Ryan Adams- Dear Chicago (REDONE)

[ut4ever8]

I did another Ryan cover. I don't know why I keep recording all of his stuff, I love the guys music but I do play a lot of different styles, just on a kick i guess. But this is my first recording with Cool Edit Pro or any kind of recording for that matter. As far as the performance goes, all I did was recorded the guitar in one take then the vocals. I really just wanted to try to get used to using the program so I'm not as critical of my performance as usual but I think it sounds okay at best. Anyways what I'm really looking for here is some critiques on editing the song and basically the best ways to cover up a lack of singing capabilities, but I would like critiques of all kinds. I'm always open to constructive criticism so let me have it. Thanks A lot guys!
http://www.sendspace.com/file/5bo8xl (First take)

http://www.sendspace.com/file/letr5w (Second Take)

[Easy E]

sorry man, i stopped listening 30 seconds in because of the vocals. Don't try to hide your voice in layers of reverb, I did that and it looking back is was just awful stuff. Just trust yourself, sing from deep down and whatever comes out comes out, no effects. you sound like baby Jessica deep in the well

[ut4ever8]

Thats fine man Im not trying to hide anything. I know my voice is an issue that needs working on and I am working on improving, this was more of just an experiment with the program and I read some stuff about doubling vocals in a thread on here and playing with the reverb so I just tried it out to see if thats what (I think runswithbuffalo) was saying to do. I don't plan on recording everything like that, I would like any kind of tips on how to use reverb effectively though, or should it just be left out? No worries. Thanks for the 30 seconds though.

[Easy E]

i wasn't saying your voice was bad, its just that i couldn't tell what it sounded like because of the reverb. There are different settings you mess around with but make sure its subtle. Less is more. Like I said i used to do it and now i've realized the most basic recording works pretty well

[ut4ever8]

I didn't think you were saying my voice was bad. Im trying to mess with it now, I knew it didn't sound right when I posted it but I should have mentioned why I tried to put so much reverb on it. I just got CEP a few days ago and since I "bought" cool edit pro used.... it didnt really come with much of a user guide. This was the first thing I recorded and In the vocal tips thread RunswithBuffalo had made a suggestion for Fattening the voice. I assume I screwed it up, im not really sure.

[Easy E]

you may have to rerecord, i havent used cool edit in a while (if you could send me the info for my new computer wink wink) but i dont think you can get the track back to where it was after reverb

[ut4ever8]

Alright Ill just rerecord it. I have a......golf question...PM sent

[ut4ever8]

I rerecorded the vocals and tried some of Ryan's suggestions. It still has alot of work to do but this is a process. I'm still just trying to understand the recording process so I'm just doing everything in one take whether I screw it up or not. But I appreciate any help. Thanks

[Easy E]

much better quality

[ut4ever8]

Thanks Eric

[RunsWithBuffalo]

Hey man, the second track is much much better. Doubling vocals might be one of the hardest things to do well and it usually doesn't work well with the solo acoustic sound. It's better suited for a full band track.

You might try some close harmonies sprinkled throughout the song.

With recording, LESS IS ALWAYS MORE. record everything dry and then just start adding effects, but go light on them. Your first take, the vocals were just drowned in reverb. When you sound like you are singing at the bottom of the ocean, its too much.

The tough part about home recording is that we are often our own worst critic. Your voice may never sound great to you, (even though others will like it) but you got to avoid the tendency to pile on the effects until you sound completely different.

Becoming comfortable listening to yourself on a recording is half the battle and it will come with time.

Good Job and keep on trucking.

[ut4ever8]

Thanks man. I still don't really know much about this program but it's coming along. The first take I just put the two together and thought it sounded okay then I went through the directions in the other thread and I thought it sounded pretty funny but I had no idea where it went wrong. Im planning on recording another track or two tomorrow and just toying around with them some more. If I save the original recordings then use the save as... option once effects are added and its all mixed together, can I go back and just open up the original file to start over or do I have to rerecord every time? Thanks again for all the help. Im planning on playing my first open mic on monday and I really want to get some of my originals on here to get some feedback before I play them anywhere.