Mixing Lead Vocal Hard L & R?

[BigEZ]

too much strain on his computer.
:d




fyi miroslav, i just upgraded to a dell studio xps with 12 gb of tri-channel memory and raid 0 hard drives...so suck the poop off my pogo . Hook a brotha' up y'all

[/quote]

 

[miroslav]

If you are going to do like you asked in the other thread...and double up on the acoustic and then pan hard...I would record each track with a single mic, just find the best position that you can...or record one track with one position and the other with a different position. I've done that or used different acoutic guitars for each track.

I think doing two tracks, each with two mics, and then split/panning...it's gonna sound washy, especially with the busy mix.
Actually, if I was in this situation...I would drop a pickup into the acoustic and record that way. I use Dean Markley ProMags for that. It will give you a more focused sound...though granted, with a touch of electric flavor, but it still has the acoustic vibe. In a busy mix, I don't want doubled acoustic tracks that have a HUGE/WIDE sound...so using a ProMag tightens that up and allows the two track to slot into a specific space rather than washing it out...likewise, so will a single mic, fairly close to the guitar.

For a sparse mix...HUGE/WIDE acoustic guitars will sound better, and you will appreciate all that extra bandwidth in that kind of mix, so by all means, use more than one mic and go for the room sound too.

Just my $0.02...

 

[BigEZ]

Ok but what if I do one track with two mics...one with an SDC on the neck and one with an LDC a couple feet from the sound hole, then pan each L & R? My mics are currently with Oktavamods to be modded so I'm just getting my ducks in a row at this point.

 

[miroslav]

Could be OK...though that guitar will sound huge/wide with lots of room sound...so it might not fit in the busy mix you have, but without hearing it, it's hard to say.

I'm just considering that if it's a busy mix with lots of elements...I might not want any one element spread/smeared hard L/R across the entire stereo image...but it also could work well.
It's all in how everything sits in the mix.

Try it both ways...one "stereo" track with two mics...and two "mono" tracks with one mic each.
Do you need to make a decision right at the start?

 

[BigEZ]

No, I don't need too. I will experiment with both Thanks.

 

[imnotdeafyet]

'Best not to push the vocal back in the mix, essentially your lead vocal is mono, so what you're accentuating is the stereo verb (which should be in a bus). Anyway, it sounds like you've entered the world of Sound-scape or Placement. Have fun! But the vocal should be front and center unless you are making some artistic statement. It might be a good exercise to do a band mix that sounds as close to a band in a blues club as you can make, then after you can do that, go psychadellicishous (which is where you're headed now). The biggest question is if the sound-scape you're creating adds to the meaning of the song. It usually works best to put the song where you can imagine it happening. A lead guitar through a 212 cab and an amp with a spring reverb to the right of a drummer in a garage sounds a very specific way. Can you imagine it? I guess I'm saying that you can take a few jumps ahead by being very intentional about what you're trying to convey to the listener. Your ears will grow fast! So, my vote is for no pan for the vocal unless you're making a point.

 

[mjbphotos]

If you are going to do like you asked in the other thread...and double up on the acoustic and then pan hard...I would record each track with a single mic, just find the best position that you can...or record one track with one position and the other with a different position. I've done that or used different acoutic guitars for each track.

I think doing two tracks, each with two mics, and then split/panning...it's gonna sound washy, especially with the busy mix.
Actually, if I was in this situation...I would drop a pickup into the acoustic and record that way. I use Dean Markley ProMags for that. It will give you a more focused sound...though granted, with a touch of electric flavor, but it still has the acoustic vibe. In a busy mix, I don't want doubled acoustic tracks that have a HUGE/WIDE sound...so using a ProMag tightens that up and allows the two track to slot into a specific space rather than washing it out...likewise, so will a single mic, fairly close to the guitar.

For a sparse mix...HUGE/WIDE acoustic guitars will sound better, and you will appreciate all that extra bandwidth in that kind of mix, so by all means, use more than one mic and go for the room sound too.

Just my $0.02...

I have been doing what miro does for rhythm acoustic (using a pick) - single mic pointing toward 12th fret and a Dean Markley (ZH-7) popped into the sound hole. Record to separate tracks then set the mic track to one side (gently, maybe in the 21% range, and the pickup the other side at 5-10% - and I might reduce the 'width' of the stereo pan on both tracks too.
If I record two acoustic rhythm tracks I never play the same part for each - one might be capo-ed up the neck, for example.