruments. I mean you can go to a studio but they are not so cheap and its easier to set your own one up with similar equipment nowadays to begin with. Anyway well done and I hope it all goes well for you.

Being a complete newcomer to home recording, one of my initial mistakes was to create all of the midi drums on a single track. They sounded ok, but you knew they were midi. I read that a more successful way of recording midi drums is to break them up into separate tracks (i.e. kick, snare, etc.). This allows one to control the sound of the individual drum (or cymbals). Once I did that, the sound was more realistic. The drums heard are native vst instruments in mixcraft.

I did use a Jackson electric guitar running direct to a Line6 Pod XT Live, which was then run to the AudioBox.

Of immense help overall was the mastering done by Sage Audio in Nashville.

All of this said, I give glory to our Lord for any appreciation of the song. I do have a background in playing as a worship leader, but can't claim any real knowledge in audio engineering. I must admit, this is my first conversation about it outside my home!

 

[smheelen]

Heres a couple of more songs I recorded a while ago.
The Returning.
https://soundcloud.com/https%3A%2F%2Fsoundcloud.com%2Fsteven-waters-3%2Fthe-returning Coming at you everyday.
https://soundcloud.com/https%3A%2F%2Fsoundcloud.com%2Fsteven-waters-3%2Fcoming-at-you-everyday

Really enjoyed these songs. I was particularly impressed by the drums in "Coming at you everyday." My wife is a huge Fleetwood Mac fan, and the drums have a similar sound. I also like how the drums are not over-emphasized in the mix. Very cool.

 

[smheelen]

Just finished a new one last night. Some people like the vinyl record effect, and some don't.
https://soundcloud.com/https%3A%2F%2Fsoundcloud.com%2Ffourwindsangels%2Fmemories

This was a great listen! Thank you for sharing. I think the vinyl effect was good in this application.

 

[SwordmanJr]

This was a great listen! Thank you for sharing. I think the vinyl effect was good in this application.

Thank you. It seemed appropriate given the name and tone of the song. I've been asked some younger folks why I added such an effect since they can't relate to the scratches.

 

[SwordmanJr]

Here's another I just finished the other day:
https://soundcloud.com/https%3A%2F%2Fsoundcloud.com%2Ffourwindsangels%2Fjam-musings

 

[SwordmanJr]

I finished this one a couple weeks ago, and had some problems with hardware that needed some....faith....
https://soundcloud.com/https%3A%2F%2Fsoundcloud.com%2Ffourwindsangels%2Ffaith-ballad

 

[stevevw]

Being a complete newcomer to home recording, one of my initial mistakes was to create all of the midi drums on a single track. They sounded ok, but you knew they were midi. I read that a more successful way of recording midi drums is to break them up into separate tracks (i.e. kick, snare, etc.). This allows one to control the sound of the individual drum (or cymbals). Once I did that, the sound was more realistic. The drums heard are native vst instruments in mixcraft.

I did use a Jackson electric guitar running direct to a Line6 Pod XT Live, which was then run to the AudioBox.

Of immense help overall was the mastering done by Sage Audio in Nashville.

All of this said, I give glory to our Lord for any appreciation of the song. I do have a background in playing as a worship leader, but can't claim any real knowledge in audio engineering. I must admit, this is my first conversation about it outside my home!

Thanks for the input. I think they should have audio mixing and recording forum so that people can go into a bit more technical stuff so everyone can learn and ask questions about all music related stuff. They may already have one but I havnt seen any as yet.

I can tell that the guitar was a real one as it stood out and really added a lot to the music. I like the info about the drums and would not have thought of that.In fact all I do is add drum loops so I am pretty basic. The problem is they are repetitive but you can get a good basic beat going through the song. But you can vary them much to give that real presence. Its a good idea to get someone to finish off the music and mastering. It will save money and give it the final professional touch. I know they have online services where you just have to send you files in via online which saves a lot of hassle.

 

[stevevw]

Really enjoyed these songs. I was particularly impressed by the drums in "Coming at you everyday." My wife is a huge Fleetwood Mac fan, and the drums have a similar sound. I also like how the drums are not over-emphasized in the mix. Very cool.

Thanks for that. The drums on Coming at you everyday are just loops believe it or not. Sometimes you can find some great ones that give a good beat and allows you to have a good rhythm as well. There are 100s out there. But I am considering a drum machine and trying to make my own as my next project. or what you said with Mixcraft sound like a good idea. I guess it comes down to your DAW and the range of vst instruments you have. I think the drums, bass are the main things I like to add. I have learnt not to overpower the original song which is just my guitar and singing with too many instruments or have to much happening. In that sense less is more.

But I am a little frustrated at the moment in finding the right style and types of instruments to use. I think I need to expand my software as I only have a light version. The other thing I want to do is experience the live band sound. I jam with some friends but we are all guitar players. I would like to find some good drum and bass players and perhaps key boards as well. I know you can use a midi controller to get better control over the vst instruments as well. Its all a learning curve.

 

[stevevw]

I finished this one a couple weeks ago, and had some problems with hardware that needed some....faith....
https://soundcloud.com/https%3A%2F%2Fsoundcloud.com%2Ffourwindsangels%2Ffaith-ballad

I always like your music SwordmanJr. Its great how you have so many different instruments that all blend together. I like how something like a electric guitar can come in over a orchestral piece and how each new instrument can weave its way in and out. The music is so clear and well mixed do you have your own studio. I know you said you sometimes record in cathedrals or larger venues but you have such good acoustics like its done in a professional studio. I only wish I could get that level of quality. From memory you said you use real instruments so that shows the value compared to software instruments. Have you been able to get a singer as yet because I reckon that would suit some of your music with an Enya type voice or even a tenor voice here and there as some like opera as well.

 

[SwordmanJr]

I always like your music SwordmanJr. Its great how you have so many different instruments that all blend together. I like how something like a electric guitar can come in over a orchestral piece and how each new instrument can weave its way in and out. The music is so clear and well mixed do you have your own studio. I know you said you sometimes record in cathedrals or larger venues but you have such good acoustics like its done in a professional studio. I only wish I could get that level of quality. From memory you said you use real instruments so that shows the value compared to software instruments. Have you been able to get a singer as yet because I reckon that would suit some of your music with an Enya type voice or even a tenor voice here and there as some like opera as well.

Thanks, Steve. When it comes to studio usage, I limit such to a minimum. Studios are great for instruments that don't have the ability to project into a large volume. Studio time is also expensive, and most won't let me do the adjustments and control of the hardware, and I usually don't have the time to familiarize myself with their rack setups and patching systems, to save time in the recording process.

When using a volume, such as a cathedral or a warehouse, it takes about an hour or more to position the microphones and instruments to get the effects I'm after. I then add other effects electronically that I can't achieve in a real volume when doing the sound engineering prior to mixing.

Blending is an art. It's never good enough. I could hold on to songs indefinitely, thinking to myself, "This can be better. Maybe I'll have some fresh ideas tomorrow or next week if I just give it time...." I finally have to get to the point that I say to myself, "ENOUGH! Put it out and see if it flies, or crashes and burns!"

 

[SwordmanJr]

This was a great listen! Thank you for sharing. I think the vinyl effect was good in this application.

You made some great contributions about drums. I had not thought of telling people to place each drum on its own track. That's the beauty of electronic drum sets. I wish it were as easy using real drums, as I had done in Spiritual Adventure up above. Getting the desired balance of real drums is almost impossible.

 

[stevevw]

Thanks, Steve. When it comes to studio usage, I limit such to a minimum. Studios are great for instruments that don't have the ability to project into a large volume. Studio time is also expensive, and most won't let me do the adjustments and control of the hardware, and I usually don't have the time to familiarize myself with their rack setups and patching systems, to save time in the recording process.

When using a volume, such as a cathedral or a warehouse, it takes about an hour or more to position the microphones and instruments to get the effects I'm after. I then add other effects electronically that I can't achieve in a real volume when doing the sound engineering prior to mixing.

Blending is an art. It's never good enough. I could hold on to songs indefinitely, thinking to myself, "This can be better. Maybe I'll have some fresh ideas tomorrow or next week if I just give it time...." I finally have to get to the point that I say to myself, "ENOUGH! Put it out and see if it flies, or crashes and burns!"

All I can say is your doing something right as it sounds good and professional. your right in that studio time can be expensive and unless your sure of what you want and have a finished piece that you know you want to record then I think messing around and learning in your own home studio is a good way to get there. I now have access to a larger room at work as I am involved in a music group mainly for therapy and learning. But we have been allowed to use the room as we want. So I am in the process of getting all the recording gear there and setting it up. So I should be able to experiment a bit more with the acoustics. Plus there are a couple of people involved who know how to play a couple of different instruments ie drums and piano. So it should be fun.