Singer-Songwriter Acoustic Recordings

  • Thread starter Thread starter ConnorRegan
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Connor, i love you response to #13 :)

For the others, no worries. You shuld get fairly decent results with the zoom.

For the room, in the home recording vein, the bigger the room, the better. If you don't have a big room, then you need to figure out how to make it dead acoustically. This really opens a can of worms and more opinions than worms. You can find a lot to read about in the studio build section of this site.

Ii've heard good rsults from the NT1A.

I think the best thing is for you to learn to play your songs one track at a time. By this i mean, record the guitar by itself then go back and record your vocals. Recording them separately eliminates a lot of problems associated with trying to capture a good take when recording both together.

As an artist, it works to your advantage to give the best performance you can whether recording guitar and vox together or separately. That HAS TO BE an option if you want good rsults. But yeah, it is a skill that is learned and doesn't come naturally. Same as learning to play to a clicktrack (ugh!!!)

Glad to see ya came back. Hope to hear your tunes soon.
 
if you wanna sound good get a tool to that can fix stuff good. EDITING, EDITING, EDITING is the key to sounding good.
jaynm, I could understand where you were coming from on this but part of the reason you got so much grief is that you stated it as an absolute ~ it wasn't that your sentence was taken out of context, you alone provided the context. By capitalizing the word 'editing' and saying a tool was needed to 'fix stuff good' you gave the impression of being a cut and paste person. Not saying you are, that was just the impression given.
MHO before you go start spending $100 there and a $100 there. No use of going to buy swim trunks and a snorkel if you cant even swim.
I think it was easy to get confused by where you were coming from with sentences like these.
Zoom8-OUT | Apogee One($200)/Duet($500)-IN (Also Focusrite Saffire PRO-Firewire $200)

Audacity-OUT | Logic 9($300)-IN

Pre Amp, PreSonus Tube Mic Pre $80 or Focusrite ISO-One $400 or Universal Audio TwinFinity $800

Additional needs...
Booby Owinksi Recording Handbook and Mixing Handbook
Waves Gold or Silver bundle $700
I guess that's the problem sometimes with internet communication. It would be alot easier if this were all eyeball to eyeball.
Far too much emphasis is put on software, processing, daws etc, considering most of it didn't exist when the records we idolise were made.
I've been thinking along these lines alot recently. When I first got involved in HR.com, it really used to stand out. But I also think that things come full circle and after a while, the novelty wears off and that which is good about
software, processing, daws etc,
becomes assimilated with the ancient ways.
You can't polish a turd. Give Protools or any big DAW a turd and it can freeze it, sandpaper the edges to make it smooth, put some glitter on it, wash it, make it smell nice, but at the end of the day, it's still a turd
I generally tend to argue with this sentiment when it comes up because I don't think it's true. I do a ridiculous amount of reading of and listening to things that artists, engineers and producers have been coming out with for 35 years and if there's one thing of which I'm convinced, it's that you can not only polish a turd, but also most of us couldn't tell. The whole point of freezing, smoothing, glittering, washing and perfuming the turd is that it may still be a turd but such has been it's transformation, you'd never be able to tell. In a way, the above quote demonstrates the very thing it's trying to disprove.

but I need to record all in one take... i feel it sounds un-natural and not very good if I record vocals and guitar seperatley... not an option.
Depending on how you intend to mix your songs, there's nothing wrong with recording guitar and vocals simultaneously through one, two or three mics.
The only thing 'wrong' in my opinion is your mindset that it is not an option to record vocals and guitar separately. I think you should learn to do it, that way you always have options.
Just because you learn to record that way doesn't mean that you have to do it much. It just widens your scope. To put it another way, being able to do both can do you no harm.
 
Hold on,
You're using an NT1a with no monitors, in an untreated room, and you want to capture guitar and vocals in one take?

It's gona sound like redemption song in my Soundcloud then, cos that's how it was recorded! :p
 
Some Ideas

Hey

I started my own recording studio and i can tell you that the main thing for me was to get a good Audio program. i am using Nuendo Ver 2.0.1 and im sure you will be able to get that from a Music shop, if not there is free downloads on Cubase and a pretty great recording program. it will help you to fine tune your vocal recordings. Also do you make use of any DI Boxes? Ask your local music shop about those they can come in handy evening with Guitar, Keyboard recordings and sometimes Vocal....

Have fun and good luck
 
You can get good results with one mic to record acoustic and vocals at the same time but it does take a lot of time and experimenting to find the most usable placement. Move the mic around your room until you find the best balance between the vocals and guitar. If you do it with the guitar plugged in a well, to try and avoid guitar spill try tilting the mic up 45 degrees towards your mouth. With a cardioid mic, the dead spot (or, at least, where it picks up sound from less) is usually directly behind the diaphragm. By angling the mic up towards your mouth you should be able to reduce how much guitar spill you get on the vocal mic as it puts the guitar in the dead spot.
Thad the way I would do it. No way to stop bleed really. Takin eggs out of a already baked cake as massive would put it.
 
Im done typin on a iPhone that's already jacked up. I can't edit on when on this site when on a iPhone if anyone knows how let me know. Any way the above reply that's the way I would do it. Trying to avoid bleed in this instance is impossible minimizing it is the best approach. Avoiding all bleed in a vocal/acoustic recording would be like trying to pull eggs out of a already baked cake, metaphorically...as massive would put it. Really sorry guys.
 
Hi Conner,
I looked up some info on the Zoom R8, and from what I can tell, I don't see any reason why you can't get a good sounding CD with that equipment. The info said that the Zoom R8 comes with Cubase LE, so I'm guessing that you bought it used and didn't get Cubase with it. Otherwise, Cubase would be better software to use. But, the ZR8 actually is an 8 track digital recorder, so I'm wondering why you're not just using that to record, since you certainly don't need more than 8 tracks. You don't necessarily need Audacity. And, you have a good mic, so that should be working well. I notice the ZR8 has 48V and 24V phantom power...so make sure you are switched to the 48V phantom power for your mic. Back in the 90's I used to make great sounding recordings on a 4 track cassette, so I know you can also with the equipment you already have. Just know your equipment well so you can get the best out of it. Grammy winning producer and engineer Eric Schilling once said in an interview that the three most important things for getting a great sound, in order, were 1) the room 2) the skills of the engineer and 3) the equipment. With the room being first, make sure you've got that N1 close to your guitar and close to your mouth, for starters. With the guitar get it within a foot. Same with your mouth. If the room has lots of echo surround yourself when you're recording with anything that will absorb sound: a mattress, blankets, curtains, clothes, anything available. And try to minimize any background sounds, especially the computer, or air conditioner. That's one reason to record directly to the Zoom. A large diaphragm condenser is very sensitive. Get the room quiet, and crank up the mic so you have a strong signal. Don't let it peak out, but keep it high. Once you get a strong, solid recording, the mixing on your project should be pretty easy. I also highly recommend the The Mixing Engineers Handbook, by Bobby Owisnski, as someone else has already mentioned. Hope this helps. Cheers.
 
On that reply, I had missed the last few pages of this thread, so, I have to agree that to get the best sound, you should practice recording your guitar and voice separately onto separate tracks. If that's too hard, then when you're singing, just pretend like your strumming. Air guitar. When I was younger I once had a song that I couldn't sing as well if I wasn't actually playing the piano. So to separate my tracks I would sit at the piano, with the cover closed over the keys, and pretend I was playing the piano, and that worked. Another idea is to get a second mic, something you can afford. It will be impossible to totally eliminate bleed if you're recording both vocal and guitar. Otherwise, the idea of tilting the mic is a good one. But separating tracks is the way to get the most professional sound. And the mixing will be much easier. I recently recorded a singer/songwriter who, like you, wanted to sing and play at the same time. I had already done a couple of full blown band CDs for him, and he is a close friend, so I agreed. I had two mics on his guitar, and ran it directly into the board as well. And a large condenser on his vocal. In the end, it sounded good, but, man, what a pain in the ass to mix. There was bleed on every mic. It made my work 10 times harder. I would never do it that way again, unless it's someone already famous. It's not worth the trouble.
 
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