Artist Name: Nelson Rudia Title: Corona Virus Blues Genre: Rock / Blues Rating:
Equipment
Asus computer running Pro Tools, Shure SM57, Fender Strat, Ibanez miKro bass, Korg TR61 keyboard, Audio Deluxe AIR Strike Virtual Drummer, Line 6 Pod X3, Focusrite Scarlett interface, JBL monitors, Sennheiser headphones.
Music
“Corona Virus Blues” is a male vocal rock/blues tune. Nelson did it all at his home studio.
Reviewed By Marty Peters
The global pandemic has stirred the creative juices of many of our Readers’ Tracks followers—not since 9/11 have we received as many songs dedicated to one event. Nelson has submitted a strong one-man-band effort here, let’s check it out! Starting with the rhythm section, we’re impressed by the programmed drums. Nelson goes beyond the bland here with a creative syncopated pattern that’s indicative of what an actual live drummer would do. The bass guitar is pretty active, and the muted tone reflects the short scale of the Ibanez miKro bass. Together, the rhythm section gives off a cool Latin vibe that begs for additional percussion! Nelson’s wide-panned electric guitars are well designed, performed, and presented, with a bitey tone that grabs the ear and demands full attention in the mix. Moving on to the vocals, the performance is strong, with a clear and articulate tone absolutely identifiable as the ubiquitous Shure SM57.
Suggestions
This is a strong effort. We’re concerned with the overall balance of the final mix—through our various monitors and headphones, the lead vocal and electric guitars were substantially out in front of the bass and drums, disrupting the balance of the proceedings. With programmed drum submissions, there’s a tendency to duck them back in the mix in order to hide them. Of course, this leads to the bass guitar following suit, and soon enough, balance issues ensue. That said, Nelson did an admirable job here with his drums—no need to apologize! To that end, we’d encourage him to even things out a bit by raising the rhythm section volume. The panning and frequencies of the guitars will ensure their station and the clarity of the lead vocals will do the same.
Summary
Solid effort.
Contact
Nelson Rudiak, [email protected]