Thanks. Salient stuff. Both recent comments bring up significant weaknesses in my recordings. I am not much of a performer. I am much more comfortable writing, but the only way I can hear my songs is by recording them. (No one seems to want to play them
) Chops don’t just flow out of me as it seems when I watch other people play live. Just playing in time has been a challenge for me. I am probably too much on the beat because I am desperately trying to keep a beat. I have not played with a real drummer before. I just hole up in my garage and knock out songs. I need to get out more often.
I don’t want to sound too dim, but how do I control the drums to lead the beat? Do I play along and then delay the snare, or do I play behind the beat to allow it to take the lead? Or do I need to find a real drummer? That would probably be too good for my own good.
My vocal are even more problematic. It is a freakin’ nightmare to work on them. I can’t seem to sing the same line the same way twice. I record many takes and then slice and dice until I shape it into something that reasonably reflects the song that I hear in my head. When you say a tighter vocal performance, what does that mean? My immediate impression is that my previous vegematic comment illustrates your point. When you say "bold and interesting", is that in regard to effects, or lack thereof with bone dry, or in the underlying performance?
I am fairly new at this and I still don’t fully understand all the knobs and levers. But I must say that I am having a blast. The breadth and depth of the process seem to be fathomless. A great prospect for the obsessive. So many questions. So much to learn. One thing I must say is that in my short sojourn here I have already learned more practicalities than I have in all my previous searching. Just with this song alone I have been directed toward several practical avenues. This place is an oasis.