Two New Acoustic Tunes...acoustic guitar tips?

P

PeteAnon

New member
With my new mp3.com page alive and kicking, I was hoping I could get some feedback on two new songs. I'm particularly interested in comments on the acoustic guitar sound-- I think it's a tricky instrument to record and mix.

The first song is called "Good Luck John", and the other is called "Quiet Drive."

Please check them out here:

http://www.mp3.com/PeteAnon


Pete
 
Hello PA-

I listened to "Good Luck John" -- it's a nice song, good use of rhythm and chord structure to convey the mood. Vocals are pleasant but could be much stronger; you're holding back too much. Also, too much reverb on vocals.

Guitar is too far back; I wanted to hear it more. For a song like this I would first of all decrease drum volume and increase guitar volume. Tone does sound a bit thin. Is it a good guitar? What mic and mic placement are you using? What are you doing with compression and eq?
 
the acoustic guitar sounds very fine to me.

WHat I don't really like is the space the vox is in. It sounds like a bathroom, or a bathroom reverb. I would like more upfront, and a bit more thick.

The instruments sat well, but could also benefit from a richer reverb.
 
Hey Pete-

On Good Luck John, I thought the guitar sounded good in the context of the song. The crash cymbal doesn't seem to work for me. It's too exposed and maybe not neccessary considering the sparse drum arrangement.

What mics and guitars did you use on the recordings ?
 
LI Slim and Cyan -

Thanks for listening and taking the time to make suggestions. This is really helpful. I'm a little uncomfortable with the vocals, since I'm not a singer. I'm happy to hear that it hits "pleasant" on your rating meter!

What do you recommend for compression on vocals? I'm not really using it on anything. I've got a mastering limiter plug-in from db-audio (with n-track) that I use to boost up overall volume on the track, and I also applied it to the acoustic guitar track. All tracking is done on a Boss BR-8.

I'm not eq'ing anything... I was hoping to get some advice along those lines-- what do you think? I'm lost there, so I've erred on the side of less (nothing) rather than random tweaking... would love some advice.

Reverb was applied in n-track. Not sure if the setting was called "bathroom" :) ...

The acoustic guitar is a Martin 000-28EC. It's tricky because it's a little boomy on the low end. With my right hand, I play with a pick and my fingers at the same time, which makes it even harder to record the tone (makes for nice dynamics, though). I'm using the same mic for guitar and vocal: a Rode NT1000, into a Presonus MP-20 preamp. For that song, I've got the mic pointed right above the soundhole (around where the fretboard meets the body of the guitar), about 8-12 inches away. I picked that spot by ear-- I was trying to get a nice mix of the soundhole boom and the production noise of fretting the strings.

I'm going to try using 2 mics on the acoustic guitar next time I track it. Sounds like compression will help, too. I agree with your comment on guitar being too far back in the mix.

Pete
 
Wide Awake - your post slipped in there as I was writing my reply... thanks for your suggestions.

Drums were in Fruity Loops, using 2 dudes samples ... interesting comment on the crash cymbal. Is it that the sample is too harsh or loud, or that it doesn't fit into the context of the song? I'm not a drummer, either, and I'm new to arranging the drum tracks.

Forgot to mention... the second guitar (at the solo) is a Gibson into a POD, set on the Fender Blackface w/ spring reverb setting (I think it's #1d or #1c...)

Pete
 
I listened again and I can't decide. I would either leave the cymbals out, or else try to place them farther back in the mix using echo or reverb, and decreasing the volume a little bit.

You placed them right where a real drummer would, so there isn't anything wrong with the placement. Cymbal samples don't always decay naturally and sometimes that calls attention to them and they scream " I'm a sample". Adding delay or echo, or other effects can help them sit better in a mix and MOST importantly extend the decay time. If you hit a real crash cymbal it takes a long time for it to decay.

I could have sworn your electric guitar was recorded with a real amp. I heard a song yesterday that had big distorted guitar sounds on it and it was done with a Line 6 AX2 modeled amp. I played it five times and I still can't believe it wasn't a real tube amp.
 
Funny you ask for advise about the acoustic guitar sound - I didn't hear a problem.

BTW, your playing blends well with your singing. You're a fine songwriter. From a production viewpoint, you should consider some vocal harmonies. Also, I thought the single note guitar lines in both songs perhaps could have been left out - were out of place IMO.

Perhaps most importantly, you sang the words like you meant them - not unlike telling a story or giving advise. Can't get that out of a digital editor ;)
 
Pete, there are numerous discussions about use of compression from folks more knowledgable than I am on this site, so I suggest you do a search. I also use N-track and db-audioware, so I do have a little experience there. Before the limiter is applied you can apply compression using the db-audioware "dynamics processor" plug-in or the n-track compressor plug-in (I like the db better). With vocals, try experimenting with a ratio of 4 or 5:1, using a fast "attack" (say, 10 ms) and moderate release (say, 80 ms). You've got to try difference settings though, trust your ear. With the guitar, try a similar compression ratio, or maybe a little lower, and a slow attack and release. You can also try the pre-set settings to hear how they sound, but be careful not to overdo the compression.

I like your mic placement on the guitar. If you want to get a little closer but are concerned about boxiness, try cutting the eq at around 100-250 hz. To increase the crispness a bit, try adding some eq at about 3 khz.

Never add any reverb until after the eq and compression. Add the limiter last.
 
psmith - thanks for the kind words on my songs. As for the single note guitar lines (I assume you're referring to the solos)... well, I guess that's just a guitarist's weakness. If there's no one to say no, hell, I'm taking a solo! :D

LI Slim - good detail on compression. It's especially useful to me since we're using the same setup. I may need to send some questions your way on my next mix, if that's ok...


Pete
 
PeteAnon said:
As for the single note guitar lines (I assume you're referring to the solos)... well, I guess that's just a guitarist's weakness. If there's no one to say no, hell, I'm taking a solo!
Click to expand...

Can't argue with that :)
 
THe tunes were pretty nice. I can hear the' room' on the accoustic guitar track or something was muddying up the accoustic guitar just a little. The sound of the crash cymbal itself wasn't that bad therefore I'm assuming 'wide awake' was referring to the use of it. I also listened to the little jazz tune. All 3 tunes were pretty good

Best of luck
 
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