Heaven - acoustic (cover - Bryan Adams)

andrushkiwt

andrushkiwt

Well-known member
Hey everyone, I'd appreciate a mix check on this home recording of Heaven. I'm using the same Sm7b on the guitar and vocal track. My room is the biggest issue. It's a rather large living room with vaulted ceilings, but there are resonances and phase issues I can hear on the recording, perhaps exaggerated by compression or EQ changes (2:00, for example). I have a mic guard that surrounds and encapsulates the back and sides of the mic. I am sitting approx 2 ft from the mic while playing guitar and 6in-1ft while singing.

I had to deduct EQ from low mids (200-ish) and again around 7k for pick noise. Other slight changes to EQ were made for taste, but those were the problem areas.

Getting the best tone I can from the guitar is probably my biggest concern. Any tips there would help. Thanks!


 
Very well done. Great performance as always.

Curious ... what model acoustic is this and what kind of pick are you using?
 
famous beagle said:
Very well done. Great performance as always.

Curious ... what model acoustic is this and what kind of pick are you using?
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Hey Beagle. Good to hear from you.

I'm not home so I can't check the model but its a 1970s Sigma. I know that fits a ton of models description but that's all I got. I think it's naturally thinner and brittle sounding, I would really prefer a rounded warm guitar. Changing the strings would help. Maybe I'll go get some today actually.

I only use heavy/med-heavy picks. I'm sure a thinner pick would help reduce the grating pick sound though. Just cant do it... I've used those heavier ones for 30 years.

What did you think of the mix ?
 
andrushkiwt said:
Hey Beagle. Good to hear from you.

I'm not home so I can't check the model but its a 1970s Sigma. I know that fits a ton of models description but that's all I got. I think it's naturally thinner and brittle sounding, I would really prefer a rounded warm guitar. Changing the strings would help. Maybe I'll go get some today actually.

I only use heavy/med-heavy picks. I'm sure a thinner pick would help reduce the grating pick sound though. Just cant do it... I've used those heavier ones for 30 years.

What did you think of the mix ?
Click to expand...
I'm not on my main system and am listening on my laptop with some smaller USB speakers, but it sounded really good to me. The only reason I ask about the guitar/pick was that it sounded a little "beefy" and/or slightly "clunky" to me. And I guess I was kind of wanting/expecting to hear more of a feathery/shimmery acoustic on a song like this. But that's just nitpicking, really. Your performance was so good, it didn't bother me at all. I was just captivated by that the whole time.
 
Hey man if you get time, would you mind sending a link to a YouTube video or something with the type of sound you're talking about? I'm listening on Yamaha HS8s. I really want to hear opinions on the guitar sound and options of what to aim for. There are so many ways to shape an acoustic sound. Thanks dude
famous beagle said:
I'm not on my main system and am listening on my laptop with some smaller USB speakers, but it sounded really good to me. The only reason I ask about the guitar/pick was that it sounded a little "beefy" and/or slightly "clunky" to me. And I guess I was kind of wanting/expecting to hear more of a feathery/shimmery acoustic on a song like this. But that's just nitpicking, really. Your performance was so good, it didn't bother me at all. I was just captivated by that the whole time.
Click to expand...
 
andrushkiwt said:
Hey man if you get time, would you mind sending a link to a YouTube video or something with the type of sound you're talking about? I'm listening on Yamaha HS8s. I really want to hear opinions on the guitar sound and options of what to aim for. There are so many ways to shape an acoustic sound. Thanks dude
Click to expand...

I would think some Tom Petty stuff would have the sound I'm thinking of. This one is in the ballpark:


Granted, there may be a 12 layered in here as well. But it has that lighter, feathery sound that I was talking about.
 
famous beagle said:
I would think some Tom Petty stuff would have the sound I'm thinking of. This one is in the ballpark:


Granted, there may be a 12 layered in here as well. But it has that lighter, feathery sound that I was talking about.
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Think I got ya, there's so many things going on there it's a little hard to hear it. Definitely a high pass to make room for everything else, but I hear the feathery aspect and it's very light. If you find a solo performance where the acoustic is the single instrument, let me know. But I think I got the idea.

I actually bought a new acoustic yesterday - the old Sigma's tuning key mechanism broke on the D string. There were already holes drilled from a previous fix attempt, so there was no new place to drill. The holes need to be filled. The sattle is also severely chipped and busted up. A luthier nearby will do it all for under $100. In the meanwhile, thought I'd pick up something new since I haven't had any other acoustic my whole life. It's a Larrivee and I'll post it in another section shortly. Sounds great and can't wait to record something with it.
 
andrushkiwt said:
Think I got ya, there's so many things going on there it's a little hard to hear it. Definitely a high pass to make room for everything else, but I hear the feathery aspect and it's very light. If you find a solo performance where the acoustic is the single instrument, let me know. But I think I got the idea.

I actually bought a new acoustic yesterday - the old Sigma's tuning key mechanism broke on the D string. There were already holes drilled from a previous fix attempt, so there was no new place to drill. The holes need to be filled. The sattle is also severely chipped and busted up. A luthier nearby will do it all for under $100. In the meanwhile, thought I'd pick up something new since I haven't had any other acoustic my whole life. It's a Larrivee and I'll post it in another section shortly. Sounds great and can't wait to record something with it.
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Congrats on the new axe! And that's great news to hear that you'll be able to get the Sigma repaired for under $100. Look forward to hearing more, and I'll keep my ears out for a solo recording that better illustrates the sound.
 
What I think of as feathery is usually a 12-string. I think that's what I'm hearing in this song :

 
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spantini said:
What I think of as feathery is usually a 12-string. I think that's what I'm hearing in this song :

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What's up Spantini :) Yeah it's so mixed in with other things it's hard to imagine its original quality, def multiple guitars there or like you said a 12-string
 
andrushkiwt said:
What's up Spantini :) Yeah it's so mixed in with other things it's hard to imagine its original quality, def multiple guitars there or like you said a 12-string
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:-) Somehow, that video begins after the "feathery" intro. I reposted it into my original reply - now it begins at the beginning..
 
You're definitely right that "feathery" often means a 12-string. It does that incredibly well. But there are still tracks where it sounds a bit that way on a 6, too. This is a decent example, IMO.

 
andrushkiwt said:
Hey everyone, I'd appreciate a mix check on this home recording of Heaven. I'm using the same Sm7b on the guitar and vocal track. My room is the biggest issue. It's a rather large living room with vaulted ceilings, but there are resonances and phase issues I can hear on the recording, perhaps exaggerated by compression or EQ changes (2:00, for example). I have a mic guard that surrounds and encapsulates the back and sides of the mic. I am sitting approx 2 ft from the mic while playing guitar and 6in-1ft while singing.

I had to deduct EQ from low mids (200-ish) and again around 7k for pick noise. Other slight changes to EQ were made for taste, but those were the problem areas.

Getting the best tone I can from the guitar is probably my biggest concern. Any tips there would help. Thanks!


Click to expand...

What guitar is this? Your vocals are really good - the guitar is kinda of boxy sounding.
 
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