Last One In The Room (Acoustic)

andrushkiwt

andrushkiwt

Well-known member
Hey guys, I went to record vocals last week for a full version of this song but got the itch to sing and play for some reason. So, I decided on doing this one acoustically. Here's my first attempt at anything acoustic. Using a condenser, my only mic as of now. In the future, I will try sitting a touch further away from the mic, but this take is from about 8 in" away, mic pointing at the 12th fret. Added an Amplitube Ampeg bass to round it out a bit. 1176 and LA-2A (waves) on vocals. Touch of bus compression and 3db GR limiting.

Please let me know how this turned out in your opinion. I will likely be doing a lot more of these acoustic tunes; I had a lot of fun in performing and mixing them. thanks!



It was all for nothing.
A diamond I can't see.
An ordinary ending,
they never did believe.

October is ending.
My soul's not so clean.
February's coming.
You were the last one in the room,
you were the last one in the room.

My opinion's turning,
I guess that I was wrong.
An ordinary ending.
On this exit, you're my secret,
I won't let them twist my words yet...

I believe it sounds so angry through
the locked up doors, and I...
I see you're waiting.
I see you're waiting for
my confession but nothing kills me more.

You were the last one in the room,
when I walked out.
 
Last edited:
I like it. I just did a test recording of my acoustic guitar through an AT2020 XLR condenser & Tascam US-2x2 into Reaper. I had the input gain just below red light. The mic was at the 12th fret, but mine was about 16" away - I got about half the volume of yours.
 
spantini said:
I like it. I just did a test recording of my acoustic guitar through an AT2020 XLR condenser & Tascam US-2x2 into Reaper. I had the input gain just below red light. The mic was at the 12th fret, but mine was about 16" away - I got about half the volume of yours.
Click to expand...

As long as you're not clipping, you're prob good. There's some dudes here that can help you with noise to signal ratio, that's prob something you'll want to examine. And that condenser is going to pick up a lot of room noise. I am using my walk-in closet, padded with comforters, pillows, blankets, a reflection shield behind the mic, and, of course, all the clothes in there. I'll see if I have a pic.

Also, I am adding gain through my bus compressor and limiter.
 
Very nice!

But, what was the source of that hum right at the beginning? I'm afraid there's just a hint of it through the entire recording, and a bit of hiss at the acoustic-only part past 3:00.
 
I'd shield the bass, change your lightbulbs, something. Or do I understand that you think you need more of that in the recording?
 
keith.rogers said:
I'd shield the bass, change your lightbulbs, something. Or do I understand that you think you need more of that in the recording?
Click to expand...

No, I'm just not too bothered by it. Seeing as an acoustic thing is generally "live", I am ok with a bit of noise. Also, I had recorded the vocals and acoustics rather low on input gain, so the chain they run through is exaggerating that stuff a little. I can live with it for now, but I'll see what I can do about decreasing it next time around. And the bass is DI.
 
I like what you did here, and I like that song and playing. And love the vocal delivery.

Acoustic is tough to mix, as I've discovered. I think you found a nice balance between too compressed and letting the dynamics of the fairly hard strumming come through.

At "an ordinary something" I could hear a delay on the vox that IMO belonged.
I think the bass guitar could come more forward without harming the song, it may help it build even better than it does.

Kudos!
 
andrushkiwt said:
Using a condenser, my only mic as of now. In the future, I will try sitting a touch further away from the mic, but this take is from about 8 in" away, mic pointing at the 12th fret.
Click to expand...

Your talent is truly amazing! I would pay for your music. What mic did you use?

spantini said:
I had the input gain just below red light. The mic was at the 12th fret, but mine was about 16" away - I got about half the volume of yours.
Click to expand...

You want your input level to be between a -12 and -18dbs as it is going into Reaper. This is your best noise to signal ratio and it is what your interface was designed to be used at. You will make up the volume in your DAW (Reaper) when you do your final mix and mastering. If you need any help DM me or start a new thread. It is a very simply process.
 
YellowDwarf said:
Acoustic is tough to mix, as I've discovered. I think you found a nice balance between too compressed and letting the dynamics of the fairly hard strumming come through.

At "an ordinary something" I could hear a delay on the vox that IMO belonged.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I figured out pretty quick that it was going to be a challenge compressing that acoustic, given how hard I was strumming. I tried the 1176 (waves) and went with med attack and release and then one more slower-acting compressor (DC1A). It pokes out a little here and there, but I don't think it's out of control or anything. Glad to hear it came out ok for you. I did wonder how it would be received.

There is a vocal delay (1/4) running along the entire song; but during the bridge, there is too much going on with the instruments and the delay gets lost. It's there, just kinda buried.
 
I like this version and look forward to more acoustics from you. The vocal is fine, not too gainy. Ambiance seems about right. What happened to the bass? I'm not hearing it. The acoustic guitars sound to me like they were recorded in a very dead space. That pick attack is your rhythm keeper for the whole song, but I think is overpowering. Bringing up the bass and lowering the guitars would be a starter. But I'd like to hear more air in the guitars, just a little less up-close and strident. If you're recording in a super dead space, backing off the mic might not fix it. Have you got a larger room you can track in?
 
Mack Caster said:
...

You want your input level to be between a -12 and -18dbs as it is going into Reaper. This is your best noise to signal ratio and it is what your interface was designed to be used at. You will make up the volume in your DAW (Reaper) when you do your final mix and mastering. If you need any help DM me or start a new thread. It is a very simply process.
Click to expand...

Thanks, Mack. New thread HERE
 
Robus said:
I like this version and look forward to more acoustics from you. The vocal is fine, not too gainy. Ambiance seems about right. What happened to the bass? I'm not hearing it. The acoustic guitars sound to me like they were recorded in a very dead space. That pick attack is your rhythm keeper for the whole song, but I think is overpowering. Bringing up the bass and lowering the guitars would be a starter. But I'd like to hear more air in the guitars, just a little less up-close and strident. If you're recording in a super dead space, backing off the mic might not fix it. Have you got a larger room you can track in?
Click to expand...

Honestly, when I mute the bass while the song is playing, it's extremely apparent. The whole thing gets very thin immediately. The notes aren't very distinguishable because I dropped a lot of high end out of it, but I promise it's pretty loud. If you'd like, I can burn a copy without bass and put it up here to check out.

I have a very large living room, but no way to set up in there. My interface/laptop/guitars/desk are all in the second bedroom, and the walk-in closet next to it is the tracking room. I could fit about 10 people in there, standing, so there's plenty of room. I will try backing away a bit today and see how that sounds.
 
I think you'll be surprised that when you back away from the mic with the acoustic that you'll not have to compress as much. You'll not be surprised to find that you'll get that less-dead space too.
 
andrushkiwt said:
No, I'm just not too bothered by it. Seeing as an acoustic thing is generally "live", I am ok with a bit of noise.
Click to expand...

A "live" recording of 3-4 of yourself. :D

I can occasionally hear the bass. It doesn't draw attention to itself, but it I can hear how it would definitely shape the tone. Nice work there.

You're really hammering on that acoustic. If you're going to do more acoustic recordings, I would definitely recommend practicing some more techniques for variety.
 
VomitHatSteve said:
A "live" recording of 3-4 of yourself. :D

I can occasionally hear the bass. It doesn't draw attention to itself, but it I can hear how it would definitely shape the tone. Nice work there.

You're really hammering on that acoustic. If you're going to do more acoustic recordings, I would definitely recommend practicing some more techniques for variety.
Click to expand...

Meant as opposed to digital or sim.

Variety? Why would I play the chorus differently each time? If you mean between songs, so as to not strum as hard, then perhaps hearing another acoustic song would be in line. If that's the strumming pattern for this song, then that's what it is. Another song will have a different way and feel. I guess I'm not understanding what you mean. Some songs are picked, some are strummed, some are strummed like this, some are strummed like that...you can't have variety without more songs, and this is only 1. :)

I don't think I've "practiced" guitar in about 25 years, although I guess each time I play you could consider it practice. Are we talking about practice?

YouTube
 
Nice job, bud, sounds great. The bass is there, but I'd come up a db or two and check it out. If you don't like it, then put it back- it's fine either way.

The acoustic sounds good too, but maybe add some shimmer on top and see how it sounds. The CLA-76 is great, got the bundle myself a few months ago. Did you use the blue or the black on this track? Just curious.

The 2A is killer on bass if you haven't tried it on bass yet. The 3A can be good on bass too if you want it a little more grit for something.

Where did you HP the vocal? You could maybe dial it back a tad, there's not much low end there, sounds a little thin at times. Minor nit though, it still sounds really good.

All in all, great tune and performance. The original is one of my favorites from you, and this one is great but lacks the power and impact of the original. But that's probably the point. This one is definitely more intimate.

Nice job as always.
 
JohnnyAmato said:
Did you use the blue or the black on this track? Just curious.
Click to expand...

I have only used the blue once, and it's on the next track I'll post soon. Used it on bass.

Here, I have the 1176 and the CLA2A on the vocal bus, the 1176 on bass, the 1176 and Puigchild 670 (set to L/R compression to help balance out L and R guitars) on the guitar bus, and the Puigchild 670 on the master bus. Vocal bus is HP at 100hz, but there is a cut at 200 or so where it boomed out quite a bit. I don't have the 3A, what do you use it on? Thanks for the comments
 
Oh, I figured you might have bought the bundle that comes with all three.

The 3A is a little grittier than the 2A. I've used it on bass only a few times, when I wasn't getting what I wanted from the 2A. I've also used it on my drum bus once or twice, but I almost always use the black 1176 there. The 3A shines on electric guitars for me. 2 or 3 db of GR on distorted rhythm tracks, or lead tracks is awesome. It can be good for aggressive vocals- and sometimes the 3A can sound great on acoustics, but I usually use the 1176 here also. I like the 2A for clean guitars though, usually.

I've hardly ever used the blue 1176 either, it compresses really hard! I hear it's great for parallel compressing drums, though.

I also got the Slate Everything Bundle a few months ago. Wow. I'd look into that of you haven't already. It's awesome. 5 killer compressors, awesome eq's, and tons more. I could go on and on about it, it's great.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top