Young Heart - demo recording of my new 'Merlin'

[mjbphotos]

In case you didn'' see the post over in the 'post your latest purchase' thread, my wife gave me a Seagull Merlin (4-string dulcimer-like acoustic instrument) for our 15th anniversary on Thursday - so my total playing time on this is less than 2 hours at this point, so excuse any non-smooth slip-ups on this recording.
Other than reverb (used an echoplate on the merlin, regular plate on the vocal), a little EQ and compression on the merlin, and a stereo widener on the vocal, anything I can do with this? Bare-bones 2 tracks ...

 

[Illsidgus]

I saw that post. Very nice, sounds great. I think I will have to build myself one. I have built quite a few mountain dulcimers in my day. I don't have any suggestions for improvement on the recording. Nice job.

 

[DM60]

2 hours huh? Pretty damn good for only two hours.

 

[Schwarzenyaeger]

Your instrument thingy and your voice are fighting for space a bit.
It sounds somewhat muffled.

 

[mjbphotos]

Thanks for listening!

2 hours huh? Pretty damn good for only two hours.

Probably way less than 2 hours - but it's only 4 strings (and the high one is doubled) - this instrument is definitely made for beginners to pick something up quickly. I'm going to play a shredding 'Hang On Sloopy' to start the open mic I'm hosting this week!

Your instrument thingy and your voice are fighting for space a bit.
It sounds somewhat muffled.

The merlin is fairly twangy, I tamed the harsh areas with EQ, but didn't do much to the vocal EQ - I usually add a bit of air to the vocals, but didn't on this one as I didn't want it to compete with the merlin's twang. My problem with two mono tracks (only) - how do you mix them to create aural and physical space? I often will just do a demo like this with a single mic single track, but I knew I'd want to EQ the merlin's tone.

 

[Schwarzenyaeger]

If I do an acoustic with a vocal, I try to record them dry and then send them to the same stereo reverb.

 

[Tadpui]

It's a small-bodied acoustic instrument, so it has that mid-focused kind of sound to it. I think it'd mix well in a band setting, when other instruments can fill out the lower and higher frequencies. It's definitely got a bit of Appalachian Mountain twang to it

I think that you've captured it well here. It really does sound like a dulcimer, but with a little more meat to it.

 

[jimistone]

cool song. I thought the merlin sounded good. I agree that you should use the same reverb for both vocal and guitar on a bare bones recording like this. I enjoyed the song.

 

[mjbphotos]

Thanks for the listens/comments

It's a small-bodied acoustic instrument, so it has that mid-focused kind of sound to it. I think it'd mix well in a band setting, when other instruments can fill out the lower and higher frequencies. It's definitely got a bit of Appalachian Mountain twang to it

I think that you've captured it well here. It really does sound like a dulcimer, but with a little more meat to it.

I'm not sure if this song is going to go further, hadn't really thought about other instruments, it was more of an exercise with the new instrument and a set of lyrics I wrote a few months ago.

cool song. I thought the merlin sounded good. I agree that you should use the same reverb for both vocal and guitar on a bare bones recording like this. I enjoyed the song.

Makes sense - I usually do, but this time thought I'd try something different to separate the instrument and vocal. I've got like a zillion new reverb impulse files that Tadpui sent me , so anxious to try them all out.

 

[gecko zzed]

You've done well with the merlin. It sounds great.

 

[mjbphotos]

You've done well with the merlin. It sounds great.

So the vocal sucks .... my usual problem. Lots of instruments, only one choice for vocals.

 

[kindafishy]

I've never heard one of these or a dulcimer (that I could pick out in a song, although I am sure I have without picking it out as such). I like the general tone and character of the instrument from what I am hearing. It has a bit of a boxy quality to it that I am assuming is due mainly to it's size. It would be fun to work this into a fuller mix while retaining that.

It will be cool to hear this in songs with more instruments as you get more familiar with it. What a great gift from your wife!

 

[ido1957]

The blend or mix is perfect for me, on headphones I'm getting a full sound in both ears from both vocals and instrument.
Are you recording using the same mic? The vocal sounds a little "cloudier" than the instrument that's the only thing I noticed. But not an issue really.

 

[mjbphotos]

The blend or mix is perfect for me, on headphones I'm getting a full sound in both ears from both vocals and instrument.
Are you recording using the same mic? The vocal sounds a little "cloudier" than the instrument that's the only thing I noticed. But not an issue really.

Thanks for listening!
Yes, same mic (AKG Perception 220), only difference was I raised it up about 18" for the vocal and added a pop filter. I probably should have worked on the vocal EQ a little more - not a matter of HOW it was recorded, but how to make MY voice listenable.

 

[RFR]

Your new toy sounds cool. I like when different instruments are used. They always have thier own unique sound.

 

[TripleM]

Sounds to me like that thing was stereo mic'd or something? It seems wider than one mic down the center. I thought it sounded pretty good. Pretty clear and not too harsh. A bit boxy sounding, but I'm guess it's supposed to.

Vocal is a bit tentative and off tempo in spots.

I liked the reverb you used. Nice and subtle.

I agree that there is some competition between the instrument and vocal. Not bad, but a little. Maybe a notch in the 4K - 5K range might help.

 

[mjbphotos]

Sounds to me like that thing was stereo mic'd or something? It seems wider than one mic down the center. I thought it sounded pretty good. Pretty clear and not too harsh. A bit boxy sounding, but I'm guess it's supposed to.

Vocal is a bit tentative and off tempo in spots.

I liked the reverb you used. Nice and subtle.

I agree that there is some competition between the instrument and vocal. Not bad, but a little. Maybe a notch in the 4K - 5K range might help.

Thanks for listening.
No, single mic - probably the echoplate reverb file I used in ReaVerb for the merlin making it sound like that (which is what I wanted). I tried putting the reverb on a send track, panned it right and the original left, but didnt' like it that way, so reverted to the single track with reverb at about 30% wet. I only did 2 takes on the vocal (this was the second), so not surprised you find it off a bit - my only real intention on this demo was recording the merlin and to see how mixing one mono track with one mono vocal would work.