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Welcome to the Recording Forums archive of audio recording posts from the old Recording Website Message Board

Home recording and general music post from the archived Yabb Recording Website Message Board. Some of the info here may be outdated but many of the audio recording and home studio tips are still good. Note: The only tags I made and attempt to convert are italics, bold, center and underline. So if you see some gibberish surrounded by brackets, just ignore it.

Recording Website Archived Yabb board Post

Febuary 2001 Yabb Message Board Archive

Subject: Bass Level
by Josh | 05/08/01 at 06:09:56

I am currently in need of some help. We are unable to get a decent level from bass guitar going into a Roland VS880. We have tried everything from miking an amp to direct box in to directly in to the recorder and are having the same results. We have also tried a different bass also. Raising the attenuation doesn't solve much here either. Any suggestions would be helpful.

Subject: Re: Bass Level
by Mo | 05/08/01 at 12:00:35

Turn down everything else.

Try using a compressor to get more gain and even out the bass output.

Subject: Re: Bass Level
by eddie | 05/08/01 at 16:36:49

Err, you didn't say which bass you use...it is important thing...use fine bass guitar and quality amp...firs of all...then compress!!!
If you don't have fine bass (Fender, Warvick etc.) you'll never get fine sound!!!

Subject: Re: Bass Level
by Josh | 05/08/01 at 17:18:04

We are using a compressor and that doesn't help any with the various settings.As far as the bass is concerned there is nothing wrong with it(Ibanez).The drums have already been recorded.I just can't get anything to get the recording levels up to 0db. We are able to get about -8db. Should we go ahead with the cleaner sound at that rate and pray that the bounce to the drum tracks help?

Subject: Re: Bass Level
by BananaHead | 05/08/01 at 18:06:08

What's wrong with -8db? I dunno, crank up the amp, put an sm57 on it, run into the vs, crank up the trim/gain knob thing... no problem.

Song Structure

by Dan E. Monk

Songs at the most basic level are structured by verse. Most modern songs add a chorus. A bridge, although not as popular can also be added. In addition songs can also contain: an intro, a pre chorus (also called a build), a refrain and an extro (also called an outro or tag).

A brief explanation of the different song sections:

Verse :
Verses are structured lines that while differ in content follow the same musical pattern.

Chorus :
A chorus differs both musically and lyrically from the verse and is repeated at least once in the song.

Bridge :
A bridge differs both musically and lyrically from the verse and the chorus, usually only used once in the song.

Refrain :
A refrain is one or two lines at the end of each verse which while different lyrically from the verse remain consistent to themselves.

Intro :
The into is a different musical form that comes at the beginning of the song. It differs from the verses but can and often does share music and or lyrics with the chorus.

Pre Chorus (also called a build):
A pre chorus precedes the chorus. While keeping the same music form the pre chorus can lyrically change throughout the song. It is usually repeated as often as the chorus.

Extro (also called Outro or Tag):
Stylistically the same as the intro, except it occurs at the end of the song.

The different forms
The Traditional AAA form.
The AAA song form consists only of verses. Sounds simple but it is one of the harder forms to write. Both words and melody must be fresh and compelling, there is not chorus or bridge to break things up. The ABA form.

(A = verse, B = chorus)
The ABA form adds a chorus. More often you will see it as ABABA or AABABA. This fits in well with modern pop music. Adding a chorus allows the songwriter to move the song in a different direction musically. Lyrically, the chorus is the meat of the song, usually repeating the title while summing up what the song is about. The ABCA form.

(A = verse, B = chorus, C = bridge)
Also quite popular the ABCA form adds a bridge. The verse and chorus have the same function as the ABA form. The bridge can be used lyrically to clear up parts of the song that may otherwise be obscure, or to tie the song together, hence the name bridge. Musically a bridge is used to break up a pattern that may be getting a little too monotonous or predictable.

There are other forms of course. These are the most common. What form you use depends a lot on what musical genre you are writing your song in.