Female acoustic cover

M

Minism

Member
Hello guys,

Here is one of my first recordings done with a friend of mine:

https://soundcloud.com/mminism/gravity-mp3

Some questions, comments:
1) Is compression alright (I guess such a simple track does not need much, should leave space for vocal expression, etc)? Maybe some more on guitar?
2) I like how guitar sounds on my monitors/headphones, but not on laptop speakers... It becomes cheap and quite lifeless, how would I solve this?
3) Some 's' sounds don't sound good to me and cannot make Tonmann Deesser vst to work on this. Any advice?

Thanks in advance!
 
The guitar sounds more distant than the singer and is a bit dull. It sounds like the guitar player is sitting behind the singer and both are playing into one microphone.

She's got a great voice.
 
Male listener critique

Very nice voice. Am I hearing an accent come through here and there, or is that in the delivery of certain phrases?

There are a couple spots where the vocals get a touch harsh the upper mids. 2:07 for example. There are other spots, but that will give you a spot to listen for.

Same perception as the Schwarz with the guitar. The whole song would become more intimate if you brought that up front and dried it out. It would be good for the overall feel, IMO.

I didn't notice compression one way or another, so that's fine.

Very tight cuts using pre or post fx volume automation will clear up the essyness that a deesser does not catch. In some cases, it is worth deessing an entire track this way because it can sound much more natural that a deesser. We are talking super tight and super deep cuts, basically just sucking the volume out of just the one consonant.

Please keep recording your friend and posting the songs here. I really, really love the vocal timbre here.
 
How was the guitar recorded? A 2-mic set up might help it. The vocal could use some volume automation to balance it off.
 
Agree with the above comments, could use a bit more upper frequencies, give the song a little air. If you gave her some more air, push your guitar up some just to sit under her, that would help this particular take.

I do think two mics and some mild L/R panning would really make this good recording even better.

Good stuff, glad you posted. Good to hear some female vocals for a change.
 
She has a great voice. The song is very intimate, however like said above, the guitar could be a little closer and drier. Good job.
 
Thanks for generous comments and compliments, much appreciated :)

Changed the track according to your advice, I think it really helped. Did not automate the vocals as I decided I like the loudness of the phrases and did not add more air to vocals, I believe somewhat constrained vocal sounds good there.

kindafishy: the singer is Lithuanian living in UK for a few years, so the accent is natural and I like it as well.

mjbphotos: I only have two mics - dynamic and condenser. Recorded guitar with both of them, so maybe the fact that they are very different makes nice stereo image hard to get.

https://soundcloud.com/mminism/goda-gravity-sara-bareilles-cover
 
Bruthish said:
She has a great voice. The song is very intimate, however like said above, the guitar could be a little closer and drier. Good job.
Click to expand...
I agree that the guitar could have been recorded closer to lessen that room reverb sound, that is why I think a bit of reverb added would smooth things out.

G
 
Minism said:
Thanks for generous comments and compliments, much appreciated :)

Changed the track according to your advice, I think it really helped. Did not automate the vocals as I decided I like the loudness of the phrases and did not add more air to vocals, I believe somewhat constrained vocal sounds good there.

kindafishy: the singer is Lithuanian living in UK for a few years, so the accent is natural and I like it as well.

mjbphotos: I only have two mics - dynamic and condenser. Recorded guitar with both of them, so maybe the fact that they are very different makes nice stereo image hard to get.

https://soundcloud.com/mminism/goda-gravity-sara-bareilles-cover
Click to expand...

You could try panning them a little further apart (if you've got them wide now, can't tell, so it might have been placement). Guitar is better in the latest version, the vocal's louder parts no longer seem too much for the guitar
 
Schwarzenyaeger said:
The guitar sounds more distant than the singer and is a bit dull. It sounds like the guitar player is sitting behind the singer and both are playing into one microphone.
Click to expand...

He took the song down, unfortunately, but I am listening to their cover of Walk on the Wild Side on their website, and it's freaking awesome, for just the reasons you mention (guitar is distant, singer is dull). Sounds like Mazzy Starr. Minism -- do more material in the style of the Reed cover/Mazzy style. It's great. I own all Mazzy records, and would buy yours if they all sounded like this. One thing about the Reed cover -- at times you guys sound out of tune with one another. I can't tell if she's flat or your hitting a blues note/passing tone. It's kind of cool, but also dissonant and briefly disturbing.
 
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