Guitar, and vocals at the same time?

Atalkingsausage · #1 06-13-2016, 02:52 PM

Is it a terrible practice to record vocals, and guitar together, at the same time? I see videos of people doing this all the time but mine never seem to come out just right. Are they overdubbing the track onto the video or something like that?

To me it seems like it would be next to impossible to make it all the way through a song either playing, or singing separately, and still be on beat and not losing track of how many measures i've played of a chord or what have you. it also seems so much more natural, and expressive to actually play the song and sing it as it's intended to be.... Idk

example:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVm8jPBhmMU

otavio · #2 06-13-2016, 07:25 PM

The problem it´s how you want/gonna process your vocals and guitar...

Mostly overdubs

Mbroady · #3 06-13-2016, 08:30 PM

The biggest concern to be aware of is a phase issue between the 2 mics. Meaning the sound wave of one source, let's say the guitar, reaching the vocal mic slightly behind the sound wave from the guitar mic. This will create 2 tracks that are out of phase with each other, which makes it sound thin. You can hard pan but that does not always sound natural.

You can google or you tube proper techniques for recording both vocal and guitar at the same time. There are folks who can articulate it better then I.

Andy Howell · #4 06-14-2016, 01:06 AM

Horses for courses!

I usually record guitar and vocals separately but occasionally I have a song or arrangement that I can't seem to do that with and I will record live. You get some bleed and you need to experiment a bit but you can get a very good sound.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

MikeBmusic · #5 06-14-2016, 07:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Atalkingsausage

Is it a terrible practice to record vocals, and guitar together, at the same time? I see videos of people doing this all the time but mine never seem to come out just right. Are they overdubbing the track onto the video or something like that?

To me it seems like it would be next to impossible to make it all the way through a song either playing, or singing separately, and still be on beat and not losing track of how many measures i've played of a chord or what have you. it also seems so much more natural, and expressive to actually play the song and sing it as it's intended to be.... Idk

example:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVm8jPBhmMU

If you have issues playing AND singing a complete song all the way through without errors, than by all means record each separately and then 'lip sync' your video.

RustyAxe · #6 06-14-2016, 08:44 AM

Here's a video done by a member here ... Fran Guidry. This is exactly how I do it. Yes, there is some bleed, but you can get decent separation for post processing. Worth a view, IMO ...

Sage97 · #7 06-14-2016, 10:27 AM

It's not terrible. It's whatever works for you. I prefer to record the guitar first and add th vocals later. I just sing in my head when I lay down the guitar tracks. Works for me.

buzzardwhiskey · #8 06-14-2016, 02:02 PM

Our first album was an "everybody in the pool" kind of thing. Here's a video from that experience. https://vimeo.com/119019768

Two of us played and sang at the same time (Shure SM7b's on vocals, and AKG 414's on instruments), plus the gals on backup vocals, plus the drums and a bass.

KevWind · #9 06-14-2016, 06:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Atalkingsausage

Is it a terrible practice to record vocals, and guitar together, at the same time? I see videos of people doing this all the time but mine never seem to come out just right. Are they overdubbing the track onto the video or something like that?

To me it seems like it would be next to impossible to make it all the way through a song either playing, or singing separately, and still be on beat and not losing track of how many measures i've played of a chord or what have you. it also seems so much more natural, and expressive to actually play the song and sing it as it's intended to be.... Idk

example:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVm8jPBhmMU

Absolutely not terrible , to do at the same time ---- different with a different set of recording issues to deal with. Has been done extensively on many pro grade recordings....... Except not actually on the Foo Fighters video you linked. Note he stops strumming at 30 seconds to adjust his headphones then stops strumming with his hand resting just above the sound hole until at least 39 or 40 seconds yet the acoustic part continues .

Here is one that, although it does not appear like it first because of playing the intro dubbed over some pre performance video, it is actually happening in real time vocal and guitar and the rest of the players at the same time
he is both plugged into his pic up and using an SDC mic sitting about a foot and half to two feet from his guitar.

No not impossible at all, to to separately it just seems difficult at first most likely because of not having practiced doing them separately ,-----in is actually just different with a different type of atmosphere .

When I first started to play some of the best advice I ever got from a very talented performer was to "If you want to be really great at playing guitar and singing, practice and get really good at doing them separately". That and "Once you think you have it down cold, play in the dark and see if you actually do".

Rudy4 · #10 06-16-2016, 06:06 PM

Here's a quick video from Bob Clearmountain discussing how to record guitar and vocal simply with adequate separation to be able to post process recorded tracks.

https://youtu.be/3WrMhr2nUJI

GuitarGreg81 · #11 06-18-2016, 09:54 AM

Regarding the phase issue:

With careful positioning of the mics you should be able to minimize or eliminate it.

I found this guide that explains mic positioning when your recording guitar and singing at the same time.

I usually just record in mono with one mic, but he explains several different setups.

funkymonk#9 · #12 06-18-2016, 11:51 AM

Depends on what your goal is.
If you want pristine control over each recording, guitar and vocals, then record them separately.
If you want to separate them so you can give them much more focus individually then record them separately.
If you want to be able to play and sing well together, then practice that.
There is nothing inherently wrong with recording the 2 together with 2 mics with minimal bleed through, if you like the end product.

Pitar · #13 06-23-2016, 06:48 PM

I have it down to a system for me that works. I go straight into an amp with the guitar (via Nady wireless system) and use a Shure SM57 for voice. I record the amp output. I stick to this method because it represents a live situation. I'm not interested in studio renderings. That isn't real unless you perform it real (everything simultaneously). Recording separately to me fudges big time. Record it like you're gonna play it, learn how to make that kind of recording sound good and it will reflect positively in the nuance development of your live delivery.

schwa · #14 06-26-2016, 10:32 PM

In these days of unlimited tracks, sometimes what I will do is track the guitars and vocals at the same time, and then go back and track them separately.

If the sun is shining, all of the tracks may find their way into the final recording.

rockabilly69 · #15 06-27-2016, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pitar

Record it like you're gonna play it, learn how to make that kind of recording sound good and it will reflect positively in the nuance development of your live delivery.

This is EXACTLY what I do, and there isn't one thing that I do that has made a bigger impact on the quality of my live performances!