i recorded this on a Zoom R4 ....amazing little device 32 bit float . hope you guys like it ....it's my first post in years.
Sounds like a great unit, the Zoom R4. I think I checked it out when it was first released. It reminded me of a digital version of the 4-track cassette recorders that a bunch of us had back on the day. There's been a low-level renewed interest discussing these devices here on Songcrafters: here (https://songcrafters.org/forum/index.php?topic=35951.0) and here (https://songcrafters.org/forum/index.php?topic=35967.0)
Was this produced entirely onboard, or did you do stuff in a DAW?
Everything sounds very clean, and the performance is great. But if you were to feel like mixing again: Drums down, vocals up.
Don't be a stranger.
excellent!
QuoteBut if you were to feel like mixing again: Drums down, vocals up.
I agree with Ted
By the way... I really liked your ...first song in songcfaters, in ..2010 "Love in vain" I bumped up your version, ..and mine Robert Johnson is well worth it!
yeah vocals could be a touch louder... but the mix is valid... as in I hear alot of music just like this and even on many local pubs etc...
I like the cover alot.. nice job...
I have the R24... I dig it... and I also liked that so much that I upgraded to the L-20 which I don't recommend to most people if you are only going to record with it... it is more of a live mixer/recorder... but i like weird challenges and so i do multitrack record on it... but.. it is really meant to record a whole band off a mix, although as a mixer it is good enough... but old school as in no digital line to and from the stage... so in that regard it doesn't work either as no one uses a snake these days.
real nice playing on this in all aspects and sounds great vocally as well. I am a bit of a Neil Young fan... quite a bit.. although i really only know maybe 25 percent of his catalog.
Excellent cover of this, your voice has that "lilt" just like Neil here! Harmonica is stellar and the guitar parts are very nice as well.
Very nice I just did Cortez the killer and what is not to love I love the harp playing nice job
Tim
Quote from: Ted on April 20, 2025, 11:10:51 AMSounds like a great unit, the Zoom R4. I think I checked it out when it was first released. I reminded me of a digital version of the 4-track cassette recorders that a bunch of us had back on the day. There's been a low-level renewed interest discussing these devices here on Songcrafters: here (https://songcrafters.org/forum/index.php?topic=35951.0) and here (https://songcrafters.org/forum/index.php?topic=35967.0)
Was this produced entirely onboard, or did you do stuff in a DAW?
Everything sounds very clean, and the performance is great. But if you were to feel like mixing again: Drums down, vocals up.
Don't be a stranger.
everything done onboard and just normalized in audacity. it's a cool unit for the price.i realize the drums were loud any the vocals were low but it was literally the first time I tried using it. i might try another take because I messed up in a few spots. I'll be posting more songs here again now that I'm getting the hang of this device. so far I like it .
Quote from: Jean Pierre on April 20, 2025, 11:42:11 AMexcellent!
QuoteBut if you were to feel like mixing again: Drums down, vocals up.
I agree with Ted
By the way... I really liked your ...first song in songcfaters, in ..2010 "Love in vain" I bumped up your version, ..and mine Robert Johnson is well worth it!
very cool! I love your version of love in vain
Quote from: chrisnickey64 on April 20, 2025, 06:40:52 PMeverything done onboard and just normalized in audacity. it's a cool unit for the price.i realize the drums were loud any the vocals were low but it was literally the first time I tried using it.
You can find a lot of advice on this site about mixing - and how to avoid an imbalance. Some people use studio monitors, some people use headphones, some people use their car stereo.
For your unit, what would be fairly easy would be to use two different pairs of headphones that you trust: one pair that is pretty good quality, and another pair that is kind of cheap what sounds okay. (I'm actually just describing what I do out of laziness.) One pair with a bias towards bass, another pair with a bias towards treble. Mix until it sounds pretty good in both pairs.
I normalize and trim in Audacity as well. But one more step I apply in Audacity is apply a high-pass filter on the entire track. Here's a recent topic HPF (https://songcrafters.org/forum/index.php?topic=35856.0).
Quote from: Ted on April 21, 2025, 04:15:18 AMQuote from: chrisnickey64 on April 20, 2025, 06:40:52 PMeverything done onboard and just normalized in audacity. it's a cool unit for the price.i realize the drums were loud any the vocals were low but it was literally the first time I tried using it.
You can find a lot of advice on this site about mixing - and how to avoid an imbalance. Some people use studio monitors, some people use headphones, some people use their car stereo.
For your unit, what would be fairly easy would be to use two different pairs of headphones that you trust: one pair that is pretty good quality, and another pair that is kind of cheap what sounds okay. (I'm actually just describing what I do out of laziness.) One pair with a bias towards bass, another pair with a bias towards treble. Mix until it sounds pretty good in both pairs.
I normalize and trim in Audacity as well. But one more step I apply in Audacity is apply a high-pass filter on the entire track. Here's a recent topic HPF (https://songcrafters.org/forum/index.php?topic=35856.0).
I use K4K near field flat response headphones and a air of skull candy 8$ earbuds
Quote from: chrisnickey64 on April 21, 2025, 06:54:01 AMI use K4K near field flat response headphones and a air of skull candy 8$ earbuds
Whatever you use, you need to learn to trust them. My go-to setup is definitely a mixture of laziness, trial and error, and "use what I have." I have another pair of headphones that I use a lot for general listening, but they are untrustworthy as a reference when mixing (they will lead me astray; overdo the bass an drums). I'm trying to help you be lazy and get okay results. Others on this site can help you be perfectionistic and get amazing results. The most prolific posters on this site seem to have a lazy go-to setup that has earned their trust.
Question about the R4: The "Bounce Track" – that's actual a stereo pair, right? Technically two tracks? That seems really cool, especially if you are wanting to capture ideas, rather than retain granular tweakability. It's a more straightforward version of what I do with the Micro BR, which is to bounce to a stereo pair of "virtual tracks," but it only frees up two of your tracks, rather than all four. I also like that it has a "quick bounce" so you don't have to listen to the song in real time before it bounces. The one thing I wish the R4 had is a more fully-featured drum sequencer, like some of the Boss BR models have. (My obsession with onboard drum sequencing has been a constant deal-killer when I ponder potential replacements for my Micro BR as a stand-alone unit).