2 603's and a V67 (acc. guitar and vox)

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Beezoboy

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I am going to make a coffee house CD for a friend of mine that has acoustic guitar and vox, maybe some cello too. I was just wanting to get some opinions on the mix. I am relatively new to mixing acoustic, but I think this sounds pretty good.

As for the mix, on this song we used an Ibanez acoustic for its slappy low E sound. There is only one guitar with light compression and vocals. The two were then mixed down and reverb was added (waves R-Verb).



Let me know what you think (this is not the final mix, it is still a bit rough)

Beezoboy
 
This is pretty damn good Beezoboy. Lots and Lots of feeling. I like the verse that comes in around 1:20. Great lyrics all throughout. Glad to be the first to respond. VERY good song IMO.

The guitars could be a TOUCH brighter. Not toooo bright because it will destroy the mood I think. Slight boost from 15-20K?

Other than that, personally I'm fine with this mix. It sounds very natural, and does a GREAT song justice. I really like the lyrics...while catchy, there's clearly some thought and emotion behind them. I'd like to hear more from you...

Tom
 
Like SLuice I think the acoustics could be a bit brighter sounding, a bit of low end cut would help, possibly some high end boost.

The vocals are sibilant in places, I've found the V67 very sss'y. Maybe a bit of EQ cut with a narrow frequency range in the 3 - 5K, or a de-esser.

Cool tune, reminds me a bit of The Who for some reason.
 
The mix sounds real good.
Your voice is great man.

Seems to me the guitar sound dosn't fit your voice.
Your voice sounds pro,the guitar dosn't.
I don't mean the playing,just the tone.

The vocal delivery and writing are great,guitar sounds too in your face,mabey more reverb?
Just my amature opinion!:D

Pete
 
this sounds good....it definitely isn't done though........something seems a little off...........the vocal and guitar seem to be fighting a little bit...............

i think you should lose a little volume on the acoustic or maybe try eq'ing it a little.........you might try even compressing a bit more instead, because it seems when the strums get louder it starts to bury the vocal.................

a little trial and error, and it should be ready to go in no time at all. for a project like this, the vocal have to be easily heard, and right now, you have to really pay attention........hopefully this helps
 
.........and oh yeah, i think the idea of a cello would do great in this song
 
whoa....brighten things up??:eek: sounds pretty crispy to me as it is. Is there 15-20K in your [normal] acoustic guitar? Seems to me, you'd just be adding hiss with this recording. I'm supprised that Slucie would suggest that with his superior sounds. But, I've been known to be the dumb ass at times too.

this recording has a very 'up front' sound to it...to me. I could actually take a little more room sound...like a larger room....no caverns, mind you:rolleyes:
I like the stereo sound on the guitar, and the volume balance between the vocals and guitar seem very good. I agree with the DeEsser on the vocals. some minor mic pops too..

pretty decent. A better acoustic guitar would be a nice(r) touch.
 
Just to clarify, I am not the one playing or singing. I only hit the record button and added a bit of compression here and there. This guy I recorded is amazing. The most takes he has done has been 2 and a punch in per track. He is in several bands around here and plays a little coffee shop with an acoustic, and sometimes a mandolin and cello player. He is also the best guitarist I have ever met.

I agree that there are some really siblant sounds and I plan to get those taken care of. I really like the vocals, they have a nice
"sheen" to them that makes them sound like they were recorded with something better than a V67.

As far as reverb is concerned, he said he is a dry kind of guy. So all I tried to do was add enough reverb to warm it up a bit and make it come together a little more.

On the other recordings I have done, he is using a Yamaha Acoustic and I like it much better. He was just going for a lesser quality sound with this one. I'll post some of the others soon.

I think with this recording I am trying to get more of a "folkish John Mayers sound." But I also want it to sound like this guy is sitting right in front of your table at a coffee shop and singing to you. I think I am really close to that.

Thanks for the suggestions; more would be appreciated!
Beezoboy
 
Beezoboy said:
On the other recordings I have done, he is using a Yamaha Acoustic and I like it much better. He was just going for a lesser quality sound with this one.
Click to expand...

huh??

and as far as reverb...at least what I was alluding to.....no...not dripping wet reverb...but some good "room" sounding reverbs. ..that actually have a very short delay...like a kitchen...or a "hardwood floor" type of room. Something to give the recording a sense of space...and not just coming out of the speakers at ya. ...But,...then again...maybe that is the sound of "sitting right at the table and singing to you". ...but that's not really the sound to me I would hear..as I find the previously mentioned reverbs to be among my favorites... the longer stuff is more for effects. I think you have the right idea of just wanting to "warm up" the tracks a little...and I think you could go one step further...without offending the artist.

But...all in all...I think you got a good handle on it.
 
Now this is strange...what kind of speakers are you listening on mixmkr?Im hearing a really dull overall mix just like sluice and emeric are hearing.....especially the acoustic guitar..it has no high end through my speakers.......the vocals are not quite as bad.

The whole thing has no shine to it.I have my speakers set so that they sound great with 99% of my commercial CD's coming through them......puzzling if you are hearing plenty enough high end on your end.
 
Kramer said:
Now this is strange...what kind of speakers are you listening on mixmkr?
Click to expand...

URIE 813 time aligns w/ Crown DC300
JBL 4311 w/ Crown DC 300
Auratones w/ Alesis RA100
Sony MDR 7506 headphones w/ Crown DC60

basically no EQ anywhere....'cept the 4311's have some knobs on 'em!!

I was mainly listening to this stuff on the headphones...so I may be in error.. but I feel like I can translate stuff pretty well on these headphones for the most part. I probably "f"<ked up on this one:(
 
I cranked this on the speaks...and I hear what you guys are saying about the guitar. I hear plenty of hiss...already...and the guitar just sounds kinda cheap to me. Like dead strings mainly. I don't think EQ will "boil" strings back to life..but worth a try, for sure.:D
 
mixmkr said:


URIE 813 time aligns w/ Crown DC300
JBL 4311 w/ Crown DC 300
Auratones w/ Alesis RA100
Sony MDR 7506 headphones w/ Crown DC60

basically no EQ anywhere....'cept the 4311's have some knobs on 'em!!

I was mainly listening to this stuff on the headphones...so I may be in error.. but I feel like I can translate stuff pretty well on these headphones for the most part. I probably "f"<ked up on this one:(
Click to expand...

LOL.nah,I wouldnt say that.You have a set of the most trusted ears around this place.It could be the headphones,but Im sure you listen through them on a lot of other tunes and always hit the nail on the head....could be that sluice,emeric and myself have stepped into some high-end-less twilight zone!:eek: :)
 
mixmkr said:
I cranked this on the speaks...and I hear what you guys are saying about the guitar. I hear plenty of hiss...already...and the guitar just sounds kinda cheap to me. Like dead strings mainly. I don't think EQ will "boil" strings back to life..but worth a try, for sure.:D
Click to expand...

Thats it!Dead strings, not lack of high eq!I knew you still had the golden ears man!;)
 
Ya, that's what it sounds like to me too...very dead strings. I only suggested the high shelf boost as a starting point. My monitors (SP8's), while having nothing to adjust but volume, tend to be a bit deceiving in the mids, so I added a question mark to the 15-20k suggestion. In fact, lately I've been consulting my attorney and local church minister before even considering applying ANY EQ boost, regardless of frequency. I'd rather produce a strong sound weakly, than a weak signal strongly, if that makes any sense (sorry it's 6am).

All this aside, I'll say again I really liked this song, even if you didn't write it, Beez. You should keep an eye on that guy. With some better decision-making (like why would someone go for a lesser quality sound on something as well-written as this?) I think he'll do very well.
 
Maybe I should encode the Mp3's higher? It seems that the mp3's have a little less brilliance than what I hear in .wav format. Other than that, you are absolutely right about the old strings. I can't remember the last time those strings were changed.

Hiss?? I know there is a bit because I hear it at the beginning...but even at loud volumes I barely hear it when the music comes in. Of course I am mixing on Monitor 1's, so I might be impaired a bit by my monitors. Not to mention that i am a drummer, so the cymbals might have hurt my high frequency hearing a bit. I think I do have a pretty good grip on mixing with them though, and highs are normally not something I have to worry about.

Finally, he and I are just doing this project for fun. He just sat down in my room and we did 4 songs in 5 hours. He gets a cd out of it and I get a good test for all of my mics. Also, I'll get to put my name on his album, which I'll feel very happy about. Not to mention that I think this stuff will turn out sounding great, so I'll have a nice product to show to my future clients maybe. Of course I'll have to have a studio first. Although, people seem to find recording in my bedroom pretty cozy. :)

Beezoboy
 
not too bad. I'm digging those 603's. I might have to get a pair now.
 
I kinda' dig the guitar sound...Keith Richards used to do that...just pick up the cheapest one within reach. I think it sounds like most peoples' guitars sound 95% of the time when they just pick them up. The vocals are good.

MH
 
mello tune dude. where did you place the 603's? how did you keep the lows in control? great song!


zeke
 
I ended sloping the lows from 100hz down in cool edit pro. He has some great technique too so that might play a factor. I did the Harvey over the shoulder mic placement. One over the shoulder facing the sound hole and the other at the 12th fret. Seems to work pretty nice. There is also a bit of compression on the guitar. Added after tracking of course.

Beezoboy
 
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