Zoom Gear & Home Recording Forum

The "Summer Tour 2010" has begun. I played at the Shallow Creek Book Store last night and the results were so-so. The good news is the PS-04 recorded the entire show (thanks sufercook for tip on lo-quality recording). The recordings actually came out better than I thought it sounded while playing. The set-up wasn't great as I couldn't hear myself singing with any amplification, thus I didn't have as much emotion as I would have liked. I also didn't use any lyric sheets, so that is a big improvement. The first song went off without any errors. The other two only had slight errors and I edited them out as best I could. The crowd was really small which, as I state on the first recording, made it more difficult to play. I can perform in front of 100 people better than I can five or six.

I plan on replacing these recordings when better versions come along, if they come along.

All songs played on my five stringed Open G acoustic.

"Summer Will Never Last"

Went off without a hitch.

http://soundclick.com/share?songid=9330005

"You Can't Always Get What You Want" - Jagger-Richards. My first recorded cover song. It sounds better on the recording than it did while performing. I didn't want to add any phony English accent, but next time I'll add some more emotion to it. You can hear someone singing along briefly during the last verse, which is always a good sign, I suppose. I tried to employ the Dick L. "bring something new to the cover" school of thought.

http://soundclick.com/share?songid=9330006

"Eeny, Meeny, Miney, Moe" - First time played live using Open G tuning. It could use a bit more practice.

http://soundclick.com/share?songid=9330007


I also played "Closing Down the Night" later in the evening, but didn't record it.

Oh...cool Cracky...you put em up here...makes more sense than postin in the PS-02/04 page. Sounds ok. Live/remote recording has got to be more difficult than studio. Playin live is not any easy task, especially solo. Can the 04 record 2 tracks simultaneously? Guitr Dir-in/Vocs Dir-in? Maybe that'll improve the audio quality.
Cool applause at the end of the first tune. CAGWYW is SUCH a great tune...where's the French Horn? Eeny is cool tune. Has a Pete Seeger kinda vibe. I like the slow build and chord changes....you def are not nervous playin in front of an audience. I always get a little nervous tryin to play a technical piece live...if I phase out the crowd and try to "Get-in-the-zone" it helps my concentration and I don't get nervous.
I'm tryin to get ready for some open mics near where I live, but my ear won't clear up...soooo frustrating.

Thanks sufer. The first song did go pretty good. This group of musicians have a habit of going outside during other performances, so by the second song there were about three people in the room. On the last unrecorded song there was one lady in the room.

I probably could hook the guitar directly into the PS-04, but I used my Yamaha yesterday, and it doesn't have any pickup thing. I played into a second mic.

I call this a "tour" just for fun. I'll probably wind up doing maybe five open mics through the summer and the Washington, D.C. show on Labor Day. I am always that close from calling it quits. I still like writing songs, but actually playing them (open mics or home recording) just isn't that much fun anymore. We'll see.

Good job man... I know how hard it is to play in front of people and you did well. I really like the stones cover...

It is amazing how i can play almost flawlessly here at home, but no matter how many times or years i played live, for some reason i always figured a way to screw up parts live

Nice stuff here.

Maceman

Thanks Mace. I too ususally screw up some place. On the Stones cover, I screwed up the "...looks pretty ill..." line, but I've learned (from bitter experience) to keep moving on and just make up any line to keep the rhythm of the thing going.

The good thing about recording these performances is that I learn from them. I just listened to them and I realize that the actual performance isn't too bad. I just need more confidence and emotion on the vocals. The guitar serves almost as just a space filler as I'll never be a technical player. Part of what rattles me is the open mic crowds are ususally not too attentive to originals and, as I said with this crowd, half of them are walking in and out during the performance (you can hear the door bell clang in some recordings).

I don't know how the Open G sounds to others, but it is so easy to play. Many of my songs can be played with basically the same chord shapes but with the capo at different positions on the neck. I thought of dropping it but after listening this morning, I think I'll stick with it a little while longer. I am going to try my Ibenez next go round. The only problem is that I can't remove the low E string because when I do the other rattle. I just have to detune it so it is very slack. I might try lighter stings. Maybe that will prevent them from rattling.

On this page too...now I don't feel so bad. Thanx for sharin the pain Mace.

Glad to see you're out there Sean. It's that time of year. ;-) I've been dusting off the rust on a band's tunes as I have several gigs lined up. July 3rd before the fireworks is the next. Playing for a small crowd is tough, you can see who they are and if they are paying attention or not, comments etc. They sort of disappear in a larger crowd. But this is the mark of a true performer, playing the same for one as 100. rock on!

Good luck, Omeg. Get recordings if possible. I don't feel like I've played if I don't have an audio record.

LOL Know what you mean. I haven't even had a picture taken at a gig in ages. I'll have to dust off my minidisc recorder and see what I can do. Hoping some of the family may come to the July 3rd event and maybe my daughter will get some video. ;-)

Update July 6, 2010:

I played an open mic at the Austin Grill in Baltimore this evening. The performance went pretty good. No major flubs. Small crowd but great stage. I learn something new every time I play live. This time I realized that these people have never heard my songs before so it might help if I give a brief introduction to each song so they can at least know what to expect. I think it helped. I think the audience feels left groping for what the song is about if they've never heard it before. If it is a pro they are listening too, the chances are good they've figured out the songs by listening to the album over and over. But with someone playing originals at an open mic, they have no idea what's coming. So an introduction seems to let them in on the song before it starts.

I played my standard tuned Ibanez. The host had me miked okay, but he didn't get my guitar quite right, it seems to me. He had me lower it too far. A good soundman is hard to find.

There was a harmonica player there who wanted to jam on some songs. He played on two of mine. He had his own amp, so he was miked better (and louder) than me. He didn't do too bad for not knowing my songs.

Recorded on the old PS-04 and downloaded to Mixcraft 3 and final mix on Mixcraft 5. The recordings are okay as far as they go.

Here are recordings. Thanks for any listens and comments:

"Last Beautiful Day"

http://soundclick.com/share?songid=9368393

"Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe" featuring "Ed" on harmonica

http://soundclick.com/share?songid=9368392

"Closing Down the Night" featuring "Ed" on harmonica

http://soundclick.com/share?songid=9368391

Liked "Eeeny meeny moe" best. For on the fly the harp player did all right.

I can't crit anyone who stands up and plays - It all about soul - and you have plenty of that.

There is one thing I might suggest you considering though - Your songs and your voice are the heaviest weapons in your armoury. But I find listening to this that you are trying to push the guitar into equal prominence. Consider some gaps in the playing to let your voice come through, or maybe playng some chords damped to give a bit of variety. Damped chords can give a better percussive effect, saving the jangly beat stuff for the chorus, or maybe the other way around. Your songs are so strong emotionally, they would stand all kinds of treatment.

The other thing about damped chords is you don't have to be perfect for the fingering, as the notes are not meant to ring clear.

Just thoughts

Leigh

Have you tried the new Audacity?.....

sounds good Sean, a bit distant, but overall a good time.
I have to record something soon... I have the July 3 gig on MiniDisc, but rather come up with something new. ;-)

Thanks for comments, Leigh, Sun, and Bill.

Leigh, yes, I know what you mean and appreciate the suggestions. I've thought of singing a cappella or just beating a drum. That's one of the reasons I enjoy the Open G tuned guitar. It makes the strumming and chords really secondary to the vocals, yet gives a sense of the music supporting the song.

The harp player was okay. I actually think he got in the way a bit.

I might do another one tomorrow night before I head to the shore for a week.

Very cool!

I seem to have missed your post.

"I'll be back!"

Thanks TT2 and topo for listens (or stopping by) and comments. (Thanks for view and comments on video too.)

This gives me an opportunity to say that I played an open mic on Tuesday night. It went really rather well. I played "Rose Hill" for the first time. But it seems I didn't turn on my PS04 correctly for recording. When I got home I had nothing.