Simple Acoustic Song

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guitar zero

guitar zero

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Just recorded this tonight for fun. I find this gal's voice has a very interesting quality to it. Friend of a son of a friend kinda deal. Hope she wants to record some more. See what you think.

Speed mix:



Redemptive Mix?

 
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It's noisy. There's a lot of "air" and some hiss going on. As it is, it's got a kind of "indie" lo-fi thing going on without being totally lo-fi. The girls vocals are good, but they're too "hot" in the mix. They're soft, but they're way loud and out front. They also sound kind of cheap. They lack fullness and clarity - like all the lows and highs have been rolled off.
 
i agree, vocals haven't got enough top end in them.

and the guitar sounds like maybe it might need a new set of strings, or the mic is too close to the body (if it's not from a pickup)
 
Greg_L said:
It's noisy. There's a lot of "air" and some hiss going on. As it is, it's got a kind of "indie" lo-fi thing going on without being totally lo-fi. The girls vocals are good, but they're too "hot" in the mix. They're soft, but they're way loud and out front. They also sound kind of cheap. They lack fullness and clarity - like all the lows and highs have been rolled off.
Click to expand...

Ribbon mic used on vocals. No eq used at all. Will revisit. Thanks Gerg
 
cobaltaudio said:
i agree, vocals haven't got enough top end in them.

and the guitar sounds like maybe it might need a new set of strings, or the mic is too close to the body (if it's not from a pickup)
Click to expand...

No idea how new her strings are. Stereo pair SDCs in X/Y at 12th fret about a foot away. Don't think they were too close. Are you saying there's too much low end in the guitar?
 
12" is kinda close micing for acoustic guitar. If you can move it back around 18"-24" it should open up the guitar sound a lot more. I also can't really hear the stereo separation, it sounds like one close mic in mono. I'd move the x/y pair back further, or use a spaced pair and spread the stereo field a little bit. I don't like too much reverb on guitars, but ultra dry is usually a little too harsh...a little verb to round things out should do some good. I don't think there's too much low end, it just sounds like one part of the guitar instead of the full sound of the whole guitar.

As for the vocals, what ribbon mic were you using? Some sound good on vocals, others kill the highs and lows. Again, a little verb could help them not be so on top.
 
Nice singing voice and a pretty song.

I agree about the lack of a top end. Vocals sound a little boxy.

The recording is a bit noisy - audible hiss. Heard a little pop :59. Weird noise at 2:08. Shifting in her chair or something? Big noise at 3:30 - maybe an edit. Other noises too. I hear the guiatar buzzing on the left side in spots.

I think the low E on the guitar was just a bit sharp.

To me the song needs a little more compression. The levels jump around quite a bit.
 
Thanks for all the comments. The recording of the vocals sounds just like she sounded, which is what I found so intriguing, and why I didn't use eq. I really think part of what makes her voice so unique is that it's low for a female, and doesn't contain a lot of high freq. information. Maybe I'm wrong. Don't know. Her voice has some real character, kind of woody, a little smokey (whatever that means). Hard to describe, but I find it mesmerizing. I'm not to concerned with the mix right now. It was thrown together late after recording last night. I'll work on it more. Just found her unique and wanted to share a little bit.
 
Guitars sound alright to me. The vocals are a little too loud, and there's some distortion going on with them in the beginning of the song. Yeah, her voice is nice though.
 
I agree with everything thats been said so i wont comment on the technical stuff. With that said, i love her voice! I love the guitar sound too... Has a dark feel too it. I actually like the sound close up for this particular feel but like everyone mentioned it sounded cheap. With quality mics and decent mixing this should have been a stellar recording. There I go and commented on the technical stuff.
 
Ouch, I guess I should have properly mixed this before posting. I was sort of looking for comments about her voice, but now that you all think I screwed the pooch on the mix, I'm looking for redemption. I've had proper time to mix this now, so the new mix is posted here and at the top:



Let the flames begin.
 
I've only just heard this new mix. I think her voice is really amazing. I love it.

It is a little more dry and upfront than I'd want for this sparse piece, but the clarity that the upfrontness brings is kinda cool too. I dunno...I think the mix sounds pretty good. I think it's cool you got to record her and I hope you get to some more. Thanks for sharing.
 
Listening to the 2nd version. I'm not hearing the noise others have mentioned, but i do hear the distortion in her voice. I also hear a bit of the room which isn't flattering. But yeah, she's got an awesome voice.

Guitar sounds wonderful. Is she singing and playing at the same time?? It's a good song.

And I agree with Heat, I would like to hear more from her.
Thanks for sharing.
 
The voice says intimate & close & it almost is - probably just a little bit too loud.
I can hear the stereo in the guitar.
High end loss - don't know/ can't tell - that must be in my tinitus zone.
I like the song & vocals but am not quite so keen on the guitar. Maybe the pulled parts are too repetitive for me or something.
 
Just figured out that one of the plug ins I was using was causing some hiss in the guitar tracks, so I removed that. Also forgot the doubled vocals part, so I put that back in. Appreciate all the feedback. Version two is now version 3. I think the vocals are softer, I don't know. I need a break.
 
I hear some pops at 1:08.

I think this new version is better. I think the vocals sound and sit better than before. I had trouble making out some of her words, but I think that's probably her performance. In any case, the new version is much better. Don't let Green Day hear this. :D
 
Is it me or everything over the top on the output? This track seems a tad louder than almost everything else I have listened to here. I havent taken this into the studio yet and listened on the mains but its buzzing the hell outta my computer monitors which isnt usually the case.

She has a real talent in that voice. Her annunciation can be improved and still retain that tonal thing as well as that 'eyes half closed' delivery.

I dont think you're doing yourself any favors with an X/Y on a guitar with that tonality. Its a little too dark for such a focused mic technique. A single SDC @ the sweet spot and the other over the shoulder will open up this guitar quite a bit. The 'over the shoulder' mic could even be an LDC.
 
OMG way better! You should try a spatializer and spread out the stereo spectrum. Lovin her voice!
 
Greg_L said:
I hear some pops at 1:08.

I think this new version is better. I think the vocals sound and sit better than before. I had trouble making out some of her words, but I think that's probably her performance. In any case, the new version is much better. Don't let Green Day hear this. :D
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Thanks Greg. Glad to hear it.

cavedog101 said:
Is it me or everything over the top on the output? This track seems a tad louder than almost everything else I have listened to here. I havent taken this into the studio yet and listened on the mains but its buzzing the hell outta my computer monitors which isnt usually the case.

She has a real talent in that voice. Her annunciation can be improved and still retain that tonal thing as well as that 'eyes half closed' delivery.

I dont think you're doing yourself any favors with an X/Y on a guitar with that tonality. Its a little too dark for such a focused mic technique. A single SDC @ the sweet spot and the other over the shoulder will open up this guitar quite a bit. The 'over the shoulder' mic could even be an LDC.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately this was a one take session. She's off to Spain for a year. Just did this for her mom. If I could get her back, I'd definitely try some different micing on the guitar. I'll fool with it some more to see if I can get a little better stereo image. Thanks for listening.

eddiedskim said:
OMG way better! You should try a spatializer and spread out the stereo spectrum. Lovin her voice!
Click to expand...
Thanks. Glad to hear I'm on the right track.
 
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