Acoustic Recording on a Budget - Feedback?

[FragileBalance]

Hello all!

I'm in an acoustic band and we don't have enough money to spend on a studio or expensive equipment, so I've kind of taught myself how to record and engineer music. It's been a challenge! However, we've recorded two albums over the past year with our modest setup, which is:

Guitar (Taylors, usually) --> AKG Perception 170 --> Tascam US-800 Interface --> REAPER

It's not the best setup, especially since we recorded in my friend's living room, but with a little work we can get a pretty good sound The AKG Perceptions are very good mics, and only $100. They're great starter mics, and what we used to record everything. I did all the editing and mixing in REAPER.

Our stuff should be on iTunes soon, but I was posting to get some feedback from people familiar with acoustic recording. We are going to make another album in a few months, and I would appreciate any input that you home recording enthusiasts could offer so that our next album will sound even more professional.

You can listen to some of our stuff on our facebook.

AFAIK these particular mp3s aren't 320 kbps because facebook downgraded them for size, but they should give you a pretty good idea of how our setup sounds. Thank you greatly for any feedback!

[Joseph Hanna]

Originally Posted by FragileBalance

Hello all!

I'm in an acoustic band and we don't have enough money to spend on a studio or expensive equipment, so I've kind of taught myself how to record and engineer music. It's been a challenge! However, we've recorded two albums over the past year with our modest setup, which is:

Guitar (Taylors, usually) --> AKG Perception 170 --> Tascam US-800 Interface --> REAPER

It's not the best setup, especially since we recorded in my friend's living room, but with a little work we can get a pretty good sound The AKG Perceptions are very good mics, and only $100. They're great starter mics, and what we used to record everything. I did all the editing and mixing in REAPER.

Our stuff should be on iTunes soon, but I was posting to get some feedback from people familiar with acoustic recording. We are going to make another album in a few months, and I would appreciate any input that you home recording enthusiasts could offer so that our next album will sound even more professional.

You can listen to some of our stuff on our facebook.

AFAIK these particular mp3s aren't 320 kbps because facebook downgraded them for size, but they should give you a pretty good idea of how our setup sounds. Thank you greatly for any feedback!

Couldn't get the Facebook tunes to load but the instrumental on your web site was very, very nice. I like it a lot!

[moon]

Love what you're doing.

This kind of music relies heavily on sounds and textures so that's what I'd want to work on.

It might help to think about "scenes" and what kind of sound you want for each one. You can use different numbers of tracks, different guitar sounds and FX, and so on for different parts of the music. Don't be afraid to go nuts.

Also be careful not to use FX to try to hide a bad sound. First and foremost, you have to learn how to capture a natural, clear sound with lots of depth and richness. Instrument and gear are important but most of all performance. I find that practicing some classical music on acoustic guitar is a great exercise - try the Gymnopedies, and some Bach. I find I'm constantly trying to combat the "tinny-ness" in the acoustic guitar sound in order to get a good, expressive tone. It makes me look deep into the guitar and learn to pull out new sounds.

It's good to figure out a workflow which helps you to develop your initial ideas. I spend a lot of time jamming along with the first takes. Maybe there's just one little piece out of a dozen ten minute takes that adds something new. I'm a cut-and-paste kinda guy. For others, they've already got it all in their head by the time they sit down to record. Whatever works for you.

Better gear should help. Mics, pres, room treatment.

ADK A6 and Oktava Mk012 are good but inexpensive.

Preamps from FiveFish or JLM Audio are good value and a step above the cheapest consumer gear - if you don't mind some DIY.

Keep an eye out for second-hand RME gear.

Audio software can be expensive: linux and Ardour are worth a look.

I'll definitely be checking back to see how you're getting on. I think you've got some talent. How many hours a day do you practice? If it's less than three its not enough. Not because you play badly but if you want to get really good you'll need to work hard at it. It'd be a crime if you didn't.

PS: everything I say may be completely wrong...

[alexevans917]

The tracks on your facebook sound really good.

If you're going for a more post rock feel, I'd recommend working more with reverb (either in the software or try recording somewhere with great acoustics (churches, concert halls, etc.).

The guitar micing sounds fine. Better mics and pres will obviously improve the quality (you could stick with SDCs and go for Oktava MK012s or Shure SM81s, or go the LDC route and get AT4040s or Studio Projects C1s).

Software-wise, I'd assume you're using a PC? In that case, there aren't a ton of great, cheap options. If you like the setup, Cubase could work, but I'm not a fan personally. IF you like Reaper, keep using that. From what I've heard, its pretty powerful software.

You could also try working with mic placement for different sounds, or stereo micing guitars. This is a great, great way to achieve many different sounds with one guitar, without resorting to mangling it in software. Look online at the different options for micing, and experiment on your own to find sounds that you like. You can never stop learning and experimenting.

Overall, great job guys. Let me know if you're ever playing in Cincinnati.

Alex.

[FragileBalance]

Thanks for the feedback guys, I really appreciate it!

Joseph, if the facebook songs aren't loading, there's a few more songs on the music player on the website if you press the fast forward button.

Moon, thanks for the input. Most of the time I'll do just that, play rhythmic patterns for like an hour and come up with cool song ideas haha. Also, a lot of what we do the other guitarist writes and I jam with something to accompany him. As far as classical guitar goes, I really need to be studying that stuff! Haha, I've never really learned anything fingerstyle on acoustic and I need to start working on that. And no, unfortunately I don't get three hours of practice a day, but hopefully I make up for that during 9 hour recording sessions haha. Thanks for liking the facebook as well!

Alex, I see you liked the facebook too. Thank you! Yes, I'm on a PC and very comfortable with REAPER, so I think I'll be improving my skills with that program and keep using it. We're going to be buying some more mics for our next sessions in December, so I think we'll start doing some stereo miking. We do pretty much everything as live takes, so it will definitely be interesting to see how double miking both of us works at the same time!

[rick-slo]

Does sound phasey on the clips but that could be the 128 bit rate mp3s you are getting from facebook.

If you want I will post a 320 bit rate mp3 of one of your tunes on my website and you can link to it. You can email me a mp3 attachment (needs to be under 10 megs).

[FragileBalance]

Rick-slo, I changed the bitrate of the main track on our website to 320kbps, so it should be accurate sound-wise now.

[rick-slo]

Originally Posted by FragileBalance

Rick-slo, I changed the bitrate of the main track on our website to 320kbps, so it should be accurate sound-wise now.

That helped quite a bit in removing the phasey sound.

[moon]

I didn't realise you were touring - including a gig with Antoine Dufour..!

The higher res clip sounded a lot better. Apologies if I assumed you didn't know as much about music as you obviously do.

I don't get three hours of practice a day, but hopefully I make up for that during 9 hour recording sessions

Nope you don't. That's not good enough. Learning a motor skill takes constant, dedicated practice - and the kind of deep, immersive, concentration that leaves you feeling slightly giddy when the music ends.

I once read about a study investigating what it takes to get to the top of whatever field you're in. There were three things common to many successful people: talent, hard work and good mentoring - ie high quality advice from other experts while they served their apprenticeship.

If you love what you're doing the hard work shouldn't be too much of a problem. Seriously: go for it.

[FragileBalance]

Thanks for the input, I'm glad the new 320 clip sounded better.

Moon, yeah we just got back from tour, including luckily a show with Antoine Dufour and Michael Chapdelaine! It's actually a really fun story that I posted about here if you care to read about it.

As far as practicing goes, you're absolutely right. I think to truly become a great player you need a LOT of practice. However, unfortunately I'm not a music major and between that, working and volunteering it's hard to find three hours for guitar! Haha, but the positive feedback you guys have given has definitely encouraged me to try and find that time.

[j3ffr0]

You guys sound really good. You've done an EXCELLENT job with what you have.

I believe with recording it's not the gear you have -- it's what you know and what you can do with it. With that in mind I think the best money you could spend is on the books in the Hal Leonard Recording Method Series. I have volumes 1, 2, 5, and 6. I just finished volume 2. I thought I new my stuff pretty good before picking these up, but I learned more out of the first two volumes than I've learned in all the other books I read and studios I've hung around in combined. Most books in the series can be had used for a decent price via Amazon.

[James Galloway]

Originally Posted by j3ffr0

You guys sound really good. You've done an EXCELLENT job with what you have.

I believe with recording it's not the gear you have -- it's what you know and what you can do with it. With that in mind I think the best money you could spend is on the books in the Hal Leonard Recording Method Series. I have volumes 1, 2, 5, and 6. I just finished volume 2. I thought I new my stuff pretty good before picking these up, but I learned more out of the first two volumes than I've learned in all the other books I read and studios I've hung around in combined. Most books in the series can be had used for a decent price via Amazon.

Wow! Great advice. And for FragileBalance, Goodluck on your more recordings to come.

It was a nice thing to read this forum posts.

[polly9999]

Great sound in my humble opinion. I have recorded myself using audacity. However I found that once I output my audio files in mp3 format the overall volume levels reduces to where I have to adjust the volume on my ipod too FULL BLAST...

will try a trial version of Reaper.

[FragileBalance]

Polly, thanks! Try REAPER, it's free until you start selling stuff, then you have to pay a small fee. To fix your problem, "Normalize" the tracks. What that does is brings it up to a louder, normal volume without clicking. I'm not sure how to do that in audacity but google it and you should be able to find it easily!

[FragileBalance]

Also, I remastered a lot of our old stuff and we just released our first album on iTunes and Amazon MP3! Check it out if you all are interested! You can check out some new previews at our website or at our facebook. Thank you!



Available at:

iTunes
Amazon MP3