Technique regarding Acoustic Recording

C

Chuku

New member
Hey greetings all,

I have been recording an acoustic Guitar but i am facing problem every time i do..
I was trying to record the full song in single take but there are some timing changes in middle and sometimes i spoil in middle of the recording so i don't want to record it from the beginning again. So i put on the mark from where i need to record again and begin recording again from that point.
But the problem is that while recording from that mark point ( punch in- Abelton), some times my guitar tone is slightly different ( i try not to move my body a lot while on pause so not to change the mic position) and sometimes the volume is up/ down.

So, i am frustrated right now. Is it normal? Do professional make recordings on single take ? Is recording a single track by combining couple of recording an good idea? How to deal with my problem ??

Help me out please? :)

Thank you.
 
If you can match tempo and volume, it can be done. Don't try to 'punch in' at exactly one point, instead, start recording on a 2nd track (while monitoring the original track) 10 or 15 or 20 seconds before that 'bad' point'.
If I'm recording a particularly hard guitar part, I will try to record 3-4 tracks of it, going through the whole song each time and not worrying about any mistakes. If I've been consistent with recording volume and sound, I can 'comp' just the bad parts out of the best track.
 
Ok so how do you 'Comp' the bad parts? Sorry for being dumb.. Beginner here. :)

I always try not to make mistake but somewhere in the track there is always some bad parts like String Buzz/ Note miss sometimes. So to record just one track, i have to struggle for 1-2 hours :facepalm:

would love to learn if there is anyway that you do for these kind of situation.. Cheers
 
Like mjbphotos said...you record 2-3 takes, one right after the other.
You try and hold the guitar in the same spot relative to the mic(s), and play it with the same feel.

Now...review each of the takes and pick out the best one overall.
Then use the other takes to cut/replace whatever sections of the primary take need some fixing.

If you are playing the guitar to existing tracks, or to a click track...all of your takes will line up against each other.
If you are just freewheeling them without any timing reference...it will not work well.
 
Thanks . But i know that copy paste thing will not be easy for me... Will try it though . Thanks.. :)
 
When the tracks are lined up, on above the other...you cut simultaneously across all of them in the same spot...then you just slide out the old and slide in the new sections.
On my DAW, if you hold the SHIFT key...the sections can only move up/down...so it's a straight drop, and then you just apply some crossfades at the cut points to blend them together.

It's actually very easy once one get the hang of it. :)
 
It's even easier with Reaper's take system (I'm sure other DAWs have the same thing). Split the track where you want to substitute another take, click on the take you want, and there you go. Crossfades are automatic, and its easy as pie.

Or do some research on how to punch-in with your DAW. That's just the process of overdubbing bits and pieces of a track. That's good for times when you want to take another stab at specific parts of a track.
 
Small point about "moving"?

If you record in stereo, a CO-I pair e.g. your movement gets recorded as such and level and timbre changes are much reduced.

We, son and I, also found our rubbish room sounded better in stereo? Well! It sounded like a "room" and not just a crappish, weird space. (2 X AKG P150)

Dave.
 
First, make sure you are using a metronome. It makes it so much easier. Second, as others have said, get you a couple of tracks and either record the whole thing several times, or set your marks where you want to the punch in to happen and start recording before the mark, I usually do two or three measures before. Once you have your take, you can just copy or move the part over to the original track and blend it with Ableton's clip faders.

You will see there is a line slope on each clip/wave that allows you to blend each clip so as to smooth out the two takes.

Take a look at this:

It is the same concept as you want to do.
 
Thank you everyone.
It helped me a lot.
I am glad that i am learning and making progress very well through this forum.
Cheers
 
Chuku,

There's nothing wrong with practising plenty to get it done in one take. However, this can be boring and a pain in the arse.

You're recording acoustic so I am assuming you have a condenser mic on a stand and a chair that you like to sit on to play your guitar.

Just don't move your mic stand or your chair between takes, your natural sitting position will probably be fairly similar.

Like someone else said earlier, don't try and start the next take exactly where your cut is, start playing along a few bars before - you can then put the cut wherever you like it where the tracks overlap! Some places will be less noticable than others.

If you're not playing to a metronome, you'd better start - it will make this whole process easier.
 
Hey JDOD,
I was using Condenser (AT 2020) before but i was not so much satisfied with the sound (May be because my room is not treated) and i am using SM57 now to capture sound for current project. But got stuck into another problem here using SM57 :)

Thanks for your advice...

Cheers
 
Try using the 2020 and the 57. Often done. I point the 57 towards the bridge and condenser around the 12th. I record them on a stereo track instead of two different tracks in case I need to edit. You can use various plugins to get better width on the track (spread it out) but usually one mic won't give you the sound you are wanting.

Also, pay attention to what is behind you. Keep as much distance from a wall and if required, throw up a moving blanket behind you to reduce room reflection. Might help.
 
Chuku said:
Ok so how do you 'Comp' the bad parts? Sorry for being dumb.. Beginner here. :)

I always try not to make mistake but somewhere in the track there is always some bad parts like String Buzz/ Note miss sometimes. So to record just one track, i have to struggle for 1-2 hours :facepalm:

would love to learn if there is anyway that you do for these kind of situation.. Cheers
Click to expand...

There are multiple ways to do it - others have already told you a couple of ways. Personally, I prefer to use separate tracks for each full 'take', only because I find the whole 'multiple takes in one track' thing in Reaper a little hard to use when there are more than 2 takes in a track - but that's just me.
So instead of cutting/pasting, I just use fade in/fade-out between tracks (as fast or as slow as needed) using volume automation.
 
Chuku, this is probably not the answer you want, but it's the answer you need.

"Professionals" learn how to play their instruments correctly from the beginning of a tune to the end of a tune. "Amateurs" record different takes due to unprofessional playing and piece the best parts of those takes together to provide a "fake" recording ...... by fake I mean the final finished mixed recorded performance was not a "real" performance from beginning to end.

Easily the best way to go is to upgrade your playing skills. In the long term, and from both a musical and artistic perspective, that will provide far greater benefit regarding making good, listenable recordings, compared to using all the recording "tricks" in the world.

Musical skill, insight and talent is "the" ingredient that makes a musical performance listenable.
 
If you want to comp it, then you should listen to what everyone has already said, but I agree with Philips that you should play it through.

The best way to do this from my experience is practice every day and make your songs part of your practice routine.
 
Another way to make the moving less of a problem is to move the mic farther away from the guitar (if you can). The closer the mic, the more sensitive it will be to small movements.
 
philips said:
Chuku, this is probably not the answer you want, but it's the answer you need.

"Professionals" learn how to play their instruments correctly from the beginning of a tune to the end of a tune. "Amateurs" record different takes due to unprofessional playing and piece the best parts of those takes together to provide a "fake" recording ...... by fake I mean the final finished mixed recorded performance was not a "real" performance from beginning to end.
Click to expand...

I hate to pop any bubbles...but the pros comp tracks every day in every studio on the planet.
It's not about "real" VS "fake"...and it's not about "learning how to play it" VS "not knowing how to play it".
It's about getting the most perfect track...and that's actually more of a concern in pro studios than it is in the home rec world.

You can rehears for days...then during that near perfect take...you miss one note. :facepalm:
Then you do 20 more takes and you miss different notes here and there. :eek:
Then the feeling gets lost or you just get tired. :(
Keep in mind...this is about a recording production...not a live performance. ;)
So you don't really need to do 85 takes hoping to nail that one absolutely perfect one.

That said...I totally agree that practice is what everyone should do before hitting REC...but, it's very common to do a few really great takes...and then comp them into one track that is better than any of the others.
You could have 3-4 perfectly performed takes...and STILL end up comping just so you can polish it up into one that tops all of them just based on the vibes in each take.

Usually, one take will stand out from the bunch, and you use that as your main one, your foundation...and then you use the other pretty good takes to replace whatever is needed. It's about fixing/changing small nuances, about the slightly different pronunciation of a word or the slight difference in the playing of a lead phrase...etc...and not about covering up out-and-out bad playing.
I mean...if people are comping to cover up really bad playing...THAT I agree would be lame and kinda "fake". :)
 
That's true, but the OP said timing changes are tripping him up, which is a practice problem.

He can comp them if he wants and people gave good advice on that.
 
I was responding to the comment that I quoted...that it's not true about pros not comping, and that comping is only about unprofessional playing.
Totally not true. Pros comp all the time...even when they play real good. :D

I did say that if you can't play, using comping to fix it is not a good thing, and everyone should practice before REC. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top