paper cup - solo acoustic

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heatmiser

heatmiser

mr. green christmas
I'm sorry to post another track so soon after the last, but I just really wanted to get feedback on something new if possible. This one's actually a little embarassing.

I always build tracks in bits and pieces over the course of days or weeks. Songwriting and performance is kinda secondary to the whole process of assembly for me I guess. I was curious what one of my songs would sound like all by itself. Not a singer/songwriter by any stretch, I was curious about my ability to simply play a song on guitar and sing. I have no experience with this and wasn't sure how to track myself.

This is me last night playing a classical guitar and singing a song of mine called paper cup and tapping a tambourine laying on the floor with my foot. It sounds kinda sappy and boring like this, but it's an interesting challenge and something I might try again if I can get good at it. I don't think I captured enough of the guitar compared to the voice?



I would love any tips or ideas from people with more experience in this area (translate as - everyone?). Mic positioning ideas, tips for maintaining pitch in this situation, etc.

Thanks!
Pete
 
This is fookin belter.

I didn't mind the balance at all because the voice is great to listen to.
Your voice does travel across the stereo field though, like you look to the left on some of the held notes.

Not necessarily a bad thing. Just pointing it out.

Please link up the original though, or at least PM it to me. :)
 
Steenamaroo said:
Your voice does travel across the stereo field though, like you look to the left on some of the held notes.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I didn't know how to mic myself in this scenario. I placed one LDC in front of me and a pair of SDCs over each shoulder kinda like drum overheads. I wanted to make the single sound source seem as broad as possible, so I panned them hard L/R. Whenever I turned my head to remind myself of the next line or look down at the guitar, my voice really swirled around L - R.

Steenamaroo said:
LOL. I really like it.
Click to expand...

Phew! Really? Thanks, but I bet you have better ways to do this kind of thing than what I describe above, right?
 
Yeah, I really like it too. It's good to break down a song to its basics to see how it holds up. A good song will be good in any form; like this one.

You could mess around with balance between vox and guitar or leave it as is. I personally would bring the guitar up a tad.

Nice to see you do something different and challenging. :)
 
heatmiser said:
Phew! Really? Thanks, but I bet you have better ways to do this kind of thing than what I describe above, right?
Click to expand...

Probably not man.
I listened through three times in a row just because I was really enjoying the performance.
Knowing the song probably didn't hurt, but the performance really sold it for me.

I always try to minimise the voice moving l to r like that, but for some reason I didn't mind it at all here.
It reminds you that it's real. :)
 
Chili said:
Yeah, I really like it too. It's good to break down a song to its basics to see how it holds up. A good song will be good in any form; like this one.

You could mess around with balance between vox and guitar or leave it as is. I personally would bring the guitar up a tad.

Nice to see you do something different and challenging. :)
Click to expand...

Awesome. Thanks. That's really nice to say.

So, when you don't multi-track, there really isn't much you can about the relationship of different elements, is there? I tried to cut and boost some narrow EQ to minimize the voice and bring up the guitar, but it didn't do much.

In the future, what sort of mic setup for this would allow me the most flexibility post-tracking do you think?

Steenamaroo said:
Probably not man.
I listened through three times in a row just because I was really enjoying the performance.
Knowing the song probably didn't hurt, but the performance really sold it for me.

I always try to minimise the voice moving l to r like that, but for some reason I didn't mind it at all here.
It reminds you that it's real. :)
Click to expand...

Thank you Steen...:)

My sense is that it isn't "normal" to hear that movement in a vocal track, and I was aware that it was happening at the time, but for some reason the accentuated stereo effect sounded cool as it was happening.
 
Look again at the intonation at the second part of the 'ooh' on the refrain. It sounds to my ear that it doesn't exactly work against the guitar chord.

The performance is excellent - I really like your delivery and your voice.

I'm finding the loudest peaks on the vocal a bit harsh somehow. I want them more 'rounded'. I don't have analog recording gear, but I keep imagining that if you'd done this on an analog recorder, the peaks would have got saturated/enhanced. Maybe just turn it down a bit, compress it a little bit, add a warmer or distorter effect a little bit.

I think a simple treatment on this tune's best because it's pretty innocent. You could add one or two more instruments if you wanted to. Bass would work. Flute would work. Violin or cello. One-handed piano. :)

You're really good at this - you should explore it.
 
heatmiser said:
In the future, what sort of mic setup for this would allow me the most flexibility post-tracking do you think?
Click to expand...

I don't think I'm the person to ask. I've tried this singer/songwriter approach before and never liked the results I got. I'd be more inclined to put two mics on the guitar and one on the vox. The vox mic would probably be a cardioid dynamic to help lessen the bleed from the guitar and give you "a little" more control over separation. But like I said, i never got anything I liked when I tried.

I think what you got here is fine as is. Balance is the only nitpick because you didn't give us anything else to critique. :D
 
I've tried acoustic guitar and voice at the same time in the past, but the result was never good. But if I was going to try this again, I'd try two condensers in a figure 8 pattern mounted sideways, so that the null of each was pointed at the other. Without that 'stereo' miking thing you tried, you wouldn't get the drifting vocal result.
 
It's a good tune. You're voice has great presence and I think the guitar level could come up a notch. I've never recorded live, or recorded an acoustic for that matter, so I can't offer any tips. As someone said though, a good song will stand on its own merits regardless of the format. This is a good song, so let's hear the heavy metal version!
 
This is killer! As others have said: the song trumps the technique--when the song is good. And this song is great! But this isn't just a matter of the song trumping the technique; this is a matter of the song being completely served by the technique.

On a technical level, I agree with others that maybe the guitar could come up relative to the voice--but the beauty of it is that the voice so perfectly conveys the song, that the issue of balance becomes completely subjective. In other words, it just plain works.

I'm both impressed and jealous.
 
Is it fair to say those who want the guitar to come up a bit hadn't heard the song before?

I'm just interested because I can acknowledge that the voice is pretty dominant, but because I was waiting for (couldn't wait for) the opening line, I didn't care that it was loud. lol.

In keeping with the live idea, the only thing I'd love to hear is some lad sitting beside you doing the harmonies.
It'd have to be delicate though.
 
Ah, a nice stripped-down version of my favorite heatmiser song!

Surprisingly well-captured and I like the whole idea of it, being done all at the same time in one pass like that. Gotta say I kinda miss some of the instrumentation of the first one, but I understand why you'd want to do it this way and you picked a great (my favorite) song for it. It really comes off sparse like this. I don't really have much to say mixwise, but even if I did maybe that would be missing the point?
 
Ever consider turning this song into a 20 minute space jam?
 
I would never in a billion years record a song like this so I have no suggestions or ideas or whatever.

I think it sounds fine as it is. It's raw and has feeling and it's not too pristine. Well done.
 
the strength of a song is how it stands up raw in the flesh...and this is a great tune...individual enough to be its own separate song...great lyrics, really really dig them


As for the mix, I wouldnt have a clue about micing acoustics...I think the guitar could come up a ball hair, the vox have a couple of tiny wobbles at the same spot on the "oh" before "when you coming home" but theyre character, not flaws


nice one :thumbs up:
 
I practice a lot with just my guitar, electric drummer and microphone - so if I need to I can play any of my tunes live - even if it's a stripped down version. I use 12" Monitors with a condensor mic so I don't sing really loud to avoid feedback. It's still loud enough with marshall accompanyment though :D I also use (closed back) headphones to monitor a lot - especially with my new pre. It is really easy to hear vocal tone and notes because the vocals through headphones is louder.

Know your tune inside out so you can think about what's for dinner while you're singing it.
Avoid sliding up to the notes. Aim straight for them.
Avoid dissonance between the chords on the guitar and the vocal notes. It's easier to hit a note if you're playing it on the guitar or a nice harmony note. When you sing it on pitch it sounds "just right".

Keep your playing as simple as possible so you don't have to think about what you are playing and take concentration off your voice. People listen more to vocals than instruments - except us music types - so concentrate on vocals.

Play the song often so you don't forget it. Use a music stand for the lyrics/chords if needed.

This is a great tune and only needs some polish on the vocals to make it really shine... :D
 
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