Another Guy Clark Cover - Acoustic Guitar Mic Test

keith.rogers

keith.rogers

Well-known member
This was done in a relative hurry yesterday because of guilt I was feeling about not having done something I planned to do right away in January (tdpri procrastination thread) - not that this is it, of course, but I did something...

Cold Dog Soup (Guy Clark Cover) by Keith.Rogers | Keith Rogers | Free Listening on SoundCloud

Anyway, nods to [MENTION=190964]arcaxis[/MENTION] (rosewood/spruce on the left, mahogany/cedar right), [MENTION=19723]CoolCat[/MENTION] (recorded through the Pre73), [MENTION=198276]dchalo[/MENTION] (this is *one* way to record - LDC about 10" from 14th fret, aimed a little more toward the top).

Scratch vocal through AKG C214 reminded me why I went looking for another LDC (Miktek MK300 used on guitars). No comments necessary on the talk-singing! ;)
 
I thought the guitar sounded nice. Very good fidelity.

The sound get a little boomy on big strums. I might play around with a high shelf EQ and bring down the high end just a bit. I might also play around with an EQ notch in the mid 2Khz's. There is a bit too much sizzle to my. Not bad at all, so I wouldn't do anything dramatic.
 
Thanks, [MENTION=12651]TripleM[/MENTION] and [MENTION=19723]CoolCat[/MENTION] for the time listening and commenting.

I didn't futz with the EQ on the guitars yet because it was really a test to compare the guitars and mic/pre and so, other than minimal hi/lo pass, it's pretty flat. I didn't use a splitter to record a track without the Pre73, and while I had set up a pair of SDCs to compare to, I neglected to get the red button set on one on the left side take (first thing I did), so abandoned that idea. I.e., it's possible that's partly from the preamp, but I can't say for sure how much is mic vs pre. I'm going to do some mono checks in a few days when I can make myself listen to it again, and probably make some more specific EQ moves based on that.

The vocal took more time taming the sibilants than it did recording it! Of course, the song is a minefield for a voice like mine that can seem to find them everywhere. It was surprising how much easier the vocal track I tested with the Miktek is on that aspect (of my voice, at least). I'd already decided to replace the C214 for my vocals (at least) but was too lazy to move the MK300 from where I had it set up for the guitar tracks. Here, I applied both a pretty good notch in the EQ as well as a parametric-filtered compressor to squish them.
 
those are both decent mics it sounds like and costs like. finding the one that makes liife lazy and easy is the holy goal ..lol
isnt that it? find some gear you dont have to eq all the time etc.. maybe tame a room or whatever it takes.

so what was the tracking order you did this?
Guitar one
guitar two
vocal last?
or was it live and over dub guitar 2?
so the 214 into the pre73?
any fx,comps on the 2 buss or DAW?
the room sounds silent, some verbs on the guitars..

pretty good mix too, now you need to get about 7-9 more tunes you'll have an album. :eatpopcorn:
 
CoolCat said:
those are both decent mics it sounds like and costs like. finding the one that makes liife lazy and easy is the holy goal ..lol
isnt that it? find some gear you dont have to eq all the time etc.. maybe tame a room or whatever it takes.

so what was the tracking order you did this?
Guitar one
guitar two
vocal last?
or was it live and over dub guitar 2?
so the 214 into the pre73?
any fx,comps on the 2 buss or DAW?
the room sounds silent, some verbs on the guitars..

pretty good mix too, now you need to get about 7-9 more tunes you'll have an album. :eatpopcorn:
Click to expand...
Recorded guitars individually then the vocal (bold in your list). And, yes, the C214 went into the Pre73 - I just moved the cable over from the MK300, and dialed the Output level back a bit IIRC. Both vocal and guitars are sent to a bus with (Logic Space Designer) reverb. And there's light compression on the guitars, but no ducking, which I'd probably do just the tiniest bit maybe if it wasn't [pretty much] all about the guitars here.

My primary interest is in recording other folks, and mostly live, but do record myself and some friends from time-to-time in the converted bedroom I have upstairs, just for fun or to learn something new. It's haphazard, and I'm fortunate enough to get to hear some teriffic singer-songwriters so have a pretty objective view of where I'm at personally so no album planned, trust me.

I think I've posted some of these here, but excluding a few Christmas tunes, these are some of the things I've done at home - oldest one was done in a home office I think with a couple dynamic mics.

(SoundCloud playlist - use transport controls to skip through or simply scroll down in the embed below!)
Home Recordings
 
Don't know the original. The guitar on right has a little more reverb than the left one, I'd back off on it just a little. The left guitar is definitely heavy on the low end, but I like the way it sounds in combination with the right one. Ever try using coated strings to reduce string squeaks (which aren't too loud, but I still hear them)?
 
mjbphotos said:
Don't know the original. The guitar on right has a little more reverb than the left one, I'd back off on it just a little. The left guitar is definitely heavy on the low end, but I like the way it sounds in combination with the right one. Ever try using coated strings to reduce string squeaks (which aren't too loud, but I still hear them)?
Click to expand...
I had to go back and check, but as I thought, both guitar (dry) tracks were summed to a single buss after panning LR, with any FX and EQ, compression (both relatively small) and reverb applied only on the sum. It's probably the natural differences in the two guitars, coupled with the "room" quality that gives the impression of more reverb on the right. At this point, I'd have to unwind a bit since I bounced the guitar and vocal tracks and worked from that to the final. Not sure it's worth the effort as it does the comparison I was hoping for. But, like I said, I'm going to give a more critical listen in mono and that may force my hand to go back and EQ them separately, and I can tweak the reverb there, though I might be able to get a better balance by messing with the reverb's EQ, too.

Those actually are [coated] Martin Lifespan strings, if I had to guess, but their age is unknown as I only change strings when tuning becomes hopeless. It's probably more a side effect of winter dryness in my hands that caused the squeaks. Might be able to automate a bit of sibilance compression right there, but again, have to go back to work on the version with separate guitar tracks, so....

Thanks for the listen and input - I do appreciate it!

P.S. I actually had listened to a version by James McMurtry off the "This One's For Him" (Guy Clark tribute CD) that made me decide to try this. I've never heard the original myself!
 
Nice and pleasant. I like it overall. I agree with the slight boxiness at times in the guitars --- a build up of the low frequencies a bit. But the overall tone is sweet.

I enjoyed your vocals!
 
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