To Ramona - live tracking of vocals and acoustic

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paulman77

paulman77

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So I'm currently in a temporary living situation where I don't have my drums or keyboard, which means I can't get started on any of the new recordings I've got in mind. I've really needed to do something other than tweak the songs I've posted here (which were recorded months ago), so I decided to work on recording acoustic guitar and vocals at the same time. I knew this would be no easy feat with my mics. I have an Avantone C-12 and a Shure SM57. That's it. The 57 is perfect, the Avantone not so much. It picks up EVERYTHING. I need a more directional vocal mic for this situation. But I don't have one, and won't be spending any money on recording for a while. So I have to figure out how to make it work with what I have. This is an old Dylan song, perfect for just acoustic and voice. I'd like to know what you think of the acoustic sound most of all. I took some mud out of it, but now I'm afraid it's missing some balls. Also, if it's possible to do anything about those plosives on the second line of the song, I'd appreciate any input on that. I don't know how that happened. I have video of it, and I was far from the mic when those P's popped. This was only meant to be an experiment, but I like the performance and want to make the recording work if I can.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B1q3bgtkYyakLWdTYThxTlJFUHM
 
That vocal is really good.

Your acoustic sounds too loud in this mix. Lowering it might remove a lot of that unpleasant sound. How high up is your preamp gain? This sounds like a cranked preamp in a way. Is the gain staging all good? Dylan played big, woody sounding acoustics. Cut below 100hz but that's it, then lower it in the mix. Compare the acoustic's frequencies to the frequencies in your voice and try to notch out any that mask or build up. I've had good success putting clothing around the back of my LDC tube mic. The clothing stops the nasty reflections/comb filtering. Try that.
 
PS. You used the 57 on the acoustic and LDC on the vocal? I'd reverse that, personally...voices can and usually do sound great with dynamics. Acoustics usually become clangey sounding with a dynamic (unless in a good room). I'd reverse the mics and build a little fortress of clothing or hang up blankets around your LDC.
 
Nola said:
PS. You used the 57 on the acoustic and LDC on the vocal? I'd reverse that, personally...voices can and usually do sound great with dynamics. Acoustics usually become clangey sounding with a dynamic (unless in a good room). I'd reverse the mics and build a little fortress of clothing or hang up blankets around your LDC.
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Thanks, I'll have to try that. It'll take a good bit of engineering on my part to figure out how to do that without anything touching the mic or me knocking anything over, but I'll figure something out. I have hung blankets from a separate mic stand over the Avantone for vocals before, but using it for guitar while recording vocals with the other stand is going to present some logistical issues.
 
paulman77 said:
Thanks, I'll have to try that. It'll take a good bit of engineering on my part to figure out how to do that without anything touching the mic or me knocking anything over, but I'll figure something out. I have hung blankets from a separate mic stand over the Avantone for vocals before, but using it for guitar while recording vocals with the other stand is going to present some logistical issues.
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What I did is just put the clothing on the shock absorber right up against the back of the mic. You should be able to balance it on there. I think what you have to be careful of with that is standing waves/boxiness in the capsule, but since the top and sides are still open it should be fine, but listen for any issues like that.

Is the gain staging all good? There's a harshness in there that doesn't sound like comb filtering but more like a preamp that's too loud.
 
Nola said:
What I did is just put the clothing on the shock absorber right up against the back of the mic. You should be able to balance it on there. I think what you have to be careful of with that is standing waves/boxiness in the capsule, but since the top and sides are still open it should be fine, but listen for any issues like that.

Is the gain staging all good? There's a harshness in there that doesn't sound like comb filtering but more like a preamp that's too loud.
Click to expand...

It probably was the preamp. I'm not hooked up to the interface, so I can't see right now what I did. But I'm pretty sure I used a Neve 1073 plugin for at least the acoustic mic, if not the vocal as well. I haven't had the Neve very long, so I'm still finding my way with it.
 
I wasn't familiar with this song. Very good. To me the guitar is a little stringy and thin for a pure acoustic arrangement like this. It could use a more body and warmth. In a full arrangement, this could be just the right tone. Have you thought about adding bass to fill out the low end? I could hear a Spanish style lead guitar part in there as well. And some harmony vox? Vocals, performance, musicianship--all really good. There's a lot of ambiance on the vocals which, again, in a full arrangement would probably help it fit right in, but in a solo arrangement sounds roomy to my ears. These are quibbles, really.
 
Great performance. Love all of the little details you give each phrase that Dylan really doesn't so much. Not to say it isn't a faithful cover though. I haven't heard this tune in ages. I have a shitty sounding live bootleg of his with this on it along with a ton of other tunes in this same vein.

I like the acoustic sound for the most part (listening on HD280 phones), but I trust those guys above if they find it to be lacking fullness or body. My phones tend to run a bit dark. I agree that the level is probably too loud compared to your voice on a solo thing like this though. Not way off, but a little too loud maybe.

Great vocal performance aside, the plosives are kind of bad...sorry. I hear them throughout actually on darn near every "P" in the song, and some other consonants as well. I've never attempted to remove or diminish plosives after the fact myself, but I hope you figure out how, as I'd want to preserve that take too. Or, just leave them and say it contributes to the live feel. I'm pretty sure there are plosives galore on that shitty old Dylan bootleg I have. lol

Good job. Fun listen.
 
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