Another stab at a spare acoustic track

Nice. Well played. Great tune man! The guitar sounds a bit distant to me. Not a reverb thing, where did place the mic? I like the vocals. Although a little cut in low mid would make it pop a hair more. Would like to hear the guitar blend better with the vocals. Kinda sounds like you are in two different rooms.
 
Elton123 said:
Nice. Well played. Great tune man! The guitar sounds a bit distant to me. Not a reverb thing, where did place the mic? I like the vocals. Although a little cut in low mid would make it pop a hair more. Would like to hear the guitar blend better with the vocals. Kinda sounds like you are in two different rooms.
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Yeah, that's the trick, isn't it? They were recorded in two different rooms. I used the Zoom H4n built in stereo mic for the acoustic guitar...not the greatest mic in the world but I had a good performance so I wanted to keep it. However, that mic was no good for vocals so I used my Shinybox ribbon. I sent more of the vocals to the reverb bus (UAD plate 140) than I did the guitar...perhaps that's why they don't blend as well.

I suppose I could have added a little ambience patch to both to try to glue them. Any other suggestions on how to go about it?
 
I would re record the acoustic using a different mic. Not sure what u have. A 57 would be fine here. It would sound closer to your vox. I don't think there is a mix fix here.
 
I'd like to hear the vocals a bit more front and center - lower (duck) the guitar a bit while singing. Maybe a bit less reverb on the vocal track itself. You can always add some back on the overall mix if it seems to need it, but it was "noticeable" to me. I would probably give the vocals another shot with a bit more presence, even move in to the mic, if you can't pull them forward with what you have. Fix a couple of pitch things if you can.

I actually thought the guitar quality was interesting. Might be Ok with a little more vocal. It's a bit repetitive, and on exposed parts a little variety wouldn't hurt.

I liked this song!
 
still_fiddlin said:
I'd like to hear the vocals a bit more front and center - lower (duck) the guitar a bit while singing. Maybe a bit less reverb on the vocal track itself. You can always add some back on the overall mix if it seems to need it, but it was "noticeable" to me. I would probably give the vocals another shot with a bit more presence, even move in to the mic, if you can't pull them forward with what you have. Fix a couple of pitch things if you can.

I actually thought the guitar quality was interesting. Might be Ok with a little more vocal. It's a bit repetitive, and on exposed parts a little variety wouldn't hurt.

I liked this song!
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Good suggestions.
 
Nice tune. Nice playing and singing.

Every once in a while, the guitar covers the vocal. I wonder if you compress the guitar just a little harder it might help? Otherwise, the vocal is nice and clean.

I'm hearing a bit of hiss on the guitar track.

The guitar has a lot more reverb than the vocal. They're a bit out of whack.

The guitar has a "hollowness" to it. But I think it works pretty well here, given the style. Kind of a 60's folk-ish song.
 
Thanks for all the great suggestions. I have incorporated them as possible to v2 of the mix, which is now up (same link). In particular I tried to fix the pitchy singing in the first verse.

You guys are great!
 
It sounded great on my laptop.

I add ambience by recording the room, with a mic further from the guitar.

Yea, a little noise, but this is amateur recording, right?

I find I have to shut off a distant fan that the mics pick up, and record at midnight, to get the quietest house.
 
Sperry said:
It sounded great on my laptop.

I add ambience by recording the room, with a mic further from the guitar.

Yea, a little noise, but this is amateur recording, right?

I find I have to shut off a distant fan that the mics pick up, and record at midnight, to get the quietest house.
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Yeah definitely an amateur recording!

However, my philosophy going into this track was to put it down quickly and not lose inspiration. Like a lot of people, I have the software and mics to do everything I need to, but I lack the time to get the most out of my gear. Projects never get finished, etc. This one was done over a week - composition to mixing, in between my other responsibilities!

This time I decided to get the track down, and edit and mix quickly. Obviously some background noise on the guitar recording, but I was ok with that.

Thanks for the encouragement!
 
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