This is another of my series of experiments in learning to both record and mix music. I did my best to get the vocal line as good as I could in one take (though you can see I re-recorded one section and edited the timing a bit in one spot), while focusing on mixing to make everything sound as good as I could get it.

So that means there's a few places I could've gone back and obsessed over to get the perfect take. But I already spent 10+ hours obsessing on the rest of it. And I'm definitely no Jonny.

I'd like to think I succeeded, but what to do you guys think?

I'd like to extend my thanks to Dadebryant who did the piano cover of the song and gave me permission to use it in my vocal cover. Here's a link to the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdjuL...

I'd also like to thank my friend Fermata for finding exactly what I thought the EQ was missing at the last minute to get things to sound JUST how I wanted them to.

Here's To The Heartache Cover

A cover of "Wait for Sleep", one of my favorite Dream Theater songs.

Mostly used as a test of my first studio setup, and a first step into the world of mixing.

I know it isn't perfect. But if I were to try to get it there, I'd spend the next year going over it. Two weeks of working on a cover is plenty.

No, I did not play the piano on this. I wish I was that good at piano. The backing track I used was from here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9IekF_WcXI

Wait For Sleep (cover)

So, this track marks a lot of firsts for me.

- First time recording vocal harmony (singing with yourself feels weird at first).
- First time recording drums.
- First time where every instrument on a track was played and recorded by me.

I'm still sure this isn't as good as it could be, so I'm still pretty nervous posting this here. But after working on it for several weeks, I feel like this is about as good as it's going to get with my abilities at the level they are.  I also feel like I learned a lot through several hours of watching videos on how to mix everything and apply EQ, compression, reverb and delay properly and then messing with them in the mix until they sounded okay to me. If you have any suggestions or feedback, please let me know.

Also, this song wouldn't be here if it weren't for my talented buddy Jordan Indiana Gonzalez. So please go check out his Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/jordanindianagonzalez

His version of this song is on the JIG EP which I highly recommend. All four songs on that are absolutely amazing, as all of his music is. He deserves the support, so please purchase his music!

You And I (Jordan Indiana Gonzalez cover)

So, more firsts for this track.

- First time I recorded using decent gain-staging (though, I may need to adjust the gain on the mic input again. It sounds better but not quite).
- First time I've posted a recording with me actually playing the piano.
- First time I actually remembered to master the track itself. I added three band EQ and compression to the overall track. I considered adding reverb but didn't like how it sounded.

Lazarus_DS